Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 86
Lament and Petition
A Davidic prayer.
1 Listen, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.(A)
2 Protect my life, for I am faithful.(B)
You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.(C)
3 Be gracious to me, Lord,
for I call to You all day long.(D)
4 Bring joy to Your servant’s life,
because I turn to You, Lord.(E)
5 For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive,(F)
rich in faithful love to all who call on You.(G)
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my plea for mercy.(H)
7 I call on You in the day of my distress,
for You will answer me.(I)
8 Lord, there is no one like You among the gods,
and there are no works like Yours.(J)
9 All the nations You have made
will come and bow down before You, Lord,
and will honor Your name.(K)
10 For You are great and perform wonders;
You alone are God.(L)
11 Teach me Your way, Yahweh,
and I will live by Your truth.
Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name.(M)
12 I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God,
and will honor Your name forever.(N)
13 For Your faithful love for me is great,
and You deliver my life from the depths of Sheol.(O)
14 God, arrogant people have attacked me;
a gang of ruthless men seeks my life.
They have no regard for You.(P)
15 But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.(Q)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me.
Give Your strength to Your servant;
save the son of Your female servant.(R)
17 Show me a sign of Your goodness;
my enemies will see and be put to shame
because You, Lord, have helped and comforted me.(S)
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, 11 “I regret that I made Saul king,(A) for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.”(B) So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.(C)
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel(D) where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.”(E) 13 When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you.(F) I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14 Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep[a] and cattle I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God,(G) but the rest we destroyed.”(H)
16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” he replied.
17 Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant,(I) have you not become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel 18 and then sent you on a mission and said: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ 19 So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder(J) and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered.[b] “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back Agag, king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21 The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”(K)
22 Then Samuel said:
Does the Lord(L) take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.(M)
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(N)
and defiance is like wickedness(O) and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has rejected you as king.(P)
24 Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned.(Q) I have transgressed the Lord’s command(R) and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. 25 Now therefore, please forgive my sin(S) and return with me so I can worship the Lord.”
26 Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord,(T) the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today(U) and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.(V) 29 Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel(W) does not lie or change His mind, for He is not man who changes his mind.”(X)
30 Saul said, “I have sinned. Please honor me(Y) now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so I can bow in worship to the Lord your God.”(Z) 31 Then Samuel went back, following Saul, and Saul bowed down to the Lord.
Lying to the Holy Spirit
5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.(A)
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart(B) to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds from the field? 4 Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God!” 5 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.(C) 6 The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.(D)
7 There was an interval of about three hours; then his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 “Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the field for this price?”
“Yes,” she said, “for that price.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!”(E)
10 Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband. 11 Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.
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