Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Goodness
Of David.[a]
138 I give you thanks with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise.
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have magnified your word[b] according to all your name.[c]
3 When[d] I called and you answered me,
you emboldened me in my soul with strength.
4 All the kings of the earth
will praise you, O Yahweh,
when they have heard the words[e] of your mouth,
5 and they will sing of the ways of Yahweh,
because Yahweh’s glory is great.
6 Though Yahweh is high, yet he sees the lowly,
but the proud he perceives[f] at a distance.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me alive.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my enemies,
and you save me with your right hand.
8 Yahweh accomplishes things for my benefit.
O Yahweh, your loyal love endures forever;
do not abandon the works of your hands.
The Ark of the Covenant among the Philistines
5 Now the Philistines had captured[a] the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. 3 When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, there was[b] Dagon fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. 4 When they got up early in the morning the next day, there was[c] Dagon fallen again with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! The head of Dagon and the palms of his two hands were cut off, lying at[d] the threshold; only the body[e] of Dagon was left. 5 (Therefore the priests of Dagon and all who come into the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod until this very day.)
6 Now the hand of Yahweh was heavy against the Ashdodites and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors,[f] both in Ashdod and its territories. 7 The men of Ashdod saw that it was so, and they said, “The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, because his hand is harsh on us and on Dagon our god!” 8 So they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines to them, and they asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around toward Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.
9 After they moved it, the hand of Yahweh was against the city, causing a very great confusion, and he struck the men of the city from the youngest to the oldest,[g] causing tumors[h] to break out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought around the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our[i] people!” 11 So they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines, and they said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For a deadly confusion[j] was throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with the tumors,[k] so that the cry of the city for help went up to heaven.
Absent from the Body and at Home with the Lord
5 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed, in this house we groan, because we[a] desire to put on our dwelling from heaven, 3 if indeed, even after we[b] have taken it off,[c] we will not be found naked. 4 For indeed we who are in this tent groan, being burdened for this reason, that[d] we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the down payment, the Spirit.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software