Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (A)My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my [a]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (B)lovingkindness is great (C)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (D)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6 (E)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [b]holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [c]helmet of My head;
(F)Judah is My [d]scepter.
9 “Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”
10 (G)Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [e]will lead me to Edom?
11 Have not You Yourself, O God, (H)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
12 Oh give us help against the adversary,
For (I)deliverance [f]by man is in vain.
13 [g]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (J)it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “(A)If you return to the Lord with all your heart, (B)remove the foreign gods and the (C)Ashtaroth from among you and (D)direct your hearts to the Lord and (E)serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to (F)Mizpah and (G)I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and (H)poured it out before the Lord, and (I)fasted on that day and said there, “(J)We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, (K)they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “(L)Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Samuel took (M)a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and (N)the Lord answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But (O)the Lord thundered with a great [a]thunder on that day against the Philistines and (P)confused them, so that they were [b]routed before Israel. 11 The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel (Q)took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it [c]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13 (R)So the Philistines were subdued and (S)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and (T)the Amorites.
Samuel’s Ministry
15 Now Samuel (U)judged Israel all the days of his life.
Satan Bound
20 Then I saw (A)an angel coming down from heaven, holding the (B)key of the abyss and a great chain [a]in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the (C)dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and (D)bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the (E)abyss, and shut it and (F)sealed it over him, so that he would (G)not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 Then I saw (H)thrones, and (I)they sat on them, and (J)judgment was given to them. And I saw (K)the souls of those who had been beheaded because of [b]their (L)testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not (M)worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the (N)mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they (O)came to life and (P)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. (Q)This is the first resurrection. 6 (R)Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the (S)second death has no power, but they will be (T)priests of God and of Christ and will (U)reign with Him for a thousand years.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.