Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A praise song of David.

Saul Looks for His Father’s Donkeys

9 Kish was an important man from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel. Abiel was the son of Zeror. Zeror was the son of Becorath. Becorath was the son of Aphiah, a man from Benjamin. ² Kish had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man. There was no one more handsome than Saul. He stood a head taller than any other man in Israel.

³ One day Kish’s donkeys got lost. So he said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.” ⁴ Saul went to look for the donkeys. He walked through the hills of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha. But Saul and the servant could not find Kish’s donkeys. So they went to the area around Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there either. Then Saul traveled through the land of Benjamin, but he and the servant still could not find the donkeys.

⁵ Finally, Saul and the servant came to the town named Zuph. Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go back. My father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”

⁶ But the servant answered, “A man of God is in this town. People respect him. Everything he says comes true, so let’s go into town. Maybe the man of God will tell us where we should go next.”

⁷ Saul said to his servant, “Sure, we can go into town, but what can we give to him? We have no gift to give the man of God. Even the food in our bags is gone. What can we give him?”

⁸ Again the servant answered Saul. “Look, I have a little bit of money.^[a] Let’s give it to the man of God. Then he will tell us where we should go.”

^9-11 Saul said to his servant, “That is a good idea. Let’s go.” So they went to the town where the man of God was.

Saul and the servant were walking up the hill toward town when they met some young women on the road. The young women were coming out to get water. Saul and the servant asked the young women, “Is the seer here?” (In the past, people in Israel called a prophet a “seer.” So if they wanted to ask something from God, they would say, “Let’s go to the seer.”)

¹² The young women answered, “Yes, the seer is here. He is just up the road. He came to town today. Some people are meeting together today to share in a fellowship offering at the place for worship.^{[b] 13} So go into town and you will find him. If you hurry, you can catch him before he goes up to eat at the place for worship. The seer blesses the sacrifice, so the people won’t begin eating until he gets there. If you hurry, you can find him.”

¹⁴ Saul and the servant started walking up the hill to town. Just as they came into town, they saw Samuel coming out of town, walking toward them. He was on his way to the place for worship.

Jesus’ Power Is From God^(A)

¹⁴ One time Jesus was sending a demon out of a man who could not talk. When the demon came out, the man was able to speak. The crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of the people said, “He uses the power of Satan^[a] to force demons out of people. Satan is the ruler of demons.”

¹⁶ Some others there wanted to test Jesus. They asked him to do a miracle as a sign from God. ¹⁷ But he knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. And a family that fights against itself will break apart. ¹⁸ So if Satan is fighting against himself, how will his kingdom survive? You say that I use the power of Satan to force out demons. ¹⁹ But if I use Satan’s power to force out demons, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people will prove that you are wrong. ²⁰ But I use the power of God to force out demons. This shows that God’s kingdom has now come to you.

²¹ “When a strong man with many weapons guards his own house, the things in his house are safe. ²² But suppose a stronger man comes and defeats him. The stronger man will take away the weapons that the first man trusted to keep his house safe. Then the stronger man will do what he wants with the other man’s things.

²³ “Whoever is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not work with me is working against me.

The Danger of Emptiness^(B)

²⁴ “When an evil spirit comes out of someone, it travels through dry places, looking for a place to rest. But it finds no place to rest. So it says, ‘I will go back to the home I left.’ ²⁵ When it comes back, it finds that home all neat and clean. ²⁶ Then the evil spirit goes out and brings back seven other spirits more evil than itself. They all go and live there, and that person has even more trouble than before.”

The People God Blesses

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman with the people there called out to him, “Blessings from God belong to the woman who gave birth to you and fed you!”

²⁸ But Jesus said, “The people who hear the teaching of God and obey it—they are the ones who have God’s blessing.”