Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 108[a]
A song, a psalm of David.
108 I am determined,[b] O God.
I will sing and praise you with my whole heart.[c]
2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp.
I will wake up at dawn.[d]
3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you before foreigners.[e]
4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,[f]
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
5 Rise up[g] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[h]
6 Deliver by your power[i] and answer me,
so that the ones you love may be safe.[j]
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[k]
“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.[l]
8 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.[m]
Ephraim is my helmet,[n]
Judah my royal scepter.[o]
9 Moab is my washbasin.[p]
I will make Edom serve me.[q]
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?[r]
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
12 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.[s]
13 By God’s power we will conquer;[t]
he will trample down[u] our enemies.
Samuel Meets with Saul
9 There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. Kish was a prominent person. 2 He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.
3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off,[a] so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go[b] look for the donkeys.”[c] 4 So Saul[d] crossed through the hill country of Ephraim, passing through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. So they crossed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he crossed through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come on, let’s head back before my father quits worrying about the donkeys and becomes anxious about us!” 6 But the servant said to him, “Look, there is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected. Everything that he says really happens.[e] Now let’s go there. Perhaps he will tell us where we should go from here.”[f] 7 So Saul said to his servant, “All right,[g] we can go. But what can we bring the man, since the food in our bags is used up? We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant went on to answer Saul, “Look, I happen to have in my hand a quarter shekel[h] of silver. I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us where we should go.”[i] 9 (Now it used to be in Israel that whenever someone went to inquire of God he would say, “Come on, let’s go to the seer.” For today’s prophet used to be called a seer.) 10 So Saul said to his servant, “That’s a good idea![j] Come on. Let’s go.” So they went to the town where the man of God was.
11 As they were going up the ascent to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water. They said to them, “Is this where the seer is?” 12 They replied, “Yes, straight ahead! But hurry now, for he came to the town today, and the people are making a sacrifice at the high place. 13 When you enter the town, you can find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won’t eat until he arrives, for he must bless the sacrifice. Once that happens, those who have been invited will eat. Now go on up, for[k] this is the time when you can find him.”
14 So they went up to the town. As they were heading for the middle of the town, Samuel was coming in their direction[l] to go up to the high place.
Jesus and Beelzebul
14 Now[a] he was casting out a demon that was mute.[b] When[c] the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak,[d] and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul,[e] the ruler[f] of demons, he casts out demons!” 16 Others, to test[g] him,[h] began asking for[i] a sign[j] from heaven. 17 But Jesus,[k] realizing their thoughts, said to them,[l] “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed,[m] and a divided household falls.[n] 18 So[o] if[p] Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because[q] you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons[r] cast them[s] out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger[t] of God, then the kingdom of God[u] has already overtaken[v] you. 21 When a strong man,[w] fully armed, guards his own palace,[x] his possessions are safe.[y] 22 But[z] when a stronger man[aa] attacks[ab] and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s[ac] armor on which the man relied[ad] and divides up[ae] his plunder.[af] 23 Whoever is not with me is against me,[ag] and whoever does not gather with me scatters.[ah]
Response to Jesus’ Work
24 “When an unclean spirit[ai] goes out of a person,[aj] it passes through waterless places[ak] looking for rest but[al] not finding any. Then[am] it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’[an] 25 When it returns,[ao] it finds the house[ap] swept clean and put in order.[aq] 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so[ar] the last state of that person[as] is worse than the first.”[at]
27 As[au] he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out[av] to him, “Blessed is the womb[aw] that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!”[ax] 28 But he replied,[ay] “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey[az] it!”
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