Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Song of Thanks for Being Kept Safe
18 I love You, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, and my safe place, and the One Who takes me out of trouble. My God is my rock, in Whom I am safe. He is my safe-covering, my saving strength, and my strong tower. 3 I call to the Lord, Who has the right to be praised. And I am saved from those who hate me.
4 The ropes of death were all around me. The floods of death make me afraid. 5 The ropes of the grave were all around me. The traps of death were set for me. 6 I called to the Lord in my trouble. I cried to God for help. He heard my voice from His holy house. My cry for help came into His ears.
43 You have taken me away from the fighting of the people. You have made me the leader of nations. People whom I have not known will serve me. 44 As soon as they hear, they obey me. Those from other lands obey me. 45 These people from other lands lose their strength of heart. And they come shaking from behind their walls. 46 The Lord lives! How great is my Rock! Praise be to the God Who saves me! 47 He is the God Who punishes those who have done wrong to me. He puts nations under my rule. 48 He saves me from those who hate me. Yes, You lift me above those who rise up against me. You save me from those who want to hurt me. 49 So I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord. And I will sing praises to Your name. 50 He gives His king great power over trouble. And He shows loving-kindness to His chosen one, to David, and to his children after him forever.
Saul Kills Himself
31 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. And the men of Israel ran from the Philistines and were killed and fell on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines came after Saul and his sons. They killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua. 3 The battle went against Saul. The men who used the bow hit him with arrows and hurt him very much. 4 Then Saul said to the one who carried his battle-clothes, “Take your sword and cut through me with it. Or these men who have not gone through our religious act will come and kill me with the sword and make fun of me.” But the one who carried his battle-clothes would not do it, for he was filled with fear. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When the one who carried his battle-clothes saw that Saul was dead, he fell on his sword also, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, the one who carried his battle-clothes, and all his men, died that day together.
7 The men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had run away and that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left the cities and ran away. Then the Philistines came and lived in them. 8 When the Philistines came to rob the dead the next day, they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off Saul’s head and took his sword and battle-clothes, and sent them through the land of the Philistines. They sent them to carry the good news to the house of their gods and to the people. 10 They put his sword and battle-clothes in the house of their god Ashtaroth. And they tied his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the men with strength of heart went and walked all night. They took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh. There they burned them. 13 They took
their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh. And they did not eat for seven days.
Giving to Help Other Christians
9 I do not need to write to you about helping those who belong to Christ. 2 I know you want to do it. I have told the people in the country of Macedonia that you were ready to send money last year. Your desire has started most of them to give. 3 I am sending these Christian brothers so the words I said about you will prove to be true and you will be ready to help. 4 What if some of the people of Macedonia came with me and found you were not ready to send your gift of money? We would all be ashamed since we have talked of you so much. 5 That is why I asked these men to go ahead of me. They can see that the gift you promised is ready. In that way, it will be a true gift and not something you were made to do.
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