Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 48
Zion Exalted
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 The Lord is great and highly praised
in the city of our God.(A)
His holy mountain, 2 rising splendidly,
is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion on the slopes of the north
is the city of the great King.(B)
3 God is known as a stronghold
in its citadels.(C)
4 Look! The kings assembled;
they advanced together.(D)
5 They looked and froze with fear;
they fled in terror.(E)
6 Trembling seized them there,
agony like that of a woman in labor,(F)
7 as You wrecked the ships of Tarshish
with the east wind.(G)
8 Just as we heard, so we have seen
in the city of Yahweh of Hosts,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.(H)
31 David then ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth,(A) and mourn over Abner.” And King David walked behind the funeral procession.[a]
32 When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept, 33 and the king sang a lament for Abner:(B)
Should Abner die as a fool dies?
34 Your hands were not bound,
your feet not placed in bronze shackles.
You fell like one who falls victim to criminals.
And all the people wept over him even more.
35 Then they came to urge David to eat bread while it was still day, but David took an oath: “May God punish me and do so severely if I taste bread or anything else before sunset!”(C) 36 All the people took note of this, and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. 37 On that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.
38 Then the king said to his soldiers, “You must know that a great leader has fallen in Israel today.
Following Jesus
18 When Jesus saw large crowds[a](A) around Him, He gave the order to go to the other side of the sea.[b] 19 A scribe approached Him and said,(B) “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!”
20 Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man(C) has no place to lay His head.”
21 “Lord,” another of His disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.”[c]
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
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