Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Beauty and Glory of Zion.
A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 (A)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (B)city of our God, His (C)holy mountain.
2 (D)Beautiful in elevation, (E)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (F)city of the great King.
3 In its palaces,
God has made Himself known as a (G)stronghold.
4 For, behold, the (H)kings arrived,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were (I)terrified, they fled in a hurry.
6 [a]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as that of (J)a woman in childbirth.
7 With the (K)east wind
You (L)smash the (M)ships of Tarshish.
8 Just as we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of armies, in the city of our God;
God will (N)establish her forever. Selah
9 We have thought over (O)Your goodness, God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (P)name, God,
So is Your (Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (R)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Mount (S)Zion shall be glad,
The (T)daughters of Judah shall rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk around Zion and encircle her;
Count her (U)towers;
13 Consider her (V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
So that you may (W)tell of her to the next generation.
14 For [b]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (X)lead us [c]until death.
David Mourns Abner
31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “(A)Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. 32 And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at (B)the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And (C)the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said,
“Should Abner die as a fool dies?
34 Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in bronze shackles;
As one falls before the [a]wicked, you have fallen.”
And all the people wept over him again. 35 Then all the people came (D)to provide [b]food for David in his distress while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “(E)May God do so to me, and more so, if I taste bread or anything else (F)before the sun goes down.” 36 Now all the people took note of David’s vow, and it [c]pleased them, just as everything that the king did [d]pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been the desire of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a leader and a great man has fallen in Israel this day?
Discipleship Tested
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, (A)He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 (B)Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but (C)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus *said to him, “(D)Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.