Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Song of Praise for Being Kept Safe

21 O Lord, in Your strength the king is glad! How great is his joy in Your saving power! ² You have given him the desire of his heart. You have not kept from him anything that he has asked for. ³ For You meet him with gifts of good things. You set a crown of pure gold on his head. ⁴ He asked You for life and You gave it to him, a long life forever and ever. ⁵ His honor is great because of Your help. You have given him greatness and power. ⁶ You have given him honor and respect forever. And You make him glad with the joy of being with You.

⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord. Because of the loving-kindness of the Most High, he will not be shaken. ⁸ Your hand will find all who fight against You. Your right hand will find those who hate You. ⁹ You will make them like a stove of fire in the time of Your anger. The Lord will eat them up in His anger. And the fire will destroy them. ¹⁰ You will destroy their children from the earth, and their sons from the children of men. ¹¹ For they planned much trouble against You. They have made sinful plans that will come to nothing. ¹² For You will make them turn their backs when You take up Your bow against them. ¹³ Be honored in Your strength, O Lord. We will sing and praise Your power.

David Becomes King over All Israel

5 Then all the families of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “See, we are your bone and your flesh. ² When Saul was our king, you were the one who led Israel out and in. The Lord said to you, ‘You will be the shepherd of My people Israel. You will be a ruler over Israel.’” ³ So all the leaders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. And there King David made an agreement with them before the Lord. Then they chose David to be the king of Israel. ⁴ David was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years. ⁵ He ruled over Judah seven years and six months at Hebron. Then he ruled in Jerusalem thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

David Takes Jerusalem

⁶ Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the people living in the land. They said to David, “You will not come here. Even those who cannot see or walk could stop you.” They thought that David could not come here. ⁷ But David took the strong place of Zion, that is, the city of David. ⁸ David said on that day, “Whoever would kill the Jebusites, let him go up through the hole where the water flows, to those who cannot walk or see and who are hated by David’s soul.” So it is said, “Those who cannot see or walk will not come to the house.” ⁹ David lived in the strong place and called it the city of David. He built all around it from Millo toward the center. ¹⁰ David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of All was with him.

What Paul Suffered as a Missionary

¹⁶ Let me say it again. Do not think of me as a fool. But if you do, then let this foolish man speak a little about himself. ¹⁷ The Lord has not told me to talk about myself. I am foolish when I do talk about myself like this. ¹⁸ Since the other men tell you all about themselves, I will talk about myself also. ¹⁹ You are so wise! You put up with fools! ²⁰ You listen to anyone who tells you what to do or makes money off of you or sets a trap for you. You will listen to anyone who makes himself bigger than you or hits you in the face. ²¹ I am ashamed to say that I am weak! But I do not do as they do. Whatever they say about themselves, I can say about myself also. (I know what I am saying sounds foolish.)

²² Are they Jews? So am I. Are they from the family of Israel? So am I. Are they from the family of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Do they work for Christ? I have worked for Him much more than they have. (I speak as if I am crazy.) I have done much more work. I have been in prison more times. I cannot remember how many times I have been whipped. Many times I have been in danger of death. ²⁴ Five different times the Jews whipped me across my back thirty-nine times. ²⁵ Three times they beat me with sticks. One time they threw stones at me. Three times I was on ships that were wrecked. I spent a day and a night in the water. ²⁶ I have made many hard trips. I have been in danger from high water on rivers. I have been in danger from robbers. I have been in danger from the Jews. I have been in danger from people who do not know God. I have been in danger in cities and in the desert. I have been in danger on the sea. I have been in danger among people who say they belong to Christ but do not. ²⁷ I have worked hard and have been tired and have had pain. I have gone many times without sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty. I have gone without food and clothes. I have been out in the cold. ²⁸ More than all these things that have happened to my body, the care of all the churches is heavy on me. ²⁹ When someone is weak, I feel weak also. When someone is led into sin, I have a strong desire to help him. ³⁰ If I must talk about myself, I will do it about the things that show how weak I am. ³¹ The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is to be honored and thanked forever. He knows I am telling the truth. ³² In the city of Damascus the leader of the people under King Aretas put soldiers at the gates to take me. ³³ But I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and I got away.