Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Holy Box Is Moved to Jerusalem
6 David again gathered all the best soldiers in Israel. There were 30,000 men. 2 Then David and all his men went to Baalah in Judah[a] to take God’s Holy Box there. The Holy Box is like God’s throne—people go there to call on the name of the Lord All-Powerful who sits as king above the Cherub angels that are on that Box. 3 David’s men brought the Holy Box out of Abinadab’s house on the hill. Then they put God’s Holy Box on a new wagon. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were driving the new wagon.
4 So they carried the Holy Box out of Abinadab’s house on the hill. The sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio, drove the new wagon. Ahio was walking in front of the Holy Box. 5 David and all the Israelites were dancing in front of the Lord and playing all kinds of musical instruments. There were lyres, harps, drums, rattles, instruments made from cypress wood, and cymbals.
12 Later people told David, “The Lord has blessed the family of Obed Edom and everything he owns, because God’s Holy Box is there.” So David went and brought God’s Holy Box from Obed Edom’s house. David was very happy and excited. 13 When the men who carried the Lord’s Holy Box had walked six steps, they stopped and David sacrificed a bull and a fat calf. 14 David was dancing in front of the Lord. He was wearing a linen ephod.
15 David and all the Israelites were excited—they shouted and blew the trumpet as they brought the Lord’s Holy Box into the city. 16 Saul’s daughter Michal was looking out the window. While the Lord’s Holy Box was being carried into the city, David was jumping and dancing before the Lord. Michal saw this, and she was upset at David.
17 David put up a tent for the Holy Box. The Israelites put the Lord’s Holy Box in its place under the tent. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.
18 After David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. 19 He also gave a share of bread, a raisin cake, and some date bread to every man and woman of Israel. Then all the people went home.
A song of David.
24 The earth and everything on it belong to the Lord.
The world and all its people belong to him.
2 He built the earth on the water.
He built it over the rivers.
3 Who can go up on the Lord’s mountain[a]?
Who can stand in his holy Temple?
4 Only those who have not done evil,
who have pure hearts,
who have not used my name[b] to hide their lies,
and who have not made false promises.
5 Good people ask the Lord to bless others.
They ask God, their Savior, to do good things.
6 They try to follow God.
They go to the God of Jacob for help. Selah
7 Gates, proudly lift your heads!
Open, ancient doors,
and the glorious King will come in.
8 Who is the glorious King?
He is the Lord, the powerful soldier.
He is the Lord, the war hero.
9 Gates, proudly lift your heads!
Open, ancient doors,
and the glorious King will come in.
10 Who is the glorious King?
The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King. Selah
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it. 6 And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely. He gave us that grace in Christ, the one he loves.
7 In Christ we are made free by his blood sacrifice. We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace. 8 God gave us that grace fully and freely. With full wisdom and understanding 9 he let us know his secret plan. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ. 10 God’s goal was to finish his plan when the right time came. He planned that all things in heaven and on earth be joined together with Christ as the head.
11 In Christ we were chosen to be God’s people. God had already planned for us to be his people, because that is what he wanted. And he is the one who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants. 12 We Jews were the first to hope in Christ. And we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God in all his glory. 13 It is the same with you. You heard the true message, the Good News about the way God saves you. When you heard that Good News, you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he promised. 14 The Spirit is the first payment that guarantees we will get all that God has for us. Then we will enjoy complete freedom as people who belong to him. The goal for all of us is the praise of God in all his glory.
Herod Thinks Jesus Is John the Baptizer(A)
14 King Herod heard about Jesus, because Jesus was now famous. Some people said, “He is John the Baptizer. He must have risen from death, and that is why he can do these miracles.”
15 Other people said, “He is Elijah.”
And others said, “He is a prophet. He is like the prophets who lived long ago.”
16 Herod heard these things about Jesus. He said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has been raised from death!”
How John the Baptizer Was Killed
17 Herod himself had ordered his soldiers to arrest John and put him in prison. Herod did this to please his wife Herodias. She had been married to Herod’s brother Philip, but then Herod married her. 18 John told Herod, “It is not right for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias hated John. She wanted him dead, but she was not able to persuade Herod to kill him. 20 Herod was afraid to kill John, because he knew that he was a good and holy man. So he protected him. He liked listening to John, although what John said left him with so many questions.
21 Then the right time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. It happened on Herod’s birthday. Herod gave a dinner party for the most important government leaders, the commanders of his army, and the most important people in Galilee. 22 The daughter of Herodias came to the party and danced. When she danced, Herod and the people eating with him were very pleased.
So King Herod said to the girl, “I will give you anything you want.” 23 He promised her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you—even half of my kingdom.”
24 The girl went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask King Herod to give me?”
Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”
25 So right then the girl went back in to the king. She said to him, “Please give me the head of John the Baptizer. Bring it to me now on a plate.”
26 King Herod was very sad, but he didn’t want to break the promise he had made to her in front of his guests. 27 So he sent a soldier to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier went and cut off John’s head in the prison. 28 He brought the head back on a plate and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 John’s followers heard about what happened, so they came and got John’s body and put it in a tomb.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International