Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 I have found David My servant;
I have anointed him with My sacred oil.(A)
21 My hand will always be with him,
and My arm will strengthen him.(B)
22 The enemy will not afflict[a] him;
no wicked man will oppress him.(C)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike those who hate him.(D)
24 My faithfulness and love will be with him,
and through My name
his horn will be exalted.(E)
25 I will extend his power to the sea
and his right hand to the rivers.(F)
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,(G)
my God, the rock of my salvation.’(H)
27 I will also make him My firstborn,
greatest of the kings of the earth.(I)
28 I will always preserve My faithful love for him,
and My covenant with him will endure.(J)
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as heaven lasts.[b](K)
30 If his sons forsake My instruction
and do not live by My ordinances,(L)
31 if they dishonor My statutes
and do not keep My commands,(M)
32 then I will call their rebellion
to account with the rod,
their sin with blows.(N)
33 But I will not withdraw
My faithful love from him
or betray My faithfulness.(O)
34 I will not violate My covenant
or change what My lips have said.(P)
35 Once and for all
I have sworn an oath by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.(Q)
36 His offspring will continue forever,
his throne like the sun before Me,(R)
37 like the moon, established forever,
a faithful witness in the sky.”(S)
15 Three of the 30 chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam,(A) while the Philistine army was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.(B) 16 At that time David was in the stronghold,(C) and a Philistine garrison(D) was at Bethlehem. 17 David was extremely thirsty[a] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord. 19 David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.
The Centrality of Christ
15 He is the image of the invisible God,(A)
the firstborn over all creation.[a](B)
16 For everything was created by Him,(C)
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.(D)
17 He is before all things,(E)
and by Him all things(F) hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning,(G)
the firstborn from the dead,(H)
so that He might come to have
first place in everything.
19 For God was pleased to have
all His fullness(I) dwell in Him,(J)
20 and through Him to reconcile
everything to Himself
by making peace(K)
through the blood(L) of His cross[b](M)—
whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. 22 But now He has reconciled you by His physical body[c] through His death,(N) to present you holy, faultless,(O) and blameless before Him(P)— 23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith(Q) and are not shifted away from the hope(R) of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation(S) under heaven,(T) and I, Paul,(U) have become a servant of it.
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