Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 I have found my servant David;
I ·appointed him by pouring [L have anointed him with] holy oil on him [1 Sam. 16:1–13].
21 I will steady him with my hand
and strengthen him with my arm.
22 No enemy will ·make him give forced payments [make him pay tribute; or prevail over/or outwit him],
and wicked people will not ·defeat [afflict; humble] him.
23 I will ·crush [pound] his enemies in front of him;
I will ·defeat [strike down] those who hate him.
24 My ·loyalty [faithfulness] and ·love [loyalty] will be with him.
Through ·me [L my name] ·he will be strong [L his horn will be raised up; v. 17].
25 I will ·give him power [L set his hand] over the sea
·and control [L his right hand] over the rivers [C the waters represent chaos].
26 He will ·say [proclaim] to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my ·Savior [Victor].’
27 I will make him my firstborn son,
the ·greatest [highest] king on earth [2:7; 2 Sam. 7:14].
28 My ·love [loyalty] will ·watch over [keep; guard] him forever,
and my ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with him will ·never end [be faithful].
29 I will ·make his family continue [L set his seed forever],
and his ·kingdom [L throne] ·will last as long as the skies [L like the days of the skies/heavens].
30 “If his descendants ·reject [leave; abandon] my ·teachings [instructions; laws]
and do not ·follow [L walk in] my ·laws [judgments],
31 if they ·ignore [profane] my ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements]
and ·disobey [L do not keep/guard] my commands,
32 then I will punish their ·sins [transgressions] with a rod
and their ·wrongs [guilt] with ·a whip [lashes].
33 But I will not ·hold back [break; invalidate] my ·love [loyalty] from ·David [L him],
nor will I ·stop being loyal [L deal falsely with my faithfulness].
34 I will not ·break [profane; violate] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
nor ·change [alter] what ·I have said [L came out of my lips].
35 Once and for all I have ·promised [sworn] by my holiness,
I will not lie to David.
36 His ·family [L seed] will go on forever.
His ·kingdom [L throne] will last before me like the sun.
37 It will ·continue [be established] forever, like the moon,
like a ·dependable [reliable; faithful] witness in the sky.” ·
15 Once, three of the Thirty, David’s chief soldiers, came down to him at the ·rock [cliff face] by the cave near Adullam. At the same time the Philistine army had camped in the Valley of Rephaim.
16 At that time David was in a stronghold, and ·some of the Philistines [a Philistine detachment/garrison] were in Bethlehem. 17 David had a ·strong desire [craving; longing] for some water. He said, “Oh, I wish someone would get me water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three broke through the Philistine ·army [camp; lines] and took water from the well near the city gate in Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out ·before [as an offering to] the Lord, 19 saying, “·May God keep me from drinking [God forbid that I drink] this water! ·It would be like drinking [L Should I drink…?] the blood of the men who risked their lives to bring it to me!” So David refused to drink it.
These were the ·brave things [kind of things] that the three warriors did.
The Importance of Christ
15 The Son [L …who] is ·the image of [exactly like; the visible representation of] the invisible God [John 1:18; Heb. 1:3]. He ·ranks higher than [L is the firstborn of/over] ·everything that has been made [all creation; Prov. 8:22–30]. 16 ·Through his power [L In him; or By him] all things were created [John 1:3; Heb. 1:2]—things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all ·powers [or heavenly authorities; L thrones], ·authorities [dominions; kingdoms], ·lords [rulers], and ·rulers [authorities; C these four may refer to angelic hierarchies, or to earthly and heavenly rulers]. All things were created through Christ and for Christ. 17 He ·was there before anything was made [L is before all things], and all things ·continue [endure; or hold together; unite] ·because of [or in] him. 18 He is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning [C meaning (1) the source of the church; (2) the creator of all things; or (3) the beginning/initiator of the end-time resurrection]. He is the ·first one who was raised [L firstborn] from the dead. So in all things Jesus has ·first place [supremacy]. 19 God was pleased for all ·of himself [that he is; L of his fullness] to live in ·Christ [or the Son; L him]. 20 And through ·Christ [L him], God has ·brought all things back to himself again [L reconciled all things to himself]—things on earth and things in heaven. ·God made [L …by making] peace through the blood of ·Christ’s death on the cross [L his cross].
21 At one time you were ·separated [alienated; estranged] from God. You were his enemies in your minds, ·and the evil things you did were against God [or because of your evil deeds]. 22 But now God has ·made you his friends again [reconciled you] through Christ’s death in ·the body [his physical body; L the body of his flesh], so that he might bring you into God’s presence as people who are holy, ·with no wrong [without blemish; C as were sacrificial animals], and ·with nothing of which God can judge you guilty [blameless; innocent; free of accusation]. 23 This will happen if you continue ·strong [grounded; established] and ·sure [firm; steadfast] in your faith. You must not ·be moved [shift; drift] away from the hope ·brought to you by [or found in; L of] the ·Good News [the Gospel] that you heard. That same ·Good News [Gospel] has been ·told [preached; proclaimed] to ·everyone [L every creature; or in all creation] ·in the world [L under heaven], and I, Paul, ·help in preaching [L am a servant/minister of] it.
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