Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David written when he escaped from Saul and went into the cave.
57 God, be merciful to me.
Be kind because my soul trusts in you.
I have come to you for protection,
while the trouble passes.
2 I pray to God Most High for help,
and he takes care of me completely!
3 From heaven he helps me and saves me.
He will punish the one who attacks me. Selah
God will remain loyal to me
and send his love to protect me.
4 My life is in danger.
My enemies are all around me.
They are like man-eating lions,
with teeth like spears or arrows
and tongues like sharp swords.
5 God, rise above the heavens!
Let all the world see your glory.
6 My enemies set a trap for my feet
to bring me down.
They dug a deep pit to catch me,
but they fell into it. Selah
7 God, I am ready, heart and soul,
to sing songs of praise.
8 Wake up, my soul!
Harps and lyres, wake up,
and let’s wake the dawn!
9 My Lord, I will praise you before all people.
I will sing praises about you to every nation.
10 Your faithful love is higher
than the highest clouds in the sky!
11 Rise above the heavens, God.
Let all the world see your glory.
Joab Sends the News to David
19 Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said to Joab, “May I run and take the news to King David? I’ll tell him the Lord has destroyed the enemy for him.”
20 Joab answered Ahimaaz, “No, you will not carry the message today. You can do it some other time, but not today because it is the king’s son who is dead.”
21 Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.”
So the Ethiopian bowed to Joab and ran to tell David.
22 But Ahimaaz son of Zadok begged Joab again, “No matter what happens, please let me also run after the Ethiopian!”
Joab said, “Son, why do you want to carry the news? You will not get any reward for the news you bring.”
23 Ahimaaz answered, “No matter what happens, I will run to David.”
Joab said to Ahimaaz, “All right, run to David!”
Then Ahimaaz ran through Jordan Valley and passed the Ethiopian.
David Hears the News
24 David was sitting between the two gates of the city. The watchman went up to the roof over the gate walls and saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman shouted to tell King David.
King David said, “If the man is alone, he is bringing news.”
The man came closer and closer to the city. 26 But then the watchman saw another man running. He called to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone.”
The king said, “He is also bringing news.”
27 The watchman said, “I think the first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.”
The king said, “Ahimaaz is a good man, he must be bringing good news.”
28 Ahimaaz called to the king, “All is well!” Ahimaaz bowed with his face to the ground in front of the king and said, “Praise the Lord your God! The Lord has defeated the men who were against you, my lord and king.”
29 The king asked, “Is young Absalom all right?”
Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent me, I saw some great excitement, but I don’t know what it was.”
30 Then the king said, “Step over here and wait.” Ahimaaz went there and stood waiting.
31 The Ethiopian arrived and said, “News for my lord and king. Today the Lord has punished all those who were against you!”
32 The king asked the Ethiopian, “Is young Absalom all right?”
The Ethiopian answered, “May your enemies, or whoever tries to hurt you, suffer the same as this young man did.”
33 So the king knew Absalom was dead and he became very upset. He went upstairs to the room over the gate, crying, “O my son Absalom! My son Absalom, I wish I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
14 Dear friends, we are waiting for this to happen. So try as hard as you can to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God. 15 Remember that we are saved because our Lord is patient. Our dear brother Paul told you that same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 That’s what he says in all his letters when he writes about these things. There are parts of his letters that are hard to understand, and some people give a wrong meaning to them. These people are ignorant and weak in faith. They also give wrong meanings to the other Scriptures. But they are destroying themselves by doing that.
17 Dear friends, you already know about this. So be careful. Don’t let these evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful that you do not fall from your strong faith. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him, now and forever! Amen.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International