Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer for Help

57 Show me loving-kindness, O God, show me loving-kindness. For my soul goes to You to be safe. And I will be safe in the shadow of Your wings until the trouble has passed. ² I will cry to God Most High, to God Who finishes all things for me. ³ He will send from heaven and save me. He will put to shame him who is breaking me under his feet. God will send His loving-kindness and His truth.

⁴ My soul is among lions. I must lie among the sons of men who breathe fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongues are a sharp sword. ⁵ Be lifted up above the heavens, O God. Let Your shining-greatness be above all the earth. ⁶ They have set a net for my steps. My soul is brought down. They dug a deep hole in front of me. But they themselves have fallen into it.

⁷ My heart will not be moved, O God. My heart cannot be moved. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! ⁸ Awake, my shining-greatness. Awake, harps. I will awake early in the morning. ⁹ O Lord, I will give thanks to You among the people. I will sing praises to You among the nations. ¹⁰ For Your loving-kindness is great to the heavens, and Your truth to the clouds. ¹¹ Be lifted up above the heavens, O God. Let Your shining-greatness be above all the earth.

David Hears of Absalom’s Death

¹⁹ Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run and bring the king news that the Lord has saved him from those who hate him.” ²⁰ But Joab said to him, “You must not carry news today, but another time. Today you should carry no news, because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran. ²² Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said to Joab, “Whatever happens, let me run after the Cushite.” Joab said, “Why would you run, my son? You would receive no reward for going.” ²³ But Ahimaaz said, “Whatever happens, I will run.” So Joab said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and passed the Cushite.

²⁴ David was sitting between the two gates. The man who kept watch went up to the roof of the gate by the wall. He looked up and saw a man running by himself. ²⁵ The man who kept watch called and told the king. The king said, “If he is by himself, he has good news.” And he came nearer and nearer. ²⁶ Then the man who kept watch saw another man running. He called to the gate-keeper and said, “See, another man is running by himself.” The king said, “This one is bringing good news also.” ²⁷ And the man who kept watch said, “I think the man in front runs like Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good news.”

²⁸ Ahimaaz called and said to the king, “All is well.” He put his face to the ground in front of the king, and said, “Thanks be to the Lord your God. He has given up the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.” ²⁹ The king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, your servant, I heard noise and saw much fighting. But I did not know what it was.” ³⁰ Then the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still. ³¹ Then the Cushite came and said, “Let my lord the king receive good news. For the Lord has saved you today from all those who came against you.” ³² The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “May those who hate my lord the king, all those who come to do bad things against you, be as that young man!” ³³ The king filled with much sorrow. He went up to the room above the gate and cried. As he walked he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

¹⁴ Dear friends, since you are waiting for these things to happen, do all you can to be found by Him in peace. Be clean and free from sin. ¹⁵ You can be sure the long waiting of our Lord is part of His plan to save men from the punishment of sin. God gave our dear brother Paul the wisdom to write about this also. ¹⁶ He wrote about these things in all of his writings. Some of these things are hard to understand. People who do not have much understanding and some who are not strong in the faith change the meaning of his letters. They do this to the other parts of the Holy Writings also. They are destroying themselves as they do this.

¹⁷ And so, dear friends, now that you know this, watch so you will not be led away by the mistakes of these sinful people. Do not be moved by them. ¹⁸ Grow in the loving-favor that Christ gives you. Learn to know our Lord Jesus Christ better. He is the One Who saves. May He have all the shining-greatness now and forever. Let it be so.