Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 57
Praise and Assurance under Persecution
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
1 Be merciful to me, O God; be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
until the destroying storms pass by.(A)
2 I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.(B)
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.(C)
4 I lie down among lions
that greedily devour[a] human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.(D)
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(E)
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah(F)
7 My heart is steadfast, O God;
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.(G)
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.(H)
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(I)
10 For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the clouds.(J)
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(K)
19 It was told Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.”(A) 2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops, for the troops heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” 3 The troops stole into the city that day as soldiers steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. 4 The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”(B) 5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your officers who have saved your life today, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines, 6 for love of those who hate you and for hatred of those who love you. You have made it clear today that commanders and officers are nothing to you, for I perceive that, if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. 7 So go out at once and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your youth until now.” 8 Then the king got up and took his seat in the gate. The troops were all told, “See, the king is sitting in the gate,” and all the troops came before the king.
David Recalled to Jerusalem
Meanwhile, all the Israelites had fled to their homes.(C) 9 All the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the land because of Absalom.(D) 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”
11 King David sent this message to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house? The talk of all Israel has come to the king.[a] 12 You are my kin; you are my bone and my flesh; why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’(E) 13 And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? So may God do to me and more, if you are not the commander of my army from now on, in place of Joab.’ ”(F) 14 Amasa[b] swayed the hearts of all the people of Judah as one, and they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.”(G) 15 So the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring him over the Jordan.(H)
16 Shimei son of Gera, a Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the people of Judah to meet King David;(I) 17 with him were a thousand people from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king(J) 18 while the crossing was taking place,[c] to bring over the king’s household and to do his pleasure.
David’s Mercy to Shimei
Shimei son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.(A) 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.(B) 37 Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away,(C) 38 for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.(D) 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day.(E) 40 This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.”(F)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.