Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 57[a]
Confident Prayer for Deliverance
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[b] A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave.(A)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
have mercy on me.
In you I seek refuge.
In the shadow of your wings[c] I seek refuge
till harm pass by.(B)
3 I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
4 May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and mercy.
Selah
5 I must lie down in the midst of lions
hungry for human prey.(C)
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongue, a sharpened sword.(D)
6 Be exalted over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.(E)
II
7 They have set a trap for my feet;
my soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me.
May they fall into it themselves!(F)
Selah
8 My heart is steadfast, God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant praise.(G)
9 Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.[d](H)
10 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(I)
11 For your mercy towers to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.(J)
12 Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
Chapter 19
1 The king was shaken, and went up to the room over the city gate and wept. He said as he wept, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”
Joab Reproves David. 2 Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom,” 3 and that day’s victory was turned into mourning for the whole army when they heard, “The king is grieving for his son.” 4 The soldiers stole into the city that day like men shamed by flight in battle. 5 Meanwhile the king covered his face and cried out in a loud voice, “My son Absalom! Absalom! My son, my son!”(A) 6 So Joab went to the king’s residence and said: “Though they saved your life and your sons’ and daughters’ lives, and the lives of your wives and your concubines, you have put all your servants to shame today 7 by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. For you have announced today that officers and servants are nothing to you. Indeed I am now certain that if Absalom were alive today and all of us dead, that would be fine with you. 8 Now then, get up! Go out and speak kindly to your servants. I swear by the Lord that if you do not go out, not a single man will remain with you overnight, and this will be a far greater disaster for you than any that has come upon you from your youth until now.” 9 So the king got up and sat at the gate. When all the people were told, “The king is sitting at the gate,” they came into his presence.
The Reconciliation. Now the Israelites had fled to their separate tents, 10 but throughout the tribes of Israel all the people were arguing among themselves, saying to one another: “The king delivered us from the grasp of our enemies, and it was he who rescued us from the grasp of the Philistines. Now, he has fled the country before Absalom, 11 but Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Why, then, should you remain silent about restoring the king to his palace?” When the talk of all Israel reached the king, 12 David sent word to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Say to the elders of Judah: ‘Why should you be last to restore the king to his palace? 13 You are my brothers, you are my bone and flesh. Why should you be last to restore the king?’ 14 Also say to Amasa: ‘Are you not my bone and flesh? May God do thus to me, and more, if you do not become commander of my army permanently in place of Joab.’”(B) 15 He won the hearts of the Judahites all together, and so they sent a message to the king: “Return, with all your servants.”
David and Shimei. 16 So the king returned, and when he reached the Jordan, Judah had come to Gilgal to meet him and to bring him across the Jordan. 17 Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the Judahites to meet King David,(C) 18 accompanied by a thousand men from Benjamin. Ziba, too, the servant of the house of Saul, accompanied by his fifteen sons and twenty servants, hastened to the Jordan before the king.(D)
35 [a]Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.(A) 36 But I told you that although you have seen [me], you do not believe.(B) 37 Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, 38 because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.(C) 39 And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day.(D) 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day.”(E)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.