Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God,
protect me from those who rise up against me,
2 deliver me from those who work evil,
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 For lo, they lie in wait for my life;
fierce men band themselves against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Rouse thyself, come to my help, and see!
5 Thou, Lord God of hosts, art God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.Selah
6 Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
and snarling with[a] their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
8 But thou, O Lord, dost laugh at them;
thou dost hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee;[b]
for thou, O God, art my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter by thy power, and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield!
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies which they utter,
13 consume them in wrath,
consume them till they are no more,
that men may know that God rules over Jacob
to the ends of the earth.Selah
14 Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15 They roam about for food,
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of thy might;
I will sing aloud of thy steadfast love in the morning.
For thou hast been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee,
for thou, O God, art my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
Joram of Israel Killed
14 Thus Jehu the son of Jehosh′aphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ra′moth-gil′ead against Haz′ael king of Syria; 15 but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezre′el of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Haz′ael king of Syria.) So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezre′el.” 16 Then Jehu mounted his chariot, and went to Jezre′el, for Joram lay there. And Ahazi′ah king of Judah had come down to visit Joram.
17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezre′el, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” 18 So a man on horseback went to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Turn round and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them, and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn round and ride behind me.” 20 Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.”
21 Joram said, “Make ready.” And they made ready his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahazi′ah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him at the property of Naboth the Jezre′elite. 22 And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the harlotries and the sorceries of your mother Jez′ebel are so many?” 23 Then Joram reined about and fled, saying to Ahazi′ah, “Treachery, O Ahazi′ah!” 24 And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank in his chariot.[a] 25 Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, “Take him up, and cast him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezre′elite; for remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how the Lord uttered this oracle against him: 26 ‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—says the Lord—I will requite you on this plot of ground.’ Now therefore take him up and cast him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
One in Christ
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall[a] of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.