Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 29
A Psalm of David.
1 Give to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
give to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Give to the Lord the glory of His name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders;
the Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord sounds with strength;
the voice of the Lord—with majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes them skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes
like flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to give birth,
and strips the forests bare;
and in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood,
the Lord sits as King forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to His people;
the Lord will bless His people with peace.
God Calls Samuel
3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no vision coming forth.
2 At that time, Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow weak that he could not see), 3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called to me.”
And he said, “I did not call. Return, lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
6 The Lord called Samuel again. So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
And he answered, “I did not call, my son. Return, lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord been revealed to him.
8 The Lord again called Samuel a third time. So he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling to the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. And it will be, if He calls you, that you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant listens.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and stood, and He called as at other times, “Samuel, Samuel.”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant listens.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am doing something in Israel which will make both ears ring of every one that hears it. 12 In that day I will bring about against Eli everything which I have spoken with regard to his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I will judge his house forever, for the guilt which he knew, because his sons are cursed, and he did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for with sacrifice nor offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Now Samuel feared to report the vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, “Samuel, my son.”
And he answered, “Here I am.”
17 He said, “What is the thing that the Lord has spoken to you? Do not hide it from me. Thus may God do so to you, and more also, if you hide from me a word out of all the things that He spoke to you.” 18 Samuel told him everything, and did not hide from him a thing. And he said, “It is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His eyes.”
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and did not let any of his words fall to the ground. 20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was proven to be a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
10 A disciple named Ananias was in Damascus. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
He said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Rise and go to Straight Street, and inquire at Judas’ house for someone named Saul of Tarsus, for he is praying, 12 and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he may see again.”
13 Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go your way. For this man is a chosen vessel of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the sons of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
17 Then Ananias went his way and entered the house. Putting his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the way as you came, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. And he rose up and was baptized. 19 When he had eaten, he was strengthened.
Saul Preaches in Damascus
For several days Saul was with the disciples in Damascus.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.