Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David wrote this song.
God, please help me
35 Lord, please attack those people who are attacking me.
Fight against those people who are fighting against me.
2 Yes, pick up your shield
and put on your armour!
Prepare to fight and give me help!
3 Take your spears and throw them,
to stop the people who are chasing me.
Say to me, ‘I will make you safe.’
4 Cause the people who want to kill me
to become ashamed.
Chase away the people who want to hurt me,
so that they become confused.
5 Make them become like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Send the angel of the Lord
to chase them away.
6 Make their way dark and dangerous,
as the angel of the Lord chases after them.
7 They hid a trap to catch me.
There was no reason for them to do that.
They even dug a deep hole for me to fall into.
8 Surprise my enemies and destroy them!
Let their own traps catch them!
Let them fall to their own death!
9 Then I will be happy
because of what the Lord has done.
I will be happy
because he has made me safe.
10 I will shout with all my strength,
‘Lord, who is like you?
When strong people try to hurt weak people,
you are the one who keeps the weak people safe.
You also keep poor people safe
when robbers try to take things from them.’
22 God was angry because Balaam went with the men. The angel of the Lord stood on the road to stop Balaam. Balaam was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. 23 The angel of the Lord was holding a sword. When the donkey saw the angel, it tried to leave the road and go into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to make it go back to the road.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood on the road between two vineyards. The path was narrow there, with a wall on each side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pushed against the wall. Balaam's foot became fixed between the donkey and the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.
26 Then the angel of the Lord moved on. He stood in a very narrow place where there was no space to turn round. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord it lay down on the ground. Balaam was still sitting on the donkey and he became very angry. He hit the donkey with his stick. 28 Then the Lord caused the donkey to speak. It said, ‘What have I done to hurt you? Why have you hit me three times like that?’
32 I do not want you to worry about troubles. A man who has not married wants to serve the Lord. He wants to live in a way that makes the Lord happy. 33 But a man who has married thinks a lot about this world's things. He wants to live in a way that makes his wife happy. 34 As a result, he thinks in two opposite ways.
It is the same for a woman who has no husband, or a young girl who has not married. She wants to serve the Lord very well. She wants to be completely pure, both in her body and in her spirit. But a woman who has a husband has to think about this world's things. She wants to live in a way that makes her husband happy.
35 I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not making rules that you have to obey. Instead, I want you to live in a right way. I do not want you to worry about troubles. Then you will be able to serve the Lord very well.
36 Perhaps a man has agreed to marry a young woman. They may have decided to wait before they marry. But, as they grow older, the man may think differently. He may think that he needs to marry her. Then, he should do what he wants to do. It is good for them to marry. It is not wrong. 37 But another man may not change his thoughts. He may be sure that he does not need to marry his young woman. If he decides not to marry her, he is doing the right thing. 38 So the man who marries his young woman is doing a good thing. But the man who does not marry is doing a better thing.
39 If a woman has married, she may not leave her husband while he still lives. But if he dies, then she is free to marry again. She may marry any man that she wants to. But he must be someone who belongs to the Lord. 40 I do think that she would be happier if she remains without a husband. That is what I think, and God's Spirit also helps me with this.
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