Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
4 Therefore all the elders of Israel assembled and went to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, like all the nations, to rule us.”(A)
6 Samuel was displeased when they said, “Give us a king to rule us.” But he prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said: Listen to whatever the people say. You are not the one they are rejecting. They are rejecting me as their king.(B) 8 They are acting toward you just as they have acted from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this very day, deserting me to serve other gods. 9 Now listen to them; but at the same time, give them a solemn warning and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them.
The Governance of the King. 10 Samuel delivered the message of the Lord in full to those who were asking him for a king. 11 He told them: “The governance of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot.(C)
12 He will appoint from among them his commanders of thousands and of hundreds. He will make them do his plowing and harvesting and produce his weapons of war and chariotry.(A) 13 He will use your daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his servants.(B) 15 He will tithe your crops and grape harvests to give to his officials[a] and his servants.(C)
16 He will take your male and female slaves, as well as your best oxen and donkeys, and use them to do his work. 17 He will also tithe your flocks. As for you, you will become his slaves.(A) 18 On that day you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.”
Persistent Demand. 19 The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, “No! There must be a king over us.(B) 20 We too must be like all the nations, with a king to rule us, lead us in warfare, and fight our battles.”
14 Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal to renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king in the Lord’s presence. They also sacrificed communion offerings there before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
Psalm 138[a]
Hymn of a Grateful Heart
1 Of David.
I
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;(A)
in the presence of the angels[b] to you I sing.
2 I bow low toward your holy temple;
I praise your name for your mercy and faithfulness.
For you have exalted over all
your name and your promise.
3 On the day I cried out, you answered;
you strengthened my spirit.
II
4 All the kings of earth will praise you, Lord,
when they hear the words of your mouth.
5 They will sing of the ways of the Lord:
“How great is the glory of the Lord!”
6 The Lord is on high, but cares for the lowly(B)
and knows the proud from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of dangers,
you guard my life when my enemies rage.
You stretch out your hand;
your right hand saves me.
8 The Lord is with me to the end.
Lord, your mercy endures forever.
Never forsake the work of your hands!
13 [a]Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak,(A) 14 knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence.(B) 15 Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.(C)
16 [b]Therefore, we are not discouraged;[c] rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.(D) 17 For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,(E) 18 as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.(F)
Chapter 5
Our Future Destiny. 1 (G)For we know that if our earthly dwelling,[d] a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
Blasphemy of the Scribes. 20 [a]He came home.[b] Again [the] crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.(A) 21 When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”(B) 22 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”[c] and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”(C)
Jesus and Beelzebul. 23 Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. 28 Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.(D) 29 But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit[d] will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” 30 For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus and His Family. 31 (E)His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers[e] [and your sisters] are outside asking for you.” 33 But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and [my] brothers?” 34 And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 35 [For] whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
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.