Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Behold, you have grown old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us—like all the nations.” 6 But the matter was displeasing in Samuel’s eyes when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to Adonai.
7 Then Adonai said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, rather they have rejected Me from being king over them. 8 Like all the deeds that they have done since the day I brought them out of Egypt to this day—forsaking Me and worshiping other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 So now, listen to their voice. However, you must earnestly forewarn them, and declare to them the rulings of the king who will reign over them.”
10 Now Samuel reported all the words of Adonai to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 “This will be the practice of the king that will reign over you,” he said. “He will draft your sons and assign them as his charioteers and horsemen, and they will run before his chariots.
12 He will appoint them as commanders of thousands and captains of fifties, also some to plow his fields, reap his harvest, make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 Also he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks and bakers. 14 He will seize the best of your fields, vineyards and olive groves, and give them to his courtiers. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage and give it to his officials and slaves.
16 He will also take your male and female servants, your best young men and your donkeys and make them do his work. 17 He will also take the tenth of your flocks. Then you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When the day comes and you cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, Adonai will not answer you on that day.”
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel, and they said, “No! But a king should be over us! 20 So we may become like all the nations—having our king who will judge us, go out before us and fight our battles.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and reaffirm the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before Adonai in Gilgal. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before Adonai, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
Your Right Hand Delivers Me
Psalm 138
1 Of David.
I praise You with all my heart.
In the presence of the mighty I will sing praises to You.
2 I bow down toward Your holy Temple
and praise Your Name for Your love and Your faithfulness.
For You—magnified above all Your Name and Your word.
3 On the day I called, You answered me.
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth will praise You, Adonai,
when they hear Your mouth’s speech.
5 So they will sing of the ways of Adonai,
for great is the glory of Adonai.
6 For though Adonai is exalted,
yet He looks upon the lowly,
but the haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I walk amid trouble,
You revive me.
You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand delivers me.
8 Adonai will fulfill His purpose for me.
Your lovingkindness, Adonai, endures forever.
Do not abandon the work of Your hands.
13 But we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, and therefore I spoke.”[a] So we also believe, and therefore we also speak, 14 knowing that the One who raised the Lord Yeshua will raise us also with Yeshua, and will bring us with you into His presence. 15 For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace that is spreading through more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow—to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. [b] 17 For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
Earthly Tents, Eternal Dwellings
5 For we know that if the tent, our earthly home, is torn down, we have a building from God—a home not made with human hands, eternal in the heavens.
Binding the Strong Man
20 Then He comes into a house, and again a crowd gathers so they couldn’t even eat. 21 When His family heard about this, they went out to take hold of Him; for they were saying, “He’s out of His mind!”
22 The Torah scholars who came down from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by beelzebul,” and, “By the ruler of demons He drives out demons.”
23 He called them and began speaking 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 but his end has come.
27 “But no one can enter a strong man’s house to ransack his property, unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will thoroughly plunder his house. 28 Amen, I tell you, all things will be forgiven the sons of men, the sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever slanders[a] the Ruach ha-Kodesh never has release, but is guilty of an eternal sin!” 30 For they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
A Spiritual Family Begins
31 Then His mother and brothers come. Standing outside, they sent word to Him, summoning Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they tell Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.