Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

³⁴ Then Samuel went to ^(A)Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at ^(B)Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ And ^(C)Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, though Samuel ^(D)mourned for ^[a]Saul. And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “^(E)How long are you going to mourn for ^[b]Saul, since ^(F)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^(G)Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to ^(H)Jesse the Bethlehemite, because I have ^(I)chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “^(J)Take a heifer ^[c]with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^(K)I will let you know what you shall do; and ^(L)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I ^[d]designate to you.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord told him, and he came to ^(M)Bethlehem. Then the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “^(N)Do you come in peace?” ⁵ And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(O)Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they entered, he looked at ^(P)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is standing before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ^[e]God does not see as man sees, since man looks at ^[f]the outward appearance, ^(Q)but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(R)Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. But he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” ⁹ Next Jesse had ^[g](S)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” ¹⁰ So Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the boys?” And he said, “^(T)The youngest is still left, but behold, he is tending the sheep.” So Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; for we will not take our places at the table until he comes here.”

David Anointed

¹² So he sent word and brought him in. Now he was ^[h]reddish, with ^(U)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “^(V)Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and ^(W)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^(X)the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

Prayer for Victory over Enemies.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

⁶ Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that ^(A)while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— ⁷ for ^(B)we walk by faith, not by ^[a]sight— ⁸ but we are of good courage and ^(C)prefer rather to be absent from the body and ^(D)to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be ^(E)pleasing to Him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before ^(F)the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for ^[b]his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.

¹¹ Therefore, knowing the ^(A)fear of the Lord, we persuade people, but we are well known to God; and I hope that we are also ^(B)well known in your consciences. ¹² We are not commending ourselves to you ^(C)again, but are giving you an ^(D)opportunity to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. ¹³ For if we have ^(E)lost our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.

¹⁴ For the love of Christ ^(A)controls us, having concluded this, that ^(B)one died for all, therefore all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer ^(C)live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.

¹⁶ Therefore from now on we recognize no one ^[a](D)by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is ^(E)in Christ, this person is ^(F)a new ^[b]creation; ^(G)the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Parable of the Seed

²⁶ And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; ²⁷ and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. ²⁸ The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. ²⁹ Now when the crop permits, he immediately ^[a](A)puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30 (B)And He was saying, “How shall we ^[b](C)picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, ³² yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that ^(D)the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.”

³³ And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to ^[c]understand it; ³⁴ and He did not speak to them ^(E)without a parable; but He was ^(F)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.