Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
9 The Lord defends those who suffer;
he defends them in times of trouble.
10 Those who know the Lord trust him,
because he will not leave those who come to him.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who is king on Mount Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.
12 He remembers who the murderers are;
he will not forget the cries of those who suffer.
13 Lord, have mercy on me.
See how my enemies hurt me.
Do not let me go through the gates of death.
14 Then, at the gates of Jerusalem, I will praise you;
I will rejoice because you saved me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug.
Their feet are caught in the nets they laid.
16 The Lord has made himself known by his fair decisions;
the wicked get trapped by what they do. Higgaion. Selah
17 Wicked people will go to the grave,
and so will all those who forget God.
18 But those who have troubles will not be forgotten.
The hopes of the poor will never die.
19 Lord, rise up and judge the nations.
Don’t let people think they are strong.
20 Teach them to fear you, Lord.
The nations must learn that they are only human. Selah
David Serves Saul
14 But the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
15 Saul’s servants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Give us the command to look for someone who can play the harp. When the evil spirit from God troubles you, he will play, and you will feel better.”
17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find someone who can play well and bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants said, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem play the harp. He is brave and courageous. He is a good speaker and handsome, and the Lord is with him.”
19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse, saying, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 So Jesse loaded a donkey with bread, a leather bag full of wine, and a young goat, and he sent them with his son David to Saul.
21 When David came to Saul, he began to serve him. Saul liked David and made him the officer who carried his armor. 22 Saul sent a message to Jesse, saying, “Let David stay and serve me because I like him.”
23 When the evil spirit from God troubled Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then the evil spirit would leave him, and Saul would feel better.
Paul in Macedonia and Greece
20 When the trouble stopped, Paul sent for the followers to come to him. After he encouraged them and then told them good-bye, he left and went to the country of Macedonia. 2 He said many things to strengthen the followers in the different places on his way through Macedonia. Then he went to Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months. He was ready to sail for Syria, but some evil people were planning something against him. So Paul decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria. 4 The men who went with him were Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from the city of Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from the city of Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus, two men from Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Five days later we met them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
Paul’s Last Visit to Troas
7 On the first day of the week,[a] we all met together to break bread,[b] and Paul spoke to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he kept on talking until midnight. 8 We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lamps in the room. 9 A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window. As Paul continued talking, Eutychus was falling into a deep sleep. Finally, he went sound asleep and fell to the ground from the third floor. When they picked him up, he was dead. 10 Paul went down to Eutychus, knelt down, and put his arms around him. He said, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” 11 Then Paul went upstairs again, broke bread, and ate. He spoke to them a long time, until it was early morning, and then he left. 12 They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
The Trip from Troas to Miletus
13 We went on ahead of Paul and sailed for the city of Assos, where he wanted to join us on the ship. Paul planned it this way because he wanted to go to Assos by land. 14 When he met us there, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. 15 We sailed from Mitylene and the next day came to a place near Kios. The following day we sailed to Samos, and the next day we reached Miletus. 16 Paul had already decided not to stop at Ephesus, because he did not want to stay too long in Asia. He was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, if that were possible.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.