Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
9 The Lord also will be a (A)refuge[a] for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
10 And those who (B)know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!
(C)Declare His deeds among the people.
12 (D)When He avenges blood, He remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the [b]humble.
13 Have mercy on me, O Lord!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may tell of all Your praise
In the gates of [c]the daughter of Zion.
I will (E)rejoice in Your salvation.
15 (F)The [d]nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.
16 The Lord is (G)known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
(H)Meditation.[e] Selah
A Distressing Spirit Troubles Saul
14 (A)But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and (B)a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will (C)play it with his hand when the [a]distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”
17 So Saul said to his servants, [b]“Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and (D)the Lord is with him.”
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse (E)took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21 So David came to Saul and (F)stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.
Journeys in Greece
20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and (A)departed to go to Macedonia. 2 Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to (B)Greece 3 and stayed three months. And (C)when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also (D)Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and (E)Gaius of Derbe, and (F)Timothy, and (G)Tychicus and (H)Trophimus of Asia. 5 These men, going ahead, waited for us at (I)Troas. 6 But we sailed away from Philippi after (J)the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them (K)at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
Ministering at Troas
7 Now on (L)the first day of the week, when the disciples came together (M)to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps (N)in the upper room where [a]they were gathered together. 9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down, (O)fell on him, and embracing him said, (P)“Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. 12 And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.
From Troas to Miletus
13 Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had [b]given orders, intending himself to go on foot. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for (Q)he was hurrying (R)to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on (S)the Day of Pentecost.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.