Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
SAMECH ס
113 I hate double-minded ones,
but Your Torah I love.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield
—in Your word I hope.
115 Away from me, evildoers,
so I may keep the mitzvot of my God!
116 Sustain me according to Your word, so I may live,
and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 Support me and I will be saved,
and study Your decrees continually.
118 You despise all who wander from Your decrees,
for their deceitfulness is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth You remove like dross.
Therefore I love Your testimonies.
120 My flesh shudders for fear of You,
and I am in awe of Your judgments.
AYIN ע
121 I did what is just and right.
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee Your servant’s well-being.
Do not let arrogant ones oppress me.
123 My eyes fail, longing for Your salvation
and for Your righteous word.
124 Deal with Your servant as befits Your lovingkindness,
and teach me Your statutes.
125 I am Your servant, give me discernment,
so I may understand Your testimonies.
126 It is time for Adonai to act—
they have violated Your Torah!
127 Therefore I love Your mitzvot
more than gold, more than pure gold.
128 Therefore I esteem all Your precepts as right in every way
—every false way I hate.
6 Upon their coming back, upon David’s return from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing in circles to greet King Saul, with timbrels, with joy and with three-stringed instruments. 7 So the women sang one to another, as they were dancing saying,
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”
8 Then Saul became very angry—this saying was evil in his eyes—and he commented, “They’ve ascribed to David ten thousands and to me they’ve ascribed thousands. Now what more does he lack but the kingdom?” 9 So Saul eyed David from that day on.
10 It came about the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, so that he was raving within the palace. While David was playing music with his hand, as he did day by day, Saul had his spear in his hand, 11 and Saul hurled the spear, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall!” But David eluded him—twice.
12 Now Saul became afraid of David, because Adonai was with him but had departed from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from his entourage by appointing him as a captain of a thousand. So David went out and came in before the troops. 14 David had success in all his undertakings, since Adonai was with him. 15 When Saul saw that he had great success, he dreaded him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab—I give her to you as a wife. Only continue to be my son of valor and fight Adonai’s battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand needn’t be against him—let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
18 But David replied to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 19 But when it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David in marriage, she was given as wife to Adriel the Meholathite instead.
Michal’s Love for David
20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. When they told Saul, the matter pleased him. 21 Saul thought, “I will give her to him, so that she may become a snare to him—and the hand of the Philistines will be against him.” So Saul said to David, “You can still become my son-in-law, even today, with the second one.”
22 Then Saul commanded his courtiers, “Speak with David privately and say, ‘Behold, the king delights in you and all his courtiers love you. So now, become the king’s son-in-law!’” 23 So Saul’s courtiers whispered these words in David’s ears.
But David said, “Is it a light thing to you becoming the king’s son-in-law, considering that I am a poor man and of little account?” 24 Saul’s courtiers reported back to him what David had said.
25 Then Saul said, “Thus you will say to David, ‘The king desires no bridal dowry except 100 foreskins of the Philistines—to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” So Saul schemed to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
26 When his courtiers told David these words, the word seemed right in David’s eyes to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the days were fulfilled, 27 David had risen, gone with his men and killed 200 Philistine men. Then David brought their foreskins and gave them in full number to the king—to become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. 28 When Saul saw and realized that Adonai was with David and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 Saul grew even more afraid of David. Thus Saul became David’s enemy for all days.
30 When the chiefs of the Philistines marched out, as often as they came out, David proved more successful than all of Saul’s officers. So his name became highly esteemed.
Storm and Shipwreck
13 When the south wind blew gently, supposing they had obtained their purpose, they raised the anchor and started coasting along the shore by Crete. 14 But before long, a hurricane-force wind called “the Northeaster” swept down from the island. 15 When the ship was caught and could not face into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we ran under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the dinghy. 17 When the crew had hoisted it up, they made use of ropes to undergird the ship. Then fearing they might run aground on the Syrtis,[a] they let down the anchor and so were driven along. 18 But as we were violently battered by the storm, the next day they began throwing cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw out the ship’s gear with their own hands. 20 With neither sun nor stars appearing for many days, and no small storm pressing on us, all hope of our survival was vanishing.
21 As they had long been without food, Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete, to avoid this disaster and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you—but only of the ship. 23 For this very night, there came to me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve. 24 He said, ‘Do not fear, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and indeed, God has granted you all who are sailing with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I trust God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”
27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to sense that they were nearing some land. 28 So they took soundings and found the water was twenty fathoms deep.[b] A bit farther along, they took another sounding and found it was fifteen fathoms deep. 29 Fearing that we might run aground on the rocks, they threw out four anchors from the stern. They were longing for day to come.
30 Now the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had lowered the dinghy into the sea, pretending they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you cannot be saved!”
32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the dinghy and let it drift away. 33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have kept waiting and going without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore, I urge you to take some food—for this is for your survival, since not one of you will lose a hair from his head.”
35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat. 36 Then all were encouraged and took some food themselves. 37 (In all we were 276 persons on the ship.)
38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship, throwing the wheat into the sea.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.