Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song to sing as we climb.

I have great trouble

¹⁸ David ran away and he escaped from Saul. He went to visit Samuel at Ramah. David told Samuel everything that Saul had done to him. Then David and Samuel went to live in Naioth.^[a]

¹⁹ Somebody told Saul that David was living at Naioth in Ramah. ²⁰ So Saul sent men to take hold of David. When the men arrived, they saw a group of prophets. Samuel was their leader. They were all prophesying. Then the Spirit of God came on Saul's men. They also started to prophesy. ²¹ When people told Saul about this, he sent more men to Naioth. But they prophesied too. So Saul sent a third group of men. These men also started to prophesy.

²² Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He went as far as the large well at Secu. He asked the people, ‘Where are Samuel and David?’ The people replied, ‘They are at Naioth in Ramah.’

²³ Saul went to Naioth. The Spirit of God came on him also. He started to prophesy as he walked towards Naioth. ²⁴ When he met Samuel, he took off his clothes and he continued to prophesy. He lay on the ground with no clothes all that day and all that night. So people still say, ‘Has Saul really become one of the prophets?’

² Be friends with us. We have done nothing wrong to any of you. We have not hurt anyone. We have not cheated anyone. ³ I am not saying this to make you feel ashamed. As I have told you before, you are our special friends. We will continue to love you, whether we live together or we die together.

⁴ I know you and I trust you. I am proud of you. You have helped me to be strong. So, even when we have many troubles, I am still very happy.

⁵ When we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies did not rest at all.^[a] We had many kinds of trouble. All round us, people quarrelled with us. Inside us, we were afraid. ⁶ But when people feel upset, God helps them to be strong. And God made us happy when Titus arrived. ⁷ God comforted us not only because Titus came to us. He comforted us also by what Titus told us about you. He said that you had helped him to be strong. He told us that you want to see me. He told us that you are very sad about what happened. He told us also that you are ready to help me. Because of what Titus told us about you, I was very happy.

⁸ But even if I made you sad by my letter, I am not sorry about that. At one time, I was sorry that I had written it. I saw that my letter had made you sad. But you were sad only for a short time. ⁹ So now I am happy, but not because my letter made you sad. No, I am happy because it made you turn away from wrong things. You became sad as God wanted you to be sad. So, when the letter made you sad, we did not really hurt you. ¹⁰ People need to become sad in the way that God wants. When they are sad like that, it causes them to turn away from wrong things. Then God saves them from their sins. They will never be sorry about that! But when people become sad in the way that the world wants, it does not help them. They do not turn to God and they die in their spirits.

¹¹ You became sad in the way that God wanted. And see what good results that has brought! It has made you work hard to do good things. You want to show people that you do what is right. You are angry against sin. You want to obey God. You want to make things right again. You want to please God. You want to punish anyone who does wrong things. In all these ways, you have shown that you are right. You have done everything that was necessary in this matter.

¹² So why did I write that letter to you? It was not because of the person who did the wrong thing. Nor was it to help the person that he hurt. No. I wrote the letter to show you something about yourselves. I wanted God to show you that you do really love us and you respect us. ¹³ That is how God has comforted us.

It was not only us that God comforted. When Titus came, we were very happy to see how happy he was too. He was happy because all of you had taken care of him. ¹⁴ I had told Titus that I was very proud of you. When he came to you, you showed that I was right about you. We have always spoken only true things to you. And when we said good things about you to Titus, you showed that those things were also true. ¹⁵ Now, when Titus thinks about you, he loves you even more. He remembers that you were ready to obey him. You respected his authority and you received him into your homes.

¹⁶ So now I am very happy because I trust you to do what is right.