Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 18[a]
For the music director, by the Lord’s servant David, who sang[b] to the Lord the words of this song when[c] the Lord rescued him from the power[d] of all his enemies, including Saul.[e]
18 He said:[f]
“I love[g] you, Lord, my source of strength![h]
2 The Lord is my high ridge,[i] my stronghold,[j] my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where[k] I take shelter,[l]
my shield, the horn that saves me,[m] and my refuge.[n]
3 I called[o] to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,[p]
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The waves[q] of death engulfed me,
the currents[r] of chaos[s] overwhelmed me.[t]
5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me,[u]
the snares of death trapped me.[v]
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.[w]
From his heavenly temple[x] he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.[y]
43 You rescue me from a hostile army.[a]
You make me[b] a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.[c]
44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.[d]
Foreigners are powerless[e] before me.
45 Foreigners lose their courage;[f]
they shake with fear[g] as they leave[h] their strongholds.[i]
46 The Lord is alive![j]
My Protector[k] is praiseworthy.[l]
The God who delivers me[m] is exalted as king.[n]
47 The one true God[o] completely vindicates me;[p]
he makes nations submit to me.[q]
48 He delivers me[r] from my enemies.
You snatch me away[s] from those who attack me;[t]
you rescue me from violent men.
49 So I will give you thanks before the nations,[u] O Lord.
I will sing praises to you.[v]
50 He[w] gives his king magnificent victories;[x]
he is faithful[y] to his chosen ruler,[z]
to David and his descendants[aa] forever.”[ab]
The Death of Saul
31 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines stayed right on the heels[a] of Saul and his sons. They[b] struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. 3 Saul himself was in the thick of the battle;[c] the archers[d] spotted him and wounded him severely.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me.” But his armor-bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that day.
7 When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying dead[e] on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off Saul’s[f] head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines. 10 They placed Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths[g] and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul’s corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went[h] to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.
Preparing the Gift
9 For it is not necessary[a] for me to write you about this service[b] to the saints, 2 because I know your eagerness to help.[c] I keep boasting to the Macedonians about this eagerness of yours,[d] that Achaia has been ready to give[e] since last year, and your zeal to participate[f] has stirred up most of them.[g] 3 But I am sending[h] these brothers so that our boasting about you may not be empty in this case, so that you may be ready[i] just as I kept telling them. 4 For if any of the Macedonians should come with me and find that you are not ready to give, we would be humiliated[j] (not to mention you) by this confidence we had in you.[k] 5 Therefore I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you in advance and to arrange ahead of time the generous contribution[l] you had promised, so this may be ready as a generous gift[m] and not as something you feel forced to do.[n]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.