Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a psalm that the sons of Korah wrote.
Zion is God's city
48 The Lord is great.
He deserves that people praise him
in the city of our God,
on his holy mountain.
2 That place is high up and it is beautiful.
It brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is the city of the great King.
It is where the true God lives.[a]
3 God is there in its strong places
and he keeps the city safe.
4 Look! There are kings of other nations
who join together to attack our city.
5 But when they come near and they see it,
they are very surprised.
It frightens them so much
that they quickly run away!
6 They cannot stop themselves shaking,
like a woman who is giving birth to a baby!
7 You push them away,
like an east wind that destroys great ships.
8 We had heard about the great things that God has done.
Now we have seen them for ourselves,
here in the city of the Lord Almighty,
the city of our God.
It is God who keeps the city safe for ever!
Selah.
9 When we are in your temple, God,
we think about your faithful love.
10 You are famous all over the world,
so that people praise you as you deserve.
You are powerful
and you rule with justice.
11 Because you judge people in a right way,
Mount Zion and all the towns of Judah will be happy.
12 Walk all round Zion and look at it.
Count the towers.
13 Look at its strong buildings and its strong walls.
Then you will be able to describe it to your children.[b]
14 Yes, this is our God, who is with us for ever!
He will always be our guide.
The people anoint David as king over Israel
2 After some time, David asked the Lord, ‘Should I go up to one of Judah's towns?’
The Lord said to him, ‘Go up.’
David asked, ‘Where should I go?’
The Lord replied, ‘Go to Hebron.’
2 So David went up to Hebron. He took his two wives with him. They were Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel. 3 David also took the men who had been with him. Each man took his family. They lived in Hebron and in the towns near there. 4 Then the men of Judah's tribe came to Hebron. They anointed David as king over Judah's people.
David thanks the people of Jabesh Gilead
David heard that the people from Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul's body. 5 So David sent men to them with a message. He said, ‘You were kind to Saul, your master, when you buried his body. So I pray that the Lord will bless you. 6 I pray that the Lord will keep you safe with his faithful love. I too will do good things for you, because of what you have done. 7 Saul, your master, is dead, so you must continue to be strong and brave. The people of Judah have now chosen me to rule them as king.’
David and his men fight against Saul's army
8 Ner's son Abner was the leader of Saul's army. He took Saul's son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim. 9 Abner gave Ish-Bosheth authority to rule as king over Gilead, Asher and Jezreel, as well as the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. So Ish-Bosheth became king of all Israel.
10 Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth, was 40 years old when he became king over Israel. He ruled Israel for two years. But Judah's people were faithful to David as their king. 11 David remained in Hebron as king of Judah for seven and a half years.
8 You already have everything that you need, do you? You think that you are very rich already! You are ready to rule as kings. You no longer need us to help you. I think it would be good if you had really become kings. Then we could also rule together with you! 9 This is what I think: as apostles, God has put us last of everyone. People see us like we are prisoners at the end of the line. They are taking us to die in a public place. Everybody in the world has come to look at us, both people and angels.
10 We have become like fools so that we can serve Christ. But you think that you are wise because you belong to Christ. We seem like weak people, but you seem to be strong! People respect you but they insult us!
11 Until now, we continue to be hungry and thirsty. Our clothes have become old. Sometimes people hit us for no reason. We do not have our own homes. 12 We work hard, so that we become very tired. When people insult us, we ask God to bless them. When people give us trouble, we are patient and brave. 13 When people say bad things against us, we answer with kind words. We have become like dirty things that people throw away. That is still true, even today.
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