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.
David's sons
3 David's men continued to fight against the men who were faithful to Saul's family. The war continued for a long time. David's army became stronger and stronger, but Saul's army became weaker and weaker.
2 While David lived in Hebron he had several sons:
The firstborn was Amnon. Ahinoam from Jezreel gave birth to him.
3 The second son was Kileab. Nabal's widow, Abigail, from Carmel gave birth to him.
The third son was Absalom. His mother was Maakah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.
4 The fourth son was Adonijah. His mother was Haggith.
The fifth son was Shephatiah. Abital was his mother.
5 The sixth son was Ithream. David's wife, Eglah, gave birth to him.
These sons of David were all born in Hebron.
Abner joins David's army
6 The war continued between David's men and the men who fought on behalf of Saul's family. Abner was becoming a more powerful leader among Saul's group. 7 Saul had had slave wife called Rizpah. She was Aiah's daughter. One day, Ish-Bosheth asked Abner, ‘Why did you sleep with my father's woman?’[a]
8 Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth had said to him. Abner said, ‘Do you think that I am a useless dog that belongs to Judah? I have always been faithful to your father Saul and to his family and his friends. I have not deceived you to put you under David's power. But now you say that I am guilty of a sin with this woman. 9 So I promise you this! Now I will help David to get what the Lord has promised to him. I ask God to punish me if I do not help David! 10 The Lord promised that David's family would rule as kings instead of Saul's family. He promised that David would be king over all the people of Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.’[b]
11 Ish-Bosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not say anything.
12 Then Abner sent men to David with this message: ‘Who should rule this country? If you make an agreement with me, I will help you. I will cause all Israel's people to be faithful to you.’
7 Take a careful look at what is happening among you. If anyone is sure that he belongs to Christ, he should remember this: We also belong to Christ, just as he does. 8 You may think that I am too proud of my authority. But it is the Lord who has given that authority to us apostles. We have that authority so that we can help you become stronger as believers. We do not have it so that we can destroy you! So I am not ashamed to be proud of this.
9 When I write letters to you, I am not trying to frighten you. Please do not think that. 10 Some people say: ‘Paul's letters are powerful and they say strong things. But when he himself is here with us, he seems to be weak. And the words that he speaks have no value.’ 11 Anyone who says things like that should understand this: There is no difference between what we write and what we do. When we come to you, we will do what we have written in our letters.
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