Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 48
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God, in His holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in elevation,
the joy of the whole earth,
is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
the city of the great King.
3 God is known in her citadels
as a refuge.
4 For the kings were assembled,
they passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they were astounded;
they were alarmed, they hurried away.
6 Trembling seized them there,
and pain like a woman in labor;
7 You break the ships of Tarshish
with an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of Hosts,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever. Selah
9 We have thought of Your lovingkindness, O God,
in the midst of Your temple.
10 According to Your name, O God,
so is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 May Mount Zion rejoice,
may the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her;
count her towers;
13 mark well her bulwarks;
consider her citadels;
that you may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide even to death.
31 David said to Joab and all of the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” As for King David, he followed behind the bier. 32 When they buried Abner at Hebron, the king raised his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all of the people wept.
33 Then, the king lamented for Abner, saying,
“Should Abner have died as a fool dies?
34 Your hands were not bound,
and your feet were not put in fetters;
as a man falls before the wicked, so you have fallen.”
And all of the people continued to weep over him.
35 Then all of the people came to persuade David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath, saying, “May God do to me, and more also, if I taste food or anything else before the sun sets.”
36 All of the people recognized this, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did was pleasing to all of the people. 37 That very day, all of the people, all of Israel, understood that it was not ordered from the king to have Abner the son of Ner killed.
38 David said to his servant, “Do you not understand that a great leader has fallen this day in Israel?
The Would-Be Followers of Jesus(A)
18 Now when Jesus saw large crowds around Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
20 Jesus replied, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
21 Another of His other disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.