Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for the King
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
21 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength;
he is so happy when you save him!
2 You gave the king what he wanted
and did not refuse what he asked for. Selah
3 You put good things before him
and placed a gold crown on his head.
4 He asked you for life,
and you gave it to him,
so his years go on and on.
5 He has great glory because you gave him victories;
you gave him honor and praise.
6 You always gave him blessings;
you made him glad because you were with him.
7 The king truly trusts the Lord.
Because God Most High always loves him,
he will not be overwhelmed.
8 Your hand is against all your enemies;
those who hate you will feel your power.
9 When you appear,
you will burn them as in a furnace.
In your anger you will swallow them up,
and fire will burn them up.
10 You will destroy their families from the earth;
their children will not live.
11 They made evil plans against you,
but their traps won’t work.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim your arrows at them.
13 Be supreme, Lord, in your power.
We sing and praise your greatness.
David Is Made King of Israel
5 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said to him, “Look, we are your own family. 2 Even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel in battle. The Lord said to you, ‘You will be a shepherd for my people Israel. You will be their leader.’”
3 So all the elders of Israel came to King David at Hebron, and he made an agreement with them in Hebron in the presence of the Lord. Then they poured oil on David to make him king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled forty years. 5 He was king over Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months, and he was king over all Israel and Judah in Jerusalem for thirty-three years.
6 When the king and his men went to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites who lived there, the Jebusites said to David, “You can’t get inside our city. Even the blind and the crippled can stop you.” They thought David could not enter their city. 7 But David did take the city of Jerusalem with its strong walls, and it became the City of David.
8 That day David said to his men, “To defeat the Jebusites you must go through the water tunnel. Then you can reach those ‘crippled’ and ‘blind’ enemies. This is why people say, ‘The blind and the crippled may not enter the palace.’”
9 So David lived in the strong, walled city and called it the City of David. David built more buildings around it, beginning where the land was filled in. He also built more buildings inside the city. 10 He became stronger and stronger, because the Lord God All-Powerful was with him.
Paul Tells About His Sufferings
16 I tell you again: No one should think I am a fool. But if you think so, accept me as you would accept a fool. Then I can brag a little, too. 17 When I brag because I feel sure of myself, I am not talking as the Lord would talk but as a fool. 18 Many people are bragging about their lives in the world. So I will brag too. 19 You are wise, so you will gladly be patient with fools! 20 You are even patient with those who order you around, or use you, or trick you, or think they are better than you, or hit you in the face. 21 It is shameful to me to say this, but we were too “weak” to do those things to you!
But if anyone else is brave enough to brag, then I also will be brave and brag. (I am talking as a fool.) 22 Are they Hebrews?[a] So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they from Abraham’s family? So am I. 23 Are they serving Christ? I am serving him more. (I am crazy to talk like this.) I have worked much harder than they. I have been in prison more often. I have been hurt more in beatings. I have been near death many times. 24 Five times the Jews have given me their punishment of thirty-nine lashes with a whip. 25 Three different times I was beaten with rods. One time I was almost stoned to death. Three times I was in ships that wrecked, and one of those times I spent a night and a day in the sea. 26 I have gone on many travels and have been in danger from rivers, thieves, my own people, the Jews, and those who are not Jews. I have been in danger in cities, in places where no one lives, and on the sea. And I have been in danger with false Christians. 27 I have done hard and tiring work, and many times I did not sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty, and many times I have been without food. I have been cold and without clothes. 28 Besides all this, there is on me every day the load of my concern for all the churches. 29 I feel weak every time someone is weak, and I feel upset every time someone is led into sin.
30 If I must brag, I will brag about the things that show I am weak. 31 God knows I am not lying. He is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is to be praised forever. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas wanted to arrest me, so he put guards around the city. 33 But my friends lowered me in a basket through a hole in the city wall. So I escaped from the governor.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.