Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
III
20 Then you spoke in vision;(A)
to your faithful ones you said:
“I have set a leader over the warriors;
I have raised up a chosen one from the people.
21 I have chosen David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him.
22 My hand will be with him;(B)
my arm will make him strong.
23 No enemy shall outwit him,
nor shall the wicked defeat him.
24 I will crush his foes before him,
strike down those who hate him.
25 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him;
through my name his horn will be exalted.
26 [a]I will set his hand upon the sea,
his right hand upon the rivers.
27 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,(C)
my God, the Rock of my salvation!’
28 I myself make him the firstborn,
Most High[b] over the kings of the earth.
29 Forever I will maintain my mercy for him;(D)
my covenant with him stands firm.
30 I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.
31 If his descendants forsake my teaching,(E)
do not follow my decrees,
32 If they fail to observe my statutes,
do not keep my commandments,
33 I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with blows.
34 But I will not take my mercy from him,
nor will I betray my bond of faithfulness.(F)
35 I will not violate my covenant;
the promise of my lips I will not alter.(G)
36 By my holiness I swore once for all:(H)
I will never be false to David.
37 [c]His dynasty will continue forever,(I)
his throne, like the sun before me.
15 Three of the Thirty chiefs went down to the rock, to David, who was in the cave of Adullam while the Philistines were encamped in the valley of Rephaim.(A) 16 David was then in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 17 David had a strong craving, and said, “If only someone would give me a drink of water from the cistern by the gate of Bethlehem!” 18 Thereupon the Three broke through the encampment of the Philistines, drew water from the cistern by the gate of Bethlehem, and carried it back to David. But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out[a] to the Lord, 19 saying, “God forbid that I should do such a thing! Could I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” So he refused to drink it. Such deeds as these the Three warriors performed.
II. The Preeminence of Christ
His Person and Work
15 [a]He is the image[b] of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.(A)
16 For in him[c] were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.(B)
17 He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
18 He is the head of the body, the church.[d]
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.(C)
19 For in him all the fullness[e] was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross[f]
[through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.(D)
21 [g]And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds(E) 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, 23 provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.
Christ in Us.[h]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.