Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 (A)I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have (B)anointed him,
21 so that my (C)hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
(D)the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will (E)crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My (F)faithfulness and my (G)steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his (H)horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on (I)the sea
and his right hand on (J)the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my (K)Father,
my God, and (L)the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the (M)firstborn,
(N)the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my (O)covenant will stand firm[a] for him.
29 I will establish his (P)offspring forever
and his (Q)throne as (R)the days of the heavens.
30 (S)If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,[b]
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with (T)the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my (U)covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn (V)by my holiness;
I will not (W)lie to David.
36 His (X)offspring shall endure forever,
(Y)his (Z)throne as long as (AA)the sun before me.
37 Like (AB)the moon it shall be established forever,
(AC)a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
David's Wives and Children
14 (A)And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. 2 And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was (A)provoked within him as he saw that the city was (B)full of idols. 17 So (C)he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, (D)“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because (E)he was preaching (F)Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to (G)the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this (H)new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some (I)strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
Paul Addresses the Areopagus
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: (J)‘To the unknown god.’ (K)What therefore you worship (L)as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 (M)The God who made the world and everything in it, being (N)Lord of heaven and earth, (O)does not live in temples made by man,[a] 25 nor is he served by human hands, (P)as though he needed anything, since he himself (Q)gives to all mankind (R)life and breath and everything. 26 And (S)he made from one man every nation of mankind to live (T)on all the face of the earth, (U)having determined allotted periods and (V)the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 (W)that they should seek God, (X)and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. (Y)Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
as even some of (AA)your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’[c]
29 (AB)Being then God's offspring, (AC)we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 (AD)The times of ignorance (AE)God overlooked, but (AF)now he (AG)commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed (AH)a day on which (AI)he will judge the world (AJ)in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and (AK)of this he has given assurance to all (AL)by raising him from the dead.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.