Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Confidence in God’s Protection.

For the music director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 Then David said, “Is there ^[a]anyone still left of the house of Saul, ^(A)so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they summoned him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you ^(B)Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ Then the king said, “Is there no one remaining of the house of Saul to whom I could show the ^(C)kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “^(D)There is still a son of Jonathan, one who is disabled in both feet.” ⁴ So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is ^(E)in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent ^[b]messengers who brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. ^6 (F)Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and ^(G)fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” ⁷ Then David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for ^(H)I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I ^(I)will restore to you all the ^[c]land of your ^[d]grandfather Saul; and ^(J)you yourself shall ^[e]eat at my table regularly.” ⁸ Again he prostrated himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should be concerned about ^(K)a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “^(L)Everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s ^[f]grandson. ¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson will have food ^[g]to eat; nevertheless ^(M)Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, ^(N)shall ^[h]eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “In accordance ^(O)with everything that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at ^[i]David’s table as one of the king’s sons. ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because ^(P)he ate at the king’s table regularly. And ^(Q)he was disabled in his two feet.

The Lost Sheep

15 Now all the ^(A)tax collectors and ^[a]sinners were coming near ^[b]Jesus to listen to Him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This Man receives sinners and ^(B)eats with them.”

³ And so He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “^(C)What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the ^[c]open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.