Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 Fools say to themselves,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil and do terrible things;
there is no one who does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone understood,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But all have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
There is no one who does anything good,
not even one.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They do not ask the Lord for help.
5 But the wicked are filled with terror,
because God is with those who do what is right.
6 The wicked upset the plans of the poor,
but the Lord will protect them.
7 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May the Lord bring them back.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
6 The Ammonites knew that they had insulted David. So they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah. They also hired the king of Maacah with a thousand men and twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the whole army. 8 The Ammonites came out and prepared for battle at the city gate. The Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah were out in the field by themselves.
9 Joab saw that there were enemies both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the best soldiers of Israel and sent them out to fight the Arameans. 10 Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. Then he sent them out to fight the Ammonites. 11 Joab said to Abishai, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. 12 Be strong. We must fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he thinks is right.”
12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. 14 Even more than all this, clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body[a] to have peace. Always be thankful. 16 Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.