Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; al tashcheth; [a] a miktam by David when he fled from Saul into the cave.
57 Have pity on me, O God. Have pity on me,
because my soul takes refuge in you.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until destructive storms pass by.
2 I call to God Most High,
to the God who does everything for me.
3 He sends his help from heaven and saves me.
He disgraces the one who is harassing me. Selah
God sends his mercy and his truth!
4 My soul is surrounded by lions.
I must lie down with man-eating lions.
Their teeth are spears and arrows.
Their tongues are sharp swords.
5 May you be honored above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory extend over the whole earth.
6 ⌞My enemies⌟ spread out a net to catch me.
(My soul is bowed down.)
They dug a pit to trap me,
but then they fell into it. Selah
7 My heart is confident, O God.
My heart is confident.
I want to sing and make music.[b]
8 Wake up, my soul! [c]
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I want to wake up at dawn.
9 I want to give thanks to you among the people, O Lord.
I want to make music to praise you among the nations
10 because your mercy is as high as the heavens.
Your truth reaches the skies.
11 May you be honored above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory extend over the whole earth.
19 Then Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, said, “Let me run and bring the king the good news that the Lord has freed him from his enemies.”
20 But Joab told him, “You won’t be the man carrying good news today. You can carry the news some other day. You must not deliver the news today because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to a man from Sudan, “Go, tell the king what you saw.” The messenger bowed down with his face touching the ground in front of Joab and then ran off.
22 Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, spoke to Joab again, “Whatever may happen, I also want to run after the Sudanese messenger.”
“Now, son, why should you deliver the message?” Joab asked. “You won’t be rewarded for this news.”
23 “Whatever happens, I’d like to run,” ⌞replied Ahimaaz.⌟
“Run,” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran along the valley road and got ahead of the Sudanese messenger.
24 David was sitting between the two gates while the watchman walked along the roof of the gate by the wall. As he looked, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called and alerted the king.
“If he’s alone,” the king said, “he has good news to tell.” The runner continued to come closer.
26 When the watchman saw another man running, the watchman called, “There’s ⌞another⌟ man running alone.”
The king said, “This one is also bringing good news.”
27 The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son.”
“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He must be coming with good news.”
28 Then Ahimaaz came up to the king, greeted him, and bowed down in front of him. Ahimaaz said, “May the Lord your God be praised. He has handed over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty.”
29 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.
Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a lot of confusion when Joab sent me away, but I didn’t know what it meant.”
30 “Step aside, and stand here,” the king said. He stepped aside and stood there.
31 Then the Sudanese messenger came. “Good news for Your Majesty!” he said. “Today the Lord has freed you from all who turned against you.”
32 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.
The Sudanese messenger answered, “May your enemies and all who turned against you be like that young man!” [a]
33 The king was shaken ⌞by the news⌟. He went to the room above the gate and cried. “My son Absalom!” he said as he went. “My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!”
14 Therefore, dear friends, with this to look forward to, make every effort to have him find you at peace, without ⌞spiritual⌟ stains or blemishes. 15 Think of our Lord’s patience as an opportunity ⌞for us⌟ to be saved. This is what our dear brother Paul wrote to you about, using the wisdom God gave him. 16 He talks about this subject in all his letters. Some things in his letters are hard to understand. Ignorant people and people who aren’t sure of what they believe distort what Paul says in his letters the same way they distort the rest of the Scriptures. These people will be destroyed.
17 Dear friends, you already know these things. So be on your guard not to be carried away by the deception of people who have no principles. Then you won’t fall from your firm position. 18 But grow in the good will [a] and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to him now and for that eternal day! Amen.
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