Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom [2 Sam. 15–19].
3 Lord, ·I have many enemies [L how many are my foes?]!
·Many people [L How many…?] have ·turned [L risen] against me.
2 Many are saying about me,
“·God won’t rescue him [L There is no salvation for him in God].” ·
3 But, Lord, you are my shield [C protector],
my ·wonderful God [L glory] who ·gives me courage [L lifts up my head].
4 I will ·pray [L lift my voice] to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain [C Zion, the location of the Temple]. ·
5 I can lie down and go to sleep,
and I will wake up again,
because the Lord ·gives me strength [sustains/upholds me].
6 Thousands of troops may ·surround me [L set themselves around me],
but I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come ·save [rescue; T deliver] me!
You have struck my enemies on the cheek;
you have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 ·The Lord can save his people [L Salvation/Rescue/Deliverance belongs to the Lord].
·Bless your people [L May your blessing be on your people]. ·
19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up; he did not let any of Samuel’s ·messages [words] ·fail to come true [L fall to the ground]. 20 Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba [C from the extreme north to the extreme south], knew Samuel was ·a true [confirmed/attested as a] prophet of the Lord [Deut. 13:1–5; 18:14–22]. 21 And the Lord continued to ·show himself [appear; manifest himself] at Shiloh [1:3], and he ·showed [revealed] himself to Samuel through his word.
4 So, ·news about Samuel [or Samuel’s words] spread through all of Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Agreement
At that time the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines [C a rival nation occupying the southwest coast of Israel]. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer [C somewhere near Aphek; means “stone of help”] and the Philistines [L camped] at Aphek [C on the plain of Sharon, northeast of Joppa]. 2 The Philistines ·went [deployed; drew up in battlelines] to meet the Israelites in battle. And ·as the battle spread [or when battle was joined], they defeated the Israelites, killing about four thousand soldiers on the battlefield.
26 If we ·decide to [deliberately] go on sinning after we have learned the ·truth [L knowledge of the truth], there is no longer any sacrifice for sins. 27 There is nothing but ·fear in waiting for the [a fearful/terrifying expectation/prospect of] judgment and the ·terrible [raging; furious] fire that will ·destroy [consume; devour] ·all those who live against God [the enemies of God; L those who oppose; the adversaries]. 28 Anyone who ·refused to obey [rejected; disregarded] the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the basis of the ·evidence [testimony] provided by two or three witnesses [Deut. 17:6]. 29 So how much worse punishment do you think is deserved by those who ·do not respect [trample on; show contempt for] the Son of God, who ·look at the blood of the agreement that made them holy as no different from others’ blood [L profane/treat as unholy/common the blood of the covenant], who insult the Spirit of God’s grace? 30 We know that God said, “·I will punish those who do wrong [T Vengeance is mine]; I will repay them [Deut. 32:35].” And he also said, “The Lord will judge his people [Deut. 32:36; Ps. 135:14].” 31 It is a ·terrible [dreadful; terrifying] thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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