Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 17[a]
Prayer in Time of Persecution
1 A prayer of David.
Hear, O Lord, my call for justice;
give heed to my cry.
Listen to the prayer of my lips,
for they are free of deceit.
2 Let my vindication issue forth from you;
let your eyes discern what is right.
3 You have probed my heart[b]
and examined me throughout the night.
You have tested me
and found no malice in me,
for I have not sinned with my mouth.
4 Despite what other people do,
I have been guided by the word of your lips[c]
and refrained from their acts of violence.
5 My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not wavered.
6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me.
Incline your ear to me and listen to my plea.
7 Show how wonderful is your kindness,[d]
you who save those who seek protection
by taking refuge at your right hand.
8 Guard me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings[e]
9 from the wicked who treat me with violence,
from deadly enemies who surround me.
10 There is no compassion in their hearts,[f]
and arrogance issues from their mouths.
11 They track me down and begin to close in,
watching for the chance to strike me down,
12 like a lion primed to attack it prey,
like a young lion lurking in hiding.
13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them, and cast them down;[g]
deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
14 With your hand, O Lord, snatch me from such people,
from the worldly whose reward is in this life.[h]
You satisfy the hunger of those you cherish;
their children have all they desire
and leave their wealth to their little ones.
15 But in my righteousness I will see your face;[i]
when I awaken, I will be blessed by beholding you.
Chapter 21
The Census and Plague. 1 Now Satan took his stand[a] against Israel, and he tempted David to take a census of Israel.
2 David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go take a census of Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan. Bring the number to me so that I might know it.”
3 Joab answered, “May the Lord multiply his people a hundred times over, but, my lord, the king, are these not my lord’s servants? Why would my lord order this? Why would he bring this guilt upon Israel?”
4 Nevertheless, the king was resolute with Joab. Joab departed and traveled all throughout Israel, and he then returned to Jerusalem. 5 Joab gave the total number of the people to David. In all of Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could draw the sword. In Judah there were four hundred and seventy thousand men who could draw the sword. 6 He did not count Levi or Benjamin, however, for Joab found the king’s command to be detestable.
7 God was greatly displeased at this, and he struck down Israel.
8 David said to God, “I have sinned grievously in doing this. I beg you now, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
9 [b]The Lord then spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, 10 “Go and speak to David saying: Thus says the Lord: ‘I will offer you three options. Choose one of them so that I might do it to you.’ ”
11 Gad came to David and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself 12 three years of famine, or three months of being defeated by your enemies, with the swords of your foes striking you down, or else three days of the sword of the Lord. Plague will be in the land, and the angel of the Lord will cause destruction all throughout the territory of Israel.’ Think about the answer I should take back to him who sent me.”
13 David said to Gad, “I am greatly distressed. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are truly great. Let me not fall into human hands.”
14 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand people fell because of it. 15 God also sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying it, the Lord regretted the disaster, and he said to the destroying angel, “Enough! Hold back your hand!”
Ornan’s Threshing Floor. So the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite.
16 David looked up, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing between the earth and the heavens, holding a drawn sword in his hands that was stretched out over Jerusalem. David and the elders fell down upon their faces, clothed in sackcloth.[c]
17 David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the census of the people? I am the one who sinned, for I have truly done what was wrong. As for these sheep, what have they done? O Lord, my God, let your hand be against me and my father’s household, but let your people not suffer from the plague.”
Chapter 2
1 My dear children,
I am writing this to you
so that you may avoid committing sin.
However, if anyone does sin,
we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2 He is himself the sacrifice for our sins—
and not only for our sins
but also for the sins of the whole world.
The Commandment of Love[a]
3 Now we may be certain that we know him
if we obey his commandments.
4 Whoever says, “I know him,”
but does not keep his commandments,
is a liar,
and the truth is not in him.[b]
5 However, the love of God is truly perfected
in the one who obeys his word.
This is how we can be certain
that we are in union with him:
6 whoever claims to abide in him
must live just as he himself lived.
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