Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the director: A song of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
May the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from his Holy Place.
May he support you from Zion.
3 May he remember all the gifts you have offered.
May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
4 May he give you what you really want.
May he make all your plans successful.
5 We will celebrate when he helps you.
We will praise the name of God.
May the Lord give you everything you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord helps his chosen king.
From his holy heaven he answered.
With his great power he saved him.
7 Some give the credit for victory to their chariots and soldiers,
but we honor the Lord our God.
8 They fall in battle, totally defeated,
but we survive and stand strong!
9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call to you for help.
Jotham’s Story
7 Jotham heard that the leaders of the city of Shechem had made Abimelech king. When he heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim[a] and shouted out this story to the people:
“Listen to me you leaders of the city of Shechem. Then let God listen to you.
8 “One day the trees decided to choose a king to rule over them. The trees said to the olive tree, ‘You be king over us.’
9 “But the olive tree said, ‘My oil is used to honor gods and humans. Should I stop making my oil just to go and sway over the other trees?’
10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’
11 “But the fig tree answered, ‘Should I stop making my good, sweet fruit just to go and sway over the other trees?’
12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’
13 “But the vine answered, ‘My wine makes men and kings happy. Should I stop making my wine just to go and sway over the trees?’
14 “Finally, all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’
15 “But the thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to make me king over you, come and find shelter in my shade. But if you don’t want to do this, let fire come out of the thornbush. Let the fire burn even the cedar trees of Lebanon.’
Don’t Follow the Enemies of Christ
18 My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near. 19 These enemies were in our group, but they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.
20 You have the gift[a] that the Holy One[b] gave you. So you all know the truth. 21 Do you think I am writing this letter because you don’t know the truth? No, I am writing because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22 So who is the liar? It is the one who says Jesus is not the Messiah. Whoever says that is the enemy of Christ—the one who does not believe in the Father or in his Son. 23 Whoever does not believe in the Son does not have the Father, but whoever accepts the Son has the Father too.
24 Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching you heard from the beginning. If you do that, you will always be in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what the Son promised us—eternal life.
26 I am writing this letter about those who are trying to lead you into the wrong way. 27 Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you don’t need anyone to teach you. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. It is a true gift, not a false one. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.
28 Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes again. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International