Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Victory over Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you (A)in the day of trouble!
May the (B)name of the (C)God of Jacob set you securely on high!
2 May He send you help (D)from the sanctuary
And (E)support you from Zion!
3 May He (F)remember all your meal offerings
And (G)find your burnt offering [a]acceptable! [b]Selah.
4 May He grant you your (H)heart’s desire
And (I)fulfill all your [c]counsel!
5 [d]We will (J)sing for joy over your [e]victory,
And in the name of our God we will (K)set up our banners.
May the Lord (L)fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now (M)I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will (N)answer him from His holy heaven
With the [f](O)saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some [g]boast in chariots and some in (P)horses,
But (Q)we [h]will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.
8 They have (R)bowed down and fallen,
But we have (S)risen and stood upright.
9 [i](T)Save, O Lord;
May the (U)King answer us in the day we call.
7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of (A)Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O men of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 Once the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness with [a]which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good [b]fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ 12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?’ 14 Finally all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 15 The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in [c]truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
18 Children, (A)it is the last hour; and just as you heard that (B)antichrist is coming, (C)even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 (D)They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, (E)so that [a]it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20 [b]But you have an (F)anointing from (G)the Holy One, and (H)you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but (I)because you do know it, and [c]because no lie is (J)of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but (K)the one who denies that Jesus is the [d]Christ? This is (L)the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 (M)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard (N)from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also (O)will abide in the Son and in the Father.
The Promise Is Eternal Life
25 (P)This is the promise which He Himself [e]made to us: eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to (Q)deceive you. 27 As for you, the (R)anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing (S)teaches you about all things, and is (T)true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, [f]you abide in Him.
28 Now, (U)little children, abide in Him, so that when He (V)appears, we may have (W)confidence and (X)not [g]shrink away from Him in shame [h]at His (Y)coming.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.