Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁹ Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰ David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the place of the wagons as the army which was going out to the fight shouted for the battle. ²¹ Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army. ²² David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. ²³ As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and said the same words; and David heard them. ²⁴ All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were terrified. ²⁵ The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? He has surely come up to defy Israel. The king will give great riches to the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house tax-free in Israel.”

²⁶ David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷ The people answered him in this way, saying, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

²⁸ Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.”

²⁹ David said, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” ³⁰ He turned away from him toward another, and spoke like that again; and the people answered him again the same way. ³¹ When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him. ³² David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

¹⁷ But the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy ¹⁸ and laid hands on the apostles, then put them in public custody. ¹⁹ But an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night, and brought them out and said, ²⁰ “Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”

²¹ When they heard this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and taught. But the high priest and those who were with him came and called the council together, with all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ²² But the officers who came didn’t find them in the prison. They returned and reported, ²³ “We found the prison shut and locked, and the guards standing before the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside!”

²⁴ Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these words, they were very perplexed about them and what might become of this. ²⁵ One came and told them, “Behold, the men whom you put in prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then the captain went with the officers, and brought them without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them.