Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

59 To the Overseer. -- `Destroy not,' by David. -- A secret treasure, in Saul's sending, and they watch the house to put him to death. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God, From my withstanders set me on high.

² Deliver me from workers of iniquity, And from men of blood save me.

³ For, lo, they laid wait for my soul, Assembled against me are strong ones, Not my transgression nor my sin, O Jehovah.

⁴ Without punishment they run and prepare themselves, Stir up to meet me, and see.

⁵ And Thou, Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel, Awake to inspect all the nations. Favour not any treacherous dealers of iniquity. Selah.

⁶ They turn back at evening, They make a noise like a dog, And go round about the city.

⁷ Lo, they belch out with their mouths, Swords [are] in their lips, for `Who heareth?'

⁸ And Thou, O Jehovah dost laugh at them, Thou dost mock at all the nations.

⁹ O my Strength, unto Thee I take heed, For God [is] my tower -- the God of my kindness.

¹⁰ God doth go before me, He causeth me to look on mine enemies.

¹¹ Slay them not, lest my people forget, Shake them by Thy strength, And bring them down, O Lord our shield.

¹² The sin of their mouth [is] a word of their lips, And they are captured in their pride, And from the curse and lying they recount.

¹³ Consume in fury, consume and they are not, And they know that God is ruling in Jacob, To the ends of the earth. Selah.

¹⁴ And they turn back at evening, They make a noise like a dog, And they go round about the city.

¹⁵ They -- they wander for food, If they are not satisfied -- then they murmur.

¹⁶ And I -- I sing [of] Thy strength, And I sing at morn [of] Thy kindness, For thou hast been a tower to me, And a refuge for me in a day of adversity.

¹⁷ O my Strength, unto Thee I sing praise, For God [is] my tower, the God of my kindness!

9 And Elisha the prophet hath called to one of the sons of the prophets, and saith to him, `Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead,

² and thou hast gone in there, and see thou there Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, and thou hast gone in, and caused him to rise out of the midst of his brethren, and brought him in to the inner part of an inner-chamber,

³ and taken the vial of oil, and poured on his head, and said, Thus said Jehovah, I have anointed thee for king unto Israel; and thou hast opened the door, and fled, and dost not wait.'

⁴ And the young man goeth -- the young man the prophet -- to Ramoth-Gilead,

⁵ and cometh in, and lo, chiefs of the force are sitting, and he saith, `I have a word unto thee, O chief!' and Jehu saith, `Unto which of all of us?' and he saith, `Unto thee, O chief.'

⁶ And he riseth and cometh in to the house, and he poureth the oil on his head, and saith to him, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I have anointed thee for king unto the people of Jehovah, unto Israel,

⁷ and thou hast smitten the house of Ahab thy lord, and I have required the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, from the hand of Jezebel;

⁸ and perished hath all the house of Ahab, and I have cut off to Ahab those sitting on the wall, and restrained, and left, in Israel,

⁹ and I have given up the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and as the house of Baasha son of Ahijah,

¹⁰ and Jezebel do the dogs eat in the portion of Jezreel, and there is none burying;' and he openeth the door and fleeth.

¹¹ And Jehu hath gone out unto the servants of his lord, and [one] saith to him, `Is there peace? wherefore came this madman unto thee?' and he saith unto them, `Ye have known the man and his talk.'

¹² And they say, `False, declare, we pray thee, to us;' and he saith, `Thus and thus spake he unto me, saying, Thus said Jehovah, I have anointed thee for king unto Israel.'

¹³ And they haste and take each his garment, and put [it] under him at the top of the stairs, and blow with a trumpet, and say, `Reigned hath Jehu!'

¹⁸ for the word of the cross to those indeed perishing is foolishness, and to us -- those being saved -- it is the power of God,

¹⁹ for it hath been written, `I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nought;'

²⁰ where [is] the wise? where the scribe? where a disputer of this age? did not God make foolish the wisdom of this world?

²¹ for, seeing in the wisdom of God the world through the wisdom knew not God, it did please God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those believing.

²² Since also Jews ask a sign, and Greeks seek wisdom,

²³ also we -- we preach Christ crucified, to Jews, indeed, a stumbling-block, and to Greeks foolishness,

²⁴ and to those called -- both Jews and Greeks -- Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God,

²⁵ because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men;

²⁶ for see your calling, brethren, that not many [are] wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

²⁷ but the foolish things of the world did God choose, that the wise He may put to shame; and the weak things of the world did God choose that He may put to shame the strong;

²⁸ and the base things of the world, and the things despised did God choose, and the things that are not, that the things that are He may make useless --

²⁹ that no flesh may glory before Him;

³⁰ and of Him ye -- ye are in Christ Jesus, who became to us from God wisdom, righteousness also, and sanctification, and redemption,

³¹ that, according as it hath been written, `He who is glorying -- in the Lord let him glory.'