Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 59[a]
Against Wicked Enemies
1 For the director.[b] According to “Do not destroy.” A miktam of David. When Saul sent people to watch David’s house in order to kill him.
2 Rescue me, O my God, from my enemies;
defend me[c] against those who rise up against me.
3 Deliver me from those who do evil;
save me from the violence of the bloodthirsty.
4 They are lying in wait to take my life;
the powerful gather together against me.
For no offense or sin of mine, O Lord,
5 for no guilt of mine,
they stand ready to attack me.
Rise up to help me, and look on my plight;
6 you, Lord, God of hosts,[d] are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself and punish all the nations;
show no mercy to these wicked deceivers. Selah
7 They return each evening,
snarling like dogs
as they prowl through the city.
8 [e]See what spews from their mouths—
they spew forth from their lips,
and they assert, “Who is there to hear us?”
9 However, you laugh at them, O Lord;
you show your disdain for all the nations.
10 [f]O my strength, I will keep watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
11 O God of mercy.
May God go before me
and allow me to have my way with my enemies.
12 Do not put them to death,
lest my people forget.[g]
Scatter them in your power
and bring them to their knees,
O Lord, our shield.[h]
13 For the sins of their mouths
and the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the curses and lies they speak,
14 put an end to them in your wrath;
put an end to them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God is the ruler over Jacob.[i] Selah
15 [j]They return each evening,
snarling like dogs
as they prowl through the city.
16 They roam about searching for food,
and they growl if they do not have their fill.
17 But I will sing of your strength;
when morning dawns, I will proclaim your kindness.[k]
For you have been my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
18 O my Strength, I will sing your praises,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me love.[l]
14 The Murder of Joram. So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, plotted against Joram.
Joram and all of Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael, the king of Aram, 15 but Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received from the Arameans when he fought against Hazael, the king of Aram. Jehu said, “If this is what you want, then prevent anyone from leaving the city and going to Jezreel to report it.”
16 Jehu then got in his chariot and rode to Jezreel, for that was where Joram was staying. Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had also gone down to visit Joram.
17 When the watchman upon the tower in Jezreel observed Jehu’s forces arriving, he said, “I see a company.” Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him out to meet them. Let him say, ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” 18 The horseman went to meet them and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.” The watchman said, “The messenger has reached them, but he is not coming back.”
19 He sent out a second horseman who came to them and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
20 The watchman reported, “He has reached them, but he is not coming back. The one who is driving is driving like Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he is driving furiously.” 21 Joram said, “Prepare my chariot.”
When his chariot had been made ready, Joram, the king of Israel, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, each drove out with his chariot against Jehu. They encountered him at the plot of Naboth, the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw that it was Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace?” Jehu answered, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatries and witchcrafts of Jezebel, your mother, continue to multiply?”
23 Joram turned and fled, and he cried out to Ahaziah, “It is treachery, O Ahaziah!” 24 Jehu drew back his bow and struck Joram between his shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
25 [a]Jehu said to Bidkar, his captain, “Pick him up and throw him down in the plot that belonged to Naboth, the Jezreelite. Remem-ber how you and I were riding together behind Ahab, his father, when the Lord proclaimed this prophecy against him. 26 ‘As surely as yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘I will repay you upon this plot,’ says the Lord. Therefore, take him and throw him down upon this plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
11 Jews and Gentiles Reconciled in the Church.[a] Therefore, do not forget that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcised by those who refer to themselves as the circumcised because of a physical rite. 12 Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, excluded from the community of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants[b] of promise. You were in the world without hope and without God.
13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace,
who has made the two into one,
by breaking down the barrier of hostility.
In his flesh
15 he has abolished the Law
with its commandments and ordinances,
so that he might create in himself
a single new person[c] out of the two,
thereby making peace,
16 and that he might reconcile both groups
to God in one body
through the cross,
thereby putting that enmity to death.
17 Therefore, Jesus came
and proclaimed peace
to you who were far away
and peace to those who were near.
18 For through him
we both have access to the Father
in the one Spirit.
19 As a result, you are no longer strangers and foreigners. Rather, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 Through him the entire structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.
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