Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; al tashcheth; a miktam by David when Saul sent men to watch David’s home and kill him.
59 Rescue me from my enemies, O my God.
Protect me from those who attack me.
2 Rescue me from troublemakers.
Save me from bloodthirsty people.
3 They lie in ambush for me right here!
Fierce men attack me, O Lord,
but not because of any disobedience,
4 or any sin, or any guilt on my part.
They hurry to take positions against me.
Wake up, and help me; see ⌞for yourself⌟.
5 O Lord God of Armies, God of Israel,
arise to punish all the nations.
Have no pity on any traitors. Selah
6 They return in the evening.
They howl like dogs.
They prowl the city.
7 See what pours out of their mouths—
swords from their lips!
⌞They think,⌟ “Who will hear us?”
8 O Lord, you laugh at them.
You make fun of all the nations.
9 O my strength, I watch for you!
God is my stronghold, my merciful God!
10 God will come to meet me.
He will let me gloat over those who spy on me.
11 Do not kill them.
Otherwise, my people may forget.
Make them wander aimlessly by your power.
Bring them down, O Lord, our shield,
12 ⌞because of⌟ the sins from their mouths
and the words on their lips.
Let them be trapped by their own arrogance
because they speak curses and lies.
13 Destroy them in your rage.
Destroy them until not one of them is left.
Then they will know that God rules Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They return in the evening.
They howl like dogs.
They prowl the city.
15 They wander around to find something to eat.
If they are not full enough,
they will stay all night.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will joyfully sing about your mercy.
You have been my stronghold
and a place of safety in times of trouble.
17 O my strength, I will make music to praise you!
God is my stronghold, my merciful God!
Jehu Kills King Joram, King Ahaziah, and Queen Jezebel(A)
14 So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi, plotted against Joram. (Joram and all Israel were guarding Ramoth Gilead against King Hazael of Aram. 15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received while fighting King Hazael of Aram.)
Then Jehu said, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone escape from the city to take the news to Jezreel.” 16 So Jehu got on his chariot and drove to Jezreel because Joram was lying in bed there. (King Ahaziah of Judah had come to see Joram.)
17 The watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops coming. He said, “I see some troops.”
So Joram said, “Take a chariot driver, send him to meet them, and ask, ‘Is everything alright?’ ”
18 So a chariot driver rode off, met Jehu, and said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ”
Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.”
So the watchman announced, “The messenger you sent has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”
19 Then Joram sent out a second driver. When he came to them, he said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ”
Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.”
20 So the watchman announced, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back. The troop’s leader is driving like a lunatic, like Jehu, grandson of Nimshi.”
21 “Hitch the horses to the chariot,” Joram ordered. When that was done, King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went to meet Jehu, each in his own chariot. They found him in the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel.
22 When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything alright, Jehu?”
Jehu answered, “How can everything be alright as long as your mother continues her idolatry and witchcraft?”
23 As Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee, he said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!” 24 But Jehu took his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow came out of his chest, and he slumped over in his chariot.
25 Then Jehu said to his attendant Bidkar, “Take him away, and throw him into the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. Remember when you and I were driving our chariots behind his father Ahab? The Lord revealed this prophecy about him: 26 ‘Just as I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday, I will pay you back in this field,’ declares the Lord. Now take him and throw him into the field as the Lord predicted.”
God Has United Jewish and Non-Jewish People
11 Remember that once you were not Jewish physically. Those who called themselves “the circumcised” because of what they had done to their bodies called you “the uncircumcised.” 12 Also, at that time you were without Christ. You were excluded from citizenship in Israel, and the pledges [a] ⌞God made in his⌟ promise were foreign to you. You had no hope and were in the world without God.
13 But now through Christ Jesus you, who were once far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 So he is our peace. In his body he has made Jewish and non-Jewish people one by breaking down the wall of hostility that kept them apart. 15 He brought an end to the commandments and demands found in Moses’ Teachings so that he could take Jewish and non-Jewish people and create one new humanity in himself. So he made peace. 16 He also brought them back to God in one body by his cross, on which he killed the hostility. 17 He came with the Good News of peace for you who were far away and for those who were near. 18 So Jewish and non-Jewish people can go to the Father in one Spirit.
19 That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family. 20 You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. 21 In him all the parts of the building fit together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 Through him you, also, are being built in the Spirit together with others into a place where God lives.
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