Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Consoling Memory of God’s Redemptive Works
To the Chief Musician. (A)To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
77 I cried out to God with my voice—
To God with my voice;
And He gave ear to me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing;
My soul refused to be comforted.
11 I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is in [a]the (A)sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
14 You are the God who does wonders;
You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were (B)afraid;
The depths also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
The skies sent out a sound;
Your arrows also flashed about.
18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
20 You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Ahab Dies in Battle(A)
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel (B)disguised himself and went into battle.
31 Now the (C)king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two (D)captains of his chariots, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel!” Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat (E)cried out. 33 And it happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 34 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
35 The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. 36 Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!”
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while [a]the harlots bathed, according (F)to the word of the Lord which He had spoken.
39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, (G)the ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab [b]rested with his fathers. Then (H)Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
Ahaziah Reigns in Israel
51 (A)Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and (B)walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; 53 for (C)he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, (D)according[a] to all that his father had done.
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, (A)that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you [a]are (B)disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
Paul Prefers Gentleness
7 Now [b]I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though (C)we may seem disqualified. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad (D)when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, (E)that you may be made complete. 10 (F)Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the (G)authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.