Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.

¹ ¶ I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

² O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

³ O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; thou gavest me life from my descent into the grave.

⁴ Let his merciful ones sing unto the LORD, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

⁵ For his anger endures but a moment; in his will is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

⁶ ¶ And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

⁷ LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

⁸ I will cry unto thee, O GOD; and unto the Lord will I make supplication.

⁹ What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth?

¹⁰ Hear, O LORD and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

¹¹ Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness;

¹² to the end that I may sing glory unto thee and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

¹⁸ ¶ And when the child was grown, it came to pass one day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

¹⁹ And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a servant, Carry him to his mother.

²⁰ And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon and then died.

²¹ Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door upon him and went out.

²² And calling her husband, she said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men and one of the asses that I may run to the man of God and come again.

²³ And he said, Why must thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, Peace.

²⁴ Then she caused the ass to be saddled and said to her servant, Lead and go forward; slack not the pace for me except I bid thee.

²⁵ So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi, his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite.

²⁶ Run now, I pray thee, to meet her and say unto her, Dost thou have peace? And thy husband? And the child? And she answered, Peace.

²⁷ And when she came to the man of God in the mountain, she caught him by the feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is bitter within her; and the LORD has hid it from me and has not revealed it to me.

²⁸ Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?

²⁹ Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins and take my staff in thy hand and go; if thou meet anyone, salute him not; and if anyone salutes thee, answer him not again, and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

³⁰ Then the mother of the child said, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her.

³¹ And Gehazi had gone on before them and had laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither voice, nor attention. Therefore he went again to meet him and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

8 ¶ Likewise, brethren, we make known unto you the grace of God bestowed on the congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of Macedonia,

² how that in a great trial of tribulation the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

³ For to their power, I bear record, and even beyond their power they were willing of themselves,

⁴ praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the grace and take upon us the fellowship of the ministry to the saints.

⁵ And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and then unto us by the will of God.

⁶ Insomuch that we exhorted Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete among you the same grace also.

⁷ ¶ Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith and in word and in knowledge and in all diligence and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.