Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 Hear me,(A) Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.(B)
Hear(C) my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.(D)
2 Let my vindication(E) come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.(F)
3 Though you probe my heart,(G)
though you examine me at night and test me,(H)
you will find that I have planned no evil;(I)
my mouth has not transgressed.(J)
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;(K)
my feet have not stumbled.(L)
6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;(M)
turn your ear to me(N) and hear my prayer.(O)
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,(P)
you who save by your right hand(Q)
those who take refuge(R) in you from their foes.
8 Keep me(S) as the apple of your eye;(T)
hide me(U) in the shadow of your wings(V)
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.(W)
10 They close up their callous hearts,(X)
and their mouths speak with arrogance.(Y)
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,(Z)
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion(AA) hungry for prey,(AB)
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up,(AC) Lord, confront them, bring them down;(AD)
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world(AE) whose reward is in this life.(AF)
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers(AG) for their little ones.
27 After the time of mourning(A) was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased(B) the Lord.
Nathan Rebukes David(C)
12 The Lord sent Nathan(D) to David.(E) When he came to him,(F) he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David(G) burned with anger(H) against the man(I) and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,(J) the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over,(K) because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!(L) This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed(M) you(N) king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you,(O) and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise(P) the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down(Q) Uriah(R) the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed(S) him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword(T) will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household(U) I am going to bring calamity on you.(V) Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.(W) 12 You did it in secret,(X) but I will do this thing in broad daylight(Y) before all Israel.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned(Z) against the Lord.”
Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away(AA) your sin.(AB) You are not going to die.(AC) 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord,(AD) the son born to you will die.”
15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck(AE) the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
To the Church in Philadelphia
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia(A) write:
These are the words of him who is holy(B) and true,(C) who holds the key of David.(D) What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds.(E) See, I have placed before you an open door(F) that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.(G) 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan,(H) who claim to be Jews though they are not,(I) but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet(J) and acknowledge that I have loved you.(K) 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you(L) from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world(M) to test(N) the inhabitants of the earth.(O)
11 I am coming soon.(P) Hold on to what you have,(Q) so that no one will take your crown.(R) 12 The one who is victorious(S) I will make a pillar(T) in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God(U) and the name of the city of my God,(V) the new Jerusalem,(W) which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear(X) what the Spirit says to the churches.
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