1 SAMUEL 16

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David Anointed King  16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
    6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. David in Saul’s Service14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

PSALM 104

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O Lord My God, You Are Very Great104:1

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are very great!

You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2

covering yourself with light as with a garment,

stretching out the heavens like a tent. 3

He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;

he makes the clouds his chariot;

he rides on the wings of the wind; 4

he makes his messengers winds,

his ministers a flaming fire.
5

He set the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved. 6

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains. 7

At your rebuke they fled;

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight. 8

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

to the place that you appointed for them. 9

You set a boundary that they may not pass,

so that they might not again cover the earth.
10

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills; 11

they give drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12

Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;

they sing among the branches. 13

From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock

and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth 15

and wine to gladden the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine

and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
16

The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17

In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has her home in the fir trees. 18

The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19

He made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting. 20

You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21

The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God. 22

When the sun rises, they steal away

and lie down in their dens. 23

Man goes out to his work

and to his labor until the evening.
24

O Lord, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures. 25

Here is the sea, great and wide,

which teems with creatures innumerable,

living things both small and great. 26

There go the ships,

and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.
27

These all look to you,

to give them their food in due season. 28

When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29

When you hide your face, they are dismayed;

when you take away their breath, they die

and return to their dust. 30

When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.
31

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

may the Lord rejoice in his works, 32

who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who touches the mountains and they smoke! 33

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34

May my meditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the Lord. 35

Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!

PSALM 105

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Tell of All His Wondrous Works105:1

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples! 2

Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works! 3

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 4

Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually! 5

Remember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 6

O offspring of Abraham, his servant,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7

He is the Lord our God;

his judgments are in all the earth. 8

He remembers his covenant forever,

the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9

the covenant that he made with Abraham,

his sworn promise to Isaac, 10

which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11

saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan

as your portion for an inheritance.”
12

When they were few in number,

of little account, and sojourners in it, 13

wandering from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another people, 14

he allowed no one to oppress them;

he rebuked kings on their account, 15

saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,

do my prophets no harm!”
16

When he summoned a famine on the land

and broke all supply of bread, 17

he had sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18

His feet were hurt with fetters;

his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19

until what he had said came to pass,

the word of the Lord tested him. 20

The king sent and released him;

the ruler of the peoples set him free; 21

he made him lord of his house

and ruler of all his possessions, 22

to bind his princes at his pleasure

and to teach his elders wisdom.
23

Then Israel came to Egypt;

Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24

And the Lord made his people very fruitful

and made them stronger than their foes. 25

He turned their hearts to hate his people,

to deal craftily with his servants.
26

He sent Moses, his servant,

and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27

They performed his signs among them

and miracles in the land of Ham. 28

He sent darkness, and made the land dark;

they did not rebel against his words. 29

He turned their waters into blood

and caused their fish to die. 30

Their land swarmed with frogs,

even in the chambers of their kings. 31

He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,

and gnats throughout their country. 32

He gave them hail for rain,

and fiery lightning bolts through their land. 33

He struck down their vines and fig trees,

and shattered the trees of their country. 34

He spoke, and the locusts came,

young locusts without number, 35

which devoured all the vegetation in their land

and ate up the fruit of their ground. 36

He struck down all the firstborn in their land,

the firstfruits of all their strength.
37

Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,

and there was none among his tribes who stumbled. 38

Egypt was glad when they departed,

for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39

He spread a cloud for a covering,

and fire to give light by night. 40

They asked, and he brought quail,

and gave them bread from heaven in abundance. 41

He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

it flowed through the desert like a river. 42

For he remembered his holy promise,

and Abraham, his servant.
43

So he brought his people out with joy,

his chosen ones with singing. 44

And he gave them the lands of the nations,

and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil, 45

that they might keep his statutes

and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord!

PROVERBS 11

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11:1

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,

but a just weight is his delight. 2

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,

but with the humble is wisdom. 3

The integrity of the upright guides them,

but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. 4

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,

but righteousness delivers from death. 5

The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,

but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. 6

The righteousness of the upright delivers them,

but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. 7

When the wicked dies, his hope will perish,

and the expectation of wealth perishes too. 8

The righteous is delivered from trouble,

and the wicked walks into it instead. 9

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,

but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. 10

When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. 11

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. 12

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,

but a man of understanding remains silent. 13

Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets,

but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. 14

Where there is no guidance, a people falls,

but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. 15

Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm,

but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure. 16

A gracious woman gets honor,

and violent men get riches. 17

A man who is kind benefits himself,

but a cruel man hurts himself. 18

The wicked earns deceptive wages,

but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. 19

Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,

but he who pursues evil will die. 20

Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord,

but those of blameless ways are his delight. 21

Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,

but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered. 22

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout

is a beautiful woman without discretion. 23

The desire of the righteous ends only in good,

the expectation of the wicked in wrath. 24

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

and one who waters will himself be watered. 26

The people curse him who holds back grain,

but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. 27

Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,

but evil comes to him who searches for it. 28

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,

but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. 29

Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,

and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise. 31

If the righteous is repaid on earth,

how much more the wicked and the sinner!