Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Blessed Unity of the People of God

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Jonathan’s Loyalty to David

20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

² So Jonathan said to him, “By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

³ Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But ^(A)truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

⁴ So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.”

⁵ And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrow is the ^(B)New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may ^(C)hide in the field until the third day at evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over ^(D)to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’ ^7 (E)If he says thus: ‘It is well,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that ^(F)evil is determined by him. ⁸ Therefore you shall ^(G)deal kindly with your servant, for ^(H)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, ^(I)if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

⁹ But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?”

¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?”

¹¹ And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field. ¹² Then Jonathan said to David: “The Lord God of Israel is witness! When I have ^[a]sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you, ¹³ may ^(J)the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And ^(K)the Lord be with you as He has ^(L)been with my father. ¹⁴ And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; ¹⁵ but ^(M)you shall not ^[b]cut off your kindness from my ^[c]house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the ^[d]house of David, saying, ^(N)“Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

¹⁷ Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; ^(O)for he loved him as he loved his own soul. ¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, ^(P)“Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to ^(Q)the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰ Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target; ²¹ and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, ^(R)as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm. ²² But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the Lord has sent you away. ²³ And as for ^(S)the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the Lord be between you and me forever.”

³⁵ And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. ³⁶ Then he said to his lad, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸ And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry, do not delay!” So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. ³⁹ But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his ^[a]weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”

⁴¹ As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. ⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, ^(A)“Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

Barnabas and Saul at Antioch

^19 (A)Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. ²⁰ But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to ^(B)the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(C)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and ^(D)turned to the Lord.

²² Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out ^(E)Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. ²³ When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and ^(F)encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. ²⁴ For he was a good man, ^(G)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. ^(H)And a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas departed for ^(I)Tarsus to seek Saul. ²⁶ And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.