19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,1 and said:
“I have granted help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 sI have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have tanointed him,
21 so that my hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
uthe wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 vI will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my wFather,
my God, and the xRock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the yfirstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 zMy steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my acovenant will stand firm2 for him.
29 I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 bIf his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,3
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but cI will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or dalter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn eby my holiness;
I will not flie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne gas long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have hbreached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have imade all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
46 jHow long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 kRemember how short my time is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 What man can live and never see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Lord, where is your lsteadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 mRemember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults4 of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
52 nBlessed be the Lord forever!
oAmen and Amen.
I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord
A Maskil1 of bEthan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the csteadfast love of the Lord forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
Elijah Flees Jezebel
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, s“So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. tAnd he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went uin the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
The Lord Speaks to Elijah
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. vFor the people of Israel have wforsaken your covenant, xthrown down your altars, and ykilled your prophets with the sword, and zI, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord apassed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.1 13 And when Elijah heard it, he bwrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint cHazael to be king over Syria. 16 And dJehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and eElisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from the fsword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 gYet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
The Call of Elisha
19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, h“Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and itook the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
8 Finally, all of you, have wunity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a xtender heart, and a yhumble mind. 9 zDo not repay evil for evil or areviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that byou may obtain a blessing. 10 For
c“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
dlet him eseek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Now fwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be gblessed. hHave no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ialways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, jso that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than kfor doing evil.
18 For lChrist also suffered1 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, mthat he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 nin which2 he went and proclaimed3 to the spirits in prison, 20 because4 they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, owhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 pBaptism, which corresponds to this, qnow saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the rright hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
Stewards of God’s Grace
1 Since therefore sChrist suffered in the flesh,5 tarm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for uwhoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human vpassions but for the will of God. 3 For the wtime that is past suffices for doing what the xGentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will ygive account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the zgospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might alive in the spirit the way God does.
