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Psalm 116

1  I love the Lord,
      for he has heard the voice of my supplication; ♦︎
   because he inclined his ear to me
      on the day I called to him.
2  The snares of death encompassed me;
      the pains of hell took hold of me; ♦︎
   by grief and sorrow was I held.
3  Then I called upon the name of the Lord: ♦︎
   ‘O Lord, I beg you, deliver my soul.’
4  Gracious is the Lord and righteous; ♦︎
   our God is full of compassion.
5  The Lord watches over the simple; ♦︎
   I was brought very low and he saved me.
6  Turn again to your rest, O my soul, ♦︎
   for the Lord has been gracious to you.
7  For you have delivered my soul from death, ♦︎
   my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
8  I will walk before the Lord ♦︎
   in the land of the living.
9  I believed that I should perish
      for I was sorely troubled; ♦︎
   and I said in my alarm,
      ‘Everyone is a liar.’
10  How shall I repay the Lord ♦︎
   for all the benefits he has given to me?
11  I will lift up the cup of salvation ♦︎
   and call upon the name of the Lord.
12  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord ♦︎
   in the presence of all his people.
13  Precious in the sight of the Lord ♦︎
   is the death of his faithful servants.
14  O Lord, I am your servant, ♦︎
   your servant, the child of your handmaid;
      you have freed me from my bonds.
15  I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving ♦︎
   and call upon the name of the Lord.
16  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord ♦︎
   in the presence of all his people,
17  In the courts of the house of the Lord, ♦︎
   in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
      Alleluia.

David Flees from Jerusalem

13 A messenger came to David, saying, ‘The hearts of the Israelites have gone after Absalom.’ ¹⁴Then David said to all his officials who were with him at Jerusalem, ‘Get up! Let us flee, or there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Hurry, or he will soon overtake us, and bring disaster down upon us, and attack the city with the edge of the sword.’ ¹⁵The king’s officials said to the king, ‘Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king decides.’ ¹⁶So the king left, followed by all his household, except ten concubines whom he left behind to look after the house. ¹⁷The king left, followed by all the people; and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸All his officials passed by him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king.

19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, ‘Why are you also coming with us? Go back, and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner, and also an exile from your home. ²⁰You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your kinsfolk with you; and may the Lord show^* steadfast love and faithfulness to you.’ ²¹But Ittai answered the king, ‘As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.’ ²²David said to Ittai, ‘Go then, march on.’ So Ittai the Gittite marched on, with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³The whole country wept aloud as all the people passed by; the king crossed the Wadi Kidron, and all the people moved on towards the wilderness.

24 Abiathar came up, and Zadok also, with all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, until the people had all passed out of the city. ²⁵Then the king said to Zadok, ‘Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and the place where it remains. ²⁶But if he says, “I take no pleasure in you”, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.’ ²⁷The king also said to the priest Zadok, ‘Look,^* go back to the city in peace, you and Abiathar,^* with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar. ²⁸See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.’ ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot; and all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went. ³¹David was told that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, ‘O Lord, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.’

Hushai Becomes David’s Spy

32 When David came to the summit, where God was worshipped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head. ³³David said to him, ‘If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, “I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant”, then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. ³⁵The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you there. So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar. ³⁶Their two sons are with them there, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan; and by them you shall report to me everything you hear.’ ³⁷So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

The Healing of Aeneas

32 Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers,^* he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. ³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralysed. ³⁴Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up. ³⁵And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Peter in Lydda and Joppa

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.^* She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. ³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ ³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. ⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. ⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.