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Psalm 118

1  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; ♦︎
   his mercy endures for ever.
2  Let Israel now proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
3  Let the house of Aaron now proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
4  Let those who fear the Lord proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
5  In my constraint I called to the Lord; ♦︎
   the Lord answered and set me free.
6  The Lord is at my side; I will not fear; ♦︎
   what can flesh do to me?
7  With the Lord at my side as my saviour, ♦︎
   I shall see the downfall of my enemies.
8  It is better to take refuge in the Lord ♦︎
   than to put any confidence in flesh.
9  It is better to take refuge in the Lord ♦︎
   than to put any confidence in princes.
10  All the nations encompassed me, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
11  They hemmed me in, they hemmed me in on every side, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
12  They swarmed about me like bees;
      they blazed like fire among thorns, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
13  Surely, I was thrust to the brink, ♦︎
   but the Lord came to my help.
14  The Lord is my strength and my song, ♦︎
   and he has become my salvation.
15  Joyful shouts of salvation ♦︎
   sound from the tents of the righteous:
16  ‘The right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds;
      the right hand of the Lord raises up; ♦︎
   the right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds.’
17  I shall not die, but live ♦︎
   and declare the works of the Lord.
18  The Lord has punished me sorely, ♦︎
   but he has not given me over to death.
19  Open to me the gates of righteousness, ♦︎
   that I may enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20  This is the gate of the Lord; ♦︎
   the righteous shall enter through it.
21  I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me ♦︎
   and have become my salvation.
22  The stone which the builders rejected ♦︎
   has become the chief cornerstone.
23  This is the Lord’s doing, ♦︎
   and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24  This is the day that the Lord has made; ♦︎
   we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25  Come, O Lord, and save us we pray. ♦︎
   Come, Lord, send us now prosperity.
26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; ♦︎
   we bless you from the house of the Lord.
27  The Lord is God; he has given us light; ♦︎
   link the pilgrims with cords
      right to the horns of the altar.
28  You are my God and I will thank you; ♦︎
   you are my God and I will exalt you.
29  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; ♦︎
   his mercy endures for ever.

17Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, ‘Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight. ²I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged, and throw him into a panic; and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, ³and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man,^* and all the people will be at peace.’ ⁴The advice pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

The Counsel of Hushai

5 Then Absalom said, ‘Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear too what he has to say.’ ⁶When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, ‘This is what Ahithophel has said; shall we do as he advises? If not, you tell us.’ ⁷Then Hushai said to Absalom, ‘This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.’ ⁸Hushai continued, ‘You know that your father and his men are warriors, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the troops. ⁹Even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits, or in some other place. And when some of our troops^* fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, “There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.” ¹⁰Then even the valiant warrior, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear; for all Israel knows that your father is a warrior, and that those who are with him are valiant warriors. ¹¹But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beer-sheba, like the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. ¹²So we shall come upon him in whatever place he may be found, and we shall light on him as the dew falls on the ground; and he will not survive, nor will any of those with him. ¹³If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.’ ¹⁴Absalom and all the men of Israel said, ‘The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.’ For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring ruin on Absalom.

Hushai Warns David to Escape

15 Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, ‘Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and so I have counselled. ¹⁶Therefore send quickly and tell David, “Do not lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over; otherwise the king and all the people who are with him will be swallowed up.” ’ ¹⁷Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel; a servant-girl used to go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David; for they could not risk being seen entering the city. ¹⁸But a boy saw them, and told Absalom; so both of them went away quickly, and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard; and they went down into it. ¹⁹The man’s wife took a covering, stretched it over the well’s mouth, and spread out grain on it; and nothing was known of it. ²⁰When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, ‘Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?’ The woman said to them, ‘They have crossed over the brook^* of water.’ And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

21 After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, ‘Go and cross the water quickly; for thus and so has Ahithophel counselled against you.’ ²²So David and all the people who were with him set out and crossed the Jordan; by daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order, and hanged himself; he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

17 Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. ¹⁸They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Look, three^* men are searching for you. ²⁰Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.’ ²¹So Peter went down to the men and said, ‘I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?’ ²²They answered, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.’ ²³So Peter^* invited them in and gave them lodging.

The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers^* from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshipped him. ²⁶But Peter made him get up, saying, ‘Stand up; I am only a mortal.’ ²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled; ²⁸and he said to them, ‘You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. ²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?’

30 Cornelius replied, ‘Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. ³¹He said, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. ³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.” ³³Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.’