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Psalm 59

1  Rescue me from my enemies, O my God; ♦︎
   set me high above those that rise up against me.
2  Save me from the evildoers ♦︎
   and from murderous foes deliver me.
3  For see how they lie in wait for my soul ♦︎
   and the mighty stir up trouble against me.
4  Not for any fault or sin of mine, O Lord; ♦︎
   for no offence, they run and prepare themselves for war.
5  Rouse yourself, come to my aid and see; ♦︎
   for you are the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel.
6  Awake, and judge all the nations; ♦︎
   show no mercy to the evil traitors.
7  They return at nightfall and snarl like dogs ♦︎
   and prowl about the city.
8  They pour out evil words with their mouths;
      swords are on their lips; ♦︎
   ‘For who’, they say, ‘can hear us?’
9  But you laugh at them, O Lord; ♦︎
   you hold all the nations in derision.
10  For you, O my strength, will I watch; ♦︎
   you, O God, are my strong tower.
11  My God in his steadfast love will come to me; ♦︎
   he will let me behold the downfall of my enemies.
12  Slay them not, lest my people forget; ♦︎
   send them reeling by your might
      and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
13  For the sins of their mouth, for the words of their lips, ♦︎
   let them be taken in their pride.
14  For the cursing and falsehood they have uttered, ♦︎
   consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more.
15  And they shall know that God rules in Jacob, ♦︎
   and to the ends of the earth.
16  And still they return at nightfall and snarl like dogs ♦︎
   and prowl about the city.
17  Though they forage for something to devour, ♦︎
   and howl if they are not filled,
18  Yet will I sing of your strength ♦︎
   and every morning praise your steadfast love;
19  For you have been my stronghold, ♦︎
   my refuge in the day of my trouble.
20  To you, O my strength, will I sing; ♦︎
   for you, O God, are my refuge,
      my God of steadfast love.

Joram of Israel Killed

14 Thus Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead against King Hazael of Aram; ¹⁵but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him, when he fought against King Hazael of Aram. So Jehu said, ‘If this is your wish, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.’ ¹⁶Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, where Joram was lying ill. King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.

17 In Jezreel, the sentinel standing on the tower spied the company of Jehu arriving, and said, ‘I see a company.’ Joram said, ‘Take a horseman; send him to meet them, and let him say, “Is it peace?” ’ ¹⁸So the horseman went to meet him; he said, ‘Thus says the king, “Is it peace?” ’ Jehu responded, ‘What have you to do with peace? Fall in behind me.’ The sentinel reported, saying, ‘The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.’ ¹⁹Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, ‘Thus says the king, “Is it peace?” ’ Jehu answered, ‘What have you to do with peace? Fall in behind me.’ ²⁰Again the sentinel reported, ‘He reached them, but he is not coming back. It looks like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi; for he drives like a maniac.’

21 Joram said, ‘Get ready.’ And they got his chariot ready. Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu; they met him at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²²When Joram saw Jehu, he said, ‘Is it peace, Jehu?’ He answered, ‘What peace can there be, so long as the many whoredoms and sorceries of your mother Jezebel continue?’ ²³Then Joram reined about and fled, saying to Ahaziah, ‘Treason, Ahaziah!’ ²⁴Jehu drew his bow with all his strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart; and he sank in his chariot. ²⁵Jehu said to his aide Bidkar, ‘Lift him out, and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I rode side by side behind his father Ahab, how the Lord uttered this oracle against him: ²⁶“For the blood of Naboth and for the blood of his children that I saw yesterday, says the Lord, I swear I will repay you on this very plot of ground.” Now therefore lift him out and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.’

One in Christ

11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth,^* called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile both groups to God in one body^* through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.^{* 17}So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, ²⁰built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.^{* 21}In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; ²²in whom you also are built together spiritually^* into a dwelling-place for God.