2 Samuel 2, 1 Corinthians 13, Ezekiel 11, Psalm 50

2 Samuel 2,

1 In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. "Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?" he asked. The LORD said, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go?" "To Hebron," the LORD answered.
 
2 So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
 
3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns.
 
4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When David was told that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul,
 
5 he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead to say to them, "The LORD bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him.
 
6 May the LORD now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this.
 
7 Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
 
8 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
 
9 He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.
 
10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
 
11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
 
12 Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
 
13 Joab son of Zeruiah and David's men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
 
14 Then Abner said to Joab, "Let's have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us." "All right, let them do it," Joab said.
 
15 So they stood up and were counted off-twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
 
16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent's side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.
 
17 The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's men.
 
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.
 
19 He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him.
 
20 Abner looked behind him and asked, "Is that you, Asahel?" "It is," he answered.
 
21 Then Abner said to him, "Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons." But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
 
22 Again Abner warned Asahel, "Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?"
 
23 But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel's stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
 
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon.
 
25 Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.
 
26 Abner called out to Joab, "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?"
 
27 Joab answered, "As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued the pursuit of their brothers until morning."
 
28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.
 
29 All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the whole Bithron and came to Mahanaim.
 
30 Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner and assembled all his men. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David's men were found missing.
 
31 But David's men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner.
 
32 They took Asahel and buried him in his father's tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.
 

1 Corinthians 13,

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
 
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
 
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
 
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
 
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
 
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
 
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
 
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
 
10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
 
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
 
12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
 
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
 

Ezekiel 11,

1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. There at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
 
2 The LORD said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city.
 
3 They say, 'Will it not soon be time to build houses? This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.'
 
4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man."
 
5 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say: "This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind.
 
6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.
 
7 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it.
 
8 You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign LORD.
 
9 I will drive you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners and inflict punishment on you.
 
10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
 
11 This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel.
 
12 And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you."
 
13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?"
 
14 The word of the LORD came to me: 15 "Son of man, your brothers?your brothers who are your blood relatives and the whole house of Israel?are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, They are far away from the LORD; this land was given to us as our possession.
 
15 "Son of man, your brothers-your brothers who are your blood relatives and the whole house of Israel-are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, 'They are far away from the LORD; this land was given to us as our possession.'
 
16 "Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.'
 
17 "Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.'
 
18 "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.
 
19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
 
20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
 
21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."
 
22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
 
23 The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.
 
24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me,
 
25 and I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.
 

Psalm 50

1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.
 
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
 
3 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.
 
4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people:
 
5 "Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
 
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah
 
7 "Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.
 
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
 
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,
 
10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
 
11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
 
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
 
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
 
14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,
 
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."
 
16 But to the wicked, God says: "What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?
 
17 You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.
 
18 When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers.
 
19 You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.
 
20 You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son.
 
21 These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
 
22 "Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:
 
23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."