Month: May 2017

Ishbosheth Is Murdered

4 When Saul's son Ishbosheth heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron, he was afraid, and all the people of Israel were alarmed. ² Ishbosheth had two officers who were leaders of raiding parties, Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon, from Beeroth in the tribe of Benjamin. (Beeroth is counted as part of Benjamin. ³ Its original inhabitants had fled to Gittaim, where they have lived ever since.)

^4 (A)Another descendant of Saul was Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were killed. When the news about their death came from the city of Jezreel, his nurse picked him up and fled; but she was in such a hurry that she dropped him, and he became crippled.

⁵ Rechab and Baanah set out for Ishbosheth's house and arrived there about noon, while he was taking his midday rest. ⁶ The woman at the door had become drowsy while she was sifting wheat and had fallen asleep, so Rechab and Baanah slipped in.^{[a] 7} Once inside, they went to Ishbosheth's bedroom, where he was sound asleep, and killed him. Then they cut off his head, took it with them, and walked all night through the Jordan Valley. ⁸ They presented the head to King David at Hebron and said to him, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul, who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has allowed Your Majesty to take revenge on Saul and his descendants.”

⁹ David answered them, “I take a vow by the living Lord, who has saved me from all dangers! ^10 (B)The messenger who came to me at Ziklag and told me of Saul's death thought he was bringing good news. I seized him and had him put to death. That was the reward I gave him for his good news! ¹¹ How much worse it will be for evil men who murder an innocent man asleep in his own house! I will now take revenge on you for murdering him and will wipe you off the face of the earth!” ¹² David gave the order, and his soldiers killed Rechab and Baanah and cut off their hands and feet, which they hung up near the pool in Hebron. They took Ishbosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb there at Hebron.

David Becomes King of Israel and Judah^(C)

5 Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the Lord promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.” ³ So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel. ^4 (D)David was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years. ⁵ He ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years, and in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

^6 (E)The time came when King David and his men set out to attack Jerusalem. The Jebusites, who lived there, thought that David would not be able to conquer the city, and so they said to him, “You will never get in here; even the blind and the crippled could keep you out.” (⁷ But David did capture their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David's City.”)

⁸ That day David said to his men, “Does anybody here hate the Jebusites as much as I do? Enough to kill them? Then go up through the water tunnel and attack those poor blind cripples.” (That is why it is said, “The blind and the crippled cannot enter the Lord's house.”)^[b]

⁹ After capturing the fortress, David lived in it and named it “David's City.” He built the city around it, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill. ¹⁰ He grew stronger all the time, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

¹¹ King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with carpenters and stone masons to build a palace. ¹² And so David realized that the Lord had established him as king of Israel and was making his kingdom prosperous for the sake of his people.

¹³ After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David took more concubines and wives, and had more sons and daughters. ¹⁴ The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

Victory over the Philistines^(F)

¹⁷ The Philistines were told that David had been made king of Israel, so their army set out to capture him. When David heard of it, he went down to a fortified place. ¹⁸ The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and occupied it. ¹⁹ David asked the Lord, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?”

“Yes, attack!” the Lord answered. “I will give you the victory!”

²⁰ So David went to Baal Perazim and there he defeated the Philistines. He said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies like a flood.” And so that place is called Baal Perazim.^{[c] 21} When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David and his men carried them away.

²² Then the Philistines went back to Rephaim Valley and occupied it again. ²³ Once more David consulted the Lord, who answered, “Don't attack them from here, but go around and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees. ²⁴ When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.” ²⁵ David did what the Lord had commanded, and was able to drive the Philistines back from Geba all the way to Gezer.

The Covenant Box Is Brought to Jerusalem^(G)

6 Once more David called together the best soldiers in Israel, a total of thirty thousand men, ^2 (H)and led them to Baalah^[d] in Judah, in order to bring from there God's Covenant Box, bearing the name of the Lord Almighty, whose throne is above the winged creatures.^{[e] 3 (I)}They took it from Abinadab's home on the hill and placed it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart, ⁴ with Ahio walking in front. ⁵ David and all the Israelites were dancing and singing with all their might^[f] to honor the Lord. They were playing harps, lyres, drums, rattles, and cymbals.

⁶ As they came to the threshing place of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. ⁷ At once the Lord God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence.^[g] Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box, ⁸ and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah^[h] ever since. David was furious because the Lord had punished Uzzah in anger.

⁹ Then David was afraid of the Lord and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?” ¹⁰ So he decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. ^11 (J)It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his family.

¹² King David heard that because of the Covenant Box the Lord had blessed Obed Edom's family and all that he had; so he got the Covenant Box from Obed's house to take it to Jerusalem with a great celebration. ¹³ After the men carrying the Covenant Box had gone six steps, David had them stop while he offered the Lord a sacrifice of a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ David, wearing only a linen cloth around his waist, danced with all his might to honor the Lord. ¹⁵ And so he and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets.

¹⁶ As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him. ¹⁷ They brought the Box and put it in its place in the Tent that David had set up for it. Then he offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to the Lord. ¹⁸ When he had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty ^19 (K)and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat,^[i] and some raisins. Then everyone went home.

²⁰ Afterward, when David went home to greet his family, Michal came out to meet him. “The king of Israel made a big name for himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself like a fool in the sight of the servant women of his officials!”

²¹ David answered, “I was dancing to honor the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and his family to make me the leader of his people Israel. And I will go on dancing to honor the Lord, ²² and will disgrace myself even more. You^[j] may think I am nothing, but those women will think highly of me!”

²³ Michal, Saul's daughter, never had any children.

The New Commandment

³¹ After Judas had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man's glory is revealed; now God's glory is revealed through him. ³² And if God's glory is revealed through him, then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself, and he will do so at once. ^33 (A)My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, ‘You cannot go where I am going.’ ^34 (B)And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial^(C)

³⁶ “Where are you going, Lord?” Simon Peter asked him.

“You cannot follow me now where I am going,” answered Jesus; “but later you will follow me.”

³⁷ “Lord, why can't I follow you now?” asked Peter. “I am ready to die for you!”

³⁸ Jesus answered, “Are you really ready to die for me? I am telling you the truth: before the rooster crows you will say three times that you do not know me.

Jesus the Way to the Father

14 “Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe^[a] in God and believe also in me. ² There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so.^{[b] 3} And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. ⁴ You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?”

^6 (D)Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. ⁷ Now that you have known me,” he said to them, “you will know^[c] my Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.”

⁹ Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you,” Jesus said to his disciples, “do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do. ¹² I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do—yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me^[d] for anything in my name, I will do it.

Happiness in the Law of the Lord

Determination to Obey the Law of the Lord

³¹ If you pay attention when you are corrected, you are wise.

³² If you refuse to learn, you are hurting yourself. If you accept correction, you will become wiser.

War between Israel and Judah

¹² Abner and the officials of Ishbosheth went from Mahanaim to the city of Gibeon. ¹³ Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and David's other officials met them at the pool, where they all sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the opposite side. ¹⁴ Abner said to Joab, “Let's have some of the young men from each side fight an armed contest.”

“All right,” Joab answered.

¹⁵ So twelve men, representing Ishbosheth and the tribe of Benjamin, fought twelve of David's men. ¹⁶ Each man caught his opponent by the head and plunged his sword into his opponent's side, so that all twenty-four of them fell down dead together. And so that place in Gibeon is called “Field of Swords.”

¹⁷ Then a furious battle broke out, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David's men. ¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel, who could run as fast as a wild deer, ¹⁹ started chasing Abner, running straight for him. ²⁰ Abner looked back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“Yes,” he answered.

²¹ “Stop chasing me!” Abner said. “Run after one of the soldiers and take what he has.” But Asahel kept on chasing him. ²² Once more Abner said to him, “Stop chasing me! Why force me to kill you? How could I face your brother Joab?” ²³ But Asahel would not quit; so Abner, with a backward thrust^[a] of his spear, struck him through the stomach so that the spear came out at his back. Asahel dropped to the ground dead, and everyone who came to the place where he was lying stopped and stood there.

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai started out after Abner, and at sunset they came to the hill of Ammah, which is to the east of Giah on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner again and took their stand on the top of a hill. ²⁶ Abner called out to Joab, “Do we have to go on fighting forever? Can't you see that in the end there will be nothing but bitterness? We are your relatives. How long will it be before you order your men to stop chasing us?”

²⁷ “I swear by the living God,” Joab answered, “that if you had not spoken, my men would have kept on chasing you until tomorrow morning.” ²⁸ Then Joab blew the trumpet as a signal for his men to stop pursuing the Israelites; and so the fighting stopped.

²⁹ Abner and his men marched through the Jordan Valley all that night; they crossed the Jordan River, and after marching all the next morning, they arrived back at Mahanaim.

³⁰ When Joab gave up the chase, he gathered all his men and found that nineteen of them were missing, in addition to Asahel. ³¹ David's men had killed 360 of Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin. ³² Joab and his men took Asahel's body and buried it in the family tomb at Bethlehem. Then they marched all night and at dawn arrived back at Hebron.

3 The fighting between the forces supporting Saul's family and those supporting David went on for a long time. As David became stronger and stronger, his opponents became weaker and weaker.

David's Sons

² The following six sons, in order of their birth, were born to David at Hebron: Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam, from Jezreel; ³ Chileab, whose mother was Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel; Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; ⁴ Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital; ⁵ Ithream, whose mother was Eglah. All of these sons were born in Hebron.

Abner Joins David

⁶ As the fighting continued between David's forces and the forces loyal to Saul's family, Abner became more and more powerful among Saul's followers.

⁷ One day Ishbosheth son of Saul accused Abner of sleeping with Saul's concubine Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. ⁸ This made Abner furious. “Do you think that I would betray Saul? Do you really think I'm serving Judah?” he exclaimed. “From the very first I have been loyal to the cause of your father Saul, his brothers, and his friends, and I have kept you from being defeated by David; yet today you find fault with me about a woman! ^9-10 (A)The Lord promised David that he would take the kingdom away from Saul and his descendants and would make David king of both Israel and Judah, from one end of the country to the other. Now may God strike me dead if I don't make this come true!” ¹¹ Ishbosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not say a word.

¹² Abner sent messengers to David, who at that time was at Hebron,^[b] to say, “Who is going to rule this land? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you win all Israel over to your side.”

¹³ “Good!” David answered. “I will make an agreement with you on one condition: you must bring Saul's daughter Michal to me when you come to see me.” ^14 (B)And David also sent messengers to Ishbosheth to say, “Give me back my wife Michal. I paid a hundred Philistine foreskins in order to marry her.” ¹⁵ So Ishbosheth had her taken from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. ¹⁶ Paltiel followed her all the way to the town of Bahurim, crying as he went. But when Abner said, “Go back home,” he did.

¹⁷ Abner went to the leaders of Israel and said to them, “For a long time you have wanted David to be your king. ¹⁸ Now here is your chance. Remember that the Lord has said, ‘I will use my servant David to rescue my people Israel from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.’” ¹⁹ Abner spoke also to the people of the tribe of Benjamin and then went to Hebron to tell David what the people of Benjamin and of Israel had agreed to do.

²⁰ When Abner came to David at Hebron with twenty men, David gave a feast for them. ²¹ Abner told David, “I will go now and win all Israel over to Your Majesty. They will accept you as king, and then you will get what you have wanted and will rule over the whole land.” David gave Abner a guarantee of safety and sent him on his way.

Abner Is Murdered

²² Later on Joab and David's other officials returned from a raid, bringing a large amount of loot with them. Abner, however, was no longer there at Hebron with David, because David had sent him away with a guarantee of safety. ²³ When Joab and his men arrived, he was told that Abner had come to King David and had been sent away with a guarantee of safety. ²⁴ So Joab went to the king and said to him, “What have you done? Abner came to you—why did you let him go like that? ²⁵ He came here to deceive you and to find out everything you do and everywhere you go. Surely you know that!”

²⁶ After leaving David, Joab sent messengers to get Abner, and they brought him back from Sirah Well; but David knew nothing about it. ²⁷ When Abner arrived in Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate, as though he wanted to speak privately with him, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. And so Abner was murdered because he had killed Joab's brother Asahel. ²⁸ When David heard the news, he said, “The Lord knows that my subjects and I are completely innocent of the murder of Abner. ²⁹ May the punishment for it fall on Joab and all his family! In every generation may there be some man in his family who has gonorrhea or a dreaded skin disease or is fit only to do a woman's work or is killed in battle or doesn't have enough to eat!” ³⁰ So Joab and his brother Abishai took revenge on Abner for killing their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.

Abner Is Buried

³¹ Then David ordered Joab and his men to tear their clothes, wear sackcloth, and mourn for Abner. And at the funeral King David himself walked behind the coffin. ³² Abner was buried at Hebron, and the king wept aloud at the grave, and so did all the people. ³³ David sang this lament for Abner:

And the people wept for him again.

³⁵ All day long the people tried to get David to eat something, but he made a solemn promise, “May God strike me dead if I eat anything before the day is over!” ³⁶ They took note of this and were pleased. Indeed, everything the king did pleased the people. ³⁷ All of David's people and all the people in Israel understood that the king had no part in the murder of Abner. ³⁸ The king said to his officials, “Don't you realize that this day a great leader in Israel has died? ³⁹ Even though I am the king chosen by God, I feel weak today. These sons of Zeruiah are too violent for me. May the Lord punish these criminals as they deserve!”

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

13 It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.

² Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus.^{[a] 3} Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. ⁴ So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”

⁸ Peter declared, “Never at any time will you wash my feet!”

“If I do not wash your feet,” Jesus answered, “you will no longer be my disciple.”

⁹ Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Those who have taken a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet.^[b] All of you are clean—all except one.” (¹¹ Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, “All of you, except one, are clean.”)

^12 (A)After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. “Do you understand what I have just done to you?” he asked. ¹³ “You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am. ¹⁴ I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you. ^16 (B)I am telling you the truth: no slaves are greater than their master, and no messengers are greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷ Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!

^18 (C)“I am not talking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the scripture must come true that says, ‘The man who shared my food turned against me.’ ¹⁹ I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that ‘I Am Who I Am.’ ^20 (D)I am telling you the truth: whoever receives anyone I send receives me also; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal^(E)

²¹ After Jesus had said this, he was deeply troubled and declared openly, “I am telling you the truth: one of you is going to betray me.”

²² The disciples looked at one another, completely puzzled about whom he meant. ²³ One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to him and said, “Ask him whom he is talking about.”

²⁵ So that disciple moved closer to Jesus' side and asked, “Who is it, Lord?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “I will dip some bread in the sauce and give it to him; he is the man.” So he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Hurry and do what you must!” ²⁸ None of the others at the table understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Since Judas was in charge of the money bag, some of the disciples thought that Jesus had told him to go and buy what they needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor.

³⁰ Judas accepted the bread and went out at once. It was night.

The Law of the Lord

Obedience to the Law of the Lord

²⁹ When good people pray, the Lord listens, but he ignores those who are evil.

³⁰ Smiling faces make you happy, and good news makes you feel better.

David Learns of Saul's Death

1 After Saul's death David came back from his victory over the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag for two days. ² The next day a young man arrived from Saul's camp. To show his grief, he had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head. He went to David and bowed to the ground in respect. ³ David asked him, “Where have you come from?”

“I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he answered.

⁴ “Tell me what happened,” David said.

“Our army ran away from the battle,” he replied, “and many of our men were killed. Saul and his son Jonathan were also killed.”

⁵ “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David asked him.

^6 (A)He answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and I saw that Saul was leaning on his spear and that the chariots and cavalry of the enemy were closing in on him. ⁷ Then he turned around, saw me, and called to me. I answered, ‘Yes, sir!’ ⁸ He asked who I was, and I told him that I was an Amalekite. ⁹ Then he said, ‘Come here and kill me! I have been badly wounded, and I'm about to die.’ ¹⁰ So I went up to him and killed him, because I knew that he would die anyway as soon as he fell. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm, and I have brought them to you, sir.”

¹¹ David tore his clothes in sorrow, and all his men did the same. ¹² They grieved and mourned and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan and for Israel, the people of the Lord, because so many had been killed in battle.

¹³ David asked the young man who had brought him the news, “Where are you from?”

He answered, “I'm an Amalekite, but I live in your country.”

¹⁴ David asked him, “How is it that you dared kill the Lord's chosen king?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of his men and said, “Kill him!” The man struck the Amalekite and mortally wounded him, ¹⁶ and David said to the Amalekite, “You brought this on yourself. You condemned yourself when you confessed that you killed the one whom the Lord chose to be king.”

David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ David sang this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, ^18 (B)and ordered it^[a] to be taught to the people of Judah. (It is recorded in The book of Jashar.)

David Is Made King of Judah

2 After this, David asked the Lord, “Shall I go and take control of one of the towns of Judah?”

“Yes,” the Lord answered.

“Which one?” David asked.

“Hebron,” the Lord said. ^2 (C)So David went to Hebron, taking with him his two wives: Ahinoam, who was from Jezreel, and Abigail, Nabal's widow, who was from Carmel. ³ He also took his men and their families, and they settled in the towns around Hebron. ^4 (D)Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David as king of Judah.

When David heard that the people of Jabesh in Gilead had buried Saul, ⁵ he sent some men there with the message: “May the Lord bless you for showing your loyalty to your king by burying him. ⁶ And now may the Lord be kind and faithful to you. I too will treat you well because of what you have done. ⁷ Be strong and brave! Saul your king is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me as their king.”

Ishbosheth Is Made King of Israel

⁸ The commander of Saul's army, Abner son of Ner, had fled with Saul's son Ishbosheth across the Jordan to Mahanaim. ⁹ There Abner made Ishbosheth king of the territories of Gilead, Asher,^[b] Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, and indeed over all Israel. ¹⁰ He was forty years old when he was made king of Israel, and he ruled for two years.

But the tribe of Judah was loyal to David, ¹¹ and he ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years.

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival. ²¹ They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

²² Philip went and told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus. ²³ Jesus answered them, “The hour has now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory. ²⁴ I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. ^25 (A)Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. ²⁶ Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.

Jesus Speaks about His Death

²⁷ “Now my heart is troubled—and what shall I say? Shall I say, ‘Father, do not let this hour come upon me’? But that is why I came—so that I might go through this hour of suffering. ²⁸ Father, bring glory to your name!”

Then a voice spoke from heaven, “I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again.”

²⁹ The crowd standing there heard the voice, and some of them said it was thunder, while others said, “An angel spoke to him!”

³⁰ But Jesus said to them, “It was not for my sake that this voice spoke, but for yours. ³¹ Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown. ³² When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” (³³ In saying this he indicated the kind of death he was going to suffer.)

^34 (B)The crowd answered, “Our Law tells us that the Messiah will live forever. How, then, can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Jesus answered, “The light will be among you a little longer. Continue on your way while you have the light, so that the darkness will not come upon you; for the one who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. ³⁶ Believe in the light, then, while you have it, so that you will be the people of the light.”

The Unbelief of the People

After Jesus said this, he went off and hid himself from them. ³⁷ Even though he had performed all these miracles in their presence, they did not believe in him, ^38 (C)so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true:

³⁹ And so they were not able to believe, because Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

⁴² Even then, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly, so as not to be expelled from the synagogue. ⁴³ They loved human approval rather than the approval of God.

Judgment by Jesus' Words

⁴⁴ Jesus said in a loud voice, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. ⁴⁷ If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸ Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day! ⁴⁹ This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his command brings eternal life. What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say.”

²⁷ Try to make a profit dishonestly, and you get your family in trouble. Don't take bribes and you will live longer.

²⁸ Good people think before they answer. Evil people have a quick reply, but it causes trouble.

David Learns of Saul's Death

1 After Saul's death David came back from his victory over the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag for two days. ² The next day a young man arrived from Saul's camp. To show his grief, he had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head. He went to David and bowed to the ground in respect. ³ David asked him, “Where have you come from?”

“I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he answered.

⁴ “Tell me what happened,” David said.

“Our army ran away from the battle,” he replied, “and many of our men were killed. Saul and his son Jonathan were also killed.”

⁵ “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David asked him.

^6 (A)He answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and I saw that Saul was leaning on his spear and that the chariots and cavalry of the enemy were closing in on him. ⁷ Then he turned around, saw me, and called to me. I answered, ‘Yes, sir!’ ⁸ He asked who I was, and I told him that I was an Amalekite. ⁹ Then he said, ‘Come here and kill me! I have been badly wounded, and I'm about to die.’ ¹⁰ So I went up to him and killed him, because I knew that he would die anyway as soon as he fell. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm, and I have brought them to you, sir.”

¹¹ David tore his clothes in sorrow, and all his men did the same. ¹² They grieved and mourned and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan and for Israel, the people of the Lord, because so many had been killed in battle.

¹³ David asked the young man who had brought him the news, “Where are you from?”

He answered, “I'm an Amalekite, but I live in your country.”

¹⁴ David asked him, “How is it that you dared kill the Lord's chosen king?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of his men and said, “Kill him!” The man struck the Amalekite and mortally wounded him, ¹⁶ and David said to the Amalekite, “You brought this on yourself. You condemned yourself when you confessed that you killed the one whom the Lord chose to be king.”

David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ David sang this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, ^18 (B)and ordered it^[a] to be taught to the people of Judah. (It is recorded in The book of Jashar.)

David Is Made King of Judah

2 After this, David asked the Lord, “Shall I go and take control of one of the towns of Judah?”

“Yes,” the Lord answered.

“Which one?” David asked.

“Hebron,” the Lord said. ^2 (C)So David went to Hebron, taking with him his two wives: Ahinoam, who was from Jezreel, and Abigail, Nabal's widow, who was from Carmel. ³ He also took his men and their families, and they settled in the towns around Hebron. ^4 (D)Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David as king of Judah.

When David heard that the people of Jabesh in Gilead had buried Saul, ⁵ he sent some men there with the message: “May the Lord bless you for showing your loyalty to your king by burying him. ⁶ And now may the Lord be kind and faithful to you. I too will treat you well because of what you have done. ⁷ Be strong and brave! Saul your king is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me as their king.”

Ishbosheth Is Made King of Israel

⁸ The commander of Saul's army, Abner son of Ner, had fled with Saul's son Ishbosheth across the Jordan to Mahanaim. ⁹ There Abner made Ishbosheth king of the territories of Gilead, Asher,^[b] Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, and indeed over all Israel. ¹⁰ He was forty years old when he was made king of Israel, and he ruled for two years.

But the tribe of Judah was loyal to David, ¹¹ and he ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years.

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival. ²¹ They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

²² Philip went and told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus. ²³ Jesus answered them, “The hour has now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory. ²⁴ I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. ^25 (A)Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. ²⁶ Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.

Jesus Speaks about His Death

²⁷ “Now my heart is troubled—and what shall I say? Shall I say, ‘Father, do not let this hour come upon me’? But that is why I came—so that I might go through this hour of suffering. ²⁸ Father, bring glory to your name!”

Then a voice spoke from heaven, “I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again.”

²⁹ The crowd standing there heard the voice, and some of them said it was thunder, while others said, “An angel spoke to him!”

³⁰ But Jesus said to them, “It was not for my sake that this voice spoke, but for yours. ³¹ Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown. ³² When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” (³³ In saying this he indicated the kind of death he was going to suffer.)

^34 (B)The crowd answered, “Our Law tells us that the Messiah will live forever. How, then, can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Jesus answered, “The light will be among you a little longer. Continue on your way while you have the light, so that the darkness will not come upon you; for the one who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. ³⁶ Believe in the light, then, while you have it, so that you will be the people of the light.”

The Unbelief of the People

After Jesus said this, he went off and hid himself from them. ³⁷ Even though he had performed all these miracles in their presence, they did not believe in him, ^38 (C)so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true:

³⁹ And so they were not able to believe, because Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

⁴² Even then, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly, so as not to be expelled from the synagogue. ⁴³ They loved human approval rather than the approval of God.

Judgment by Jesus' Words

⁴⁴ Jesus said in a loud voice, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. ⁴⁷ If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸ Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day! ⁴⁹ This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his command brings eternal life. What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say.”

²⁷ Try to make a profit dishonestly, and you get your family in trouble. Don't take bribes and you will live longer.

²⁸ Good people think before they answer. Evil people have a quick reply, but it causes trouble.

David Is Rejected by the Philistines

29 The Philistines brought all their troops together at Aphek, while the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel Valley. ² The five Philistine kings marched out with their units of a hundred and of a thousand men; David and his men marched in the rear with King Achish. ³ The Philistine commanders saw them and asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

Achish answered, “This is David, an official of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me for quite some time now. He has done nothing I can find fault with since the day he came over to me.”

⁴ But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said to him, “Send that fellow back to the town you gave him. Don't let him go into battle with us; he might turn against us during the fighting. What better way is there for him to win back his master's favor than by the death of our men? ^5 (A)After all, this is David, the one about whom the women sang, as they danced, ‘Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands.’”

⁶ Achish called David and said to him, “I swear by the living God of Israel that you have been loyal to me; and I would be pleased to have you go with me and fight in this battle. I have not found any fault in you from the day you came over to me. But the other kings don't approve of you. ⁷ So go back home in peace, and don't do anything that would displease them.”

⁸ David answered, “What have I done wrong, sir? If, as you say, you haven't found any fault in me since the day I started serving you, why shouldn't I go with you, my master and king, and fight your enemies?”

⁹ “I agree,” Achish replied. “I consider you as loyal as an angel of God. But the other kings have said that you can't go with us into battle. ¹⁰ So then, David, tomorrow morning all of you who left Saul and came over to me will have to get up early and leave as soon as it's light.”

¹¹ So David and his men started out early the following morning to go back to Philistia, and the Philistines went on to Jezreel.

The War against the Amalekites

30 Two days later David and his men arrived back at Ziklag. The Amalekites had raided southern Judah and attacked Ziklag. They had burned down the town ² and captured all the women; they had not killed anyone, but had taken everyone with them when they left. ³ When David and his men arrived, they found that the town had been burned down and that their wives, sons, and daughters had been carried away. ⁴ David and his men started crying and did not stop until they were completely exhausted. ^5 (B)Even David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken away.

⁶ David was now in great trouble, because his men were all very bitter about losing their children, and they were threatening to stone him; but the Lord his God gave him courage. ^7 (C)David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod,” and Abiathar brought it to him. ⁸ David asked the Lord, “Shall I go after those raiders? And will I catch them?”

He answered, “Go after them; you will catch them and rescue the captives.”

⁹ So David and his six hundred men started out, and when they arrived at Besor Brook, some of them stayed there. ¹⁰ David continued on his way with four hundred men; the other two hundred men were too tired to cross the brook and so stayed behind. ¹¹ The men with David found a young Egyptian out in the country and brought him to David. They gave him some food and water, ¹² some dried figs, and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, his strength returned; he had not had anything to eat or drink for three full days. ¹³ David asked him, “Who is your master, and where are you from?”

“I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite,” he answered. “My master left me behind three days ago because I got sick. ¹⁴ We had raided the territory of the Cherethites in the southern part of Judah and the territory of the clan of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”

¹⁵ “Will you lead me to those raiders?” David asked him.

He answered, “I will if you promise me in God's name that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master.” ¹⁶ And he led David to them.

The raiders were scattered all over the place, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the enormous amount of loot they had captured from Philistia and Judah. ¹⁷ At dawn the next day David attacked them and fought until evening. Except for four hundred young men who mounted camels and got away, none of them escaped. ¹⁸ David rescued everyone and everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives; ¹⁹ nothing at all was missing. David got back all his men's sons and daughters, and all the loot the Amalekites had taken. ²⁰ He also recovered all the flocks and herds; his men drove all the livestock in front of them^[a] and said, “This belongs to David!”

²¹ Then David went back to the two hundred men who had been too weak to go with him and had stayed behind at Besor Brook. They came forward to meet David and his men, and David went up to them and greeted them warmly. ²² But some mean and worthless men who had gone with David said, “They didn't go with us, and so we won't give them any of the loot. They can take their wives and children and go away.”

²³ But David answered, “My brothers, you can't do this with what the Lord has given us! He kept us safe and gave us victory over the raiders. ²⁴ No one can agree with what you say! All must share alike: whoever stays behind with the supplies gets the same share as the one who goes into battle.” ²⁵ David made this a rule, and it has been followed in Israel ever since.

²⁶ When David returned to Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to his friends, the leaders of Judah, with the message, “Here is a present for you from the loot we took from the Lord's enemies.” ²⁷ He sent it to the people in Bethel, to the people in Ramah in the southern part of Judah, and to the people in the towns of Jattir, ²⁸ Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, ²⁹ and Racal; to the clan of Jerahmeel, to the Kenites, ³⁰ and to the people in the towns of Hormah, Borashan, Athach, ³¹ and Hebron. He sent it to all the places where he and his men had roamed.

The Death of Saul and His Sons^(D)

31 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled. ² But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. ³ The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he himself was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded. ⁴ He said to the young man carrying his weapons, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that these godless Philistines won't gloat over me and kill me.” But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. ⁵ The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his own sword and died with Saul. ⁶ And that is how Saul, his three sons, and the young man died; all of Saul's men died that day. ⁷ When the Israelites on the other side of Jezreel Valley and east of the Jordan River heard that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had been killed, they abandoned their towns and fled. Then the Philistines came and occupied the towns.

⁸ The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people. ¹⁰ Then they put his weapons in the temple of the goddess Astarte, and they nailed his body to the wall of the city of Beth Shan.

¹¹ When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² the bravest men started out and marched all night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, brought them back to Jabesh, and burned them there. ¹³ Then they took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in town, and fasted for seven days.

⁵⁵ The time for the Passover Festival was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to perform the ritual of purification before the festival. ⁵⁶ They were looking for Jesus, and as they gathered in the Temple, they asked one another, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” ⁵⁷ The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he must report it, so that they could arrest him.

Jesus Is Anointed at Bethany^(A)

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, the man he had raised from death. ² They prepared a dinner for him there, which Martha helped serve; Lazarus was one of those who were sitting at the table with Jesus. ^3 (B)Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house. ⁴ One of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot—the one who was going to betray him—said, ⁵ “Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins^[a] and the money given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would help himself from it.

⁷ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Let her keep what she has for the day of my burial. ^8 (C)You will always have poor people with you, but you will not always have me.”

The Plot against Lazarus

⁹ A large number of people heard that Jesus was in Bethany, so they went there, not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from death. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too, ¹¹ because on his account many Jews were rejecting them and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem^(D)

¹² The next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover Festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ^13 (E)So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the King of Israel!”

¹⁴ Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the scripture says,

¹⁶ His disciples did not understand this at the time; but when Jesus had been raised to glory, they remembered that the scripture said this about him and that they had done this for him.

¹⁷ The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the grave and raised him from death had reported what had happened. ¹⁸ That was why the crowd met him—because they heard that he had performed this miracle. ¹⁹ The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, we are not succeeding at all! Look, the whole world is following him!”

A Prayer of Thanks for Victory

²⁴ Wise people walk the road that leads upward to life, not the road that leads downward to death.

²⁵ The Lord will destroy the homes of arrogant men, but he will protect a widow's property.

²⁶ The Lord hates evil thoughts, but he is pleased with friendly words.

Saul’s Final Pursuit of David

26 The people of Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah. “David is hiding at the hill of Hachilah near Jeshimon,” they said.

² Saul went to the desert of Ziph, taking with him 3,000 of Israel’s best-trained men to search for David. ³ Saul camped by the road at the hill of Hachilah near Jeshimon, but David stayed in the desert. When he realized Saul had come to the desert for him, ⁴ David sent spies to confirm that Saul had arrived.

⁵ Then David went to the place where Saul had camped. David saw the place where Saul and Ner’s son Abner, the commander of the army, were lying. Saul was lying in the camp, and the troops were camped around him.

⁶ David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai, who was Zeruiah’s son and Joab’s brother, “Who will go with me to Saul in the camp?”

Abishai answered, “I’ll go with you.”

⁷ So David and Abishai went among Saul’s troops that night. Saul was lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. ⁸ Abishai said to David, “Today Elohim has turned your enemy over to you. Please let me nail him to the ground with one stab of the spear. I won’t have to do it twice!”

⁹ “Don’t kill him!” David told Abishai. “No one has ever attacked Yahweh’s anointed king and remained free of guilt. ¹⁰ I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives,” David added, “Yahweh will strike him. Either his time will come when he’ll die naturally, or he’ll go into battle and be swept away. ¹¹ It would be unthinkable for me to attack Yahweh’s anointed king. But please take that spear near his head and that jar of water, and let’s go.”

¹² David took the spear and the jar of water near Saul’s head, and they left. All of them were asleep. No one saw them, knew about it, or woke up. Yahweh had made them fall into a deep sleep.

¹³ David went over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away. (There was a wide space between them.) ¹⁴ Then David called to the troops and to Ner’s son Abner. “Won’t you answer, Abner?” he asked.

“Who is calling the king?” Abner asked.

¹⁵ David asked Abner, “Aren’t you a man? Is there anyone like you in Israel? Then why didn’t you guard your master, the king? Someone came to kill His Royal Majesty. ¹⁶ What you’ve done isn’t good. I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives, you are dead men. You didn’t guard your master, Yahweh’s anointed king. Look at the king’s spear and the jar of water that were near his head.”

¹⁷ Saul recognized David’s voice. “Is that your voice, my servant David?” he asked.

“It is my voice, Your Royal Majesty,” David answered. ¹⁸ “Why are you pursuing me?” he added. “What have I done? What crime have I committed? ¹⁹ Your Majesty, please listen to my words. If Yahweh has turned you against me, let him be satisfied with an offering. But if mere mortals have turned you against me, let them be cursed by Yahweh. They have prevented me from having a share of Yahweh’s inheritance. ‘Go and serve other gods,’ they tell me. ²⁰ Don’t let my blood fall to the ground, away from Yahweh’s presence. The king of Israel has come to search for one flea like someone hunting a partridge in the hills.”

²¹ “My servant David,” Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back. I will not harm you again, because you valued my life today. I’ve acted like a fool and made a terrible mistake.”

²² David responded, “Here’s the king’s spear. One of the young men should come over and get it. ²³ Yahweh will reward any person who is righteous and faithful. Yahweh handed you over to me today, but I refused to attack Yahweh’s anointed king. ²⁴ As I placed great value on your life today, may Yahweh place great value on my life and rescue me from all trouble.”

²⁵ Then Saul said, “Blessed are you, my servant David. You will accomplish many things and certainly will succeed.”

So David went his way, while Saul returned home.

David at Ziklag

27 David said to himself, “One of these days Saul will sweep me away. The best thing for me to do is to make sure that I escape to Philistine territory. Then Saul will give up looking all over Israel for me, and I’ll escape from him.” ² So David went with his 600 men to King Achish of Gath, Moach’s son. ³ David and his men stayed with Achish in Gath. Each one had his family, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel. ⁴ When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he didn’t search for him anymore.

⁵ David said to Achish, “If you will permit me, let me have a place in one of the outlying towns so that I can live there. Why should I live in the royal city with you?” ⁶ So Achish immediately gave him Ziklag. (This is why Ziklag still belongs to the kings of Judah today.)

⁷ David stayed in Philistine territory for one year and four months. ⁸ Then David and his men went to raid the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They lived in the territory which extends from Telaim^[a] to Shur and Egypt.) ⁹ Whenever David attacked the territory, he left no man or woman alive. He also took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and returned to Achish.

¹⁰ Achish would ask, “Whom did you raid today?”^[b]

And David would answer, “the Negev in Judah,” or “the portion of the Negev where the descendants of Jerahmeel live,” or “the portion of the Negev where the Kenites live.” ¹¹ He did not bring a single man or woman back to Gath alive. He thought, “They could tell Achish what I really did.” This was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. ¹² And Achish believed David. Achish thought, “He has definitely made his own people in Israel despise him. He’ll be my servant from now on.”

28 At that time the Philistines had gathered their army to fight against Israel. Then Achish said to David, “You need to know that you and your men will be going with me into battle.”

² “Very well,” David responded to Achish, “you will then know what I can do.”

“Very well,” Achish told David, “I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

Saul’s Sin—The Occult

³ Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his hometown Ramah. (Saul had rid the land of mediums and psychics.)

⁴ The Philistines assembled and camped in Shunem. Saul also assembled the whole Israelite army, and they camped at Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul looked at the Philistine army, he was very afraid—terrified. ⁶ He prayed to Yahweh, but Yahweh didn’t answer him through dreams, the Urim,^[c] or prophets. ⁷ Saul told his officers, “Find me a woman who conjures up the dead. Then I’ll go to her and ask for her services.”

His officers told him, “There is a woman at Endor who conjures up the dead.”

⁸ After disguising himself by putting on other clothes, Saul left with two men and came to the woman that night. He said to her, “Please consult with a dead person for me. Conjure up the person I request.”

⁹ The woman told him, “You know that Saul rid the land of mediums and psychics. Why are you trying to trap me and have me killed?”

¹⁰ But Saul took an oath in Yahweh’s name, “I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives, you will not be harmed if you do this.”

¹¹ “Whom should I conjure up for you?” the woman asked.

“Conjure up Samuel for me,” he answered.

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly and asked, “Why did you deceive me? You’re Saul!”

¹³ “Don’t be afraid,” the king said to her. “What do you see?”

“I see a god rising from the ground,” the woman answered.

¹⁴ “In what form?” he asked her.

She answered, “An old man is coming up, and he’s wearing a robe.” Then Saul knew it was Samuel. Saul knelt down with his face touching the ground.

¹⁵ Samuel asked Saul, “Why did you disturb me by conjuring me up?”

Saul answered, “I’m in serious trouble. The Philistines are at war with me, and Elohim has turned against me and doesn’t answer me anymore—either by the prophets or in dreams. So I’ve called on you to tell me what to do.”

¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why are you asking me when Yahweh has turned against you and become your enemy? ¹⁷ Yahweh has done to you exactly what he spoke through me: Yahweh has torn the kingship out of your hands and given it to your fellow Israelite David. ¹⁸ Yahweh is doing this to you today because you didn’t listen to him or unleash his burning anger on Amalek. ¹⁹ For the same reasons Yahweh will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And then Yahweh will hand Israel’s army over to the Philistines.”

²⁰ Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was frightened by Samuel’s words. He also had no strength left, because he hadn’t eaten anything all day or all night. ²¹ The woman came over to Saul and saw that he was terrified. “I listened to you,” she told him, “and I took my life in my hands when I did what you told me to do. ²² Now please listen to me. I will serve you something to eat. Eat it so that you will have strength when you leave.”

²³ But he refused. “I don’t want to eat,” he said. Nevertheless, his officers and the woman kept urging^[d] him until he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

²⁴ The woman immediately butchered a fattened calf that she owned. She took flour, kneaded it, and baked some unleavened bread. ²⁵ Then she served it to Saul and his officers. They ate and left that same night.

Jesus Brings Lazarus Back to Life

11 Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived, was sick. ² (Mary was the woman who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was the one who was sick.)

³ So the sisters sent a messenger to tell Yeshua, “Lord, your close friend is sick.”

⁴ When Yeshua heard the message, he said, “His sickness won’t result in death. Instead, this sickness will bring glory to God so that the Son of God will receive glory through it.”

⁵ Yeshua loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ Yet, when Yeshua heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.

⁷ Then, after the two days, Yeshua said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, not long ago the Jews wanted to stone you to death. Do you really want to go back there?”

⁹ Yeshua answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day don’t stumble, because they see the light of this world. ¹⁰ However, those who walk at night stumble because they have no light in themselves.”

¹¹ After Yeshua said this, he told his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, and I’m going to Bethany to wake him.”

¹² His disciples said to him, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he’ll get well.”

¹³ Yeshua meant that Lazarus was dead, but the disciples thought Yeshua meant that Lazarus was only sleeping. ¹⁴ Then Yeshua told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ but I’m glad that I wasn’t there so that you can grow in faith. Let’s go to Lazarus.”

¹⁶ Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to the rest of the disciples, “Let’s go so that we, too, can die with Yeshua.”

¹⁷ When Yeshua arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ (Bethany was near Jerusalem, not quite two miles away.) ¹⁹ Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰ When Martha heard that Yeshua was coming, she went to meet him. Mary stayed at home. ²¹ Martha told Yeshua, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

²³ Yeshua told Martha, “Your brother will come back to life.”

²⁴ Martha answered Yeshua, “I know that he’ll come back to life on the last day, when everyone will come back to life.”

²⁵ Yeshua said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die. ²⁶ Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”

²⁷ Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world.”

²⁸ After Martha had said this, she went back home and whispered to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here, and he is calling for you.”

²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Yeshua. ³⁰ (Yeshua had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) ³¹ The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry. ³² When Mary arrived where Yeshua was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Yeshua saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

³⁴ So Yeshua asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”

They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵ Yeshua cried. ³⁶ The Jews said, “See how much Yeshua loved him.” ³⁷ But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”

³⁸ Deeply moved again, Yeshua went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. ³⁹ Yeshua said, “Take the stone away.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Yeshua, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”

⁴⁰ Yeshua said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” ⁴¹ So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb.

Yeshua looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. ⁴² I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ After Yeshua had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴ The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Yeshua told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.”

The Jewish Council Plans to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Many Jews who had visited Mary and had seen what Yeshua had done believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Yeshua had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What are we doing? This man is performing a lot of miracles. ⁴⁸ If we let him continue what he’s doing, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will take away our position and our nation.”

⁴⁹ One of them, Caiaphas, who was chief priest that year, told them, “You people don’t know anything. ⁵⁰ You haven’t even considered this: It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

⁵¹ Caiaphas didn’t say this on his own. As chief priest that year, he prophesied that Yeshua would die for the Jewish nation. ⁵² He prophesied that Yeshua wouldn’t die merely for this nation, but that Yeshua would die to bring God’s scattered children together and make them one.

⁵³ From that day on, the Jewish council planned to kill Yeshua. ⁵⁴ So Yeshua no longer walked openly among the Jews. Instead, he left Bethany and went to the countryside near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

Psalm 117

David Spares Saul’s Life

24 ^[a]When Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, he was told “Now David is in the desert near En Gedi.” ² Then Saul took 3,000 of the best-trained men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. ³ He came to some sheep pens along the road where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself while David and his men were sitting further back in the cave.

⁴ David’s men told him, “Today is the day Yahweh referred to when he said, ‘I’m going to hand your enemy over to you. You will do to him whatever you think is right.’”

David quietly got up and cut off the border of Saul’s robe. ⁵ But afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the border of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “It would be unthinkable for me to raise my hand against His Majesty, Yahweh’s anointed king, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.” ⁷ So David stopped^[b] his men by saying this to them and didn’t let them attack Saul.

Saul left the cave and went out onto the road. ⁸ Later, David got up, left the cave, and called to Saul, “Your Majesty!” When Saul looked back, David knelt down with his face touching the ground. ⁹ David asked Saul, “Why do you listen to rumors that I am trying to harm you? ¹⁰ Today you saw how Yahweh handed you over to me in the cave. Although I was told to kill you, I spared you, saying, ‘I will not raise my hand against Your Majesty because you are Yahweh’s anointed.’ ¹¹ My master, look at this! The border of your robe is in my hand! Since I cut off the border of your robe and didn’t kill you, you should know and be able to see I mean no harm or rebellion. I haven’t sinned against you, but you are trying to ambush me in order to take my life. ¹² May Yahweh decide between you and me. May Yahweh take revenge on you for what you did to me. However, I will not lay a hand on you. ¹³ It’s like people used to say long ago, ‘Wickedness comes from wicked people.’ But I will not lay a hand on you. ¹⁴ Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? One flea? ¹⁵ So Yahweh must be the judge. He will decide between you and me. He will watch and take my side in this matter and set me free from you.”

¹⁶ When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that you speaking, my servant David?” and Saul cried loudly. ¹⁷ He told David, “You are more righteous than I. You treated me well while I treated you badly. ¹⁸ Today you have proved how good you’ve been to me. When Yahweh handed me over to you, you didn’t kill me. ¹⁹ When a person finds an enemy, does he send him away unharmed? Yahweh will repay you completely for what you did for me today. ²⁰ Now I know that you certainly will rule as king, and under your guidance the kingdom of Israel will prosper. ²¹ Swear an oath to Yahweh for me that you will not wipe out my descendants or destroy my name in my father’s family.”

²² So David swore to Saul. Then Saul went home, and David and his men went to their fortified camp.

Samuel Dies

25 Samuel died, and all Israel gathered to mourn for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David went to the desert of Paran.

David, Nabal, and Abigail

² Now, there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very rich man. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was sensible and beautiful, but he was harsh and mean. He was a descendant of Caleb.

⁴ While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men and told them, “Go to Carmel, visit Nabal, and greet him for me. ⁶ Say to him, ‘May you live long! May you, your home, and all you have prosper! ⁷ I hear that your sheepshearers are with you. Your shepherds have been with us, and we have not mistreated them. Nothing of theirs has been missing as long as they’ve been in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men, and let them tell you. Be kind to my young men, since we have come on a special occasion. Please give us and your son David anything you can spare.’”

⁹ When David’s young men came to Nabal, they repeated all of this to him for David, and then they waited.

¹⁰ “Who is David?” Nabal answered David’s servants. “Who is Jesse’s son? So many servants nowadays are leaving their masters. ¹¹ Should I take my bread, my water, and my meat that I butchered for my shearers and give them to men coming from who knows where?”

¹² David’s young men returned and told him all this.

¹³ “Each of you put on your swords!” David told his men. And everyone, including David, put on his sword. About four hundred men went with David, while two hundred men stayed with the supplies.

¹⁴ One of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, who yelled at them. ¹⁵ Those men were very good to us. They didn’t mistreat us, and we found that nothing was missing wherever we went with them when we were in the fields. ¹⁶ They were a wall protecting us day and night as long as we were watching the sheep near them. ¹⁷ Now, consider what you should do because our master and his whole household are doomed. And he’s such a worthless man that it’s useless to talk to him.”

¹⁸ So Abigail quickly took 200 loaves of bread, 2 full wineskins, 5 butchered sheep, a bushel of roasted grain, 100 bunches of raisins, and 200 fig cakes and loaded them on donkeys. ¹⁹ “Go on ahead,” she told her young men, “and I’ll follow you.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal about it.

²⁰ She was riding on her donkey down a hidden mountain path when she met David and his men coming toward her. ²¹ David had thought, “I guarded this man’s stuff in the desert for nothing! Not one of his possessions was missing. Yet, he has paid me back with evil when I was good to him. ²² May Elohim punish me^[c] if I leave even one of his men^[d] alive in the morning.”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got down from her donkey. She immediately bowed down in front of David with her face touching the ground. ²⁴ After she bowed at his feet, she said, “Sir, let me be held responsible for this wrong. Please let me speak with you. Please listen to my words. ²⁵ You shouldn’t take this worthless person Nabal seriously. He is like his name. His name is Nabal [Godless Fool], and he’s foolish. But I didn’t see the young men you sent.

²⁶ “Yahweh has kept you from spilling innocent blood and from getting a victory by your own efforts. Now, sir, I solemnly swear, as Yahweh and you live, may your enemies and those who are trying to harm you end up like Nabal. ²⁷ Here is a gift I am bringing to you. May it be given to the young men who are in your service. ²⁸ Please forgive my offense. Yahweh will certainly give you, sir, a lasting dynasty, because you are fighting Yahweh’s battles. May evil never be found in you as long as you live. ²⁹ Even though someone pursued you and sought your life, your life is wrapped in the bundle of life which comes from Yahweh your Elohim. But he will dispose of the lives of your enemies like stones thrown from a sling. ³⁰ When Yahweh does all the good he promised and makes you ruler of Israel, ³¹ you shouldn’t have a troubled conscience because you spilled blood for no good reason and claimed your own victory. When Yahweh has given you success, remember me.”

³² David said to Abigail, “Blessed be Yahweh Elohim of Israel, who sent you today to meet me. ³³ May your good judgment be blessed. Also, may you be blessed for keeping me from slaughtering people today and from getting a victory by my own efforts. ³⁴ But I solemnly swear—as Yahweh Elohim of Israel, who has kept me from harming you, lives—if you hadn’t come to meet me quickly, Nabal certainly wouldn’t have had one of his men left at dawn.”

³⁵ Then David accepted what she brought him and told her, “Go home in peace. I’ve listened to what you’ve said and granted your request.”

³⁶ When Abigail came to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his home. It was like a king’s banquet. He was in a good mood and very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything until dawn. ³⁷ But in the morning, when the effects of the wine had worn off, his wife told him what had happened. Nabal’s heart failed, and he could not move.^{[e] 38} About ten days later Yahweh made him even more sick, and Nabal died.

³⁹ When David heard Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, who defended me against the insults of Nabal and kept me from doing wrong. Yahweh has turned Nabal’s own wickedness back on him.”

Then David sent men on his behalf to propose marriage to Abigail. ⁴⁰ When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they told her, “David has sent us to you so that we can take you to him to be his wife.”

⁴¹ She bowed down with her face touching the ground. “I am ready to serve,” she said. “I am ready to wash the feet of my master’s servants.” ⁴² Then Abigail quickly got up and rode on a donkey with five of her female servants following her. So she went with David’s messengers and became his wife.

⁴³ David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Both she and Abigail were his wives. ⁴⁴ Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti, Laish’s son, who was from Gallim.

The Jews Reject Jesus

²² The Festival of the Dedication of the Temple took place in Jerusalem during the winter. ²³ Yeshua was walking on Solomon’s porch in the temple courtyard.

²⁴ The Jews surrounded him. They asked him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Yeshua answered them, “I’ve told you, but you don’t believe me. The things that I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf. ²⁶ However, you don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow me, ²⁸ and I give them eternal life. They will never be lost, and no one will tear them away from me. ²⁹ My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than everyone else, and no one can tear them away from my Father. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

³¹ The Jews had again brought some rocks to stone Yeshua to death. ³² Yeshua replied to them, “I’ve shown you many good things that come from the Father. For which of these good things do you want to stone me to death?”

³³ The Jews answered Yeshua, “We’re going to stone you to death, not for any good things you’ve done, but for dishonoring God. You claim to be God, although you’re only a man.”

³⁴ Yeshua said to them, “Don’t your Scriptures say, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵ The Scriptures cannot be discredited. So if God calls people gods (and they are the people to whom he gave the Scriptures), ³⁶ why do you say that I’m dishonoring God because I said, ‘I’m the Son of God’? God set me apart for this holy purpose and has sent me into the world. ³⁷ If I’m not doing the things my Father does, don’t believe me. ³⁸ But if I’m doing those things and you refuse to believe me, then at least believe the things that I’m doing. Then you will know and recognize that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father.”

³⁹ The Jews tried to arrest Yeshua again, but he got away from them. ⁴⁰ He went back across the Jordan River and stayed in the place where John first baptized people.

⁴¹ Many people went to Yeshua. They said, “John didn’t perform any miracles, but everything John said about this man is true.” ⁴² Many people there believed in Yeshua.

Psalm 116

A Wise Son Brings Blessings to Others