David Made King over All Israel

11 ^(A)Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron ^[a]and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. ² In times past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘^(B)You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be leader over My people Israel.’” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord; and ^(C)they anointed David king over Israel, ^(D)in accordance with the word of the Lord through Samuel.

Jerusalem Is the Capital City

⁴ Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (^(E)that is, Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. ⁵ The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not enter here.” Nevertheless David took the mountain stronghold of Zion (that is, the city of David). ⁶ Now David had said, “Whoever is first to ^[b]kill a Jebusite shall be chief and commander.” ^(F)Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. ⁷ Then David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸ He ^[c]built the city all around, from the ^[d]Millo to the surrounding area; and Joab ^[e]repaired the rest of the city. ^9 (G)And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of armies was with him.

David’s Mighty Men

^10 (H)Now these are the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who remained faithful to him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, ^(I)in accordance with the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹ These constitute the list of David’s mighty men: ^(J)Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, ^(K)the chief of the thirty; he wielded his spear against three hundred ^[f]whom he killed at one time.

¹² After him was Eleazar the son of ^(L)Dodo, the Ahohite, who was ^[g]one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at ^[h]Pas-dammim ^(M)when the Philistines were gathered together there to battle, and there was a plot of land full of barley; and the people fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴ But they took their stand in the midst of the plot and defended it, and defeated the Philistines; and the Lord saved them with a great ^[i]victory.

¹⁵ Now three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam, while ^(N)the army of the Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ David was then in the stronghold, while ^(O)the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” ¹⁸ So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David; however, David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; ¹⁹ and he said, “Far be it from me before my God that I would do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went ^[j]at the risk of their lives? For they brought it at the risk of their lives.” Therefore he would not drink it. The three mighty men did these things.

²⁰ As for ^[k]Abshai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the ^[l]thirty, and he wielded his spear against three hundred ^[m]and killed them; and he had a name ^[n]as well as the ^[o]thirty. ²¹ Of the three in the second rank he was the most honored, and he became their commander; however, he did not attain the reputation of the first three.

^22 (P)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a warrior of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck and killed the ^[p]two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and struck and killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day. ²³ And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature ^[q]five cubits tall. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was ^(Q)a spear like a weaver’s beam, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did these things, and had a name ^[r]as well as the three mighty men. ²⁵ Behold, he was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain the reputation of the first three; and David appointed him over his bodyguard.

²⁶ Now the mighty men of the armies were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^27 [s]Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the ^[t]Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, ^29 [u]Sibbecai the Hushathite, ^[v]Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, ^[w]Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹ Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ^32 [x]Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, ^[y]Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ the sons of ^[z]Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of ^[aa]Sacar the Hararite, ^[ab]Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, ^[ac]Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³ Hanan the son of Maacah and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵ Jediael the son of Shimri and his brother Joha the Tizite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

David’s Supporters in Ziklag

12 ^(R)Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ² They were equipped with bows, ^(S)using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and shoot arrows with the bow; ^(T)they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin. ³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah, and Jehu the Anathothite, ⁴ and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and in charge of the thirty. ^[ad]Then Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, ^5 [ae]Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the Korahites, ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ From the Gadites valiant mighty men went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness, men trained for war who could handle a large shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and ^(U)they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains. ⁹ Ezer was the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹¹ Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹² Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbannai, the eleventh. ¹⁴ These men from the sons of Gad were ^[af]captains of the army; ^(V)the one who was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest, to a thousand. ^15 (W)These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them, and said to them, “If you come peacefully to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no ^[ag]wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.” ¹⁸ Then ^(X)the Spirit ^[ah]covered ^(Y)Amasai like clothing, the chief of the thirty; and he said,

Then David received them and made them ^[ai]captains of the troops.

^19 (AA)From Manasseh some also defected to David when he was about to go to battle with the Philistines against Saul. But they did not help them, because the governors of the Philistines sent him away after consultation, saying, “At the cost of our heads he might defect to his master Saul.” ²⁰ As he was going to Ziklag, men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, ^[aj]captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against ^(AB)the band of raiders, for they were all valiant mighty men, and were captains in the army. ²² For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army ^(AC)like the army of God.

Supporters Gathered at Hebron

²³ Now these are the numbers of the ^[ak]divisions equipped for war, ^(AD)who came to David at Hebron, ^(AE)to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, ^(AF)according to the ^[al]word of the Lord. ²⁴ The sons of Judah who carried shield and spear numbered 6,800, equipped for war. ²⁵ From the sons of Simeon, valiant mighty men of war, 7,100. ²⁶ From the sons of Levi, 4,600. ²⁷ Now Jehoiada was the leader of the house of Aaron, and with him were 3,700, ²⁸ also ^(AG)Zadok, a young valiant mighty man, and from his father’s house, twenty-two captains. ²⁹ From the sons of Benjamin, ^(AH)Saul’s kinsmen, three thousand; for until now ^(AI)the majority of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ From the sons of Ephraim 20,800, valiant mighty men, famous men in their fathers’ households. ³¹ From the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king. ³² From the sons of Issachar, ^(AJ)men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command. ³³ From Zebulun, there were fifty thousand who went out in the army, who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David ^[am]with ^(AK)an undivided heart. ³⁴ From Naphtali there were a thousand captains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear. ³⁵ From the Danites who could draw up in battle formation, there were 28,600. ³⁶ From Asher there were forty thousand who went out in the army to draw up in battle formation. ³⁷ From the other side of the Jordan, from the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle.

³⁸ All of these, being men of war who helped in battle formation, came to Hebron with ^(AL)a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel also were of one mind to make David king. ³⁹ They were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their kinsmen had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover, those who were near to them, as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, ^(AM)brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes and bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep. There was joy indeed in Israel.

The Changeless Christ

13 Let ^(A)love of the brothers and sisters continue. ² Do not neglect ^(B)hospitality to strangers, for by this some have ^(C)entertained angels without knowing it. ^3 (D)Remember ^(E)the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are badly treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. ^4 (F)Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; ^(G)for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. ⁵ Make sure that your character is ^(H)free from the love of money, ^(I)being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “^(J)I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,” ⁶ so that we confidently say,

⁷ Remember ^(L)those who led you, who spoke ^(M)the word of God to you; and considering the ^[a]result of their way of life, ^(N)imitate their faith. ^8 (O)Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever. ^9 (P)Do not be misled by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to ^(Q)be strengthened by grace, not by ^(R)foods, ^(S)through which those who ^[b]were so occupied were not benefited. ¹⁰ We have an altar ^(T)from which those ^(U)who serve the ^[c]tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ For ^(V)the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹² Therefore Jesus also suffered ^(W)outside the gate, ^(X)that He might sanctify the people ^(Y)through His own blood. ¹³ So then, let us go out to Him outside the camp, ^(Z)bearing His reproach. ¹⁴ For here ^(AA)we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking ^(AB)the city which is to come.

God-pleasing Sacrifices

^15 (AC)Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a ^(AD)sacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^(AE)the fruit of lips praising His name. ¹⁶ And do not neglect doing good and ^(AF)sharing, for ^(AG)with such sacrifices God is pleased.

^17 (AH)Obey your leaders and submit to them—for ^(AI)they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they may do this with joy, not ^[d]groaning; for this would be unhelpful for you.

^18 (AJ)Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a ^(AK)good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. ¹⁹ And I urge you all the more to do this, ^(AL)so that I may be restored to you more quickly.

Benediction

²⁰ Now may ^(AM)the God of peace, who ^(AN)brought up from the dead the ^(AO)great Shepherd of the sheep ^[e]through ^(AP)the blood of the ^(AQ)eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, ^21 (AR)equip you in every good thing to do His will, ^(AS)working in us that ^(AT)which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, ^(AU)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²² But ^(AV)I urge you, ^(AW)brothers and sisters, ^[f]listen patiently to ^[g]this ^(AX)word of exhortation, for ^(AY)I have written to you briefly. ²³ Know that ^(AZ)our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. ²⁴ Greet ^(BA)all of your leaders and all the ^[h](BB)saints. Those from ^(BC)Italy greet you.

^25 (BD)Grace be with you all.

Warning through Visions

7 This is what the Lord ^[a]God showed me, and behold, He was forming a ^(A)swarm of locusts ^[b]when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. ² And it came about, ^[c]when it had ^(B)finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,

⁴ So the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by ^(F)fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the ^[d]farmland. ⁵ Then I said,

⁷ So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing ^[e]by a ^[f]vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the Lord said to me, “^(J)What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

Amos Accused; Gives an Answer

¹⁰ Then Amaziah, the ^(P)priest of Bethel, sent word to ^(Q)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has ^(R)conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. ¹¹ For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” ¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos, “^(S)Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! ¹³ But ^(T)do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a ^(U)sanctuary of the king and a royal ^[h]residence.”

¹⁴ Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the ^(V)son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a ^[i]grower of sycamore figs. ¹⁵ But the Lord took me from ^[j]following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go ^(W)prophesy to My people Israel.’ ¹⁶ So now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You ^(X)shall not prophesy against Israel ^(Y)nor shall you ^[k]prophesy against the house of Isaac.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your ^(Z)wife will become a prostitute in the city, your ^(AA)sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die ^[l]upon ^(AB)unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”

Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

2 Now in those days a decree went out from ^(A)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of ^(B)all ^[a]the inhabited earth. ^2 [b]This was the first census taken while ^[c]Quirinius was governor of ^(C)Syria. ³ And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^(D)he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was ^[d]betrothed to him, and was pregnant. ⁶ While they were there, the ^[e]time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she ^(E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ^[f]manger, because there was no ^[g]room for them in the inn.

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. ⁹ And ^(F)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(G)stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ And so the angel said to them, “^(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^(I)Savior, who is ^[h](J)Christ ^(K)the Lord. ¹² And ^(L)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[i]manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly ^[j]army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the ^[l]manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary ^(O)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds went back, ^(P)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹ And when ^(Q)eight days were completed ^[m]so that it was time for His circumcision, ^(R)He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

^22 (S)And when the days for ^[n]their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “^(T)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “^(U)A pair of turtledoves or two young doves.”

²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(V)righteous and devout, ^(W)looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And ^(X)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(Y)see death before he had seen the Lord’s ^[o]Christ. ²⁷ And he came ^[p]by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[q](Z)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

³³ And His father and ^(AD)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to ^(AE)His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(AF)the fall and ^[s]rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be ^[t]opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a ^(AG)prophetess, ^[u]Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(AH)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[v]years ^(AI)and had lived with her husband for seven years after her ^[w]marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with ^(AJ)fasts and prayers. ³⁸ And at that very ^[x]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were ^(AK)looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(AL)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (AM)Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, ^[y]increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹ His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^(AN)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast; ⁴³ and as they were returning, after spending the ^(AO)full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Instead, they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey; and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. ⁴⁶ Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him ^(AP)were amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and ^(AQ)His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(AR)Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!” ⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that ^(AS)I had to be in My Father’s ^[z]house?” ⁵⁰ And yet ^(AT)they on their part did not understand the statement which He had ^[aa]made to them. ⁵¹ And He went down with them and came to ^(AU)Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them; and ^(AV)His mother ^(AW)treasured all these ^[ab]things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and ^[ac]stature, and in ^(AX)favor with God and people.