Saul Consults a Medium

28 Now ^(A)it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”

² So David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.”

And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.”

Saul Consults a Medium^(B)

³ Now ^(C)Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in ^(D)Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put ^(E)the mediums and the spiritists out of the land.

⁴ Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at ^(F)Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at ^(G)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was ^(H)afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶ And when Saul inquired of the Lord, ^(I)the Lord did not answer him, either by ^(J)dreams or ^(K)by Urim or by the prophets.

⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, ^(L)that I may go to her and inquire of her.”

And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”

⁸ So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And ^(M)he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

⁹ Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has ^(N)cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”

¹⁰ And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”

¹³ And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”

And the woman said to Saul, “I saw ^(O)a^[a] spirit ascending out of the earth.”

¹⁴ So he said to her, “What is his form?”

And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with ^(P)a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.

¹⁵ Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you ^(Q)disturbed me by bringing me up?”

And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and ^(R)God has departed from me and ^(S)does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

¹⁶ Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And the Lord has done for ^[b]Himself ^(T)as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ^18 (U)Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon ^(V)Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with ^(W)me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

²⁰ Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.

²¹ And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have ^(X)put my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me. ²² Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.”

²³ But he refused and said, “I will not eat.”

So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. ²⁴ Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. ²⁵ So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

The Philistines Reject David

29 Then ^(Y)the Philistines gathered together all their armies ^(Z)at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. ² And the ^(AA)lords of the Philistines ^[c]passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but ^(AB)David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. ³ Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me ^(AC)these days, or these years? And to this day I have ^(AD)found no fault in him since he defected to me.”

⁴ But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, ^(AE)“Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to ^(AF)battle, lest ^(AG)in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these ^(AH)men? ⁵ Is this not David, ^(AI)of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying:

⁶ Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and ^(AK)your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day ^(AL)I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. ⁷ Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

⁸ So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

⁹ Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight ^(AM)as an angel of God; nevertheless ^(AN)the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ ¹⁰ Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants ^(AO)who have come with ^[d]you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”

¹¹ So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. ^(AP)And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Priests and Levites in Jerusalem

9 So ^(A)all Israel was ^[a]recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel. But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. ^2 (B)And the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and ^(C)the Nethinim.

Dwellers in Jerusalem

³ Now in ^(D)Jerusalem the children of Judah dwelt, and some of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh: ⁴ Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the descendants of Perez, the son of Judah. ⁵ Of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn and his sons. ⁶ Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brethren—six hundred and ninety. ⁷ Of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah; ⁸ Ibneiah the son of Jeroham; Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; ⁹ and their brethren, according to their generations—nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of a father’s house in their fathers’ houses.

The Priests at Jerusalem

^10 (E)Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin; ^11 [b]Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ^(F)officer over the house of God; ¹² Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; ¹³ and their brethren, heads of their fathers’ houses—one thousand seven hundred and sixty. They were ^[c]very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.

The Levites at Jerusalem

¹⁴ Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; ¹⁵ Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of ^(G)Zichri, the son of Asaph; ^16 (H)Obadiah the son of ^(I)Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

The Levite Gatekeepers

¹⁷ And the gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren. Shallum was the chief. ¹⁸ Until then they had been gatekeepers for the camps of the children of Levi at the King’s Gate on the east.

¹⁹ Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, from his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, ^[d]gatekeepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the Lord. ²⁰ And ^(J)Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the Lord was with him. ^21 (K)Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was ^[e]keeper of the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

²² All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. ^(L)They were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel ^(M)the seer had appointed them to their trusted office. ²³ So they and their children were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, the house of the tabernacle, by assignment. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were assigned to the four directions: the east, west, north, and south. ²⁵ And their brethren in their villages had to come with them from time to time ^(N)for seven days. ²⁶ For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. ²⁷ And they lodged all around the house of God because ^[f]they had the ^(O)responsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning.

Other Levite Responsibilities

²⁸ Now some of them were in charge of the serving vessels, for they brought them in and took them out by count. ²⁹ Some of them were appointed over the furnishings and over all the implements of the sanctuary, and over the ^(P)fine flour and the wine and the oil and the incense and the spices. ³⁰ And some of the sons of the priests made ^(Q)the ointment of the spices.

³¹ Mattithiah of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office ^(R)over the things that were baked in the pans. ³² And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites ^(S)were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath.

³³ These are ^(T)the singers, heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night. ³⁴ These heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites were heads throughout their generations. They dwelt at Jerusalem.

The Family of King Saul

³⁵ Jeiel the father of Gibeon, whose wife’s name was ^(U)Maacah, dwelt at Gibeon. ³⁶ His firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, ^[g]Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸ And Mikloth begot ^[h]Shimeam. They also dwelt alongside their relatives in Jerusalem, with their brethren. ^39 (V)Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal. ⁴⁰ The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah. ⁴¹ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, ^[i]Tahrea, ^(W)and^[j] Ahaz. ⁴² And Ahaz begot ^[k]Jarah; Jarah begot Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza; ⁴³ Moza begot Binea, ^[l]Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son.

⁴⁴ And Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel.

Paul at Ephesus

19 And it happened, while ^(A)Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through ^(B)the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ² he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

So they said to him, ^(C)“We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

³ And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

So they said, ^(D)“Into John’s baptism.”

⁴ Then Paul said, ^(E)“John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized ^(F)in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had ^(G)laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and ^(H)they spoke with tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Now the men were about twelve in all.

^8 (I)And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading ^(J)concerning the things of the kingdom of God. ⁹ But ^(K)when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil ^(L)of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ And ^(M)this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles Glorify Christ

¹¹ Now ^(N)God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, ^12 (O)so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. ^13 (P)Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists ^(Q)took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ^[a]“We ^[b]exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul ^(R)preaches.” ¹⁴ Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

¹⁶ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, ^[c]overpowered them, and prevailed against ^[d]them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and ^(S)fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. ¹⁸ And many who had believed came ^(T)confessing and telling their deeds. ¹⁹ Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. ^20 (U)So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

The Riot at Ephesus

^21 (V)When these things were accomplished, Paul ^(W)purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through ^(X)Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, ^(Y)I must also see Rome.” ²² So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, ^(Z)Timothy and ^(AA)Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

²³ And ^(AB)about that time there arose a great commotion about ^(AC)the Way. ²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ^[e]Diana, brought ^(AD)no small profit to the craftsmen. ²⁵ He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. ²⁶ Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that ^(AE)they are not gods which are made with hands. ²⁷ So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and ^[f]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸ Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized ^(AF)Gaius and ^(AG)Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. ³⁰ And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. ³¹ Then some of the ^[g]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. ³² Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ³³ And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And ^(AH)Alexander ^(AI)motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. ³⁴ But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess ^[h]Diana, and of the image which fell down from ^[i]Zeus? ³⁶ Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of ^[j]your goddess. ³⁸ Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a ^[k]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. ⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being ^[l]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹ And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.