David Spares Saul's Life

24 ^{[a] (A)}When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then Saul took ^(B)three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats' Rocks. ³ And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in ^(C)to relieve himself.^[b] Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts ^(D)of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said to him, ^(E)“Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. ⁵ And afterward ^(F)David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. ⁶ He said to his men, ^(G)“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is ^(H)the Lord's anointed.” ⁷ So David persuaded his men with these words ^(I)and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

⁸ Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. ⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? ¹⁰ Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. ^(J)And some told me to kill you, but I spared you.^[c] I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, ^(K)for he is the Lord's anointed.’ ¹¹ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that ^(L)there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though ^(M)you hunt my life to take it. ^12 (N)May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. ¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? ^(O)After a dead dog! ^(P)After a flea! ^15 (Q)May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and ^(R)plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

¹⁶ As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ^(S)“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷ He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, ^(T)for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. ¹⁸ And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. ¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ And now, behold, ^(U)I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. ^21 (V)Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and ^(W)that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.” ²² And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up ^(X)to the stronghold.

Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David, when he fled from Saul, in ^(C)the cave.

A Genealogy of Saul

8 ^(A)Benjamin fathered Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, ^(B)Aharah the third, ² Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. ³ And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, ⁴ Abishua, ^(C)Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵ Gera, ^(D)Shephuphan, and Huram. ⁶ These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to ^(E)Manahath): ⁷ Naaman,^[a] Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam, who fathered^[b] Uzza and Ahihud. ⁸ And Shaharaim fathered sons in the country of Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. ⁹ He fathered sons by Hodesh his wife: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, ¹⁰ Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. ¹¹ He also fathered sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. ¹² The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built ^(F)Ono and ^(G)Lod with its towns, ¹³ and Beriah and ^(H)Shema (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of ^(I)Aijalon, who caused the inhabitants of Gath to flee); ¹⁴ and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. ¹⁵ Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶ Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were sons of Beriah. ¹⁷ Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸ Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. ¹⁹ Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, ²⁰ Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹ Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. ²² Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³ Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, ²⁴ Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, ²⁵ Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. ²⁶ Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷ Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸ These were the heads of fathers' houses, according to their generations, chief men. These lived in Jerusalem.

^29 (J)(K)Jeiel^[c] the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. ³⁰ His firstborn son: Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, ³¹ Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, ³² and Mikloth (he fathered Shimeah). Now these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. ^33 (L)Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of ^(M)Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal; ³⁴ and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of ^(N)Micah. ³⁵ The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. ³⁶ Ahaz fathered Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri fathered Moza. ³⁷ Moza fathered Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ³⁸ Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹ The sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰ The sons of Ulam were men who were mighty warriors, bowmen, having many sons and grandsons, 150. All these were Benjaminites.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

8 When he came down from the mountain, ^(A)great crowds followed him. ^2 (B)And behold, a leper^[a] came to him and ^(C)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³ And Jesus^[b] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus said to him, ^(D)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(E)show yourself to the priest and ^(F)offer the gift that Moses commanded, ^(G)for a proof to them.”

The Faith of a Centurion

^5 (H)When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ⁶ “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” ⁷ And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ⁸ But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but ^(I)only say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant,^[c] ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, ^(J)he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with ^(K)no one in Israel^[d] have I found such faith. ¹¹ I tell you, ^(L)many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ^12 (M)while the sons of the kingdom ^(N)will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place ^(O)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you ^(P)as you have believed.” ^(Q)And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Jesus Heals Many

^14 (R)And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw ^(S)his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ He ^(T)touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. ¹⁶ That evening they brought to him many who were ^(U)oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits ^(V)with a word and healed all who were sick. ^17 (W)This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ^(X)“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

The Cost of Following Jesus

¹⁸ Now ^(Y)when Jesus saw a crowd around him, ^(Z)he gave orders to go over to the other side. ^19 (AA)And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ²² And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave ^(AB)the dead to bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

^23 (AC)And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but ^(AD)he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, ^(AE)“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you ^(AF)afraid, ^(AG)O you of little faith?” Then he rose and ^(AH)rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^(AI)there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men ^(AJ)marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even ^(AK)winds and sea obey him?”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

^28 (AL)And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,^[e] two ^(AM)demon-possessed^[f] men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And behold, they ^(AN)cried out, “What have you to do with us, ^(AO)O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us ^(AP)before the time?” ³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” ³² And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the ^(AQ)demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, ^(AR)they begged him to leave their region.