David Spares Saul a Second Time

26 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ^(A)“Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” ² Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having ^(B)three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. ³ And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴ David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

⁵ So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and ^(C)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. ⁶ Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai ^(D)the son of Zeruiah, brother of ^(E)Joab, saying, “Who will ^(F)go down with me to Saul in the camp?”

And ^(G)Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, ^(H)“God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him ^[a]at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; ^(I)for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” ¹⁰ David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, ^(J)the Lord shall strike him, or ^(K)his day shall come to die, or he shall ^(L)go out to battle and perish. ^11 (M)The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because ^(N)a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

¹³ Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. ¹⁴ And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”

¹⁵ So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. ¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

¹⁷ Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, ^(O)“Is that your voice, my son David?”

David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” ¹⁸ And he said, ^(P)“Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has ^(Q)stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ^(R)for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the ^(S)inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰ So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek ^(T)a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, ^(U)“I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

²² And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. ^23 (V)May the Lord ^(W)repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still ^(X)prevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David Allied with the Philistines

27 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will ^[b]despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” ² Then David arose ^(Y)and went over with the six hundred men who were with him ^(Z)to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David ^(AA)with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. ⁴ And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” ⁶ So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore ^(AB)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ Now ^[c]the time that David ^(AC)dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

⁸ And David and his men went up and raided ^(AD)the Geshurites, ^(AE)the ^[d]Girzites, and the ^(AF)Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from ^[e]of old, ^(AG)as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹ Whenever David ^[f]attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰ Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of ^(AH)the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of ^(AI)the Kenites.” ¹¹ David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. ¹² So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

Water Turned to Wine

2 On the third day there was a ^(A)wedding in ^(B)Cana of Galilee, and the ^(C)mother of Jesus was there. ² Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

⁴ Jesus said to her, ^(D)“Woman, ^(E)what does your concern have to do with Me? ^(F)My hour has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

⁶ Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, ^(G)according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast had tasted ^(H)the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. ¹⁰ And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

¹¹ This ^(I)beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, ^(J)and ^[a]manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

¹² After this He went down to ^(K)Capernaum, He, His mother, ^(L)His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple^(M)

^13 (N)Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ^14 (O)And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers ^[b]doing business. ¹⁵ When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. ¹⁶ And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make ^(P)My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” ¹⁷ Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ^(Q)“Zeal for Your house ^[c]has eaten Me up.”

¹⁸ So the Jews answered and said to Him, ^(R)“What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, ^(S)“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

²⁰ Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”

²¹ But He was speaking ^(T)of the temple of His body. ²² Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, ^(U)His disciples remembered that He had said this ^[d]to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

The Discerner of Hearts

²³ Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the ^(V)signs which He did. ²⁴ But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He ^(W)knew all men, ²⁵ and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for ^(X)He knew what was in man.