Saul and the Spirit Medium

28 Now it came about in those days that ^(A)the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know for certain that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” ² David said to Achish, “Very well, you will learn what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Then I will assuredly make you ^[a]my bodyguard ^(B)for ^[b]life!”

³ Now ^(C)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him ^(D)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the ^(E)mediums and spiritists from the land. ⁴ So the Philistines assembled and came and camped ^(F)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in ^(G)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ^6 (H)So Saul inquired of the Lord, but ^(I)the Lord did not answer him, either in ^(J)dreams, or by the ^(K)Urim, or by the prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(L)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(M)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(N)disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(O)Consult the spirit for me, please, and ^(P)bring up for me the one whom I shall ^[c]name for you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(Q)what Saul has done, that he has eliminated the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then setting a trap for my life, to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ So Saul swore an oath 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 But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[d]divine being coming up from the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “^[e]How does he appear?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(R)he is wrapped in a robe.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(S)he bowed with his face to the ground and paid ^[f]homage.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(T)God has abandoned me and ^(U)no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “But why ask me, since the Lord has abandoned you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And the Lord has done ^[g]just ^(V)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ Just as ^(W)you did not ^[h]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Furthermore, the Lord will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow ^(X)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the Lord will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!”

²⁰ Then Saul immediately fell full length to the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words; there was no strength in him either, because he had eaten no ^[i]food all day and all night. ²¹ The woman came to Saul and saw that he was utterly horrified, and she said to him, “Behold, your servant has ^[j]obeyed you, and ^(Y)I have ^[k]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. ²² So now you too, please listen to the voice of your servant, and let me serve you a piece of bread, and eat it, so that you will have strength when you go on your way.” ²³ But he refused and said, “^(Z)I will not eat.” ^(AA)However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to ^[l]them. So he got up from the ground and sat on ^(AB)the bed. ²⁴ Now the woman had a ^(AC)fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; then she ^(AD)took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. ²⁵ She then served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and left that night.

The Philistines Mistrust David

29 Now ^(AE)the Philistines gathered together all their armies to ^(AF)Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in ^(AG)Jezreel. ² And the governors of the Philistines were proceeding on, leading hundreds and thousands, and ^(AH)David and his men were proceeding in the back with Achish. ³ Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, ^(AI)who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and ^(AJ)I have found nothing at all suspicious in him since the day he ^[m]deserted to me to this day?” ⁴ But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man go back, so that he will return ^(AK)to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, ^(AL)or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For how could this man find favor with his lord? Would it not be with the heads of ^[n]these men? ⁵ Is this not David, ^(AM)of whom they sing in the dances, saying,

⁶ Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have indeed been honest, and ^(AN)your ^[o]going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; ^(AO)for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the governors. ⁷ Now then, return and go in peace, so that you will not do anything wrong in the sight of the governors of the Philistines.” ⁸ However, David said to Achish, “^(AP)But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant since the day that I came before you, to this day, that I cannot go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹ But Achish replied to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, ^(AQ)like an angel of God; nevertheless ^(AR)the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us into the battle.’ ¹⁰ Now then, rise early in the morning ^(AS)with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have risen early in the morning and have light, leave.” ¹¹ So David got up early, he and his men, to leave in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

People of Jerusalem

9 So all Israel was enrolled in genealogies; and behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And ^(A)Judah was taken into exile to Babylon for their infidelity.

^2 (B)Now the first inhabitants who lived on their own property in their cities were people of Israel, including the priests, the Levites, and ^(C)the ^[a]temple servants. ³ Some of the sons of Judah, some of the sons of Benjamin, and some of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh lived in ^(D)Jerusalem: ⁴ Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, from the sons of Perez the ^(E)son of Judah. ⁵ From the Shilonites were Asaiah the firstborn and his sons. ⁶ From the sons of Zerah were Jeuel and their relatives, 690 of them. ⁷ From the sons of Benjamin were Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah, ⁸ and Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; ⁹ and their relatives according to their generations, ^(F)956. All these men were heads of fathers’ households according to their fathers’ houses.

^10 (G)From the priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ and ^[b]Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, ^(H)the chief officer of the house of God; ¹² and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; ¹³ and their relatives, heads of their fathers’ households, 1,760 competent men for the work of the service of the house of God.

^14 (I)Of the Levites, there were Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; ¹⁵ and Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal; and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of ^[c]Zichri, the son of Asaph, ¹⁶ and ^[d]Obadiah the son of ^[e]Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the settlements of the Netophathites.

¹⁷ Now the gatekeepers were ^[f]Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives (Shallum the chief ¹⁸ being stationed until now at ^(J)the king’s gate to the east). These were the gatekeepers for the camp of the sons of Levi. ¹⁹ Shallum the son of Kore, the son of ^[g]Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his relatives of his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, doorkeepers of the tent; and their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance. ^20 (K)Phinehas the son of Eleazar was supervisor over them previously, and the Lord was with him. ^21 (L)Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper of the entrance of the tent of meeting. ²² Those who were chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds were 212 in all. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements, ^(M)those whom David and Samuel the seer appointed ^(N)in their official capacity. ²³ So they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, the house of the tent, in their divisions of service. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were ^[h]on the four sides, to the east, west, north, and south. ²⁵ Their relatives in their settlements ^(O)were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with ^[i]them; ²⁶ for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, served in an official capacity, and were in charge of the chambers and in charge of the treasuries in the house of God. ²⁷ They spent the night around the house of God, ^(P)because the watch was ^[j]committed to them; and they were in charge of opening it morning by morning.

²⁸ Now some of them were in charge of the utensils of the service, for ^[k]they counted them when they brought them in and when they took them out. ²⁹ Some of them also were appointed over the furniture and over all the utensils of the sanctuary, and ^(Q)over the finely milled flour, the wine, the olive oil, the frankincense, and the balsam oil. ³⁰ Some of ^(R)the sons of the priests prepared the mixing of the balsam oil. ³¹ Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had ^(S)the ^[l]responsibility for the baking of cakes in pans. ³² Some of their relatives of the sons of the Kohathites ^(T)were in charge of the showbread to prepare it every Sabbath.

³³ Now these are ^(U)the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple free of other duties; for they were ^[m]engaged ^(V)in their work day and night. ³⁴ These were heads of fathers’ households of the Levites according to their generations, chief men ^[n]who lived in Jerusalem.

Ancestry and Descendants of Saul

^35 (W)Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and his wife’s name was Maacah, ³⁶ and his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸ Mikloth fathered Shimeam. And they also lived with their relatives in Jerusalem opposite their other relatives. ^39 (X)Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰ The son of Jonathan was ^[o]Merib-baal; and Merib-baal fathered Micah. ⁴¹ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, ^(Y)and Ahaz. ⁴² Ahaz fathered Jarah, Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri fathered Moza. ⁴³ Moza fathered Binea, and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ⁴⁴ Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

Paul in Ephesus

19 Now it happened that while ^(A)Apollos was in ^(B)Corinth, Paul passed through the ^(C)upper country and came to ^(D)Ephesus, and found some disciples. ² He said to them, “^(E)Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, ^(F)we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “^(G)Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Paul said, “^(H)John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people ^(I)to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were ^(J)baptized ^[a]in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had ^(K)laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began ^(L)speaking with tongues and ^(M)prophesying. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

⁸ And he entered ^(N)the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, having discussions and persuading them ^(O)about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when ^(P)some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of ^[b](Q)the Way before the ^[c]people, he withdrew from them and took ^(R)the disciples away with him, and had discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This took place for ^(S)two years, so that all who lived in ^[d](T)Asia heard ^(U)the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles at Ephesus

¹¹ God was performing ^(V)extraordinary ^[e]miracles by the hands of Paul, ^12 (W)so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and ^(X)the evil spirits went out. ¹³ But also some of the Jewish ^(Y)exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to ^[f]use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!” ¹⁴ Now there were seven sons of ^[g]Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, doing this. ¹⁵ But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ This became known to all who lived in ^(Z)Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. ¹⁸ Also many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. ¹⁹ And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they added up the prices of ^[h]the books and found it to be fifty thousand ^[i](AA)pieces of silver. ²⁰ So ^[j](AB)the word of the Lord ^(AC)was growing and prevailing mightily.

²¹ Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in ^[k]the Spirit to ^(AD)go to Jerusalem ^(AE)after he had passed through ^(AF)Macedonia and ^(AG)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, ^(AH)I must also see Rome.” ²² And after he sent into ^(AI)Macedonia two of ^(AJ)those who assisted him, ^(AK)Timothy and ^(AL)Erastus, he himself stayed in ^[l](AM)Asia for a while.

²³ About that time ^[m]a major disturbance occurred in regard to ^[n](AN)the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of ^[o]Artemis, ^(AO)was bringing ^[p]considerable ^[q]business to the craftsmen; ²⁵ he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity ^[r]depends upon this business. ²⁶ You see and hear that not only in ^(AP)Ephesus, but in almost all of ^[s](AQ)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that ^[t](AR)gods made by hands are not gods at all. ²⁷ Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess ^[u]Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of ^[v](AS)Asia and ^(AT)the ^[w]world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

²⁸ When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, “Great is ^[x]Artemis of the ^(AU)Ephesians!” ²⁹ The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along ^(AV)Gaius and ^(AW)Aristarchus, Paul’s ^(AX)Macedonian traveling ^(AY)companions. ³⁰ And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, ^(AZ)the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Also some of the ^[y]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to ^[z]venture into the theater. ^32 (BA)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the ^[aa]assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know ^[ab]for what reason they had come together. ³³ Some of the crowd ^[ac]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having ^(BB)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is ^[ad]Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of ^(BC)Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great ^[ae]Artemis and of the image which fell down from ^[af]the sky? ³⁶ So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither ^(BD)temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and ^[ag](BE)proconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the ^[ah]lawful ^[ai]assembly. ⁴⁰ For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹ After saying this he dismissed the ^[aj]assembly.