David Anointed King of Judah

2 After this David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?’ The Lord said to him, ‘Go up.’ David said, ‘To which shall I go up?’ He said, ‘To Hebron.’ ² So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron. ⁴ Then the people of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

When they told David, ‘It was the people of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul’, ⁵ David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, ‘May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him! ⁶ Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you! And I too will reward you because you have done this thing. ⁷ Therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.’

Ishbaal King of Israel

⁸ But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbaal^[a] son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. ⁹ He made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all Israel. ¹⁰ Ishbaal,^[b] Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Abner Defects to David

3 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³¹ Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. ³³ After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.’ ³⁴ But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar Near Jericho

³⁵ As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth^[a] is passing by.’ ³⁸ Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ³⁹ Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ⁴⁰ Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’ ⁴² Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ ⁴³ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. ² A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. ³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycomore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. ⁵ When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ ⁶ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. ⁷ All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ ⁸ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ ⁹ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’