The House of David Strengthened

3 Now ^(A)there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David became steadily stronger, while the house of Saul became steadily weaker.

^2 (B)Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by ^(C)Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; ³ and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the ^[a]widow of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of ^(D)Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of ^(E)Geshur; ⁴ and the fourth, ^(F)Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; ⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These sons were born to David in Hebron.

Abner Joins David

⁶ Now it happened that while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, ^(G)Abner was ^[b]strengthening himself in the house of Saul. ⁷ And Saul had a concubine whose name was ^(H)Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and ^[c]Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” ⁸ Then Abner became very angry over Ish-bosheth’s ^[d]question and said, “^(I)Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not let you fall into the hands of David; yet today you call me to account for wrongdoing with ^[e]that woman? ^9 (J)May God do so to ^[f]me, and more so, if ^(K)as the Lord has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him: ^10 (L)to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, ^(M)from Dan even to Beersheba!” ¹¹ And Ish-bosheth could no longer say a word in response to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

¹² Then Abner sent messengers to David at his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.” ¹³ And he said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, only I require one thing of you, ^[g]namely, that ^(N)you shall not see my face unless you ^(O)first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see ^[h]me.” ¹⁴ So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed ^(P)for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” ¹⁵ Ish-bosheth sent men and ^[i]had her taken from her husband, from ^[j]Paltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶ And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, ^[k]following her as far as ^(Q)Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” So he returned.

¹⁷ Now Abner had a ^[l]consultation with ^(R)the elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you. ¹⁸ Now then, do it! For the Lord has spoken regarding David, saying, ‘^(S)By the hand of My servant David ^[m]I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hands of all their enemies.’” ¹⁹ Abner also spoke ^[n]to Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak ^[o]to David in Hebron everything that seemed good to Israel and to ^(T)the entire house of Benjamin.

²⁰ Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David held a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. ²¹ Abner said to David, “Let me set out and go and ^(U)gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that ^(V)you may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David let Abner go, and he went in peace.

²² And behold, ^(W)the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought a large amount of plunder with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, since he had let him go, and he had gone in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they informed Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go on his way, and he has gone in peace.” ²⁴ Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you let him go, so that he is already gone? ²⁵ You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to gain your confidence, and to learn of ^(X)your ^[p]going out and coming in and to find out everything that you are doing.”

Joab Murders Abner

²⁶ When Joab left David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know about it. ²⁷ So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there ^(Y)he struck him in the belly, so that he died on account of the blood of his brother Asahel. ²⁸ Afterward, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. ^29 (Z)May it turn upon the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not be eliminated from the house of Joab ^(AA)someone who suffers a discharge, or has leprosy, or ^[q]holds the spindle, or falls by the sword, or lacks bread.” ³⁰ So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner ^(AB)because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

David Mourns Abner

³¹ Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “^(AC)Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. ³² And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at ^(AD)the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. ³³ And ^(AE)the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said,

And all the people wept over him again. ³⁵ Then all the people came ^(AF)to provide ^[s]food for David in his distress while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “^(AG)May God do so to me, and more so, if I taste bread or anything else ^(AH)before the sun goes down.” ³⁶ Now all the people took note of David’s vow, and it ^[t]pleased them, just as everything that the king did ^[u]pleased all the people. ³⁷ So all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been the desire of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. ³⁸ Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a leader and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? ³⁹ And I am ^(AI)weak today, though anointed king; and these men, ^(AJ)the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. ^(AK)May the Lord repay the evildoer in proportion to his evil.”

David’s Supporters in Ziklag

12 ^(A)Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ² They were equipped with bows, ^(B)using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and shoot arrows with the bow; ^(C)they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin. ³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah, and Jehu the Anathothite, ⁴ and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and in charge of the thirty. ^[a]Then Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, ^5 [b]Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the Korahites, ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ From the Gadites valiant mighty men went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness, men trained for war who could handle a large shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and ^(D)they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains. ⁹ Ezer was the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹¹ Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹² Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbannai, the eleventh. ¹⁴ These men from the sons of Gad were ^[c]captains of the army; ^(E)the one who was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest, to a thousand. ^15 (F)These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them, and said to them, “If you come peacefully to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no ^[d]wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.” ¹⁸ Then ^(G)the Spirit ^[e]covered ^(H)Amasai like clothing, the chief of the thirty; and he said,

Then David received them and made them ^[f]captains of the troops.

^19 (J)From Manasseh some also defected to David when he was about to go to battle with the Philistines against Saul. But they did not help them, because the governors of the Philistines sent him away after consultation, saying, “At the cost of our heads he might defect to his master Saul.” ²⁰ As he was going to Ziklag, men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, ^[g]captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against ^(K)the band of raiders, for they were all valiant mighty men, and were captains in the army. ²² For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army ^(L)like the army of God.

Supporters Gathered at Hebron

²³ Now these are the numbers of the ^[h]divisions equipped for war, ^(M)who came to David at Hebron, ^(N)to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, ^(O)according to the ^[i]word of the Lord. ²⁴ The sons of Judah who carried shield and spear numbered 6,800, equipped for war. ²⁵ From the sons of Simeon, valiant mighty men of war, 7,100. ²⁶ From the sons of Levi, 4,600. ²⁷ Now Jehoiada was the leader of the house of Aaron, and with him were 3,700, ²⁸ also ^(P)Zadok, a young valiant mighty man, and from his father’s house, twenty-two captains. ²⁹ From the sons of Benjamin, ^(Q)Saul’s kinsmen, three thousand; for until now ^(R)the majority of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ From the sons of Ephraim 20,800, valiant mighty men, famous men in their fathers’ households. ³¹ From the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king. ³² From the sons of Issachar, ^(S)men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command. ³³ From Zebulun, there were fifty thousand who went out in the army, who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David ^[j]with ^(T)an undivided heart. ³⁴ From Naphtali there were a thousand captains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear. ³⁵ From the Danites who could draw up in battle formation, there were 28,600. ³⁶ From Asher there were forty thousand who went out in the army to draw up in battle formation. ³⁷ From the other side of the Jordan, from the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle.

³⁸ All of these, being men of war who helped in battle formation, came to Hebron with ^(U)a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel also were of one mind to make David king. ³⁹ They were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their kinsmen had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover, those who were near to them, as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, ^(V)brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes and bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep. There was joy indeed in Israel.

Tradition and Commandment

15 ^(A)Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus ^(B)from Jerusalem and said, ² “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ^(C)do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” ³ And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘^(D)Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘^(E)The one who speaks evil of father or mother is to ^[a]be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been ^[b]given to God,” ⁶ he is not to ^[c]honor his father or mother.’ And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! ^11 (H)It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”

¹² Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were ^[d]offended when they heard this statement?” ¹³ But He answered and said, “^(I)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Leave them alone; ^(J)they are blind guides ^[e]of blind people. And ^(K)if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵ Peter ^[f]said to Him, “^(L)Explain the parable to us.” ^16 [g]Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is ^[h]eliminated? ¹⁸ But ^(M)the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. ^19 (N)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and ^[i]slanderous statements. ²⁰ These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (O)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of ^(P)Tyre and ^(Q)Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, ^(R)Son of David; my daughter is severely ^(S)demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[j]at us!” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to ^(T)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(U)began ^[k]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ Yet He answered and said, “It is not ^[l]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ^(V)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed ^[m]at once.

Healing Crowds

^29 (W)Departing from there, Jesus went along ^(X)the Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there. ³⁰ And ^[n]large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and ^(Y)He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs ^[o]restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they ^(Z)glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Men Fed

^32 (AA)Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “^(AB)I feel compassion for the ^[p]people, because they ^[q]have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” ³³ The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” ³⁴ And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵ And He directed the ^[r]people to ^[s]sit down on the ground; ³⁶ and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after ^(AC)giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large ^(AD)baskets full. ³⁸ And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

³⁹ And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into ^(AE)the boat and came to the region of ^(AF)Magadan.