2 Samuel 4

New American Standard Bible

Ish-bosheth Murdered

4 Now when ^[a]Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that ^(A)Abner had died in Hebron, ^[b]^(B)his courage failed, and all Israel was horrified. ²And Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of troops: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin (for ^(C)Beeroth is also considered ^(D)part of Benjamin, ³and the Beerothites fled to ^(E)Gittaim and have lived there as strangers until this day).

⁴Now ^(F)Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was disabled in both feet. He was five years old when the ^(G)news of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse picked him up and fled. But it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and could no longer walk. And his name was ^[c]^(H)Mephibosheth.

⁵So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, departed and came to the house of ^(I)Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day, while he was taking his midday rest. ⁶^[d]And they came to the interior of the house as if ^[e]to get wheat, and ^(J)they struck him in the belly; and Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. ⁷Now when they had come into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and killed him, and they beheaded him. And they took his head and ^[f]^(K)traveled by way of the Arabah all night. ⁸Then they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth ^(L)the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; so the Lord has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his ^[g]descendants.”

⁹But David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord lives, ^(M)who has redeemed my life from all distress, ¹⁰^(N)when the one who informed me, saying, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ also ^[h]viewed himself as the bearer of good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. ¹¹How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now ^(O)require his blood from your hands and eliminate you both from the earth?” ¹²Then ^(P)David commanded the young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet, and hung them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth ^(Q)and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.

Footnotes

2 Samuel 4:1 As in some mss; MT he
2 Samuel 4:1 Lit his hands dropped
2 Samuel 4:4 In 1 Chr 8:34 and 9:40, Merib-baal
2 Samuel 4:6 Lit And here they
2 Samuel 4:6 Lit takers of wheat
2 Samuel 4:7 Lit went
2 Samuel 4:8 Lit seed
2 Samuel 4:10 Lit was as a bearer of good news in his own eyes

Proverbs 25:21-28

New American Standard Bible

²¹^(A)If ^[a]your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
²²For you will ^[b]heap burning coals on his head,
And ^(B)the Lord will reward you.
²³The north wind brings rain,
And a ^[c]^(C)gossiping tongue brings an angry face.
²⁴It is ^(D)better to live on a corner of the roof,
Than ^[d]in a house shared with a contentious woman.
²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul,
So is ^(E)good news from a distant land.
²⁶Like a ^(F)trampled spring and a ^[e]polluted well,
So is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.
²⁷It is not good to eat much honey,
Nor is it glory to ^(G)search out ^[f]one’s own glory.
²⁸Like a ^(H)city that is broken into and without walls
So is a person ^(I)who has no self-control over his spirit.

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Footnotes

Proverbs 25:21 Lit one who hates you
Proverbs 25:22 Lit snatch up
Proverbs 25:23 Lit tongue of secrecy
Proverbs 25:24 Lit with a woman of contentions and a house of association
Proverbs 25:26 Lit ruined
Proverbs 25:27 Lit their

Titus 3

New American Standard Bible

Godly Living

3 ^(A)Remind them ^(B)to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ^(C)ready for every good deed, ²to slander no one, ^(D)not to be contentious, to be ^(E)gentle, ^(F)showing every consideration for all people. ³^(G)For we too were once foolish, ^(H)disobedient, ^(I)deceived, ^(J)enslaved to ^(K)various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in ^(L)malice and ^(M)envy, hateful, hating one another. ⁴But when the ^(N)kindness of ^(O)God our Savior and His love for mankind ^(P)appeared, ⁵^(Q)He saved us, ^(R)not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but ^(S)in accordance with His mercy, by the ^(T)washing of regeneration and ^(U)renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶^(V)whom He ^(W)richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that being justified by His grace we would be made ^(X)heirs ^[a]according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸^(Y)This statement is trustworthy; and concerning these things I ^(Z)want you to speak confidently, so that those who have ^(AA)believed God will be careful to ^(AB)engage in good deeds. These things are good and beneficial for people. ⁹But ^(AC)avoid ^(AD)foolish controversies and ^(AE)genealogies and strife and ^(AF)disputes about the Law, for they are ^(AG)useless and worthless. ¹⁰^(AH)Reject a ^[b]^(AI)divisive person ^(AJ)after a first and second warning, ¹¹knowing that such a person has ^(AK)deviated from what is right and is sinning, being self-condemned.

Personal Concerns

¹²When I send Artemas or ^(AL)Tychicus to you, ^(AM)make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to ^(AN)spend the winter there. ¹³Diligently help Zenas the ^(AO)lawyer and ^(AP)Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. ¹⁴^(AQ)Our people must also learn to ^(AR)engage in good ^[c]deeds to meet ^(AS)pressing needs, so that they will not be ^(AT)unproductive.