The People Complain

11 And ^(A)the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, ^(B)his anger was kindled, and ^(C)the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. ² Then ^(D)the people cried out to Moses, ^(E)and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³ So the name of that place was called ^(F)Taberah,^[a] because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ Now the ^(G)rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also ^(H)wept again and said, ^(I)“Oh that we had meat to eat! ^5 (J)We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

⁷ Now ^(K)the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ^8 (L)The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. ^(M)And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. ^9 (N)When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people ^(O)weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. ^11 (P)Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ^(Q)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^(R)nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land ^(S)that you swore to give their fathers? ^13 (T)Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ^14 (U)I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

David's Mighty Men

^10 (A)Now these are the chiefs of David's mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, ^(B)according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹ This is an account of David's mighty men: ^(C)Jashobeam, a ^(D)Hachmonite, was ^(E)chief of the three.^[a] He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time.

¹² And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of ^(F)Dodo, the Ahohite. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim ^(G)when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴ But he took his^[b] stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and killed the Philistines. And the Lord saved them by a great victory.

¹⁵ Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the ^(H)Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ David was then in the stronghold, and the ^(I)garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁸ Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord ¹⁹ and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

²⁰ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty.^[c] And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. ²¹ He was the most renowned^[d] of the thirty^[e] and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

²² And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^[f] of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²³ And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits^[g] tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear ^(J)like a weaver's beam, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²⁵ He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁶ The mighty men were ^(K)Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

¹⁷ “Thus says the Lord God: Are you ^(A)he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, ^(B)my wrath will be roused in my anger. ¹⁹ For ^(C)in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day ^(D)there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ^20 (E)The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, ^(F)shall quake at my presence. And ^(G)the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. ^21 (H)I will summon a sword against Gog^[a] on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. ^(I)Every man's sword will be against his brother. ²² With pestilence and bloodshed ^(J)I will enter into judgment with him, and ^(K)I will rain upon him and ^(L)his hordes and the many peoples who are with him ^(M)torrential rains and hailstones, ^(N)fire and sulfur. ²³ So I will show my greatness and my ^(O)holiness and ^(P)make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then ^(Q)they will know that I am the Lord.

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ And when he had said these things, ^(A)he went on ahead, ^(B)going up to Jerusalem. ^29 (C)When he drew near to Bethphage and ^(D)Bethany, at ^(E)the mount that is called Olivet, he sent ^(F)two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, ^(G)on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent went away and found it ^(H)just as he had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they ^(I)spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—^(J)the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice ^(K)for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, ^(L)“Blessed is ^(M)the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and ^(N)glory in the highest!” ^39 (O)And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, ^(P)the very stones would cry out.”

The Advance of the Gospel

¹² I want you to know, brothers,^[a] that what has happened to me has really ^(A)served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard^[b] and ^(B)to all the rest that ^(C)my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^(D)to speak the word^[c] without fear.

^15 (E)Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, ^(F)knowing that I am put here for ^(G)the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ ^(H)out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that ^(I)through your prayers and ^(J)the help of ^(K)the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope ^(L)that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^(M)courage now as always Christ ^(N)will be honored in my body, ^(O)whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me ^(P)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.