David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 Then David said, “Is there ^[a]anyone still left of the house of Saul, ^(A)so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they summoned him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you ^(B)Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ Then the king said, “Is there no one remaining of the house of Saul to whom I could show the ^(C)kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “^(D)There is still a son of Jonathan, one who is disabled in both feet.” ⁴ So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is ^(E)in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent ^[b]messengers who brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. ^6 (F)Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and ^(G)fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” ⁷ Then David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for ^(H)I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I ^(I)will restore to you all the ^[c]land of your ^[d]grandfather Saul; and ^(J)you yourself shall ^[e]eat at my table regularly.” ⁸ Again he prostrated himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should be concerned about ^(K)a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “^(L)Everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s ^[f]grandson. ¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson will have food ^[g]to eat; nevertheless ^(M)Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, ^(N)shall ^[h]eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “In accordance ^(O)with everything that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at ^[i]David’s table as one of the king’s sons. ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because ^(P)he ate at the king’s table regularly. And ^(Q)he was disabled in his two feet.

Ammon and Aram Defeated

10 ^(R)Now it happened afterward that ^(S)the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place. ² Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of ^(T)Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent ^[j]some of his servants to console him about his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, ³ the commanders of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, “^[k]Do you think that David is simply honoring your father since he has sent you servants ^[l]to console you? ^(U)Has David not sent his servants to you in order to explore the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants and ^(V)shaved off half of their beards, and ^(W)cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵ When messengers informed David, he sent servants to meet them, because the men were extremely humiliated. And the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then you shall return.”

⁶ Now when the sons of Ammon saw that ^(X)they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers and ^(Y)hired the Arameans of ^(Z)Beth-rehob and the ^(AA)Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of ^(AB)Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men. ⁷ When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors. ⁸ And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle ^(AC)at the entrance of the ^[m]city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of ^(AD)Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the field.

⁹ Now when Joab saw that ^[n]the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans. ¹⁰ But the remainder of the people he placed ^[o]under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon. ¹¹ And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. ^12 (AE)Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and ^(AF)may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” ¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to the battle against the Arameans, and ^(AG)they fled from him. ¹⁴ When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Abishai and entered the city. ^(AH)Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that they had been ^[p]defeated by Israel, they assembled together. ^16 (AI)And Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam; and ^(AJ)Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer ^[q]led them. ¹⁷ Now when it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans lined up against David and fought him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed ^(AK)seven hundred charioteers of the Arameans and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they had been ^[r]defeated by Israel, ^(AL)they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin

11 ^(AM)Then it happened ^[s](AN)in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they brought destruction on the sons of Ammon and ^(AO)besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.

² Now at evening time David got up from his bed and walked around on ^(AP)the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. ³ So David sent servants and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not ^(AQ)Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of ^(AR)Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ Then David sent messengers and ^[t]had her brought, and when she came to him, ^(AS)he slept with her; ^(AT)and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. ⁵ But the woman conceived; so she sent word and informed David, and said, “^(AU)I am pregnant.”

⁶ Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, ^(AV)David asked about Joab’s well-being and ^[u]that of the people, and the condition of the war. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and ^(AW)wash your feet.” So Uriah left the king’s house, and a gift from the king ^[v]was sent after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept ^(AX)at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ Now when they informed David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” ¹¹ And Uriah said to David, “^(AY)The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in ^[w]temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and ^(AZ)the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I then go to my house to eat and drink and to sleep with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” ¹² Then David said to Uriah, “^(BA)Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the day after. ¹³ Now David summoned ^[x]Uriah, and he ate and drank in his presence, and he ^(BB)made ^[y]Uriah drunk; and in the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed ^(BC)with his lord’s servants, and he still did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ So in the morning David ^(BD)wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ^15 (BE)He had written in the letter ^[z]the following: “^[aa]Station Uriah on the front line of the ^[ab]fiercest battle and pull back from him, ^(BF)so that he may be struck and killed.” ¹⁶ So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he ^[ac]stationed Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. ¹⁷ And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and ^(BG)Uriah the Hittite also died. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent a messenger and reported to David all the events of the war. ¹⁹ He ordered the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king, ²⁰ then it shall be that if the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you move against the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Who ^(BH)struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did a woman not throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you move against the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’”

²² So the messenger departed and came and reported to David everything that Joab had sent him to tell. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we ^[ad]pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate. ²⁴ Also, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.” ²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, “This is what you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing ^[ae]displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; ^[af]fight with determination against the city and overthrow it’; and thereby encourage him.”

²⁶ Now when Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, ^(BI)she mourned for her husband. ²⁷ When the time of mourning was over, David sent servants and ^[ag]had her brought to his house and ^(BJ)she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But ^(BK)the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me ^(A)the share of the estate that ^[a]is coming to me.’ And so he divided his ^[b](B)wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate in ^[c]wild living. ¹⁴ Now when he had ^[d]spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began doing without. ¹⁵ So he went and ^[e]hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to ^[f]his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here ^[g]from hunger! ¹⁸ I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and ^[h]in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired laborers.”’ ²⁰ So he set out and came to ^[i]his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and ^[j](C)embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and ^[k]in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out ^(D)the best robe and put it on him, and ^[l](E)put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was ^(F)dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never ^[m]neglected a command of yours; and yet you never gave me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your ^[n](G)wealth with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you ^[o]have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was ^(H)dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”