David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² There was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, so they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “I am your servant.” ³ And the king said, “Is there no longer anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show the goodness and graciousness of God?” Ziba replied to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan, [one] whose feet are crippled.”^{(A) 4} So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba replied to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent word and had him brought from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. ⁶ Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell face down and lay himself down [in respect]. David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” ⁷ David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall always eat at my table.” ⁸ Again Mephibosheth lay himself face down and said, “What is your servant, that you would be concerned for a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house (family). 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 may have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do according to everything that my lord the king commands.” So Mephibosheth ate at 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 Ziba’s house were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. And he was lame in both feet.

Ammon and Aram Defeated

10 Now it happened later that [Nahash] 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 Nahash, just as his father did to me.” So David sent [a letter along with] some of his servants to console him in regard to his father’s death; and David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites. ³ But the princes of the Ammonites [were suspicious and] said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half their beards, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. ⁵ When David was informed, he sent [messengers] to meet them [before they reached Jerusalem], for the men were greatly ashamed and humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

⁶ When the Ammonites saw that they had become an object of hatred to David, they sent word and hired the Arameans (Syrians) of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men [to fight for them]. ⁷ When David heard about it, he sent Joab and the entire army, the strong and brave men. ⁸ The Ammonites came out and lined up for battle at the entrance of the [city] gate, but the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were [stationed] by themselves in the field.

⁹ Now when Joab saw that the battlefront was against him in front and in the rear, he selected some of all the choice men in Israel and set them in battle formation to meet the Arameans (Syrians). ¹⁰ But he placed the rest of the men in the hand of his brother Abishai, and he placed them in battle formation to meet the Ammonites. ¹¹ Joab said [to Abishai], “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come to help you. ¹² Be courageous, and let us show ourselves courageous for the benefit of our people and the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” ¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him approached the battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab returned from battling against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that they were defeated by Israel, they gathered together. ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River [Euphrates]; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them. ¹⁷ When David was informed, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. Then the Arameans assembled in battle formation to meet David and fought against him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 700 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings serving Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans (Syrians) were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin

11 Then it happened in the spring, ^[a]at the time when the kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all [the fighting men of] Israel, and they destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

² One evening David got up from his couch and was walking on the [flat] ^[b]roof of the king’s palace, and from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very beautiful in appearance. ³ David sent word and inquired about the woman. Someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he lay with her. And ^[c]when she was purified from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. ⁵ The woman conceived; and she sent word and told David, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ Then David sent word to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked him ^[d]how Joab was, how the people were doing, and how the war was progressing. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet (spend time at home).” Uriah left the king’s palace, and a ^[e]gift from the king was sent out after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not [just] come from a [long] journey? Why did you not go to your house?” ¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in huts (temporary shelters), and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” ¹² Then David said to Uriah, “Stay here today as well, and tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ Now David called him [to dinner], and he ate and drank with him, so that he ^[f]made Uriah drunk; in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, and [still] did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it ^[g]with Uriah. ¹⁵ He wrote in the letter, “Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and leave him, so that he may be struck down and die.” ¹⁶ So it happened that as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew the [enemy’s] valiant men were positioned. ¹⁷ And the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among the servants of David fell; Uriah the Hittite also died. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent word and informed David of all the events of the war. ¹⁹ And he commanded the messenger, “When you have finished reporting all the events of the war to the king, ²⁰ then if the king becomes angry and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot [arrows] from the wall? ²¹ Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth (Gideon)? Was it not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ Then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”^(B)

²² So the messenger left, and he came and told David everything that Joab had sent him to report. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men indeed prevailed against us and came out to us in the field, but we were on them and pushed them as far as the entrance of the [city] gate. ²⁴ Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” ²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab this, ‘Do not let this thing disturb you, for the sword devours one [side] as well as another. Strengthen your battle against the city and overthrow it’; and so encourage Joab.”

²⁶ When Uriah’s wife [Bathsheba] heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband. ²⁷ And when the time of mourning was past, David sent word and had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done [with Bathsheba] was evil in the sight of the Lord.

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ Then He said, “A certain man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them [inappropriately] said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.’ So he divided the estate between them.^{(A) 13} A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything [that he had] and traveled to a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living. ¹⁴ Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to ^[a]feed pigs. ¹⁶ He would have gladly eaten the [carob] pods that the pigs were eating [but they could not satisfy his hunger], and no one was giving anything to him.^{(B) 17} But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe [for the guest of honor] and put it on him; and give him a ^[b]ring for his hand, and sandals for his feet.^{(C) 23} And bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let us [invite everyone and] feast and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was [as good as] dead and is alive again; he was lost and has been found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field; and when he returned and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he summoned one of the servants and began asking what this [celebration] meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But the elder brother became angry and deeply resentful and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he said to his father, ‘Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never neglected or disobeyed your command. Yet you have never given me [so much as] a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this [other] son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you slaughtered that fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But it was fitting to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was [as good as] dead and has begun to live. He was lost and has been found.’”