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David Spares Saul’s Life Again
26 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near[a] Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by 3,000 select men of Israel, to look for David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come to the wilderness to find[b] him, 4 David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived.[c]
5 So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him. 6 David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” Abishai replied, “I will go down with you.”
7 So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him. 8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear[d] right through him into the ground with one swift jab![e] A second jab won’t be necessary!”
9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one[f] and remain guiltless?” 10 David went on to say, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. 11 But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord’s chosen one! Now take the spear by Saul’s head and the jug of water, and let’s get out of here!” 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them.
13 Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them. 14 David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Won’t you answer, Abner?” Abner replied, “Who are you, that you have called to the king?” 15 David said to Abner, “Aren’t you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven’t you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king. 16 This failure on your part isn’t good![g] As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord’s chosen one, are as good as dead![h] Now look where the king’s spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!”
17 When Saul recognized David’s voice, he said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David replied, “Yes, it’s my voice, my lord the king.” 18 He went on to say, “Why is my lord chasing his servant? What have I done? What wrong have I done?[i] 19 So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in[j] an offering. But if men have instigated this,[k] may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go on, serve other gods!’ 20 Now don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge[l] in the hill country.”
21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you anymore, for you treated my life with value[m] this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!”[n] 22 David replied, “Here is the king’s spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it. 23 The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty.[o] Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord’s chosen one. 24 In the same way that I valued your life this day,[p] may the Lord value my life[q] and deliver me from all danger.” 25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded,[r] my son David! You will without question be successful!”[s] So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
David Aligns Himself with the Philistines
27 David thought to himself,[t] “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”
2 So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his 600 men. 3 David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families.[u] David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 4 When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.
5 David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) 7 The length of time[v] that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year[w] and four months.
8 Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach[x] to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) 9 When David would attack a district,[y] he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. 10 When Achish would ask, “Where[z] did you raid today?” David would say, “The Negev of Judah” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” 11 Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, “This way they can’t tell on us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” Such was his practice the entire time[aa] that he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself,[ab] “He is really hated[ac] among his own people in[ad] Israel! From now on[ae] he will be my servant.”
The Witch of Endor
28 In those days the Philistines gathered their troops[af] for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, “You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle.”[ag] 2 David replied to Achish, “That being the case, you will come to know what your servant can do!” Achish said to David, “Then I will make you my bodyguard[ah] from now on.”[ai]
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown.[aj] In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums[ak] and magicians[al] from the land. 4 The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified.[am] 6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him—not by dreams nor by Urim[an] nor by the prophets. 7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,[ao] so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.”[ap]
9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed[aq] the mediums and magicians[ar] from the land! Why are you trapping me[as] so you can put me to death?” 10 But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!” 11 The woman replied, “Who is it that I should bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up for me Samuel.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly.[at] The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! But what have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen a divine being[au] coming up from the ground!” 14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!”
Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down. 15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me anymore—not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied![av] The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! 18 Since you did not obey the Lord[aw] and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines![ax] Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me.[ay] The Lord will also hand the army[az] of Israel over to the Philistines!”
20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy,[ba] having not eaten anything[bb] all that day and night. 21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked.[bc] I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me.[bd] 22 Now it’s your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way.”
23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged[be] him to eat, so he gave in.[bf] He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 24 Now the woman[bg] had a well-fed calf[bh] at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded it and baked bread without leaven. 25 She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.
The Death of Lazarus
11 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived.[a] 2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil[b] and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)[c] 3 So the sisters sent a message[d] to Jesus,[e] “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” 4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death,[f] but to God’s glory,[g] so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”[h] 5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.)[i]
6 So when he heard that Lazarus[j] was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days. 7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”[k] 8 The disciples replied,[l] “Rabbi, the Jewish leaders[m] were just now trying[n] to stone you to death! Are[o] you going there again?” 9 Jesus replied,[p] “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble,[q] because he sees the light of this world.[r] 10 But if anyone walks around at night,[s] he stumbles,[t] because the light is not in him.”
11 After he said this, he added,[u] “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.[v] But I am going there to awaken him.” 12 Then the disciples replied,[w] “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 (Now Jesus had been talking about[x] his death, but they[y] thought he had been talking about real sleep.)[z]
14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and I am glad[aa] for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.[ab] But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas (called Didymus[ac])[ad] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.”[ae]
Speaking with Martha and Mary
17 When[af] Jesus arrived,[ag] he found that Lazarus[ah] had been in the tomb four days already.[ai] 18 (Now Bethany was less than two miles[aj] from Jerusalem, 19 so many of the Jewish people of the region[ak] had come to Martha and Mary to console them[al] over the loss of their brother.)[am] 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house.[an] 21 Martha[ao] said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant[ap] you.”[aq]
23 Jesus replied,[ar] “Your brother will come back to life again.”[as] 24 Martha said,[at] “I know that he will come back to life again[au] in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live[av] even if he dies, 26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die.[aw] Do you believe this?” 27 She replied,[ax] “Yes, Lord, I believe[ay] that you are the Christ,[az] the Son of God who comes into the world.”[ba]
28 And when she had said this, Martha[bb] went and called her sister Mary, saying privately,[bc] “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”[bd] 29 So when Mary[be] heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 (Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet him.) 31 Then the people[bf] who were with Mary[bg] in the house consoling her saw her[bh] get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep[bi] there.
32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the people[bj] who had come with her weeping, he was intensely moved[bk] in spirit and greatly distressed.[bl] 34 He asked,[bm] “Where have you laid him?”[bn] They replied,[bo] “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.[bp] 36 Thus the people who had come to mourn[bq] said, “Look how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see![br] Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarus[bs] from dying?”
Lazarus Raised from the Dead
38 Jesus, intensely moved[bt] again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.)[bu] 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”[bv] Martha, the sister of the deceased,[bw] replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell,[bx] because he has been buried[by] four days.”[bz] 40 Jesus responded,[ca] “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away[cb] the stone. Jesus looked upward[cc] and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me.[cd] 42 I knew that you always listen to me,[ce] but I said this[cf] for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When[cg] he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice,[ch] “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth,[ci] and a cloth wrapped around his face.[cj] Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him[ck] and let him go.”
The Response of the Jewish Leaders
45 Then many of the people,[cl] who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus[cm] did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees[cn] and reported to them[co] what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees[cp] called the council[cq] together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to go on in this way,[cr] everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary[cs] and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said,[ct] “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize[cu] that it is more to your advantage to have one man[cv] die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.”[cw] 51 (Now he did not say this on his own,[cx] but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation,[cy] 52 and not for the Jewish nation[cz] only,[da] but to gather together[db] into one the children of God who are scattered.)[dc] 53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.
54 Thus Jesus no longer went[dd] around publicly[de] among the Judeans,[df] but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim,[dg] and stayed there with his disciples.
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