The Daily Audio Bible

The Philistines Mistrust David

29 Now the Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. ² As the Philistine lords (governors) were proceeding on [marching] by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish [the king of Gath], ³ the Philistine commanders [having noticed David] said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish said to the Philistine commanders, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days and years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?” ⁴ But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and they said to him, “Make this man return, so that he may go back to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may [turn and] become our adversary. For how could David reconcile himself to his lord [Saul]? Would it not be with the heads of these [Philistine] men? ⁵ Is this not David, of whom they used to sing in dances,

⁶ Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright (righteous), and your ^[a]behavior in the army is pleasing in my sight. For from the day you came to me to this day I have found no evil in you. Nevertheless, ^[b]the [Philistine] lords do not approve of you. ⁷ So return now and go in peace [to your place], so that you do not displease the Philistine lords.” ⁸ David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day when I [first] came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹ Achish answered David, “I know that you are blameless in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ ¹⁰ So now, get up early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you, and as soon as you are up in the morning and have light, leave.” ¹¹ So David and his men got up early to leave in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel [to fight against Israel].

David’s Victory over the Amalekites

30 Now it happened when David and his men came [home] to Ziklag on the third day, [they found] that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev (the South country) and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; ² and they had taken captive the women [and all] who were there, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off [to be used as slaves] and went on their way. ³ When David and his men came to the town, it was burned, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until ^[c]they were too exhausted to weep [any longer]. ⁵ Now David’s two wives had been captured, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶ Further, David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all of them were embittered, each man for his sons and daughters. But David felt strengthened and encouraged in the Lord his God.

⁷ David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought him the ephod. ⁸ David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band [of raiders]? Will I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue [the captives].” ⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor; there those [who could not continue] remained behind. ¹⁰ But David pursued [the Amalekites], he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.

¹¹ They found an Egyptian [who had collapsed] in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they gave him water to drink, ¹² and they gave him a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, his ^[d]energy returned, for he had not eaten bread or had any water to drink for three days and three nights. ¹³ David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man from Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me [as useless] when I fell sick three days ago. ¹⁴ We made a raid on the Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” ¹⁵ Then David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band [of raiders]?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or turn me over to the hand of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

¹⁶ When he brought David down, the Amalekites had disbanded and spread over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ Then David [and his men] struck them down [in battle] from twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode camels and fled. ¹⁸ So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing of theirs was missing whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; David recovered it all. ²⁰ So David captured all the flocks and herds [which the enemy had], and [the people] drove those animals before him and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

The Spoils Are Divided

²¹ David came to the two hundred men who were so exhausted that they could not follow him and had been left at the brook Besor [with the provisions]. They went out to meet David and the people with him, and when he approached the people, he greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will give them none of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may take his wife and children away and leave.” ²³ David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and has handed over to us the band [of Amalekites] that came against us. ²⁴ And who will listen to you in regard to this matter? For as is the share of him who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the provisions and supplies; they shall share alike.” ²⁵ So from that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, “Here is a blessing (gift) for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord: ²⁷ For those in Bethel, Ramoth of the Negev, Jattir, ²⁸ Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, ²⁹ Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites, the cities of the Kenites, ³⁰ Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, ³¹ Hebron, and for [those elders in] all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to go.”

Saul and His Sons Slain

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. ³ The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was severely wounded by the archers. ⁴ Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised [Philistines] will come and pierce me through and abuse and mock me.” But his armor bearer would not, because he was terrified [of doing such a thing]. So ^[e]Saul took his sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together on that day.

⁷ When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley [of Jezreel], and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the other men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to plunder the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his weapons and armor and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to bring the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ And they put Saul’s weapons and armor in the temple of the Ashtaroth (female goddesses), and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. ¹¹ When the ^[f]inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the brave men stood and walked all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and cremated them there. ¹³ They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted [as a sign of mourning and respect] for seven days.

⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was approaching, and many from the country went up to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves [ceremonially, so that they would be able to participate in the feast]. ⁵⁶ So they were looking for Jesus as they stood in the temple [area], and saying among themselves, “What do you think? Will He not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it so that they might arrest Him.

Mary Anoints Jesus

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom He had raised from the dead.^{(A) 2} So they gave a supper for Him there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. ³ Then ^[a]Mary took a pound of very expensive perfume of pure ^[b]nard, and she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who was going to betray Him, said, ⁵ “Why was this perfume not sold for ^[c]three hundred denarii and [the money] given to the poor?” ⁶ Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor [for he had never cared about them], but because he was a thief; and since he had the money box [serving as treasurer for the twelve disciples], he used to pilfer what was put into it. ⁷ So Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep [the rest of] it for the day of My burial. ⁸ You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁹ A large crowd of Jews learned that He was there [at Bethany]; and they came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus also, ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews were going away [from the teaching and traditions of the Jewish leaders] and believing in Jesus [following Him as Savior and Messiah].

The Triumphal Entry

¹² The next day, when the large crowd who had come to the Passover feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,^{(B) 13} they took branches of palm trees [in homage to Him as King] and went out to meet Him, and they began shouting and kept shouting “Hosanna! Blessed (celebrated, praised) is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”^{(C) 14} And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; just as it is written [in Scripture], ¹⁵ “Do not fear, Daughter of Zion; Behold, Your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”^{(D) 16} His disciples did not understand [the meaning of] these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified and exalted, they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him. ¹⁷ So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to tell others about Him. ¹⁸ For this reason the crowd went to meet Him, because they heard that He had performed this [miraculous] sign. ¹⁹ Then the Pharisees [argued and] said to one another, “You see that your efforts are futile. Look! The whole world has gone [running] after Him!”

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.