The Growth of David’s Army^(A)

12 Now ^(B)these were the men who came to David at ^(C)Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, ² armed with bows, using both the right hand and ^(D)the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren.

³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of ^[a]Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Berachah, and Jehu the Anathothite; ⁴ Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite; ⁵ Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶ Elkanah, Jisshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites; ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ Some Gadites ^[b]joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were ^(E)as swift as gazelles on the mountains: ⁹ Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹¹ Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹² Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbanai the eleventh. ¹⁴ These were from the sons of Gad, captains of the army; the least was over a hundred, and the greatest was over a ^(F)thousand. ¹⁵ These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its ^(G)banks; and they put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. ¹⁷ And David went out ^[c]to meet them, and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no ^[d]wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment.” ¹⁸ Then the Spirit ^[e]came upon ^(H)Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said:

So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.

¹⁹ And some from Manasseh defected to David ^(I)when he was going with the Philistines to battle against Saul; but they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines sent him away by agreement, saying, ^(J)“He may defect to his master Saul and endanger our heads.” ²⁰ When he went to Ziklag, those of Manasseh who defected to him were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of the thousands who were from Manasseh. ²¹ And they helped David against ^(K)the bands of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor, and they were captains in the army. ²² For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, ^(L)like the army of God.

David’s Army at Hebron

²³ Now these were the numbers of the ^[f]divisions that were equipped for war, and ^(M)came to David at ^(N)Hebron to ^(O)turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, ^(P)according to the word of the Lord: ²⁴ of the sons of Judah bearing shield and spear, six thousand eight hundred ^[g]armed for war; ²⁵ of the sons of Simeon, mighty men of valor fit for war, seven thousand one hundred; ²⁶ of the sons of Levi four thousand six hundred; ²⁷ Jehoiada, the leader of the Aaronites, and with him three thousand seven hundred; ^28 (Q)Zadok, a young man, a valiant warrior, and from his father’s house twenty-two captains; ²⁹ of the sons of Benjamin, relatives of Saul, three thousand (until then ^(R)the greatest part of them had remained loyal to the house of Saul); ³⁰ of the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty men of valor, ^[h]famous men throughout their father’s house; ³¹ of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king; ³² of the sons of Issachar ^(S)who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command; ³³ of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, ^(T)stouthearted men who could keep ranks; ³⁴ of Naphtali one thousand captains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear; ³⁵ of the Danites who could keep battle formation, twenty-eight thousand six hundred; ³⁶ of Asher, those who could go out to war, able to keep battle formation, forty thousand; ³⁷ of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, from the other side of the Jordan, one hundred and twenty thousand armed for battle with every kind of weapon of war.

³⁸ All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of ^(U)one mind to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover those who were near to them, from as far away as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys and camels, on mules and oxen—provisions of flour and cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, wine and oil and oxen and sheep abundantly, for there was joy in Israel.

The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

The Transfiguration of Christ^(A)

9 And He said to them, ^(B)“Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see ^(C)the kingdom of God ^[a]present with power.”

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

^2 (D)Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became shining, exceedingly ^(E)white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶ because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

⁷ And a ^(F)cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is ^(G)My beloved Son. ^(H)Hear Him!” ⁸ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

^9 (I)Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept this word to themselves, questioning ^(J)what the rising from the dead meant.

¹¹ And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say ^(K)that Elijah must come first?”

¹² Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And ^(L)how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and ^(M)be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I say to you that ^(N)Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

A Boy Is Healed^(O)

^14 (P)And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. ¹⁶ And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

¹⁷ Then ^(Q)one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. ¹⁸ And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

¹⁹ He answered him and said, “O ^(R)faithless^[b] generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I ^[c]bear with you? Bring him to Me.” ²⁰ Then they brought him to Him. And ^(S)when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. ²² And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

²³ Jesus said to him, ^(T)“If^[d] you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; ^(U)help my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He ^(V)rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” ²⁶ Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

^28 (W)And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁹ So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but ^(X)prayer ^[e]and fasting.”

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection

³⁰ Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. ^31 (Y)For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will ^(Z)kill Him. And after He is killed, He will ^(AA)rise the third day.” ³² But they ^(AB)did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

Who Is the Greatest?^(AC)

^33 (AD)Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you ^[f]disputed among yourselves on the road?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the road they had ^(AE)disputed among themselves who would be the ^(AF)greatest. ³⁵ And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ^(AG)“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ Then ^(AH)He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and ^(AI)whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

Jesus Forbids Sectarianism^(AJ)

^38 (AK)Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, ^(AL)for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰ For ^(AM)he who is not against ^[g]us is on ^[h]our side. ^41 (AN)For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Jesus Warns of Offenses^(AO)

^42 (AP)“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me ^[i]to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. ^43 (AQ)If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life ^[j]maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to ^[k]hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— ^44 [l]where

⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into ^[m]hell, ^[n]into the fire that shall never be quenched— ⁴⁶ where

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into ^[o]hell fire— ⁴⁸ where

Tasteless Salt Is Worthless

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be ^(AV)seasoned with fire, ^(AW)and^[p] every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. ^50 (AX)Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? ^(AY)Have salt in yourselves, and ^(AZ)have peace with one another.”