David Anointed King

11 ^(A)Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. ² In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, ^(B)‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, ^(C)according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

David Takes Jerusalem

⁴ And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, ^(D)that is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, ^(E)the inhabitants of the land. ⁵ The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. ⁶ David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first ^(F)shall be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. ⁷ And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸ And he built the city all around from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. ⁹ And David ^(G)became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

David's Mighty Men

^10 (H)Now these are the chiefs of David's mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, ^(I)according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹ This is an account of David's mighty men: ^(J)Jashobeam, a ^(K)Hachmonite, was ^(L)chief of the three.^[a] He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time.

¹² And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of ^(M)Dodo, the Ahohite. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim ^(N)when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴ But he took his^[b] stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and killed the Philistines. And the Lord saved them by a great victory.

¹⁵ Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the ^(O)Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ David was then in the stronghold, and the ^(P)garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁸ Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord ¹⁹ and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

²⁰ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty.^[c] And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. ²¹ He was the most renowned^[d] of the thirty^[e] and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

²² And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^[f] of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²³ And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits^[g] tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear ^(Q)like a weaver's beam, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²⁵ He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁶ The mighty men were ^(R)Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁷ Shammoth of Harod,^[h] Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, ²⁹ Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai of Netophah, Heled the son of Baanah of Netophah, ³¹ Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah of Pirathon, ³² Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth of Baharum, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ Hashem^[i] the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro of Carmel, Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of ^(S)Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, ^(T)Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³ Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵ Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

The Mighty Men Join David

12 ^(U)Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ² They ^(V)were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the ^(W)left hand; they were Benjaminites, ^(X)Saul's kinsmen. ³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of ^(Y)Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of ^(Z)Anathoth, ⁴ Ishmaiah of ^(AA)Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty and a leader over the thirty; Jeremiah,^[j] Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, ⁵ Eluzai,^[k] Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the ^(AB)Korahites; ⁷ And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were ^(AC)swift as gazelles upon the mountains: ⁹ Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹¹ Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹² Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁴ These Gadites were officers of the army; the least was a ^(AD)match for a hundred men and the greatest for a thousand. ¹⁵ These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was ^(AE)overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ And some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.” ¹⁸ Then ^(AF)the Spirit clothed ^(AG)Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said,

Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.

¹⁹ Some of the men of Manasseh deserted to David ^(AI)when he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, ^(AJ)“At peril to our heads he will desert to his master Saul.”) ²⁰ As he went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against ^(AK)the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and were commanders in the army. ²² For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.

²³ These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops ^(AL)who came to David in Hebron ^(AM)to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, ^(AN)according to the word of the Lord. ²⁴ The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. ²⁵ Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. ²⁶ Of the Levites 4,600. ²⁷ The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. ^28 (AO)Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers' house. ²⁹ Of the Benjaminites, ^(AP)the kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the ^(AQ)majority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses. ³¹ Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were ^(AR)expressly named to come and make David king. ³² Of Issachar, men who ^(AS)had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. ³³ Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, ^(AT)equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David^[l] with ^(AU)singleness of purpose. ³⁴ Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. ³⁵ Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. ³⁶ Of ^(AV)Asher 40,000 ^(AW)seasoned troops ^(AX)ready for battle. ³⁷ Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.

³⁸ All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with ^(AY)a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a ^(AZ)single mind to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them. ⁴⁰ And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, ^(BA)cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

6 After this ^(A)Jesus went away to the other side of ^(B)the Sea of Galilee, which is ^(C)the Sea of Tiberias. ² And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. ³ Jesus went up on ^(D)the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴ Now ^(E)the Passover, the ^(F)feast of the Jews, was at hand. ^5 (G)Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to ^(H)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” ⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ^7 (I)Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, ^(J)Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five ^(K)barley loaves and two fish, but ^(L)what are they for so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” ^(M)Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and ^(N)when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ^(O)“This is indeed ^(P)the Prophet ^(Q)who is to come into the world!”

^15 (R)Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus ^(S)withdrew again to ^(T)the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on Water

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[b] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ^20 (U)But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

I Am the Bread of Life

²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only ^(V)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord ^(W)had given thanks. ^24 (X)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and ^(Y)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ^(Z)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AA)you are seeking me, not because you saw ^(AB)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ^27 (AC)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for ^(AD)the food that endures to eternal life, which ^(AE)the Son of Man will give to you. For on ^(AF)him God the Father has ^(AG)set his seal.” ²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing ^(AH)the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, ^(AI)that you believe in him whom ^(AJ)he has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to him, ^(AK)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ^31 (AL)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ^(AM)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^(AN)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ They said to him, ^(AO)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, ^(AP)“I am the bread of life; ^(AQ)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ^37 (AR)All that ^(AS)the Father gives me will come to me, and ^(AT)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For ^(AU)I have come down from heaven, not to do ^(AV)my own will but ^(AW)the will of him ^(AX)who sent me. ³⁹ And ^(AY)this is the will of him who sent me, ^(AZ)that I should lose nothing of ^(BA)all that he has given me, but ^(BB)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who ^(BC)looks on the Son and ^(BD)believes in him ^(BE)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ^(BF)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, ^(BG)“Is not this Jesus, ^(BH)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(BI)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(BJ)draws him. And ^(BK)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ^(BL)‘And they will all be ^(BM)taught by God.’ ^(BN)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ^46 (BO)not that anyone has seen the Father except ^(BP)he who is from God; he ^(BQ)has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(BR)whoever believes has eternal life. ^48 (BS)I am the bread of life. ^49 (BT)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and ^(BU)they died. ^50 (BV)This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it ^(BW)and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(BX)that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ^(BY)for the life of the world is ^(BZ)my flesh.”

⁵² The Jews then ^(CA)disputed among themselves, saying, ^(CB)“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(CC)the Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^(CD)have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(CE)has eternal life, and ^(CF)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(CG)abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As ^(CH)the living Father ^(CI)sent me, and ^(CJ)I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. ^58 (CK)This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread^[c] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ Jesus^[d] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^(CL)at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

^60 (CM)When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(CN)knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? ⁶² Then what if you were to see ^(CO)the Son of Man ^(CP)ascending to ^(CQ)where he was before? ^63 (CR)It is the Spirit who gives life; ^(CS)the flesh is no help at all. ^(CT)The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But ^(CU)there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus ^(CV)knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and ^(CW)who it was who would betray him.) ⁶⁵ And he said, “This is why I told you ^(CX)that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

^66 (CY)After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(CZ)the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(DA)the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and ^(DB)we have believed, and have come to know, that ^(DC)you are ^(DD)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, ^(DE)“Did I not choose you, ^(DF)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(DG)a devil.” ⁷¹ He spoke of Judas ^(DH)the son of Simon Iscariot, for ^(DI)he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.