Nathan Rebukes David

12 And the Lord sent ^(A)Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, ^(B)“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had very many flocks and herds, ³ but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,^[a] and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” ⁵ Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ^(C)“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, ⁶ and he shall restore the lamb ^(D)fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

⁷ Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(E)‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. ⁸ And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. ^9 (F)Why have you despised the word of the Lord, ^(G)to do what is evil in his sight? ^(H)You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and ^(I)have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For you did it secretly, ^(J)but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” ^13 (K)David said to Nathan, ^(L)“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, ^(M)“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly ^(N)scorned the Lord,^[b] the child who is born to you shall die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went to his house.

David's Child Dies

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. ¹⁶ David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David ^(O)fasted and went in ^(P)and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” ¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ Then David arose from the earth ^(Q)and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord ^(R)and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. ²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” ²² He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ^(S)‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ ²³ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, ^(T)but he will not return to me.”

Solomon's Birth

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and ^(U)she bore a son, and he called his name ^(V)Solomon. And the Lord loved him ²⁵ and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah,^[c] because of the Lord.

Rabbah Is Captured

^26 (W)Now Joab ^(X)fought against ^(Y)Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. ²⁷ And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. ²⁸ Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.” ²⁹ So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. ³⁰ And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent^[d] of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. ³¹ And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at^[e] the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch ^(A)prophets and ^(B)teachers, ^(C)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,^[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of ^(D)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, ^(E)the Holy Spirit said, ^(F)“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^(G)for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and ^(H)praying they laid their hands on them and ^(I)sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out ^(J)by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God ^(K)in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^(L)John to ^(M)assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^(N)magician, ^(O)a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with ^(P)the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(Q)magician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^(R)opposed them, seeking to turn ^(S)the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^(T)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You ^(U)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^(V)villainy, will you not stop ^(W)making crooked ^(X)the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, ^(Y)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^(Z)people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^(AA)the teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

¹³ Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And ^(AB)John left them and returned ^(AC)to Jerusalem, ¹⁴ but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And ^(AD)on the Sabbath day ^(AE)they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After ^(AF)the reading from ^(AG)the Law and the Prophets, ^(AH)the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any ^(AI)word of encouragement for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and ^(AJ)motioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and ^(AK)you who fear God, listen. ^17 (AL)The God of this people Israel ^(AM)chose our fathers and ^(AN)made the people great ^(AO)during their stay in the land of Egypt, and ^(AP)with uplifted arm he led them out of it. ¹⁸ And for about ^(AQ)forty years ^(AR)he put up with^[b] them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And ^(AS)after destroying ^(AT)seven nations in the land of Canaan, ^(AU)he gave them their land as an inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years. And after that ^(AV)he gave them judges until ^(AW)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then ^(AX)they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul ^(AY)the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And ^(AZ)when he had removed him, ^(BA)he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^(BB)‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ^(BC)a man after my heart, ^(BD)who will do all my will.’ ^23 (BE)Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel ^(BF)a Savior, Jesus, ^(BG)as he promised. ²⁴ Before his coming, ^(BH)John had proclaimed ^(BI)a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, ^(BJ)he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you ^(BK)who fear God, to us has been sent ^(BL)the message of ^(BM)this salvation. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ^(BN)they did not recognize him nor understand ^(BO)the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, ^(BP)fulfilled them by condemning him. ²⁸ And ^(BQ)though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, ^(BR)they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ And when ^(BS)they had carried out all that was written of him, ^(BT)they took him down from ^(BU)the tree and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But ^(BV)God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days ^(BW)he appeared to those ^(BX)who had come up with him ^(BY)from Galilee to Jerusalem, ^(BZ)who are now ^(CA)his witnesses to the people. ³² And we bring you the good news ^(CB)that what God promised to the fathers, ^33 (CC)this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

³⁴ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, ^(CE)(CF)no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

³⁵ Therefore he says also in another psalm,

³⁶ For David, after he had ^(CI)served the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(CJ)fell asleep and ^(CK)was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, ³⁷ but he whom ^(CL)God raised up did not see corruption. ³⁸ Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, ^(CM)that through this man ^(CN)forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and by him ^(CO)everyone who believes is freed^[c] from everything ^(CP)from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

⁴² As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and ^(CR)devout ^(CS)converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them ^(CT)to continue in ^(CU)the grace of God.

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ^45 (CV)But ^(CW)when the Jews^[d] saw the crowds, they were filled with ^(CX)jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, ^(CY)reviling him. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God ^(CZ)be spoken first to you. ^(DA)Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves ^(DB)unworthy of eternal life, behold, we ^(DC)are turning to the Gentiles. ^47 (DD)For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and ^(DH)glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. ^50 (DI)But the Jews incited the devout ^(DJ)women of high standing and the leading men of the city, ^(DK)stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and ^(DL)drove them out of their district. ⁵¹ But they ^(DM)shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled ^(DN)with joy and ^(DO)with the Holy Spirit.

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

14 Now at Iconium ^(DP)they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. ^2 (DQ)But the ^(DR)unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against ^(DS)the brothers.^{[e] 3} So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for ^(DT)the Lord, who bore witness to ^(DU)the word of his grace, ^(DV)granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. ⁴ But the people of the city ^(DW)were divided; ^(DX)some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. ⁵ When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, ^(DY)to mistreat them and ^(DZ)to stone them, ⁶ they learned of it and ^(EA)fled to ^(EB)Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, ⁷ and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

⁸ Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was ^(EC)crippled from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and ^(ED)seeing that he had faith to be made well,^{[f] 10} said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he ^(EE)sprang up and began walking. ¹¹ And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, ^(EF)“The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” ¹² Barnabas they called ^(EG)Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ And the priest of ^(EH)Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and ^(EI)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^(EJ)tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ¹⁵ “Men, ^(EK)why are you doing these things? We also are men, ^(EL)of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that ^(EM)you should turn from these ^(EN)vain things to ^(EO)a living God, ^(EP)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ¹⁶ In past generations he ^(EQ)allowed all the nations ^(ER)to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷ Yet ^(ES)he did not leave himself without witness, for he ^(ET)did good by ^(EU)giving you rains from heaven and ^(EV)fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with ^(EW)food and ^(EX)gladness.” ¹⁸ Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

Paul Stoned at Lystra

^19 (EY)But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, ^(EZ)they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. ²⁰ But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. ²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had ^(FA)made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ^22 (FB)strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them ^(FC)to continue in ^(FD)the faith, and saying that ^(FE)through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. ²³ And when they had ^(FF)appointed ^(FG)elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting ^(FH)they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

²⁴ Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, ²⁶ and from there they sailed to Antioch, ^(FI)where they had been ^(FJ)commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. ²⁷ And when they arrived and gathered the church together, ^(FK)they declared all that God had done with them, and ^(FL)how he had ^(FM)opened ^(FN)a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they remained no little time with the disciples.

The Jerusalem Council

15 ^(FO)But some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^(FP)the brothers, “Unless you are ^(FQ)circumcised ^(FR)according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^(FS)debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^(FT)some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^(FU)the apostles and the elders about this question. ³ So, ^(FV)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(FW)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^(FX)brought great joy to all ^(FY)the brothers.^{[g] 4 (FZ)}When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ^(GA)the apostles and the elders, and ^(GB)they declared all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some believers who belonged to ^(GC)the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^(GD)“It is necessary ^(GE)to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

^6 (GF)The ^(GG)apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much ^(GH)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^(GI)that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^(GJ)the word of ^(GK)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(GL)who knows the heart, ^(GM)bore witness to them, ^(GN)by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and ^(GO)he made no distinction between us and them, ^(GP)having cleansed their hearts ^(GQ)by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why ^(GR)are you putting God to the test ^(GS)by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^(GT)that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we ^(GU)believe that we will be ^(GV)saved through ^(GW)the grace of the Lord Jesus, ^(GX)just as they will.”

¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^(GY)as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, ^(GZ)James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ^14 (HA)Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ^(HB)a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁹ Therefore ^(HG)my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^(HH)turn to God, ²⁰ but should write to them ^(HI)to abstain from ^(HJ)the things polluted by idols, and from ^(HK)sexual immorality, and from ^(HL)what has been strangled, and from ^(HM)blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^(HN)for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers

²² Then it seemed good to ^(HO)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called ^(HP)Barsabbas, and ^(HQ)Silas, leading men among ^(HR)the brothers, ²³ with the following letter: ^(HS)“The brothers, both ^(HT)the apostles and the elders, to the brothers^[i] who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ^(HU)greetings. ²⁴ Since we have heard that ^(HV)some persons have gone out from us and ^(HW)troubled you^[j] with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, ²⁵ it has seemed good to us, having come ^(HX)to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^(HY)beloved Barnabas and Paul, ^26 (HZ)men who have ^(IA)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ We have therefore sent ^(IB)Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸ For it has seemed good ^(IC)to the Holy Spirit and ^(ID)to us ^(IE)to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: ^29 (IF)that you abstain from ^(IG)what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰ So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. ³² And Judas and Silas, who were themselves ^(IH)prophets, encouraged and ^(II)strengthened ^(IJ)the brothers with many words. ³³ And after they had spent some time, they were sent off ^(IK)in peace by ^(IL)the brothers to those who had sent them.^{[k] 35} But ^(IM)Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Paul and Barnabas Separate

³⁶ And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit ^(IN)the brothers ^(IO)in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Now Barnabas wanted to take with them ^(IP)John called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul thought best not to take with them one ^(IQ)who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there arose ^(IR)a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. ^(IS)Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^(IT)having been commended by ^(IU)the brothers to ^(IV)the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ^(IW)strengthening the churches.