Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now ^(A)among those who went up to worship at the feast were some ^(B)Greeks. ²¹ So these came to ^(C)Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told ^(D)Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus answered them, ^(E)“The hour has come ^(F)for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(G)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ^25 (H)Whoever loves his life loses it, and ^(I)whoever ^(J)hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must ^(K)follow me; and ^(L)where I am, there will my servant be also. ^(M)If anyone serves me, ^(N)the Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

^27 (O)“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, ^(P)save me from ^(Q)this hour’? But ^(R)for this purpose I have come to ^(S)this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then ^(T)a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ^(U)“An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, ^(V)“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ^31 (W)Now is the judgment of this world; now will ^(X)the ruler of this world ^(Y)be cast out. ³² And I, ^(Z)when I am lifted up from the earth, ^(AA)will draw ^(AB)all people to myself.” ³³ He said this ^(AC)to show by what kind of death he was going to die. ³⁴ So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that ^(AD)the Christ remains forever. How can you say that ^(AE)the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, ^(AF)“The light is among you ^(AG)for a little while longer. ^(AH)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness ^(AI)overtake you. ^(AJ)The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become ^(AK)sons of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. ³⁷ Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, ^38 (AL)so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

³⁹ Therefore they ^(AN)could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because ^(AQ)he saw his glory and ^(AR)spoke of him. ⁴² Nevertheless, ^(AS)many even of the authorities believed in him, but ^(AT)for fear of the Pharisees they did not ^(AU)confess it, so that they would not be ^(AV)put out of the synagogue; ^43 (AW)for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, ^(AX)“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but ^(AY)in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And ^(AZ)whoever ^(BA)sees me sees him who sent me. ^46 (BB)I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone ^(BC)hears my words and does not keep them, ^(BD)I do not judge him; for ^(BE)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ^48 (BF)The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; ^(BG)the word that I have spoken will judge him ^(BH)on the last day. ⁴⁹ For ^(BI)I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father ^(BJ)who sent me has himself given me ^(BK)a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

David Hears of Saul's Death

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned ^(A)from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. ² And on the third day, behold, ^(B)a man came from Saul's camp, ^(C)with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, ^(D)he fell to the ground and paid homage. ³ David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴ And David said to him, ^(E)“How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” ⁵ Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁶ And the young man who told him said, ^(F)“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. ⁷ And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ^(G)‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ ¹⁰ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. ^(H)And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and ^(I)tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they mourned and wept ^(J)and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ David said to him, “How is it you were not ^(K)afraid to put out your hand to destroy ^(L)the Lord's anointed?” ¹⁵ Then ^(M)David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. ¹⁶ And David said to him, ^(N)“Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed ^(O)the Lord's anointed.’”

David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ And David ^(P)lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, ¹⁸ and he said it^[a] should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in ^(Q)the Book of Jashar.^[b] He said:

David Anointed King of Judah

2 After this David ^(AF)inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To ^(AG)Hebron.” ² So David went up there, and ^(AH)his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ And David brought up ^(AI)his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. ⁴ And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David ^(AJ)king over the house of Judah.

When they told David, ^(AK)“It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” ⁵ David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, ^(AL)“May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. ⁶ Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and ^(AM)the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel

⁸ But ^(AN)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(AO)Mahanaim, ⁹ and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. ¹⁰ Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ^11 (AP)And the time that David was king in Hebron over ^(AQ)the house of Judah was seven years and six months.