David and Jonathan’s Covenant

20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and ^(A)said ^[a]to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” ² He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die! Behold, my father does nothing either great or small ^[b]without informing me. So why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” ³ Yet David ^(B)vowed again, ^[c]saying, “Your father is well aware that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Jonathan is not to know this, otherwise he will be worried.’ But indeed ^(C)as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is ^[d]just a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever ^[e]you say, I will do for you.” ⁵ So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^(D)the new moon, and I am obligated ^(E)to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go ^(F)so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly requested leave of me to run to ^(G)Bethlehem, his city, because it is ^(H)the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ ⁷ If he ^[f]says, ‘That is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, ^(I)be aware that he has decided on evil. ⁸ So deal kindly with your servant, for ^(J)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But ^(K)if ^[g]I am guilty of wrongdoing, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” ⁹ Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I in fact learn that my father has decided ^[h]to inflict harm on you, would I not inform you?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will inform me ^[i]if your father answers you harshly?” ¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward ^[j]you, shall I not then send word to you and ^[k]inform you? ¹³ If it pleases my father to do you harm, ^(L)may the Lord do so to ^[l]me and more so, if I fail to ^[m]inform you and send you away, so that you may go in safety. And ^(M)may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ And if I am still alive, will you not show me the faithfulness of the Lord, so that I do not die? ¹⁵ And ^(N)you shall never cut off your loyalty to my house, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “^(O)May the Lord demand it from the hands of David’s enemies.” ¹⁷ And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because ^(P)he loved him as he loved his own life.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, “^(Q)Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed since your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel. ²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. ²¹ Then behold, I will send the boy, telling him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, because it is safe for you and there is nothing to harm you, as the Lord lives. ²² But if I ^[n]say to the youth, ‘^(R)Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, because the Lord has sent you away. ^23 (S)As for the ^[o]agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^(T)the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ Now the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan stood up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side; but ^(U)David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, because he thought, “It must have been an ^[p]accident; ^(V)he is not clean, undoubtedly he is not clean.” ²⁷ But it came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty again; so Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸ And Jonathan answered Saul, “^(W)David earnestly requested leave of me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has ordered me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me slip away so that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹ For, ^[q]as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now then, send men and bring him to me, for ^(X)he is ^[r]doomed to die!” ³² But Jonathan replied to his father Saul and said to him, “^(Y)Why must he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³ Then ^(Z)Saul hurled his spear at him to strike and kill him; ^(AA)so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. ³⁴ Then Jonathan got up from the table in the heat of anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, because he was worried about David since his father had insulted him.

³⁵ Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out to the field at the time agreed upon with David, and a little boy was with him. ³⁶ He said to his boy, “^(AB)Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot ^[s]an arrow past him. ³⁷ When the boy reached the location of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “^(AC)Is the arrow not beyond you?” ³⁸ Then Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his master. ³⁹ But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” ⁴¹ When the boy was gone, David got up from the south side, then he fell on his face to the ground and ^(AD)bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, until ^(AE)David wept immeasurably. ⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, “^(AF)Go ^[t]in safety, since we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘^(AG)The Lord will be between me and you, and between my ^[u]descendants and your ^[v]descendants forever.’” ^[w]So David set out and went on his way, while Jonathan went into the city.

David Takes Consecrated Bread

21 Then David came to ^(AH)Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech ^(AI)came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” ² David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘^(AJ)No one is to know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ ³ Now then, what ^[x]do you have on hand? Give ^[y]me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” ⁴ The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread ^[z]on hand, but there is ^(AK)consecrated bread, if only the young men have ^(AL)kept themselves from women.” ⁵ David answered the priest and said to him, “^(AM)Be assured, women have been denied to us as previously when I left and the ^[aa](AN)bodies of the young men were consecrated, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then will ^[ab]their bodies be consecrated today?” ⁶ So ^(AO)the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the ^(AP)bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.

⁷ Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was ^(AQ)Doeg the Edomite, the ^(AR)chief of Saul’s shepherds.

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there no spear or sword ^[ac]on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons ^[ad]with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.” ⁹ Then the priest said, “^(AS)The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you ^[ae]killed ^(AT)in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

¹⁰ Then David set out and fled that day from Saul, and went to ^(AU)Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the ^(AV)servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? ^(AW)Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,

¹² David ^(AX)took these words ^[af]to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he ^(AY)disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their ^[ag]custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. ¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person. Why do you bring him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.

A Psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before ^[a]Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

5 ^(A)Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on ^(B)the ^[a]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ² And ^(C)He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³ “^[b](D)Blessed are the poor in spirit, for ^(E)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are ^(F)those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are ^(G)the ^[c]gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are ^(H)those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are ^(I)the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are ^(J)the pure in heart, for ^(K)they will see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for ^(L)they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been ^(M)persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for ^(N)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people ^(O)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ^(P)in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Disciples and the World

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but ^(Q)if the salt has become tasteless, how ^[d]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

¹⁴ “You are ^(R)the light of the world. A city set on a ^[e]hill cannot be hidden; ^15 (S)nor do people light a lamp and put it under a ^[f]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may ^(T)see your good works, and ^(U)glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ “Do not presume that I came to abolish the ^(V)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, ^(W)until heaven and earth pass away, not ^[g]the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ^[h]others to do the same, shall be called least ^(X)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever ^[i]keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ “For I say to you that unless your ^(Y)righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Personal Relationships

²¹ “^(Z)You have heard that ^[j]the ancients were told, ‘^(AA)You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to ^(AB)the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to ^(AC)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[k]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to ^[l](AD)the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^[m](AE)fiery hell. ²³ Therefore, if you are ^(AF)presenting your ^[n]offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your ^[o]offering there before the altar and go; first be ^(AG)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ^[p]offering. ^25 (AH)[q]Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, ^(AI)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ^[r]quadrans.

²⁷ “^(AJ)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(AK)You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^(AL)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ Now ^(AM)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[s]than for your whole body to be thrown into ^[t](AN)hell. ³⁰ And ^(AO)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you ^[u]to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[v]than for your whole body to go into ^[w](AP)hell.

³¹ “Now it was said, ‘^(AQ)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; ^32 (AR)but I say to you that everyone who ^[x]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ^[y]divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, ^(AS)you have heard that ^[z]the ancients were told, ‘^[aa](AT)You shall not ^[ab]make false vows, but shall fulfill your ^[ac]vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(AU)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is ^(AV)the throne of God, ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the ^(AW)footstool of His feet, nor ^[ad]by Jerusalem, for it is ^(AX)the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ But make sure your statement is, ‘^[ae]Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ^[af]of ^(AY)evil origin.

³⁸ “^(AZ)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(BA)Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but ^(BB)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ^[ag]tunic, let him have your ^[ah]cloak also. ⁴¹ Whoever ^[ai]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ^42 (BC)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “^(BD)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(BE)You shall love your neighbor ^(BF)and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(BG)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may prove yourselves to be ^(BH)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For ^(BI)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore ^(BJ)you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.