David Saves the City of Keilah

23 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against ^(A)Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

² Therefore David ^(B)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and ^[a]attack these Philistines?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

³ But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” ⁴ Then David inquired of the Lord once again.

And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” ⁵ And David and his men went to Keilah and ^(C)fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶ Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech ^(D)fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷ And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” ⁸ Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

⁹ When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, ^(E)he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” ¹⁰ Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah ^(F)to destroy the city for my sake. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will come down.”

¹² Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah ^[b]deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”

And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”

¹³ So David and his men, ^(G)about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

David in Wilderness Strongholds

¹⁴ And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in ^(H)the mountains in the Wilderness of ^(I)Ziph. Saul ^(J)sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. ¹⁵ So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph ^[c]in a forest. ¹⁶ Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and ^[d]strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said to him, ^(K)“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. ^(L)Even my father Saul knows that.” ¹⁸ So the two of them ^(M)made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites ^(N)came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and ^(O)our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

²¹ And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. ²² Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. ²³ See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the ^[e]clans of Judah.”

²⁴ So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness ^(P)of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down ^[f]to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. ^(Q)So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men ^(R)were encircling David and his men to take them.

^27 (S)But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” ²⁸ Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place ^[g]the Rock of Escape. ²⁹ Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at ^(T)En Gedi.

God’s Power and Wisdom

40 Moreover the Lord ^(A)answered Job, and said:

Job’s Response to God

³ Then Job answered the Lord and said:

God’s Challenge to Job

^6 (F)Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast

17 Then ^(A)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying ^[a]to me, “Come, ^(B)I will show you the judgment of ^(C)the great harlot ^(D)who sits on many waters, ^2 (E)with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and ^(F)the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

³ So he carried me away in the Spirit ^(G)into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting ^(H)on a scarlet beast which was full of ^(I)names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(J)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, ^(K)and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, ^(L)having in her hand a golden cup ^(M)full of abominations and the filthiness of ^[b]her fornication. ⁵ And on her forehead a name was written:

^(N)MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

⁶ I saw ^(O)the woman, drunk ^(P)with the blood of the saints and with the blood of ^(Q)the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast

⁷ But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the ^[c]mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. ⁸ The beast that you saw was, and is not, and ^(R)will ascend out of the bottomless pit and ^(S)go to ^[d]perdition. And those who ^(T)dwell on the earth ^(U)will marvel, ^(V)whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and ^[e]yet is.

^9 (W)“Here is the mind which has wisdom: ^(X)The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must ^(Y)continue a short time. ¹¹ The ^(Z)beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to ^[f]perdition.

^12 (AA)“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ^14 (AB)These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(AC)overcome them, ^(AD)for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; ^(AE)and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

¹⁵ Then he said to me, ^(AF)“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, ^(AG)are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns which you ^[g]saw on the beast, ^(AH)these will hate the harlot, make her ^(AI)desolate ^(AJ)and naked, eat her flesh and ^(AK)burn her with fire. ^17 (AL)For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, ^(AM)until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸ And the woman whom you saw ^(AN)is that great city ^(AO)which reigns over the kings of the earth.”