David Spares Saul’s Life

24 ^[a]Now ^(A)when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, ^(B)it was reported to him, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then ^(C)Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats. ³ And he came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul ^(D)went in to ^[b]relieve himself. Now ^(E)David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. ⁴ Then David’s men said to him, “Behold, ^(F)this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; ^(G)I am about to hand your enemy over to you, and you shall do to him as it seems good ^[c]to you.’” Then David got up and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. ⁵ But it came about afterward that ^(H)David’s ^[d]conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. ⁶ So he said to his men, “^(I)Far be it from me because of the Lord that I would do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to reach out with my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” ⁷ And David rebuked his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul got up, ^[e]left the cave, and went on his way.

⁸ Afterward, however, David got up and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, ^(J)David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. ⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men ^[f]who say, ‘Behold, David is seeking ^[g]to harm you’? ^10 (K)Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had handed you over to me today in the cave, and ^(L)someone said to kill you, but ^[h]I spared you; and I said, ‘I will not reach out with my hand against my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ So, ^(M)my father, look! Indeed, look at the edge of your robe in my hand! For by the fact that I cut off the edge of your robe but did not kill you, know and understand that there is no evil or ^[i]rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you ^(N)are lying in wait for my life, to take it. ^12 (O)May the Lord judge between ^[j]you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me; but my hand shall not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘^(P)Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. ¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel gone out? Whom are you pursuing? ^(Q)A dead dog, ^(R)a single flea? ¹⁵ May ^(S)the Lord therefore be judge and decide between ^[k]you and me; and may He see and ^(T)plead my cause and save me from your hand.”

¹⁶ When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “^(U)Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul raised his voice and wept. ^17 (V)And he said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for ^(W)you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt maliciously with you. ¹⁸ You have declared today that you have done good to me, that ^(X)the Lord handed me over to you and yet you did not kill me. ¹⁹ Though if a man ^(Y)finds his enemy, will he let him go away ^[l]unharmed? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ Now, behold, ^(Z)I know that you will certainly be king, and that ^(AA)the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. ²¹ So now ^(AB)swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my ^[m]descendants after me, and that you will not eliminate my name from my father’s household.” ²² And David swore an oath to Saul. Then Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to ^(AC)the stronghold.

God’s Power Shown in Creatures

Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another ^(A)angel ^(B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(C)illuminated from his glory. ² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “^[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^[b]prison of every ^(F)unclean spirit, and a ^[c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. ³ For all the nations have fallen because of the ^(G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and ^(H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the ^(I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the ^[d]excessive wealth of her ^[e](J)luxury.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “^(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; ⁵ for her sins have ^[f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(M)remembered her offenses. ^6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^[g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ^7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and ^(Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘^(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ⁸ For this reason ^(S)in one day her plagues will come, ^[h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(U)is strong.

Grief over Babylon

⁹ “And ^(V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and ^(W)lived luxuriously with her, will ^(X)weep and mourn over her when they ^(Y)see the smoke of her burning, ^10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘^(AA)Woe, woe, ^(AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(AC)one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And the ^(AD)merchants of the earth ^(AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— ¹² cargo of ^(AF)gold, silver, precious ^[i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, ^[j]bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ cinnamon, ^[k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, ^[l]slaves, and ^(AG)human lives. ¹⁴ The fruit ^[m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. ¹⁵ The ^(AH)merchants of ^(AI)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶ saying, ‘^(AK)Woe, woe, ^(AL)the great city, she who ^(AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[n]adorned with gold, precious ^[o]stones, and pearls; ¹⁷ for in ^(AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(AO)waste!’ And ^(AP)every shipmaster and every ^[p]passenger and sailor, and all who ^[q]make their living by the sea, ^(AQ)stood at a distance, ¹⁸ and were ^(AR)crying out as they ^(AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘^(AT)What city is like ^(AU)the great city?’ ¹⁹ And they threw ^(AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘^(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in ^(AY)one hour she has been laid ^(AZ)waste!’ ^20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[r]saints and ^(BB)apostles and prophets, because ^(BC)God has ^[s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”

²¹ Then ^[t]a ^(BD)strong angel ^(BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, ^(BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(BG)will never be found again. ²² And ^(BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the ^(BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; ²³ and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the ^(BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your ^(BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(BL)by your witchcraft. ²⁴ And in her was found the ^(BM)blood of prophets and of ^[u]saints, and of ^(BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”