The Death of Samuel

25 (A)Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled (B)and mourned for him, and they buried him (C)in his house at (D)Ramah.

David and Abigail

Then David rose and went down to (E)the wilderness of Paran. And there was a man in (F)Maon whose business was in (G)Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. (H)He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; (I)he was a Calebite. David heard in the wilderness that Nabal (J)was shearing his sheep. So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. And thus you shall greet him: (K)‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, (L)and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come (M)on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David's servants, (N)“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? (O)There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take (P)my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to (Q)men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And (R)about four hundred men went up after David, (S)while two hundred (T)remained with the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, (U)and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were (V)a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, (W)for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such (X)a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs[a] of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, (Y)so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has (Z)returned me evil for good. 22 (AA)God do so to the enemies of David[b] and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried (AB)and got down from the donkey (AC)and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, (AD)“On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard (AE)this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal[c] is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, (AF)as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because (AG)the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from (AH)saving with your own hand, now then (AI)let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this (AJ)present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord (AK)a sure house, because my lord (AL)is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies (AM)he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince[d] over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord (AN)working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

32 And David said to Abigail, (AO)“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, (AP)who have kept me this day from bloodguilt (AQ)and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely (AR)as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, (AS)who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, (AT)“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, (AU)he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart (AV)was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing (AW)at all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later (AX)the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, (AY)“Blessed be the Lord who has (AZ)avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, (BA)and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. (BB)The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and (BC)spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose (BD)and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoam of (BE)Jezreel, (BF)and both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

David Spares Saul Again

26 (BG)Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” So Saul arose and went down to (BH)the wilderness of Ziph with (BI)three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with (BJ)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within (BK)the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother (BL)Abishai the son of Zeruiah, (BM)“Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within (BN)the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground (BO)at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. Then Abishai said to David, (BP)“God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand (BQ)against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, (BR)“As the Lord lives, (BS)the Lord will strike him, or (BT)his day will come to die, (BU)or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 (BV)The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is (BW)at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because (BX)a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. (BY)As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was (BZ)at his head.”

17 Saul recognized David's voice and said, (CA)“Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, (CB)“Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, (CC)for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in (CD)the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek (CE)a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, (CF)“I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 (CG)The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will (CH)succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David Flees to the Philistines

27 Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” So David arose and went over, he and (CI)the six hundred men who were with him, (CJ)to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with (CK)his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow. And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.

Then David said to Achish, “If (CL)I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” So that day Achish gave him (CM)Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. (CN)And the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

Now David (CO)and his men went up and made raids against (CP)the Geshurites, (CQ)the Girzites, and (CR)the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, (CS)as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, “Where have you (CT)made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of (CU)the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of (CV)the Kenites.” 11 And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 25:18 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters
  2. 1 Samuel 25:22 Septuagint to David
  3. 1 Samuel 25:25 Nabal means fool
  4. 1 Samuel 25:30 Or leader

Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[a] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And (A)about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And (B)when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his (C)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and (D)the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, (E)‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take (F)what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 (G)Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or (H)do you begrudge my generosity?’[b] 16 So (I)the last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17 (J)And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, (K)we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will (L)condemn him to death 19 and (M)deliver him over to the Gentiles (N)to be mocked and flogged and (O)crucified, and he will be raised on (P)the third day.”

A Mother's Request

20 (Q)Then (R)the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and (S)kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine (T)are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, (U)in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, (V)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able (W)to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, (X)“You will drink (Y)my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, (Z)but it is for those for whom it has been (AA)prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, (AB)“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles (AC)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 (AD)It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[c] 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,[d] 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but (AE)to serve, and (AF)to give his life as a ransom for (AG)many.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 (AH)And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,[e] have mercy on us, (AI)Son of David!” 31 The crowd (AJ)rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 20:2 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
  2. Matthew 20:15 Or is your eye bad because I am good?
  3. Matthew 20:26 Greek diakonos
  4. Matthew 20:27 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
  5. Matthew 20:30 Some manuscripts omit Lord

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