Saul and the Medium of En-dor

28 In those days ^(A)the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.” ² David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

³ Now ^(B)Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him ^(C)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put ^(D)the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. ⁴ The Philistines assembled and came and encamped ^(E)at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped ^(F)at Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶ And when Saul inquired of the Lord, ^(G)the Lord did not answer him, either ^(H)by dreams, or ^(I)by Urim, or by prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, ^(J)“Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at ^(K)En-dor.”

⁸ So Saul ^(L)disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, ^(M)“Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” ⁹ The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, ^(N)how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, ^(O)“As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped ^(P)in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and ^(Q)God has turned away from me and ^(R)answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” ¹⁶ And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? ¹⁷ The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for ^(S)the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ^18 (T)Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you ^(U)and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

²⁰ Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. ²¹ And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, “Behold, your servant has obeyed you. ^(V)I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. ²² Now therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.” ²³ He refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. ²⁴ Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, ²⁵ and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

The Philistines Reject David

29 ^(W)Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at ^(X)Aphek. And the Israelites were encamped by ^(Y)the spring that is in ^(Z)Jezreel. ² As ^(AA)the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear ^(AB)with Achish, ³ the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me ^(AC)now for days and years, and since he deserted to me ^(AD)I have found no fault in him to this day.” ⁴ But ^(AE)the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return ^(AF)to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, ^(AG)lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? ⁵ Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,

⁶ Then Achish called David and said to him, ^(AI)“As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that ^(AJ)you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. ⁷ So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” ⁸ And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹ And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight ^(AK)as an angel of God. Nevertheless, ^(AL)the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ ¹⁰ Now then rise early in the morning ^(AM)with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light.” ¹¹ So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to ^(AN)Jezreel.

David's Wives Are Captured

30 Now when David and his men came to ^(AO)Ziklag on the third day, ^(AP)the Amalekites had ^(AQ)made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire ² and taken captive the women and all^[a] who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. ³ And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. ⁵ David's ^(AR)two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶ And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke ^(AS)of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,^[b] each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

^7 (AT)And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ^8 (AU)And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this ^(AV)band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake ^(AW)and shall surely rescue.” ⁹ So David set out, and ^(AX)the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men. ^(AY)Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

¹¹ They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, ¹² and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, ^(AZ)his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. ¹³ And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. ^14 (BA)We had made a raid against the Negeb of ^(BB)the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” ¹⁵ And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this ^(BC)band.”

David Defeats the Amalekites

¹⁶ And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. ^18 (BD)David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. ^(BE)David brought back all. ²⁰ David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him,^[c] and said, “This is David's spoil.”

²¹ Then David came to ^(BF)the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left ^(BG)at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” ²³ But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. ²⁴ Who would listen to you in this matter? ^(BH)For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” ²⁵ And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.” ²⁷ It was for those in ^(BI)Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in ^(BJ)Jattir, ²⁸ in ^(BK)Aroer, in Siphmoth, in ^(BL)Eshtemoa, ²⁹ in Racal, in the cities of ^(BM)the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of ^(BN)the Kenites, ³⁰ in ^(BO)Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, ³¹ in ^(BP)Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.

The Death of Saul

31 ^(BQ)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^(BR)on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^(BS)Jonathan and ^(BT)Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ^3 (BU)The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. ^4 (BV)Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^(BW)uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^(BX)for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^(BY)and fell upon it. ⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶ Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. ⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, ^(BZ)to carry the good news ^(CA)to the house of their idols and to the people. ^10 (CB)They put his armor in the temple of ^(CC)Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of ^(CD)Beth-shan. ^11 (CE)But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (CF)all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh ^(CG)and burned them there. ¹³ And they took their bones ^(CH)and buried them under ^(CI)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and ^(CJ)fasted seven days.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And again Jesus ^(A)spoke to them in parables, saying, ^2 (B)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave ^(C)a wedding feast for his son, ³ and ^(D)sent his servants^[a] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ^4 (E)Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my ^(F)dinner, ^(G)my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But ^(H)they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, ^(I)treated them shamefully, and ^(J)killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and ^(K)destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not ^(L)worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the roads and ^(M)gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there ^(N)a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ^(O)‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and ^(P)cast him into the outer darkness. In that place ^(Q)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^(R)called, but few are ^(S)chosen.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

^15 (T)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how ^(U)to entangle him in his words. ¹⁶ And they sent ^(V)their disciples to him, along with ^(W)the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, ^(X)we know that you are true and teach ^(Y)the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for ^(Z)you are not swayed by appearances.^{[b] 17} Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay ^(AA)taxes to ^(AB)Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why ^(AC)put me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.^{[c] 20} And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, ^(AD)“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²² When they heard it, they marveled. And they ^(AE)left him and went away.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

²³ The same day ^(AF)Sadducees came to him, ^(AG)who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, ²⁴ saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ^(AH)‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ So too the second and third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ After them all, the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

²⁹ But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, ^(AI)because you know neither the Scriptures nor ^(AJ)the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither ^(AK)marry nor ^(AL)are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ And as for the resurrection of the dead, ^(AM)have you not read what was said to you by God: ^32 (AN)‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” ³³ And when the crowd heard it, ^(AO)they were astonished at his teaching.

The Great Commandment

^34 (AP)But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced ^(AQ)the Sadducees, they gathered together. ^35 (AR)And one of them, ^(AS)a lawyer, asked him a question ^(AT)to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, ^(AU)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And ^(AV)a second is like it: ^(AW)You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 (AX)On these two commandments depend ^(AY)all the Law and the Prophets.”

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^41 (AZ)Now while the Pharisees ^(BA)were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about ^(BB)the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, ^(BC)“The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, ^(BD)in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, ^(BF)how is he his son?” ^46 (BG)And no one was able to answer him a word, ^(BH)nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.