Font Size
1 Samuel 29-31
New King James Version
1 Samuel 29-31
New King James Version
The Philistines Reject David
29 Then (A)the Philistines gathered together all their armies (B)at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the (C)lords of the Philistines [a]passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but (D)David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. 3 Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”
And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me (E)these days, or these years? And to this day I have (F)found no fault in him since he defected to me.”
4 But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, (G)“Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to (H)battle, lest (I)in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these (J)men? 5 Is this not David, (K)of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying:
(L)‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and (M)your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day (N)I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. 7 Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”
8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight (O)as an angel of God; nevertheless (P)the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants (Q)who have come with [b]you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”
11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. (R)And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
David’s Conflict with the Amalekites
30 Now it happened, when David and his men came to (S)Ziklag, on the third day, that the (T)Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the (U)women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two (V)wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for (W)the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was [c]grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. (X)But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7 (Y)Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And (Z)Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 (AA)So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; (AB)for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.
11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. 12 And they gave him a piece of (AC)a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So (AD)when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?”
And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion of the southern area of (AE)the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area (AF)of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
15 And David said to him, “Can you take me down to this troop?”
So he said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my (AG)master, and I will take you down to this troop.”
16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, (AH)eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; (AI)David recovered all. 20 Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
21 Now David came to the (AJ)two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he [d]greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and (AK)worthless[e] men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.”
23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. 24 For who will heed you in this matter? But (AL)as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” 25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the [f]spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord”— 27 to those who were in Bethel, those who were in (AM)Ramoth of the South, those who were in (AN)Jattir, 28 those who were in (AO)Aroer, those who were in (AP)Siphmoth, those who were in (AQ)Eshtemoa, 29 those who were in Rachal, those who were in the cities of (AR)the Jerahmeelites, those who were in the cities of the (AS)Kenites, 30 those who were in (AT)Hormah, those who were in [g]Chorashan, those who were in Athach, 31 those who were in (AU)Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to (AV)rove.
The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons(AW)
31 Now (AX)the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount (AY)Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed (AZ)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 (BA)The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers [h]hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
4 (BB)Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest (BC)these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and [i]abuse me.”
But his armorbearer would not, (BD)for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and (BE)fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to (BF)proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 (BG)Then they put his armor in the temple of the (BH)Ashtoreths, and (BI)they fastened his body to the wall of (BJ)Beth[j] Shan.
11 (BK)Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 (BL)all the valiant men arose and traveled 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 and (BM)burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and (BN)buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, (BO)and fasted seven days.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 29:2 passed on in the rear
- 1 Samuel 29:10 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX adds and go to the place which I have selected for you there; and set no bothersome word in your heart, for you are good before me. And rise on your way
- 1 Samuel 30:6 Lit. bitter
- 1 Samuel 30:21 asked them concerning their welfare
- 1 Samuel 30:22 Lit. men of Belial
- 1 Samuel 30:26 booty
- 1 Samuel 30:30 Or Borashan
- 1 Samuel 31:3 Lit. found him
- 1 Samuel 31:4 torture
- 1 Samuel 31:10 Beth Shean, Josh. 17:11
1 Samuel 29-31
New International Version
1 Samuel 29-31
New International Version
Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag
29 The Philistines gathered(A) all their forces at Aphek,(B) and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.(C) 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear(D) with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”
Achish replied, “Is this not David,(E) who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year,(F) and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”
4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send(G) the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn(H) against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”(I)
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day(J) you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers(K) don’t approve of you. 7 Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”
8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel(L) of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders(M) have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave(N) in the morning as soon as it is light.”
11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
David Destroys the Amalekites
30 David and his men reached Ziklag(O) on the third day. Now the Amalekites(P) had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned(Q) it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.(R) 4 So David and his men wept(S) aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives(T) had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning(U) him; each one was bitter(V) in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength(W) in the Lord his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar(X) the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.(Y)” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired(Z) of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed(AA) in the rescue.(AB)”
9 David and the six hundred men(AC) with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted(AD) to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived,(AE) for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite.(AF) My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites,(AG) some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb.(AH) And we burned(AI) Ziklag.”
15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master,(AJ) and I will take you down to them.”
16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling(AK) because of the great amount of plunder(AL) they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought(AM) them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.(AN) 18 David recovered(AO) everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted(AP) to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.(AQ)” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
26 When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift(AR) for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”
27 David sent it to those who were in Bethel,(AS) Ramoth(AT) Negev and Jattir;(AU) 28 to those in Aroer,(AV) Siphmoth,(AW) Eshtemoa(AX) 29 and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites(AY) and the Kenites;(AZ) 30 to those in Hormah,(BA) Bor Ashan,(BB) Athak 31 and Hebron;(BC) and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.
Saul Takes His Life(BD)
31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.(BE) 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons,(BF) and they killed his sons Jonathan,(BG) Abinadab and Malki-Shua.(BH) 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded(BI) him critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through,(BJ) or these uncircumcised(BK) fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died(BL) together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines(BM) came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news(BN) in the temple of their idols and among their people.(BO) 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths(BP) and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.(BQ)
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead(BR) heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men(BS) marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned(BT) them. 13 Then they took their bones(BU) and buried them under a tamarisk(BV) tree at Jabesh, and they fasted(BW) seven days.(BX)
Psalm 61:5-8
New King James Version
Psalm 61:5-8
New King James Version
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy (A)and truth, which may [a]preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
Footnotes
- Psalm 61:7 Lit. guard or keep
Psalm 61:5-8
New International Version
Psalm 61:5-8
New International Version
5 For you, God, have heard my vows;(A)
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.(B)
Proverbs 16:7-9
New King James Version
Proverbs 16:7-9
New King James Version
7 When a man’s ways please the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 (A)Better is a little with righteousness,
Than vast revenues without justice.
Proverbs 16:7-9
New International Version
Proverbs 16:7-9
New International Version
John 3:19-36
New King James Version
John 3:19-36
New King James Version
19 And this is the condemnation, (A)that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For (B)everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been (C)done in God.”
John the Baptist Exalts Christ
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them (D)and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near (E)Salim, because there was much water there. (F)And they came and were baptized. 24 For (G)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, (H)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all (I)are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, (J)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (K)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, (L)‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 (M)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but (N)the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 (O)He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 (P)He who comes from above (Q)is above all; (R)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. (S)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And (T)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony (U)has certified that God is true. 34 (V)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit (W)by measure. 35 (X)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 (Y)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the (Z)wrath of God abides on him.”
Read full chapter
John 3:19-36
New International Version
John 3:19-36
New International Version
19 This is the verdict: Light(A) has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.(B) 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.(C) 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.(D) 23 Now John(E) also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.)(F) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.(G) 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi,(H) that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified(I) about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’(J) 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom.(K) The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.(L) 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[a]
31 The one who comes from above(M) is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.(N) The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard,(O) but no one accepts his testimony.(P) 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent(Q) speaks the words of God, for God[b] gives the Spirit(R) without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.(S) 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,(T) but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.