David Takes Consecrated Bread

21 Then David came to ^(A)Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech ^(B)came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” ² David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘^(C)No one is to know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ ³ Now then, what ^[a]do you have on hand? Give ^[b]me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” ⁴ The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread ^[c]on hand, but there is ^(D)consecrated bread, if only the young men have ^(E)kept themselves from women.” ⁵ David answered the priest and said to him, “^(F)Be assured, women have been denied to us as previously when I left and the ^[d](G)bodies of the young men were consecrated, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then will ^[e]their bodies be consecrated today?” ⁶ So ^(H)the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the ^(I)bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.

⁷ Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was ^(J)Doeg the Edomite, the ^(K)chief of Saul’s shepherds.

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there no spear or sword ^[f]on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons ^[g]with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.” ⁹ Then the priest said, “^(L)The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you ^[h]killed ^(M)in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

¹⁰ Then David set out and fled that day from Saul, and went to ^(N)Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the ^(O)servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? ^(P)Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,

¹² David ^(Q)took these words ^[i]to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he ^(R)disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their ^[j]custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. ¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person. Why do you bring him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

Priests Killed at Nob

22 So David departed from there and ^(S)escaped to ^(T)the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard about it, they went down there to him. ² Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who ^[k]was in debt, and everyone who was ^[l]discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were ^(U)about four hundred men with him.

³ And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ Then he ^[m]left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. ⁵ But ^(V)Gad the prophet said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶ Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now ^(W)Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing in front of him. ⁷ Saul said to his servants who were standing in front of him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse really give all of you fields and vineyards? ^(X)Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? ⁸ For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who ^[n]informs me ^(Y)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you ^(Z)who cares about me or ^[o]informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” ⁹ Then ^(AA)Doeg the Edomite, who was ^[p]standing in front of the servants of Saul, responded and said, “^(AB)I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to ^(AC)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ And ^(AD)he inquired of the Lord for him, ^(AE)gave him provisions, and ^(AF)gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ Then the king sent a messenger to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. ¹² Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he ^[q]replied, “Here I am, my lord.” ¹³ Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me ^(AG)by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

^14 (AH)Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s own son-in-law, who ^[r]is commander over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Did I just begin ^(AI)to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! ^(AJ)Do not let the king impute anything against his servant or against any of the household of my father, because your servant knows nothing ^[s]at all of this whole affair.” ¹⁶ But the king said, “You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” ¹⁷ And ^(AK)the king said to the ^[t]guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not ^[u]inform me.” But the ^(AL)servants of the king were unwilling to reach out with their hands to ^[v]attack the priests of the Lord. ¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, “You, turn around and ^[w]attack the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and ^[x]attacked the priests, and ^(AM)he killed on that day eighty-five men ^(AN)who wore the linen ephod. ^19 (AO)He also struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; he also struck oxen, donkeys, and sheep with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ But ^(AP)one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^(AQ)escaped and fled ^[y]to David. ²¹ Abiathar informed David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. ²² Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when ^(AR)Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul. I myself ^[z]have turned against every person in your father’s household. ²³ Stay with me; do not be afraid, ^[aa]even though ^(AS)he who is seeking my life is seeking your life. For you are safe with me.”

Genealogy from Reuben

5 Now the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel (for ^(A)he was the firstborn, but because ^(B)he defiled his father’s bed, ^(C)his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; so he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. ^2 (D)Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and ^(E)from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), ^3 (F)the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, and Hezron and Carmi. ⁴ The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, ^(G)Shimei his son, ⁵ Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, ⁶ and Beerah his son, whom ^[a]Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria took into exile; he was leader of the Reubenites. ⁷ His relatives by their families, ^(H)in the genealogy of their generations, were Jeiel the chief, then Zechariah ⁸ and Bela, the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who lived in ^(I)Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹ Toward the east he settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, ^(J)because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰ In the days of Saul ^(K)they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand, so that they ^[b]occupied their tents throughout the ^[c]land east of Gilead.

¹¹ Now the sons of Gad lived opposite them in the land of ^(L)Bashan, as far as ^(M)Salecah. ¹² Joel was the head and Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat in Bashan. ¹³ Their relatives of their fathers’ households were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber, seven. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; ¹⁵ Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their fathers’ households. ¹⁶ They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasture lands of ^(N)Sharon, as far as their ^[d]borders. ¹⁷ All of these were enrolled in the genealogies in the days of ^(O)Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of ^(P)Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸ The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, consisting of valiant men, men who carried shield and sword and shot with a bow and were skillful in battle, totaled 44,760 who ^(Q)went to war. ¹⁹ They made war against ^(R)the Hagrites, ^(S)Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰ They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were handed over to them; for ^(T)they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because ^(U)they trusted in Him. ²¹ They took away their livestock: their fifty thousand camels, 250,000 sheep, and two thousand donkeys; and a hundred thousand ^[e]people. ²² For many fell mortally wounded, because ^(V)the war was of God. And ^(W)they settled in their place until the ^(X)exile.

²³ Now the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land; from Bashan to Baal-hermon, ^(Y)Senir, and Mount Hermon they were numerous. ²⁴ These were the heads of their fathers’ households: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, valiant mighty men, famous men, heads of their fathers’ households.

²⁵ But they were ^(Z)untrue to the God of their fathers and ^(AA)prostituted themselves ^(AB)with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶ So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of ^(AC)Pul, king of Assyria, that is, the spirit of ^[f]Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he ^(AD)took them into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.

Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the music director. A ^[a]Maskil of David, ^[b]when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

The Council in Jerusalem

15 ^(A)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching ^(B)the brothers, “Unless you are ^(C)circumcised according to ^(D)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after Paul and Barnabas had ^[a]a heated argument and ^(E)debate with them, ^(F)the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^(G)apostles and elders concerning this issue. ³ Therefore, after being ^(H)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^(I)Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(J)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all ^(K)the brothers and sisters. ⁴ When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, ^(L)the apostles, and the elders, and they ^(M)reported all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of ^(N)the sect of the ^(O)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^(P)circumcise ^[b]them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.”

^6 (Q)The apostles and the elders came together to ^[c]look into this ^[d]matter. ⁷ After there had been much ^(R)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “^[e]Brothers, you know that ^[f]in the early days ^(S)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^(T)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(U)who knows the heart, testified to them ^(V)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹ and ^(W)He made no distinction between us and them, ^(X)cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Since this is the case, why are you ^(Y)putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^(Z)neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through ^(AA)the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹² All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were ^(AB)relating all the ^(AC)signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James’ Judgment

¹³ After they stopped speaking, ^[g](AD)James responded, saying, “^[h]Brothers, listen to me. ^14 (AE)Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles. ¹⁵ The words of ^(AF)the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

¹⁹ Therefore, it is ^(AM)my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God, ²⁰ but that we write to them that they abstain from ^[l](AN)things contaminated by idols, from ^(AO)acts of sexual immorality, from ^(AP)what has been ^[m]strangled, and from blood. ²¹ For ^(AQ)from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since ^[n]he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²² Then it seemed good to ^(AR)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to ^(AS)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and ^(AT)Silas, leading men among ^(AU)the brothers, ²³ and they ^[o]sent this letter with them:

³⁰ So when they were sent away, ^(BO)they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the ^[u]congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its ^[v]encouragement. ^32 (BP)Judas and ^(BQ)Silas, also being ^(BR)prophets themselves, ^[w]encouraged and strengthened ^(BS)the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message. ³³ After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters ^(BT)in peace to those who had ^(BU)sent them out.^{[x] 35} But ^(BV)Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and ^(BW)preaching ^(BX)the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Second Missionary Journey

³⁶ After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in ^(BY)every city in which we proclaimed ^(BZ)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take ^(CA)John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had ^(CB)deserted them ^[y]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took ^(CC)Mark with him and sailed away to ^(CD)Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose ^(CE)Silas, and left after being ^(CF)entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he was traveling through ^(CG)Syria and ^(CH)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.