David Spares Saul a Second Time

26 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ^(A)“Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” ² Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having ^(B)three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. ³ And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴ David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

⁵ So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and ^(C)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. ⁶ Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai ^(D)the son of Zeruiah, brother of ^(E)Joab, saying, “Who will ^(F)go down with me to Saul in the camp?”

And ^(G)Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, ^(H)“God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him ^[a]at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; ^(I)for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” ¹⁰ David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, ^(J)the Lord shall strike him, or ^(K)his day shall come to die, or he shall ^(L)go out to battle and perish. ^11 (M)The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because ^(N)a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

¹³ Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. ¹⁴ And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”

¹⁵ So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. ¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

¹⁷ Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, ^(O)“Is that your voice, my son David?”

David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” ¹⁸ And he said, ^(P)“Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has ^(Q)stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ^(R)for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the ^(S)inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰ So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek ^(T)a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, ^(U)“I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

²² And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. ^23 (V)May the Lord ^(W)repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still ^(X)prevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

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 ^(A)and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near ^(B)Salim, because there was much water there. ^(C)And they came and were baptized. ²⁴ For ^(D)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, ^(E)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all ^(F)are coming to Him!”

²⁷ John answered and said, ^(G)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ^(H)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ^(I)‘I have been sent before Him.’ ^29 (J)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but ^(K)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 (L)He must increase, but I must decrease. ^31 (M)He who comes from above ^(N)is above all; ^(O)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. ^(P)He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² And ^(Q)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. ³³ He who has received His testimony ^(R)has certified that God is true. ^34 (S)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit ^(T)by measure. ^35 (U)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. ^36 (V)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the ^(W)wrath of God abides on him.”

A Samaritan Woman Meets Her Messiah

4 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and ^(A)baptized more disciples than John ² (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), ³ He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. ⁴ But He needed to go through Samaria.

⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that ^(B)Jacob ^(C)gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For ^(D)Jews have no dealings with ^(E)Samaritans.

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the ^(F)gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you ^(G)living water.”

¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but ^(H)whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him ^(I)will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

^15 (J)The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, ^(K)I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on ^(L)this mountain, and you Jews say that in ^(M)Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming ^(N)when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.