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.” ² So David arose and went over, he and ^(A)the six hundred men who were with him, ^(B)to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with ^(C)his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow. ⁴ And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If ^(D)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?” ⁶ So that day Achish gave him ^(E)Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ^7 (F)And the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

⁸ Now David ^(G)and his men went up and made raids against ^(H)the Geshurites, ^(I)the Girzites, and ^(J)the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, ^(K)as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. ⁹ 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 ^(L)made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of ^(M)the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of ^(N)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.”

Saul and the Medium of En-dor

28 In those days ^(O)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 ^(P)Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him ^(Q)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put ^(R)the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. ⁴ The Philistines assembled and came and encamped ^(S)at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped ^(T)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, ^(U)the Lord did not answer him, either ^(V)by dreams, or ^(W)by Urim, or by prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, ^(X)“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 ^(Y)En-dor.”

⁸ So Saul ^(Z)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, ^(AA)“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, ^(AB)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, ^(AC)“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 ^(AD)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 ^(AE)God has turned away from me and ^(AF)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 ^(AG)the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ^18 (AH)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 ^(AI)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. ^(AJ)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 Widow's Offering

21 ^(A)Jesus^[a] looked up and saw the rich ^(B)putting their gifts into ^(C)the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two ^(D)small copper coins.^{[b] 3} And he said, “Truly, I tell you, ^(E)this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(F)poverty put in all ^(G)she had to live on.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

^5 (H)And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, ⁶ “As for these things that you see, ^(I)the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” ⁷ And they asked him, “Teacher, ^(J)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And he said, ^(K)“See that you are not led astray. For ^(L)many will come in my name, saying, ^(M)‘I am he!’ and, ^(N)‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be ^(O)terrified, for these things ^(P)must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

¹⁰ Then he said to them, ^(Q)“Nation will rise against nation, and ^(R)kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great ^(S)earthquakes, and in various places ^(T)famines and pestilences. And there will be ^(U)terrors and great ^(V)signs from heaven. ¹² But before all this ^(W)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to ^(X)the synagogues and ^(Y)prisons, and you ^(Z)will be brought before ^(AA)kings and ^(AB)governors for my name's sake. ^13 (AC)This will be your opportunity to bear witness. ¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds ^(AD)not to meditate beforehand how to answer, ¹⁵ for ^(AE)I will give you a mouth and ^(AF)wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or ^(AG)contradict. ¹⁶ You will be delivered up ^(AH)even by parents and brothers^[c] and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. ^17 (AI)You will be hated by all for my name's sake. ¹⁸ But ^(AJ)not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your ^(AK)endurance you will gain your lives.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem

²⁰ “But ^(AL)when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that ^(AM)its desolation has come near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, ²² for these are ^(AN)days of ^(AO)vengeance, to fulfill ^(AP)all that is written. ^23 (AQ)Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and ^(AR)wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and ^(AS)be led captive among all nations, and ^(AT)Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, ^(AU)until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

In God I Trust

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A ^(A)Miktam^[a] of David, when the ^(B)Philistines seized him in Gath.