David’s Victory over the Amalekites

30 Then it happened, when David and his men came to ^(A)Ziklag on the third day, that ^(B)the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the ^[a]Negev and on ^(C)Ziklag, and had ^[b]overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; ² and they took captive the women and all who were in it, from the small to the great, ^[c](D)without killing anyone, and drove them off and went their way. ³ When David and his men came to the city, behold, 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 ^(E)raised their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. ⁵ Now ^(F)David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the ^[d]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶ Also, David was in great distress because ^(G)the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were ^[e]embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But ^(H)David felt strengthened in the Lord his God.

⁷ Then ^(I)David said to ^(J)Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ⁸ And ^(K)David inquired of the Lord, saying, “^(L)Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, ^(M)and you will certainly rescue everyone.” ⁹ So David left, ^(N)he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for ^(O)two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.

¹¹ Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. ¹² They also gave him a slice of fig cake and two cakes of raisins, and he ate; ^(P)then his spirit ^[f]revived. For he had not eaten bread or 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 of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago. ¹⁴ We carried out an attack on ^(Q)the ^[g]Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on ^(R)the ^[h]Negev of Caleb, and ^(S)we burned Ziklag with fire.” ¹⁵ Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band of raiders?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

¹⁶ Now when he had brought him down, behold, they were dispersed over all the land, ^(T)eating and drinking and celebrating because of ^(U)all the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David ^[i]slaughtered them ^(V)from the twilight ^[j]until the evening of ^[k]the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on ^(W)camels and fled. ¹⁸ So David ^(X)recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and ^[l]rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ And nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder, or anything that they had taken for themselves; ^(Y)David brought it all back. ²⁰ So David had ^[m]captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of ^[n]the other livestock, and they said, “^(Z)This is David’s plunder.”

The Plunder Is Divided

²¹ When ^(AA)David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David and ^[o]had been left behind at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and ^[p]worthless men among those who went with David said, “Since they did not go with ^[q]us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, so that they may lead them away and leave.” ²³ But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us. ²⁴ And who will listen to you in this matter? For ^(AB)as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” ²⁵ So it has been from that day forward, that 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 spoils to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, ^(AC)a ^[r]gift for you from the spoils of ^(AD)the enemies of the Lord: ²⁷ to those who were in ^(AE)Bethel, to those who were in ^(AF)Ramoth of the ^[s]Negev, to those who were in ^(AG)Jattir, ²⁸ to those who were in ^(AH)Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in ^(AI)Eshtemoa, ²⁹ to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of ^(AJ)the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of ^(AK)the Kenites, ³⁰ to those who were in ^(AL)Hormah, to those who were in ^(AM)Bor-ashan, to those who were in Athach, ³¹ to those who were in ^(AN)Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men ^(AO)walked.”

Saul and His Sons Killed in Battle

31 ^(AP)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded ^(AQ)on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines ^[t]killed ^(AR)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ^3 (AS)The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. ^4 (AT)Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise ^(AU)these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. ^(AV)So Saul took ^[u]his sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

⁷ Now when the people of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and settled in them.

⁸ It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them ^[v]throughout the land of the Philistines, ^(AW)to bring the good news ^(AX)to the house of their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his weapons in the ^[w]temple of ^(AY)Ashtaroth, and ^(AZ)they nailed his body to the wall of ^(BA)Beth-shan. ¹¹ Now when ^(BB)the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard ^[x]what the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (BC)all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and ^(BD)burned them there. ¹³ And they took their bones and ^(BE)buried them under ^(BF)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and ^(BG)fasted for seven days.

Defeat and Death of Saul and His Sons

10 ^(A)Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines ^[a]killed Jonathan, ^[b](B)Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle became severe against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was wounded by the archers. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and abuse me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. ^(C)So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died. ^6 (D)So Saul died with his three sons, and all those of his house died together.

⁷ When all the people of Israel who were in the valley saw that they 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 It came about the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ^9 (E)So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the house of their gods and ^[c]impaled his head in the house of Dagon.

Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul

¹¹ When all Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (F)all the valiant men got up and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh; and they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.

^13 (G)So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also ^(H)because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of her, ¹⁴ and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and ^(I)turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse.

Paul in Macedonia and Greece

20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for ^(A)the disciples, and when he had ^[a]encouraged them and taken his leave of them, he left ^(B)to go to ^(C)Macedonia. ² When he had gone through those regions and had given them much ^[b]encouragement, he came to Greece. ³ And there he spent three months, and when ^(D)a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for ^(E)Syria, he decided to return through ^(F)Macedonia. ⁴ And ^[c]he was accompanied by Sopater of ^(G)Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by ^(H)Aristarchus and Secundus of the ^(I)Thessalonians, and ^(J)Gaius of ^(K)Derbe, and ^(L)Timothy, and ^(M)Tychicus and ^(N)Trophimus of ^[d](O)Asia. ⁵ Now these had gone on ahead and were waiting for ^(P)us at ^(Q)Troas. ^6 (R)We sailed from ^(S)Philippi after ^[e](T)the days of Unleavened Bread, and reached them at ^(U)Troas within five days; and we stayed there for seven days.

⁷ On ^(V)the first day of the week, when ^(W)we were gathered together to ^(X)break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his ^[f]message until midnight. ⁸ There were many ^(Y)lamps in the ^(Z)upstairs room where we were gathered together. ⁹ And there was a young man named ^[g]Eutychus sitting ^[h]on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and ^(AA)fell upon him, and after embracing him, he ^(AB)said, “^[i]Do not be troubled, for ^[j]he is still alive.” ¹¹ When Paul had gone back up and had ^(AC)broken the bread and ^[k]eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. ¹² They took away the boy alive, and were ^[l]greatly comforted.

Troas to Miletus

¹³ But ^(AD)we went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for that was what he had arranged, intending himself to go ^[m]by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day we came to ^(AE)Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past ^(AF)Ephesus so that he would not have to lose time in ^[n](AG)Asia; for he was hurrying, if it might be possible for him ^(AH)to be in Jerusalem ^(AI)the day of Pentecost.

Farewell to Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent word to ^(AJ)Ephesus and called to himself ^(AK)the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they came to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, ^(AL)from the first day that I set foot in ^[o]Asia, how I was with you the whole time, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and trials which came upon me ^[p]through ^(AM)the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I ^(AN)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was beneficial, and teaching you publicly and ^[q]from house to house, ²¹ solemnly ^(AO)testifying to both Jews and Greeks of ^(AP)repentance toward God and ^(AQ)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, bound by the ^[r]Spirit, ^(AR)I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(AS)the Holy Spirit solemnly ^(AT)testifies to me in every city, saying that ^(AU)chains and afflictions await me. ²⁴ But ^(AV)I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may ^(AW)finish my course and ^(AX)the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to ^(AY)testify solemnly of the gospel of ^(AZ)God’s grace.

²⁵ “And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about ^(BA)preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. ²⁶ Therefore, I ^[s]testify to you this day that ^(BB)I am ^[t]innocent of the blood of all people. ²⁷ For I ^(BC)did not shrink from declaring to you the whole ^(BD)purpose of God. ²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all ^(BE)the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you ^[u]overseers, to shepherd ^(BF)the church of God which ^(BG)He ^[v]purchased ^[w]with His own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure ^(BH)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing ^(BI)the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away ^(BJ)the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of ^(BK)three years I did not cease to admonish each one ^(BL)with tears. ³² And now I ^(BM)entrust you to God and to ^(BN)the word of His grace, which is able to ^(BO)build you up and to give you ^(BP)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ^33 (BQ)I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. ³⁴ You yourselves know that ^(BR)these hands served my own needs and the ^(BS)men who were with me. ³⁵ In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ When he had said these things, he ^(BT)knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And ^[x]they all began to weep aloud and ^[y](BU)embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, ^38 [z]grieving especially over ^(BV)the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were ^(BW)accompanying him to the ship.