Absalom Killed

18 Then David ^[a]took a count of the people who were with him and ^(A)appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. ² And David sent the people out, ^(B)a third ^[b]under the command of Joab, a third ^[c]under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third ^[d]under the command of ^(C)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I myself will certainly go out with you also.” ³ But the people said, “^(D)You should not go out; for if in fact we flee, they will not care about us; and if half of us die, they will not care about us. But ^[e]you are ^[f]worth ten thousand of us; so now it is better that you will be ready to help us from the city.” ⁴ Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So ^(E)the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and thousands. ⁵ But the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And ^(F)all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders regarding Absalom.

⁶ Then the people went out to the field against Israel, and the battle took place in ^(G)the forest of Ephraim. ⁷ The people of Israel were ^[g]defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men. ⁸ For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

⁹ Now Absalom encountered the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the branches of a massive oak. Then ^(H)his head caught firmly in the oak, and he was ^[h]left hanging between the sky and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going. ¹⁰ When a certain man saw him, he informed Joab and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” ¹¹ Then Joab said to the man who had informed him, “So behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And it would have been ^[i]my duty to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” ¹² But the man said to Joab, “Even if I were to ^[j]receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not put out my hand against the king’s son; for ^(I)in our hearing the king commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, ‘^[k]Protect the young man Absalom for me!’ ¹³ Otherwise, if I had dealt treacherously against ^[l]his life (and ^(J)there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have ^[m]avoided me.” ¹⁴ Then Joab said, “I will not ^[n]waste time here with you.” ^(K)So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the ^[o]midst of the oak. ¹⁵ And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him.

¹⁶ Then ^(L)Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the people. ¹⁷ And they took Absalom and threw him into ^[p]a deep pit in the forest, and ^(M)erected over him a very large pile of stones. And ^(N)all Israel fled, each to his own tent. ¹⁸ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and ^(O)set up for himself a memorial stone, which is in ^(P)the King’s Valley, for he said, “^(Q)I have no son to ^[q]continue my name.” So he named the memorial stone after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

David Is Grief-stricken

¹⁹ Then ^(R)Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and bring the king news ^(S)that the Lord has ^[r]freed him from the hand of his enemies!” ²⁰ But Joab said to him, “You are not the man to bring news this day, but you shall bring news another day; however, you shall bring no news this day, because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran. ²² However, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said once more to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why would you run, my son, since ^(T)you will have no messenger’s reward for going?” ²³ “But whatever happens,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and passed by the Cushite.

²⁴ Now ^(U)David was sitting between the two gates; and ^(V)the watchman went to the roof of the gate by the wall, and raised his eyes and looked; and behold, a man was running by himself. ²⁵ So the watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is by himself there is good news in his mouth.” And he came nearer and nearer. ²⁶ Then the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Behold, another man is running by himself.” And the king said, “This one also is bringing good news.” ²⁷ The watchman said, “I ^[s]think the running form of the first one ^(W)is like the running form of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “^(X)This is a good man, and he is coming with good news.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “^[t]All is well.” And ^(Y)he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, “^(Z)Blessed is the Lord your God, who has turned over the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.” ²⁹ But the king said, “^(AA)Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, and your servant, I saw a great commotion, but ^(AB)I did not know what it was.” ³⁰ Then the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

³¹ Then behold, the Cushite arrived, and the Cushite said, “Let my lord the king receive good news, for ^(AC)the Lord has ^[u]freed you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you.” ³² Then the king said to the Cushite, “^(AD)Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “^(AE)May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be like that young man!”

^33 [v]Then the king trembled and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And this is what he said as he walked: “^(AF)My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! ^(AG)If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”

Reunion of Judah and Israel

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Now you, son of man, take for yourself ^(A)one stick and write on it, ‘For ^(B)Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For ^(C)Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷ Then ^(D)put them together for yourself one to another into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not declare to us ^(E)what ^[a]you mean by these?’ ¹⁹ say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ ²⁰ The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. ²¹ And say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(F)take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; ²² and I will make them ^(G)one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and ^(H)one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will ^(I)no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their offenses; but ^(J)I will rescue them from all their ^[b]dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

The Davidic Kingdom

²⁴ “And My servant ^(K)David will be king over them, and they will all have ^(L)one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes and ^[c]follow them. ²⁵ And they will live on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and My servant ^(M)David will be their leader forever. ²⁶ And I will make a ^(N)covenant of peace with them; it will be an ^(O)everlasting covenant with them. And I will ^[d]place them and ^(P)multiply them, and set My ^(Q)sanctuary in their midst forever. ²⁷ My ^(R)dwelling place also will be among them; and ^(S)I will be their God, and they will be My people. ²⁸ And the nations will know that I am the Lord ^(T)who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’”

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.

The High Priestly Prayer

17 Jesus spoke these things; and ^(A)raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; ^(B)glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You, ² just as ^(C)You gave Him authority over all ^[a]mankind, so that ^[b](D)to all whom You have given Him, ^(E)He may give eternal life. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, ^(F)the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom ^(G)You have sent. ^4 (H)I glorified You on the earth ^[c](I)by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now You, Father, ^(J)glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had ^(K)with You before the world existed.

⁶ “^(L)I have revealed Your name to the men whom ^(M)You gave Me out of the world; they were ^(N)Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have ^(O)followed Your word. ⁷ Now they have come to know that everything which You have given Me is from You; ⁸ for ^(P)the words which You gave Me ^(Q)I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that ^(R)I came forth from You, and they believed that ^(S)You sent Me. ^9 (T)I ask on their behalf; ^(U)I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on the behalf of those whom ^(V)You have given Me, because ^(W)they are Yours; ¹⁰ and ^(X)all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet ^(Y)they themselves are in the world, and ^(Z)I am coming to You. ^(AA)Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name ^(AB)which You have given Me, so that ^(AC)they may be one just as We are. ¹² While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, ^(AD)which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and ^(AE)not one of them perished except ^(AF)the ^[d]son of destruction, so that the ^(AG)Scripture would be fulfilled.

The Disciples in the World

¹³ But now ^(AH)I am coming to You; and ^(AI)these things I speak in the world so that they may have My ^(AJ)joy made full in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and ^(AK)the world has hated them because ^(AL)they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from ^[e](AM)the evil one. ^16 (AN)They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ^17 (AO)Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ Just as ^(AP)You sent Me into the world, ^(AQ)I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I ^(AR)sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be ^(AS)sanctified ^(AT)in truth.

²⁰ “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one; ^(AU)just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, ^(AV)so that the world may ^[f]believe that ^(AW)You sent Me.

Disciples’ Future Glory

²² The ^(AX)glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; ^23 (AY)I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected ^[g]in unity, so that the world may ^[h]know that ^(AZ)You sent Me, and You ^(BA)loved them, just as You loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that ^(BB)they also, whom You have given Me, ^(BC)be with Me where I am, so that they may see My ^(BD)glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before ^(BE)the foundation of the world.

²⁵ “^(BF)Righteous Father, ^[i]although ^(BG)the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that ^(BH)You sent Me; ²⁶ and ^(BI)I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that ^(BJ)the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”