David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may ^(A)show him ^[a]kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

² And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^(B)Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

He said, “At your service!”

³ Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show ^(C)the kindness of God?”

And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is ^(D)lame in his feet.”

⁴ So the king said to him, “Where is he?”

And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of ^(E)Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”

⁵ Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

⁶ Now when ^(F)Mephibosheth^[b] the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”

And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

⁷ So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

⁸ Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such ^(G)a dead dog as I?”

⁹ And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, ^(H)“I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. ¹⁰ You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son ^(I)shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had ^(J)fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”

“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at ^[c]my table like one of the king’s sons.” ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son ^(K)whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, ^(L)for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he ^(M)was lame in both his feet.

Do Not Sue the Brethren

6 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the ^(A)saints? ² Do you not know that ^(B)the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? ³ Do you not know that we shall ^(C)judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? ⁴ If then you have ^[a]judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? ⁵ I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? ⁶ But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

⁷ Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. ^(D)Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? ⁸ No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! ⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. ^(E)Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor ^[b]homosexuals, nor ^[c]sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were ^(F)some of you. ^(G)But you were washed, but you were ^[d]sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Glorify God in Body and Spirit

^12 (H)All things are lawful for me, but all things are not ^[e]helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of ^[f]any. ^13 (I)Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for ^(J)sexual immorality but ^(K)for the Lord, ^(L)and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ And ^(M)God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up ^(N)by His power.

¹⁵ Do you not know that ^(O)your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ^(P)“the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” ^17 (Q)But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

^18 (R)Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins ^(S)against his own body. ¹⁹ Or ^(T)do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, ^(U)and you are not your own? ²⁰ For ^(V)you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body ^[g]and in your spirit, which are God’s.

The Ammonites and Syrians Defeated^(A)

10 It happened after this that the ^(B)king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. ² Then David said, “I will show ^(C)kindness to Hanun the son of ^(D)Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. ³ And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”

⁴ Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, ^(E)at their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵ When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ^[a]ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

⁶ When the people of Ammon saw that they ^(F)had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired ^(G)the Syrians of ^(H)Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot soldiers; and from the king of ^(I)Maacah one thousand men, and from ^(J)Ish-Tob twelve thousand men. ⁷ Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of ^(K)the mighty men. ⁸ Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And ^(L)the Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

⁹ When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. ¹⁰ And the rest of the people he put under the command of ^(M)Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. ¹¹ Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. ^12 (N)Be of good courage, and let us ^(O)be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may ^(P)the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to ^(Q)Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together. ¹⁶ Then ^[b]Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond ^[c]the River, and they came to Helam. And ^[d]Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. ¹⁷ When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him. ¹⁸ Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand ^(R)horsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who died there. ¹⁹ And when all the kings who were servants to ^[e]Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and ^(S)served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.

The Model Prayer^(A)

11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

² So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

A Friend Comes at Midnight

⁵ And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; ⁶ for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? ⁸ I say to you, ^(D)though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking^(E)

^9 (F)“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; ^(G)seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ^11 (H)If a son asks for ^[e]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give ^(I)good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

A House Divided Cannot Stand^(J)

^14 (K)And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, ^(L)“He casts out demons by ^[f]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁶ Others, testing Him, ^(M)sought from Him a sign from heaven. ^17 (N)But ^(O)He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. ¹⁸ If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out demons ^(P)with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ^21 (Q)When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. ²² But ^(R)when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his ^[g]spoils. ^23 (S)He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns^(T)

^24 (U)“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and ^(V)the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Keeping the Word

²⁷ And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ^(W)“Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

²⁸ But He said, ^(X)“More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”