David's Victories

8 ^(A)After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took ^(B)Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

^2 (C)And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites ^(D)became servants to David and ^(E)brought tribute.

³ David also defeated ^(F)Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of ^(G)Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. ^4 (H)And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David ^(I)hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. ^5 (J)And when the ^(K)Syrians of Damascus came to help ^(L)Hadadezer king of ^(M)Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. ⁶ Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians ^(N)became servants to David and brought tribute. ^(O)And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took ^(P)the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.

⁹ When Toi king of ^(Q)Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. ^11 (R)These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, ¹² from Edom, ^(S)Moab, ^(T)the Ammonites, ^(U)the Philistines, ^(V)Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of ^(W)Zobah.

¹³ And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in ^(X)the Valley of Salt. ¹⁴ Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, ^(Y)and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David's Officials

¹⁵ So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people. ^16 (Z)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and ^(AA)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, ¹⁷ and ^(AB)Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and ^(AC)Seraiah was secretary, ¹⁸ and ^(AD)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over^[a] the ^(AE)Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were priests.

David's Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may ^(AF)show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^(AG)Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show ^(AH)the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of ^(AI)Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of ^(AJ)Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. ⁶ And ^(AK)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” ⁷ And David said to him, “Do not fear, ^(AL)for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and ^(AM)you shall eat at my table always.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for ^(AN)a dead dog such as I?”

⁹ Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. ¹⁰ And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson ^(AO)shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had ^(AP)fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ^(AQ)ate at David's^[b] table, like one of the king's sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, ^(AR)whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for ^(AS)he ate always at the king's table. Now ^(AT)he was lame in both his feet.

David Defeats His Enemies

18 ^(A)After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

² And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

³ David also defeated ^(B)Hadadezer king of ^(C)Zobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument^[a] at the river Euphrates. ⁴ And David took from him 1,000 chariots, ^(D)7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. ⁵ And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king ^(E)of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. ⁶ Then David put garrisons^[b] in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David^[c] wherever he went. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from ^(F)Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze. ^(G)With it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

⁹ When ^(H)Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king ^(I)of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent his son ^(J)Hadoram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against ^(K)Hadadezer and defeated him; for ^(L)Hadadezer had often been at war with Tou. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. ¹¹ These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from ^(M)Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

¹² And ^(N)Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David's Administration

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. ¹⁵ And ^(O)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; ^16 (P)and Zadok the son of Ahitub and ^(Q)Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and ^(R)Shavsha was secretary; ¹⁷ and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were the ^(S)chief officials in the service of the king.

The Ammonites Disgrace David's Men

19 ^(T)Now after this Nahash the king of the Ammonites died, and his son reigned in his place. ² And David said, “I will deal kindly with Hanun the son of Nahash, for his father dealt kindly with me.” So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came to the land of the Ammonites to Hanun to console him. ³ But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Have not his servants come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?” ⁴ So Hanun took David's servants and shaved them and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away; ⁵ and they departed. When David was told concerning the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.”

⁶ When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents^[d] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen ^(U)from Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah, and from ^(V)Zobah. ⁷ They hired 32,000 chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and encamped before ^(W)Medeba. And the Ammonites were mustered from their cities and came to battle. ⁸ When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. ⁹ And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the city, and the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

Ammonites and Syrians Defeated

¹⁰ When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. ¹¹ The rest of his men he put in the charge of ^(X)Abishai his brother, and they were arrayed against the Ammonites. ¹² And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will help you. ¹³ Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” ¹⁴ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near before the Syrians for battle, and they fled before him. ¹⁵ And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before ^(Y)Abishai, Joab's brother, and entered the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates,^[e] with ^(Z)Shophach the commander of the army of ^(AA)Hadadezer at their head. ¹⁷ And when it was told to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to them and drew up his forces against them. And when David set the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. ¹⁸ And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of ^(AB)7,000 chariots and 40,000 ^(AC)foot soldiers, and put to death also ^(AD)Shophach the commander of their army. ¹⁹ And when the servants of ^(AE)Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Syrians were not willing to save the Ammonites anymore.

The Triumphal Entry

21 ^(A)Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to ^(B)the Mount of Olives, then Jesus ^(C)sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴ This took place ^(D)to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd ^(G)spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ^(H)“Hosanna to ^(I)the Son of David! ^(J)Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ^(K)in the highest!” ¹⁰ And ^(L)when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is ^(M)the prophet Jesus, ^(N)from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^12 (O)And Jesus entered the temple^[b] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^(P)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^(Q)pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ^(R)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^(S)you make it a den of robbers.”

^14 (T)And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ^15 (U)But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^(V)“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶ and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; ^(W)have you never read,

¹⁷ And ^(Z)leaving them, he ^(AA)went out of the city to ^(AB)Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^18 (AC)In the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^(AD)he became hungry. ^19 (AE)And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered them, ^(AF)“Truly, I say to you, ^(AG)if you have faith and ^(AH)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^(AI)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(AJ)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^(AK)if you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (AL)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^(AM)as he was teaching, and said, ^(AN)“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, ^(AO)from where did it come? ^(AP)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^(AQ)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^(AR)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^(AS)a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (AT)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(AU)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(AV)changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AW)the tax collectors and ^(AX)the prostitutes go into ^(AY)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(AZ)in the way of righteousness, and ^(BA)you did not believe him, but ^(BB)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(BC)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

^33 (BD)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^(BE)a vineyard ^(BF)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^(BG)leased it to tenants, and ^(BH)went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[c] to the tenants ^(BI)to get his fruit. ^35 (BJ)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^(BK)stoned another. ^36 (BL)Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ^(BM)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(BN)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and ^(BO)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ^40 (BP)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, ^(BQ)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^(BR)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(BS)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^(BU)will be taken away from you and given to a people ^(BV)producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And ^(BW)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^(BX)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”^[e]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And ^(BY)although they were seeking to arrest him, ^(BZ)they feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^(CA)a prophet.