David Flees Jerusalem

¹³ And a messenger came to David, saying, ^(A)“The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” ¹⁴ Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us ^(B)flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵ And the king's servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” ¹⁶ So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ^(C)ten concubines to keep the house. ¹⁷ And the king went out, and all the people after him. And they halted at the last house.

¹⁸ And ^(D)all his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from ^(E)Gath, passed on before the king. ¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(F)Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. ²⁰ You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go ^(G)I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show^[a] steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king, ^(H)“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^(I)wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” ²² And David said to Ittai, “Go then, pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³ And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed ^(J)the brook ^(K)Kidron, and all the people passed on toward ^(L)the wilderness.

²⁴ And ^(M)Abiathar came up, and behold, ^(N)Zadok came also with all the Levites, ^(O)bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will ^(P)bring me back and let me see both it and his ^(Q)dwelling place. ²⁶ But if he says, ‘I have no ^(R)pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, ^(S)let him do to me what seems good to him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ^(T)seer? Go back^[b] to the city in peace, with ^(U)your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I will wait at ^(V)the fords of ^(W)the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

³⁰ But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, ^(X)barefoot and ^(Y)with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, ^(Z)weeping as they went. ³¹ And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please ^(AA)turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

³² While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai ^(AB)the Archite came to meet him ^(AC)with his coat torn and ^(AD)dirt on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be ^(AE)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ^(AF)‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father's servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. ³⁵ Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king's house, ^(AG)tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Behold, ^(AH)their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son, ^(AI)and by them you shall send to me everything you hear.” ³⁷ So Hushai, ^(AJ)David's friend, came into the city, ^(AK)just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

Food Offered to Idols

8 Now concerning^{[a] (A)}food offered to idols: we know that ^(B)“all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” ^(C)puffs up, ^(D)but love builds up. ^2 (E)If anyone imagines that he knows something, ^(F)he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³ But if anyone loves God, ^(G)he is known by God.^[b]

⁴ Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ^(H)“an idol has no real existence,” and that ^(I)“there is no God but one.” ⁵ For although there may be ^(J)so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— ⁶ yet ^(K)for us there is one God, the Father, ^(L)from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and ^(M)one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and ^(N)through whom we exist.

⁷ However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, ^(O)through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and ^(P)their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ^8 (Q)Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹ But take care ^(R)that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block ^(S)to the weak. ¹⁰ For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating^[c] in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged,^[d] if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? ¹¹ And so by your knowledge this weak person is ^(T)destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. ¹² Thus, sinning against your brothers^[e] and ^(U)wounding their conscience when it is weak, ^(V)you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, ^(W)if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

David and Ziba

16 When David had passed a little beyond ^(A)the summit, ^(B)Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, ^(C)a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. ² And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, ^(D)“The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who ^(E)faint in the wilderness to drink.” ³ And the king said, “And where is your master's son?” ^(F)Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’” ⁴ Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

Shimei Curses David

⁵ When King David came to ^(G)Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was ^(H)Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came ^(I)he cursed continually. ⁶ And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. ⁷ And Shimei said as he ^(J)cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! ⁸ The Lord ^(K)has avenged on you all ^(L)the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

⁹ Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this ^(M)dead dog ^(N)curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” ¹⁰ But the king said, ^(O)“What have I to do with you, ^(P)you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” ¹¹ And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, ^(Q)my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. ¹² It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me,^[a] and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.” ¹³ So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and ^(R)cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust. ¹⁴ And the king, and all the people who were with him, ^(S)arrived weary at the Jordan.^[b] And there he refreshed himself.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

^15 (T)Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ¹⁶ And when Hushai the Archite, ^(U)David's friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, ^(V)“Long live the king! Long live the king!” ¹⁷ And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? ^(W)Why did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸ And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, for whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹ And again, ^(X)whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you.”

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?” ²¹ Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to ^(Y)your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and ^(Z)the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” ²² So they pitched a tent for Absalom ^(AA)on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father's concubines ^(AB)in the sight of all Israel. ²³ Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, ^(AC)both by David and by Absalom.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

12 In the meantime, ^(A)when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ^(B)“Beware of ^(C)the leaven of the Pharisees, ^(D)which is hypocrisy. ^2 (E)Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in ^(F)private rooms shall be proclaimed on ^(G)the housetops.

Have No Fear

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, ^(H)do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him ^(I)who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.^[a] Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?^[b] And ^(J)not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ Why, ^(K)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; ^(L)you are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

⁸ “And I tell you, ^(M)everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge ^(N)before the angels of God, ⁹ but ^(O)the one who denies me before men ^(P)will be denied ^(Q)before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And ^(R)everyone who speaks a word ^(S)against the Son of Man ^(T)will be forgiven, but the one who ^(U)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ^11 (V)And when they ^(W)bring you before the synagogues and ^(X)the rulers and ^(Y)the authorities, ^(Z)do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ^12 (AA)for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

^13 (AB)Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, ^(AC)“Man, ^(AD)who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, ^(AE)“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, ^(AF)“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ^(AG)‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^(AH)barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^(AI)for many years; relax, ^(AJ)eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ^(AK)‘Fool! ^(AL)This night ^(AM)your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^(AN)whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one ^(AO)who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

²² And he said to his disciples, ^(AP)“Therefore I tell you, ^(AQ)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ^24 (AR)Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. ^(AS)Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(AT)span of life?^{[c] 26} If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[d] yet I tell you, ^(AU)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, ^(AV)O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ^(AW)be worried. ³⁰ For ^(AX)all the nations of the world seek after these things, and ^(AY)your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, ^(AZ)seek ^(BA)his^[e] kingdom, ^(BB)and these things will be added to you.

^32 (BC)“Fear not, little ^(BD)flock, for ^(BE)it is your Father's good pleasure to give you ^(BF)the kingdom. ^33 (BG)Sell your possessions, and ^(BH)give to the needy. ^(BI)Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ^(BJ)a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ^34 (BK)For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.