2 Samuel 21-22

Complete Jewish Bible

21 In David’s time there was a famine that lasted three years, and David consulted Adonai. Adonai said, “It is because of Sha’ul and his bloodstained house, because he put to death the people of Giv‘on.” ²The king summoned the Giv‘onim and said to them — these Giv‘onim were not part of the people of Isra’el but from the remnant of the Emori; and the people of Isra’el had sworn to them; but Sha’ul, in his zeal for the people of Isra’el and Y’hudah, had sought to exterminate them — ³David said to the Giv‘onim, “What should I do for you? With what should I make atonement, so that you will be able to bless Adonai’s heritage?” ⁴The Giv‘onim said to him, “Our dispute with Sha’ul can’t be resolved with silver or gold; and we don’t have the right to put anyone in Isra’el to death.” He said, “So, what do you say that I should do for you?” ⁵They answered the king, “The man who ruined us, who schemed against us so that we would cease to exist anywhere in Isra’el’s territory — ⁶have seven of his male descendants handed over to us, and we will put them to death by hanging before Adonai in Giv‘ah of Sha’ul, whom Adonai chose.” The king said, “I will hand them over.” ⁷But the king spared M’fivoshet, the son of Y’honatan the son of Sha’ul, because of the oath before Adonai between David and Y’honatan the son of Sha’ul. ⁸The king took the two sons of Ritzpah the daughter of Ayah, whom she bore to Sha’ul, Armoni and M’fivoshet; and the five sons of Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul, whom she bore to Adri’el the son of Barzillai the Mecholati; ⁹and handed them over to the Giv‘onim, who hanged them on the hill before Adonai. All seven died; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest season, at the beginning of the barley harvest. ¹⁰Ritzpah the daughter of Ayah took sackcloth, spread it out toward a cliff for herself and stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until water was poured out on the bodies from the sky, not letting the birds land on them during the day or the wild animals at night.

¹¹David was told what Ritzpah the daughter of Ayah, the concubine of Sha’ul, had done. ¹²So David went and took the bones of Sha’ul and the bones of Y’honatan his son from the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad, who had stolen them from the open square of Beit-Sh’an, where the P’lishtim had hanged them at the time the P’lishtim had killed Sha’ul at Gilboa; ¹³and he brought up from there the bones of Sha’ul and the bones of Y’honatan his son. They also gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. ¹⁴Then they buried the bones of Sha’ul and Y’honatan his son in the territory of Binyamin in Tzela, in the tomb of Kish his father; they did everything the king ordered. Only after that was God prevailed on to show mercy to the land.

¹⁵Once again the P’lishtim made war on Isra’el. David went down with his servants and fought against the P’lishtim, but David began to get tired. ¹⁶Yishbi-B’nov, one of the sons of the giant, said that he would kill David; his spear weighed seven pounds, and he was wearing new armor. ¹⁷But Avishai the son of Tz’ruyah came to David’s rescue by striking the P’lishti and killing him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must no longer go out with us to battle, in order not to quench the lamp of Isra’el.” ¹⁸A while after this there was again war with the P’lishtim, at Gov. Sibkhai the Hushati killed Saf, one of the sons of the giant. ¹⁹There was more war with the P’lishtim at Gov; and Elchanan the son of Ya‘arei-Orgim, the Beit-Lachmi, killed Golyat the Gitti, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s beam. ²⁰There was again war at Gat, where there was a belligerent man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot — twenty-four in all — and he too was a son of the giant. ²¹When he mocked Isra’el, Y’honatan the son of Shim‘ah David’s brother killed him. ²²These four were sons of the giant in Gat; they fell at the hands of David and his servants.

22 David said the words of this song to Adonai on the day Adonai delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Sha’ul. ²He said:

“Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer,
³the God who is my Rock, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, the power that saves me,
my stronghold and my refuge.
My savior, you have saved me from violence.
⁴I call on Adonai, who is worthy of praise;
and I am saved from my enemies.

⁵“For death’s breakers were closing over me,
the floods of B’liya‘al terrified me,
⁶the ropes of Sh’ol were wrapped around me,
the snares of death lay there before me.
⁷In my distress I called to Adonai;
yes, I called to my God.
Out of his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry entered his ears.

⁸“Then the earth quaked and shook,
the foundations of heaven trembled.
They were shaken because he was angry.
⁹Smoke arose in his nostrils;
and from his mouth, devouring fire,
with coals blazing from it.
¹⁰He lowered heaven and came down
with thick darkness under his feet.
¹¹He rode on a keruv and flew,
he was seen on the wings of the wind.
¹²He made darkness his canopy around him,
thick clouds in the skies dense with water.
¹³From the brightness before him,
fiery coals flamed out.

¹⁴“Adonai thundered from heaven,
Ha‘Elyon sounded his voice.
¹⁵He sent out arrows and scattered them;
with lightning he routed them.
¹⁶The channels of the sea appeared,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at Adonai’s rebuke,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.

¹⁷“He sent from on high, he took me
and pulled me out of deep water;
¹⁸he rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from those who hated me, for they were stronger than I.
¹⁹They came against me on my day of calamity,
but Adonai was my support.

²⁰“He brought me out to an open place;
he rescued me, because he took pleasure in me.
²¹Adonai rewarded me for my uprightness,
he repaid me because my hands were clean.

²²“For I have kept the ways of Adonai,
I have not done evil by leaving my God;
²³for all his rulings were before me,
I did not depart from his regulations.
²⁴I was pure-hearted toward him
and kept myself from my sin.

²⁵“Hence Adonai repaid me for my uprightness,
according to my purity in his view.
²⁶With the merciful, you are merciful;
with the champion of purity, you are pure;
²⁷with the honest, you are honest;
but with the crooked you are cunning.
²⁸People afflicted, you save;
but when your eyes are on the haughty, you humble them.

²⁹“For you, Adonai, are my lamp;
Adonai lights up my darkness.
³⁰With you I can run through a whole troop of men,
with my God I can leap a wall.

³¹“As for God, his way is perfect,
the word of Adonai has been tested by fire;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
³²For who is God but Adonai,
and who is a Rock but our God?

³³“God is my strength and protection;
he makes my way go straight.
³⁴He makes me swift and sure-footed as a deer
and enables me to stand on my high places.
³⁵He trains my hands for war
until my arms can bend a bow of bronze;
³⁶You give me your shield, which is salvation;
your answers make me great.
³⁷You lengthen the steps I can take,
yet my ankles do not turn.

³⁸“I pursued my enemies and wiped them out,
without turning back until they were destroyed.
³⁹I destroyed them, crushed them; they can’t get up;
they have fallen under my feet.

⁴⁰“For you braced me with strength for the battle
and bent down my adversaries beneath me.
⁴¹You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
so that I could destroy those who hate me.

⁴²“They looked, but there was no one to help,
even to Adonai, but he didn’t answer.
⁴³I pulverized them like dust on the ground,
pounded and stamped on them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴“You also freed me from the quarrels of my people.
You kept me to be the head of the nations;
a people I did not know now serve me.
⁴⁵Foreigners come cringing to me;
the moment they hear of me, they obey me.
⁴⁶Foreigners lose heart as they stagger from their fortresses.

⁴⁷“Adonai is alive! Blessed is my Rock!
Exalted be God, the Rock of my salvation,
⁴⁸the God who gives me vengeance
and makes peoples submit to me.
⁴⁹He brings me out from my enemies.
You raise me over those who rebel against me,
you rescue me from violent men.

⁵⁰“So I give thanks to you, Adonai, among the nations;
I sing praises to your name.
⁵¹He is a tower of salvation for his king;
he displays grace to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”

Psalm 18

Complete Jewish Bible

18 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. By David the servant of Adonai, who addressed the words of this song to Adonai on the day when Adonai delivered him from the power of all his enemies, including from the power of Sha’ul. ²He said:

⁽¹⁾“I love you, Adonai, my strength!

³⁽²⁾“Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer,
my God, my Rock, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, the power that saves me,
my stronghold.
⁴⁽³⁾I call on Adonai, who is worthy of praise;
and I am saved from my enemies.

⁵⁽⁴⁾“For the cords of death surrounded me,
the floods of B’liya‘al terrified me,
⁶⁽⁵⁾the ropes of Sh’ol were wrapped around me,
the snares of death lay there before me.
⁷⁽⁶⁾In my distress I called to Adonai;
I cried out to my God.
Out of his temple he heard my voice;
my cry reached his ears.

⁸⁽⁷⁾“Then the earth quaked and shook,
the foundations of the mountains trembled.
They were shaken because he was angry.
⁹⁽⁸⁾Smoke arose in his nostrils;
out of his mouth came devouring fire;
sparks blazed forth from him.
¹⁰⁽⁹⁾He lowered heaven and came down
with thick darkness under his feet.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾He rode on a keruv; he flew,
swooping down on the wings of the wind.
¹²⁽¹¹⁾He made darkness his hiding-place,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
¹³⁽¹²⁾From the brightness before him,
there broke through his thick clouds
hailstones and fiery coals.

¹⁴⁽¹³⁾“Adonai also thundered in heaven,
Ha‘Elyon sounded his voice —
hailstones and fiery coals.
¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾He sent out arrows and scattered them,
shot out lightning and routed them.
¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾The channels of water appeared,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at your rebuke, Adonai,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾“He sent from on high, he took me
and pulled me out of deep water;
¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾he rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were stronger than I.
¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾They came against me on my day of disaster,
but Adonai was my support.
²⁰⁽¹⁹⁾He brought me out to an open place;
he rescued me, because he took pleasure in me.
²¹⁽²⁰⁾Adonai rewarded me for my uprightness,
he repaid me because my hands were clean.

²²⁽²¹⁾“For I have kept the ways of Adonai,
I have not done evil by leaving my God;
²³⁽²²⁾for all his rulings were before me,
I did not distance his regulations from me.
²⁴⁽²³⁾I was pure-hearted with him
and kept myself from my sin.

²⁵⁽²⁴⁾“Hence Adonai repaid me for my uprightness,
according to the purity of my hands in his view.
²⁶⁽²⁵⁾With the merciful, you are merciful;
with a man who is sincere, you are sincere;
²⁷⁽²⁶⁾with the pure, you are pure;
but with the crooked you are cunning.
²⁸⁽²⁷⁾People afflicted, you save;
but haughty eyes, you humble.
²⁹⁽²⁸⁾“For you, Adonai, light my lamp;
Adonai, my God, lights up my darkness.
³⁰⁽²⁹⁾With you I can run through a whole troop of men,
with my God I can leap a wall.

³¹⁽³⁰⁾“As for God, his way is perfect,
the word of Adonai has been tested by fire;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

³²⁽³¹⁾“For who is God but Adonai?
Who is a Rock but our God?

³³⁽³²⁾“It is God who girds me with strength;
he makes my way go straight.
³⁴⁽³³⁾He makes me swift, sure-footed as a deer,
and enables me to stand on my high places.
³⁵⁽³⁴⁾He trains my hands for war
until my arms can bend a bow of bronze;

³⁶⁽³⁵⁾“You give me your shield, which is salvation,
your right hand holds me up,
your humility makes me great.
³⁷⁽³⁶⁾You lengthen the steps I can take,
yet my ankles do not turn.

³⁸⁽³⁷⁾“I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
without turning back until they were destroyed.
³⁹⁽³⁸⁾I crushed them, so that they can’t get up;
they have fallen under my feet.

⁴⁰⁽³⁹⁾“For you braced me with strength for the battle
and bent down my adversaries beneath me.
⁴¹⁽⁴⁰⁾You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴²⁽⁴¹⁾“They cried out, but there was no one to help,
even to Adonai, but he didn’t answer.
⁴³⁽⁴²⁾I pulverized them like dust in the wind,
threw them out like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴⁽⁴³⁾“You also freed me from the quarrels of my people.
You made me head of the nations;
a people I did not know now serve me —
⁴⁵⁽⁴⁴⁾the moment they hear of me, they obey me,
foreigners come cringing to me.
⁴⁶⁽⁴⁵⁾Foreigners lose heart
as they come trembling from their fortresses.
⁴⁷⁽⁴⁶⁾“Adonai is alive! Blessed is my Rock!
Exalted be the God of my salvation,
⁴⁸⁽⁴⁷⁾the God who avenges me
and subdues peoples under me.
⁴⁹⁽⁴⁸⁾He delivers me from my enemies.
You lift me high above my enemies,
you rescue me from violent men.

⁵⁰⁽⁴⁹⁾“So I give thanks to you, Adonai, among the nations;
I sing praises to your name.
⁵¹⁽⁵⁰⁾Great salvation he gives to his king;
he displays grace to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”

John 6:22-40

Complete Jewish Bible

²²The next day, the crowd which had stayed on the other side of the lake noticed that there had been only one boat there, and that Yeshua had not entered the boat with his talmidim, but that the talmidim had been alone when they sailed off. ²³Then other boats, from Tiberias, came ashore near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had made the b’rakhah. ²⁴Accordingly, when the crowd saw that neither Yeshua nor his talmidim were there, they themselves boarded the boats and made for K’far-Nachum in search of Yeshua.

²⁵When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ²⁶Yeshua answered, “Yes, indeed! I tell you, you’re not looking for me because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the bread and had all you wanted! ²⁷Don’t work for the food which passes away but for the food that stays on into eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For this is the one on whom God the Father has put his seal.”

²⁸So they said to him, “What should we do in order to perform the works of God?” ²⁹Yeshua answered, “Here’s what the work of God is: to trust in the one he sent!”

³⁰They said to him, “Nu, what miracle will you do for us, so that we may see it and trust you? What work can you perform? ³¹Our fathers ate man in the desert — as it says in the Tanakh, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[a] ³²Yeshua said to them, “Yes, indeed! I tell you it wasn’t Moshe who gave you the bread from heaven. But my Father is giving you the genuine bread from heaven; ³³for God’s bread is the one who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread from now on.” ³⁵Yeshua answered, “I am the bread which is life! Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever trusts in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶I told you that you have seen but still don’t trust. ³⁷Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will certainly not turn away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of the One who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of the One who sent me: that I should not lose any of all those he has given me but should raise them up on the Last Day. ⁴⁰Yes, this is the will of my Father: that all who see the Son and trust in him should have eternal life, and that I should raise them up on the Last Day.”