David's Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may ^(A)show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^(B)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 ^(C)the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of ^(D)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 ^(E)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 ^(F)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, ^(G)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 ^(H)you shall eat at my table always.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for ^(I)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 ^(J)shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had ^(K)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 ^(L)ate at David's^[a] table, like one of the king's sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, ^(M)whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for ^(N)he ate always at the king's table. Now ^(O)he was lame in both his feet.

David Defeats Ammon and Syria

10 ^(P)After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. ² And David said, “I will deal loyally^[b] with Hanun the son of ^(Q)Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me.” So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites. ³ But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, ^(R)at their hips, and sent them away. ⁵ When it was told David, he sent 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, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of ^(S)Beth-rehob, and ^(T)the Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of ^(U)Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of ^(V)Tob, 12,000 men. ⁷ And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of ^(W)the mighty men. ⁸ And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and ^(X)the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and ^(Y)the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.

⁹ 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. ¹⁰ The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. ¹¹ 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 come and help you. ^12 (Z)Be of good courage, and ^(AA)let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and ^(AB)may the Lord do what seems good to him.” ¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶ And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond ^(AC)the Euphrates.^[c] They came to Helam, with ^(AD)Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head. ¹⁷ And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. ¹⁸ And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of 700 chariots, and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded ^(AE)Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there. ¹⁹ And when all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel ^(AF)and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore.

David and Bathsheba

11 ^(AG)(AH)In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged ^(AI)Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

² It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on ^(AJ)the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. ³ And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this ^(AK)Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of ^(AL)Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (^(AM)Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. ⁵ And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and ^(AN)wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” ¹¹ Uriah said to David, ^(AO)“The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and ^(AP)the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and ^(AQ)as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” ¹² Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, ^(AR)so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with ^(AS)the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ In the morning David ^(AT)wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, ^(AU)that he may be struck down, and die.” ¹⁶ And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. ¹⁷ And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. ¹⁹ And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, ²⁰ then, if the king's anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ^21 (AV)Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

²² So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. ²⁴ Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” ²⁵ David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

²⁶ When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. ²⁷ And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and ^(AW)she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

Christ Our Advocate

2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ^(A)we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ^2 (B)He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(C)also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^(D)keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments ^(E)is a liar, and ^(F)the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever ^(G)keeps his word, in him truly ^(H)the love of God is perfected. ^(I)By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he ^(J)abides in him ^(K)ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

⁷ Beloved, I am writing you ^(L)no new commandment, but ^(M)an old commandment ^(N)that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. ⁸ At the same time, it is ^(O)a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because^{[a] (P)}the darkness is passing away and ^(Q)the true light is already shining. ⁹ Whoever says he is in the light and ^(R)hates his brother is still in darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him^[b] there is no ^(S)cause for stumbling. ¹¹ But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^(T)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Do Not Love the World

^15 (AA)Do not love the world or the things in the world. ^(AB)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—^(AC)the desires of the flesh and ^(AD)the desires of the eyes and pride of life^[c]—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And ^(AE)the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

¹⁸ Children, ^(AF)it is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^(AG)antichrist is coming, so now ^(AH)many antichrists have come. ^(AI)Therefore we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (AJ)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(AK)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^(AL)that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰ But you have been ^(AM)anointed by ^(AN)the Holy One, and ^(AO)you all have knowledge.^{[d] 21} I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but ^(AP)he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^(AQ)the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (AR)No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ Let ^(AS)what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ^(AT)you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that he made to us^[e]—^(AU)eternal life.

²⁶ I write these things to you about ^(AV)those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But ^(AW)the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^(AX)you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^(AY)is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(AZ)when he appears ^(BA)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(BB)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(BC)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(BD)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.