Civil War

¹² Now Abner the son of Ner, went from Mahanaim to ^(A)Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul. ¹³ And ^(B)Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met ^[a]them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, ^[b]Abner’s men on the one side of the pool and ^[c]Joab’s men on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Now have the young men arise and ^(C)hold a martial skills match in our presence.” And Joab said, “Have them arise!” ¹⁵ So they got up and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ¹⁶ And each one of them seized his ^[d]opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his ^[e]opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called ^[f]Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ That day the battle was very severe, and ^(D)Abner and the men of Israel were defeated ^[g]by the servants of David.

¹⁸ Now ^(E)the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was ^(F)as ^[h]swift-footed as one of the gazelles that is in the field. ¹⁹ Asahel pursued Abner and did not turn ^[i]to the right or to the left from following Abner. ²⁰ Then Abner looked behind himself and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he said, “It is I!” ²¹ So Abner said to him, “Turn aside for your own good to your right or to your left, and take hold of one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his equipment.” But Asahel was unwilling to turn aside from following him. ²² Then Abner repeated again to Asahel, “Turn aside for your own good from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? ^(G)How then could I ^[j]show my face to your brother Joab?” ²³ However, he refused to turn aside; so Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died on the spot. And it happened that all who came thereafter to the place where ^(H)Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and when the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah by way of the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and they stood on the top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Should the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that it will be bitter in the end? So how long will you ^[k]refrain from telling the people to turn back from pursuing their kinsmen?” ²⁷ Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the people of Judah certainly would have withdrawn in the morning, each from pursuing his brother.” ²⁸ So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people halted and no longer pursued Israel, ^(I)nor did they continue to fight anymore. ²⁹ Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to ^(J)Mahanaim.

³⁰ Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner; but he gathered all the people together, and ^[l]nineteen of David’s servants were missing, besides Asahel. ³¹ However, the servants of David had struck and killed many of Benjamin and Abner’s men; 360 men were dead. ³² And they carried Asahel away and buried him ^(K)in his father’s tomb, which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men traveled all night until the day ^[m]dawned at Hebron.

The House of David Strengthened

3 Now ^(L)there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David became steadily stronger, while the house of Saul became steadily weaker.

^2 (M)Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by ^(N)Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; ³ and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the ^[n]widow of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of ^(O)Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of ^(P)Geshur; ⁴ and the fourth, ^(Q)Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; ⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These sons were born to David in Hebron.

Abner Joins David

⁶ Now it happened that while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, ^(R)Abner was ^[o]strengthening himself in the house of Saul. ⁷ And Saul had a concubine whose name was ^(S)Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and ^[p]Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” ⁸ Then Abner became very angry over Ish-bosheth’s ^[q]question and said, “^(T)Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not let you fall into the hands of David; yet today you call me to account for wrongdoing with ^[r]that woman? ^9 (U)May God do so to ^[s]me, and more so, if ^(V)as the Lord has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him: ^10 (W)to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, ^(X)from Dan even to Beersheba!” ¹¹ And Ish-bosheth could no longer say a word in response to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

¹² Then Abner sent messengers to David at his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.” ¹³ And he said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, only I require one thing of you, ^[t]namely, that ^(Y)you shall not see my face unless you ^(Z)first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see ^[u]me.” ¹⁴ So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed ^(AA)for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” ¹⁵ Ish-bosheth sent men and ^[v]had her taken from her husband, from ^[w]Paltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶ And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, ^[x]following her as far as ^(AB)Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” So he returned.

¹⁷ Now Abner had a ^[y]consultation with ^(AC)the elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you. ¹⁸ Now then, do it! For the Lord has spoken regarding David, saying, ‘^(AD)By the hand of My servant David ^[z]I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hands of all their enemies.’” ¹⁹ Abner also spoke ^[aa]to Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak ^[ab]to David in Hebron everything that seemed good to Israel and to ^(AE)the entire house of Benjamin.

²⁰ Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David held a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. ²¹ Abner said to David, “Let me set out and go and ^(AF)gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that ^(AG)you may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David let Abner go, and he went in peace.

²² And behold, ^(AH)the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought a large amount of plunder with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, since he had let him go, and he had gone in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they informed Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go on his way, and he has gone in peace.” ²⁴ Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you let him go, so that he is already gone? ²⁵ You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to gain your confidence, and to learn of ^(AI)your ^[ac]going out and coming in and to find out everything that you are doing.”

Joab Murders Abner

²⁶ When Joab left David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know about it. ²⁷ So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there ^(AJ)he struck him in the belly, so that he died on account of the blood of his brother Asahel. ²⁸ Afterward, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. ^29 (AK)May it turn upon the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not be eliminated from the house of Joab ^(AL)someone who suffers a discharge, or has leprosy, or ^[ad]holds the spindle, or falls by the sword, or lacks bread.” ³⁰ So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner ^(AM)because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

David Mourns Abner

³¹ Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “^(AN)Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. ³² And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at ^(AO)the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. ³³ And ^(AP)the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said,

And all the people wept over him again. ³⁵ Then all the people came ^(AQ)to provide ^[af]food for David in his distress while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “^(AR)May God do so to me, and more so, if I taste bread or anything else ^(AS)before the sun goes down.” ³⁶ Now all the people took note of David’s vow, and it ^[ag]pleased them, just as everything that the king did ^[ah]pleased all the people. ³⁷ So all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been the desire of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. ³⁸ Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a leader and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? ³⁹ And I am ^(AT)weak today, though anointed king; and these men, ^(AU)the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. ^(AV)May the Lord repay the evildoer in proportion to his evil.”

The Lord’s Supper

13 Now before the Feast of ^(A)the Passover, Jesus, knowing that ^(B)His hour had come that He would depart from this world ^(C)to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them ^[a]to the end. ² And during supper, ^(D)the devil having already put into the heart of ^(E)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, ^(F)knowing that the Father had handed all things over to Him, and that ^(G)He had come forth from God and was going back to God, ⁴ *got up from supper and *laid His outer garments aside; and He took a towel and ^(H)tied it around Himself.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

⁵ Then He *poured water into the basin, and began ^(I)washing the disciples’ feet and wiping them with the towel which He had tied around Himself. ⁶ So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, You are washing my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not realize right now, but you will understand ^(J)later.” ⁸ Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “^(K)If I do not wash you, ^(L)you have no ^[b]place with Me.” ⁹ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet; otherwise he is completely clean. And ^(M)you are clean—but ^[c]not all of you.” ¹¹ For ^(N)He knew the one who was betraying Him; it was for this reason that He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² Then, when He had washed their feet, and ^(O)taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³ You call Me ^(P)‘Teacher’ and ^(Q)‘Lord’; and ^[d]you are correct, for so I am. ¹⁴ So if I, ^(R)the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I gave you ^(S)an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly I say to you, ^(T)a slave is not greater than his master, nor is ^(U)[e]one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are ^(V)blessed if you do them. ^18 (W)I am not speaking about all of you. I know the ones whom I have ^(X)chosen; but this is happening ^(Y)so that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘^(Z)He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ¹⁹ From now on ^(AA)I am telling you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that ^(AB)I am He. ²⁰ Truly, truly I say to you, ^(AC)the one who ^[f]receives anyone I send, ^[g]receives Me; and the one who ^[h]receives Me ^[i]receives Him who sent Me.”

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

²¹ When Jesus had said these things, He ^(AD)became troubled in spirit, and ^[j]testified and said, “Truly, truly I say to you that ^(AE)one of you will ^[k]betray Me.” ²² The disciples began looking at one another, ^(AF)at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. ²³ Lying back on ^(AG)Jesus’ chest was one of His disciples, ^(AH)whom Jesus loved. ²⁴ So Simon Peter *nodded to this disciple and *said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” ²⁵ He then simply ^(AI)leaned back on Jesus’ chest and *said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus then *answered, “That man is the one for whom I shall dip the piece of bread and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the piece of bread, He *took and *gave it to Judas, ^(AJ)the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ After ^[l]this, ^(AK)Satan then ^(AL)entered him. Therefore Jesus *said to him, “What you are doing, do it quickly.” ²⁸ Now none of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. ²⁹ For some were assuming, since Judas ^(AM)kept the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we need ^(AN)for the feast”; or else, that he was to ^[m](AO)give something to the poor. ³⁰ So after receiving the piece of bread, he left immediately; and ^(AP)it was night.

Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.

Aleph

Beth