Saul Fights the Philistines

13 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,^{[a] 2} Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^(A)Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^(B)Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. ³ Jonathan defeated ^(C)the garrison of the Philistines that was ^(D)at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^(E)blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” ⁴ And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops ^(F)like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^(G)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^(H)in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, ⁷ and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice

^8 (I)He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. ¹¹ Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, ¹² I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, ^(J)“You have done foolishly. ^(K)You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now ^(L)your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^(M)after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince^[b] over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” ¹⁵ And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal^[c] to ^(N)Gibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ^(O)about six hundred men. ¹⁶ And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in ^(P)Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. ¹⁷ And ^(Q)raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; ¹⁸ another company turned toward ^(R)Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of ^(S)Zeboim toward the wilderness.

^19 (T)Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” ²⁰ But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,^{[d] 21} and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel^[e] for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel^[f] for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.^{[g] 22} So on the day of the battle ^(U)there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. ²³ And ^(V)the garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^(W)pass of ^(X)Michmash.

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Together in the Garden of Love

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Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

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The Bride Gives Her Love

Who Is the Greatest?

18 ^(A)At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^(B)turn and ^(C)become like children, you ^(D)will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4 (E)Whoever humbles himself like this child is the ^(F)greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

^5 (G)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶ but ^(H)whoever causes one of these ^(I)little ones who believe in me to sin,^[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷ “Woe to the world for ^(J)temptations to sin!^{[b] (K)}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^(L)but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ^8 (M)And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^(N)the eternal fire. ^9 (O)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^(P)hell^[c] of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise ^(Q)one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^(R)their angels always ^(S)see the face of my Father who is in heaven.^{[d] 12 (T)}What do you think? ^(U)If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So ^(V)it is not the will of my^[e] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

^15 (W)“If your brother sins against you, ^(X)go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^(Y)gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^(Z)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, ^(AA)tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(AB)let him be to you as ^(AC)a Gentile and ^(AD)a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, ^(AE)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[f] in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you ^(AF)agree on earth about anything they ask, ^(AG)it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are ^(AH)gathered in my name, ^(AI)there am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^(AJ)will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(AK)As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[g]

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^(AL)to settle accounts with his servants.^{[h] 24} When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^(AM)ten thousand ^(AN)talents.^{[i] 25 (AO)}And since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^(AP)to be sold, with his wife and ^(AQ)children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant^{[j] (AR)}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^(AS)forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^(AT)denarii,^[k] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ^33 (AU)And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ^34 (AV)And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^{[l] (AW)}until he should pay all his debt. ^35 (AX)So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^(AY)from your heart.”

Teaching About Divorce

19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ^(A)Galilee and ^(B)entered ^(C)the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ² And ^(D)large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ And Pharisees came up to him and ^(E)tested him by asking, ^(F)“Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” ⁴ He answered, ^(G)“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ^(H)‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(I)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^(J)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷ They said to him, ^(K)“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ⁸ He said to them, “Because of your ^(L)hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9 (M)And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”^[a]

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But he said to them, ^(N)“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^(O)those to ^(P)whom it is given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^(Q)for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^13 (R)Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^(S)rebuked the people, ¹⁴ but Jesus said, ^(T)“Let the little children ^(U)come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

^16 (V)And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^(W)have ^(X)eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^(Y)If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^(Z)“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and, ^(AA)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, ^(AB)“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^(AC)perfect, go, ^(AD)sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(AE)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22 (AF)When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AG)only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ^24 (AH)Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^(AI)the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ But Jesus ^(AJ)looked at them and said, ^(AK)“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ²⁷ Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^(AL)we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^{[b] (AM)}when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^(AN)will also sit on twelve thrones, ^(AO)judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29 (AP)And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold^[c] and will ^(AQ)inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But ^(AR)many who are ^(AS)first will be last, and the last first.