²² After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the land (the countryside) of Judea, where He remained with them, and baptized.

²³ But John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, for there was an abundance of water there, and the people kept coming and being baptized.

²⁴ For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Therefore there arose a controversy between some of John’s disciples and a Jew in regard to purification.

²⁶ So they came to John and reported to him, Rabbi, the Man Who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [^[a]at the Jordan crossing]—and to Whom you yourself have borne testimony—notice, here He is baptizing too, and everybody is flocking to Him!

²⁷ John answered, A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing, he can ^[b]take unto himself nothing] except as it has been granted to him from heaven. [A man must be content to receive the gift which is given him from heaven; there is no other source.]

²⁸ You yourselves are my witnesses [you personally bear me out] that I stated, I am not the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), but I have [only] been sent before Him [in advance of Him, to be His appointed forerunner, His messenger, His announcer].^(A)

²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the groomsman who stands by and listens to him rejoices greatly and heartily on account of the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete.^(B)

³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.]^(C)

³¹ He Who comes from above (heaven) is [far] above all [others]; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth [his words are from an earthly standpoint]. He Who comes from heaven is [far] above all others [far superior to all others in prominence and in excellence].

³² It is to what He has [actually] seen and heard that He bears testimony, and yet no one accepts His testimony [no one receives His evidence as true].

³³ Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal of approval to this: God is true. [That man has definitely certified, acknowledged, declared once and for all, and is himself assured that it is divine truth that God cannot lie].

³⁴ For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God’s own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!^(D)

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given (entrusted, committed) everything into His hand.^(E)

³⁶ And he who believes in (has faith in, clings to, relies on) the Son has (now possesses) eternal life. But whoever disobeys (is unbelieving toward, refuses to trust in, disregards, is not subject to) the Son will never see (experience) life, but [instead] the wrath of God abides on him. [God’s displeasure remains on him; His indignation hangs over him continually.]^(F)

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23 Now these are the last words of David: David son of Jesse says, and the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, says,

² The Spirit of the Lord spoke in and by me, and His word was upon my tongue.

³ The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me, When one rules over men righteously, ruling in the fear of God,

⁴ He dawns on them like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, when the tender grass springs out of the earth through clear shining after rain.

⁵ Truly does not my house stand so with God? For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. For will He not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?

⁶ But wicked, godless, and worthless lives are all like thorns to be thrust away, because they cannot be taken with the hand.

⁷ But the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire on the spot.

⁸ These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the Three [heroes], known also as Adino the Eznite; he wielded his spear and went against 800 men, who were slain at one time.^(A)

⁹ Next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines assembled there for battle, and the men of Israel had departed.

¹⁰ [Eleazar] arose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword. The Lord wrought a great deliverance and victory that day; the men returned after him only to take the spoil.

¹¹ Next to [Eleazar] was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines were gathered at Lehi on a piece of ground full of lentils; and the [Israelites] fled from the Philistines.

¹² But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory.

¹³ And three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time to David in the cave of Adullam, and a troop of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁴ And David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

¹⁵ And David said longingly, Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate!

¹⁶ And the three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem by the gate and brought it to David. But he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.

¹⁷ And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, to drink this. Is it not [the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? So he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

¹⁸ Now Abishai the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three. He wielded his spear against 300 men and slew them, and won a name beside the Three.

¹⁹ Was he not most renowned of the Three? So he was their captain; however, he did not attain to the Three.

²⁰ And Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many notable acts, slew two lionlike men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in a pit on a snowy day.

²¹ And he slew an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew the man with his own spear.

²² These things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and won a name beside the three mighty men.

²³ He was more renowned than the Thirty, but he attained not to the [first] Three. David set him over his guard or council.

²⁴ Asahel brother of Joab was one of the Thirty; then Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁵ Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod,

²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa,

²⁷ Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah,

²⁹ Heleb son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjamites.

³⁰ Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,

³¹ Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

³² Eliahba of Shaalbon, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,

³³ Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,

³⁴ Eliphelet son of Ahasbai, son of Maacah, Eliam son of Ahithophel of Giloh,

³⁵ Hezro (Hezrai) of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite,

³⁶ Igal son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,

³⁸ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

³⁹ Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.

24 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah.

² For the king said to Joab the captain of the host who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know their number.

³ And Joab said to the king, May the Lord your God add a hundred times as many people as there are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?

⁴ But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king’s presence to number the Israelites.

⁵ They passed over the Jordan and encamped in Aroer, on the south side of the city lying in the midst of the ravine [of the Arnon] toward Gad, and on to Jazer.

⁶ Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan [Dan in the forest] and around to Sidon,

⁷ And came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the South (the Negeb) of Judah at Beersheba.

⁸ So when they had gone through all the land [taking the census], they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹ And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king. There were in Israel 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

¹⁰ But David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people. David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in what I have done. I beseech You, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.

¹¹ When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

¹² Go and say to David, Thus says the Lord, I hold over you three choices; select one of them, so I may bring it upon you.

¹³ So Gad came to David and told him and said, Shall seven years of famine come to your land? Or will you flee three months before your pursuing enemies? Or do you prefer three days of pestilence in your land? Consider and see what answer I shall return to Him Who sent me.

¹⁴ And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are many and great; but let me not fall into the hands of man.

¹⁵ So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba 70,000 men.

¹⁶ And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented of the evil and reversed His judgment and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay your hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ When David saw the angel who was smiting the people, he spoke to the Lord and said, Behold, I have sinned and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray You, be [only] against me and against my father’s house.

¹⁸ Then Gad came to David and said, Go up, rear an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁹ So David went up according to Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded.

²⁰ Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming toward him; and [he] went out and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹ Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor from you, to build there an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

²² And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Behold, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for wood.

²³ All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king. And Araunah said to the king, The Lord your God accept you.

²⁴ But King David said to Araunah, No, but I will buy it of you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵ David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and Israel’s plague was stayed.