20 One day as Jesus was instructing the people in the temple [^[a]porches] and preaching the good news (the Gospel), the chief priests and the scribes came up with the elders (members of the Sanhedrin)

² And said to Him, Tell us by what [sort of] authority You are doing these things? Or who is it who gave You this authority?

³ He replied to them, I will also ask you a question. Now answer Me:

⁴ Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men?

⁵ And they argued and discussed [it] and reasoned together ^[b]with themselves, saying, If we reply, From heaven, He will say, Why then did you not believe him?

⁶ But if we answer, From men, all the people will stone us ^[c]to death, for they are ^[d]long since firmly convinced that John was a prophet.

⁷ So they replied that they did not know from where it came.

⁸ Then Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

⁹ Then He began to relate to the people this parable (^[e]this story to figuratively portray what He had to say): A man planted a vineyard and leased it to some vinedressers and went into another country for a long stay.^(A)

¹⁰ When the [right] season came, he sent a bond servant to the tenants, that they might give him [his part] of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat (^[f]thrashed) him and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹ And he sent still another servant; him they also beat (^[g]thrashed) and dishonored and insulted him ^[h]disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed.

¹² And he sent yet a third; this one they wounded and threw out [of the vineyard].

¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it is ^[i]probable that they will respect him.

¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they argued among themselves, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.

¹⁵ So they drove him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶ He will come and [^[j]utterly] put an end to those tenants and will give the vineyard to others. When they [the chief priests and the scribes and the elders] heard this, they said, May it never be!

¹⁷ But [Jesus] looked at them and said, What then is [the meaning of] this that is written: The [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Stone of the corner [Cornerstone]?^(B)

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that Stone will be broken [in pieces]; but upon whomever It falls, It will crush him [winnow him and ^[k]scatter him as dust].^(C)

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests desired and tried to find a way to arrest Him at that very hour, but they were afraid of the people; for they discerned that He had related this parable against them.

²⁰ So they watched [for an opportunity to ensnare] Him, and sent spies who pretended to be upright (honest and sincere), that they might lay hold of something He might say, so as to turn Him over to the control and authority of the governor.

²¹ They asked Him, Teacher, we know that You speak and teach what is right, and that You show no partiality to anyone but teach the way of God honestly and in truth.

²² Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?

²³ But He recognized and understood their cunning and ^[l]unscrupulousness and said to them,

²⁴ Show Me a denarius (a coin)! Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered, Caesar’s.

²⁵ He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, ^[m]and to God the things that are God’s.

²⁶ So they could not in the presence of the people take hold of anything He said to turn it against Him; but marveling at His reply, they were silent.

²⁷ Also there came to Him some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection.

²⁸ And they asked Him a question, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife and no children, the man shall take the woman and raise up offspring for his brother.^(D)

²⁹ Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died without [having any] children.

³⁰ And the second

³¹ And then the third took her, and in like manner all seven, and they died, leaving no children.

³² Last of all, the woman died also.

³³ Now in the resurrection whose wife will the woman be? For the seven married her.

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, The people of this world and present age marry and are given in marriage;

³⁵ But those who are considered worthy to gain that other world and that future age and to attain to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage;

³⁶ For they cannot die again, but they are ^[n]angel-like and ^[o]equal to angels. And being sons of and ^[p]sharers in the resurrection, they are sons of God.

³⁷ But that the dead are raised [^[q]from death]—even Moses made known and showed in the passage concerning the [burning] bush, where he calls the Lord, The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.^(E)

³⁸ Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all men are alive [whether in the body or out of it] and they are alive [not dead] unto Him [in definite relationship to Him].

³⁹ And some of the scribes replied, Teacher, you have spoken well and expertly [^[r]so that there is no room for blame].

⁴⁰ For they did not dare to question Him further.

⁴¹ But He asked them, How can people say that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is David’s Son?

⁴² For David himself says in [the] Book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand

⁴³ Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.^(F)

⁴⁴ So David calls Him Lord; how then is He his Son?

⁴⁵ And with all the people listening, He said to His disciples,

⁴⁶ Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes and love to be saluted [with honor] in places where people congregate and love the front and best seats in the synagogues and places of distinction at feasts,

⁴⁷ Who make away with and devour widows’ houses, and [to cover it up] with pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation (the heavier sentence, the severer punishment).

21 Looking up, [Jesus] saw the rich people putting their gifts into the treasury.

² And He saw also a poor widow putting in two mites (copper coins).

³ And He said, Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them;

⁴ For they all gave out of their abundance (their surplus); but she has contributed out of her lack and her want, putting in all that she had on which to live.

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20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said to Jonathan, What have I done? Of what am I guilty? What is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?

² Jonathan said, God forbid! You shall not die. My father does nothing great or small but what he tells me. And why should [he] hide this thing from me? It is not so.

³ But David replied, Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.

⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever you desire, I will do for you.

⁵ David said to Jonathan, Tomorrow is the New Moon [festival], and I should not fail to sit at the table with the king; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening.

⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.

⁷ If he says, All right, then it will be well with your servant; but if he is angry, then be sure that evil is determined by him.

⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought [me] into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself; for why should you bring me to your father?

⁹ And Jonathan said, Far be it from you! If I knew that evil was determined for you by my father, would I not tell you?

¹⁰ Then said David to Jonathan, Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?

¹¹ Jonathan said, Come, let us go into the field. So they went into the field.

¹² Jonathan said to David, The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness. When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well inclined toward David, and I do not send and let you know it,

¹³ The Lord do so, and much more, to Jonathan. But if it please my father to do you harm, then I will disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father.

¹⁴ While I am still alive you shall not only show me the loving-kindness of the Lord, so that I die not,

¹⁵ But also you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever—no, not even when the Lord has cut off every enemy of David from the face of the earth.

¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And the Lord will require that this covenant be kept at the hands of David’s enemies.

¹⁷ And Jonathan caused David to swear again by his love for him, for Jonathan loved him as he loved his own life.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the New Moon festival; and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty.

¹⁹ On the third day you will go quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain by the stone Ezel.

²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows on the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.

²¹ And I will send a lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them—then you are to come, for it is safe for you and there is no danger, as the Lord lives.

²² But if I say to the youth, Look, the arrows are beyond you—then go, for the Lord has sent you away.

²³ And as touching the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.

²⁴ So David hid himself in the field, and when the New Moon [festival] came, the king sat down to eat food.

²⁵ The king sat, as at other times, on his seat by the wall, and Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.

²⁶ Yet Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, Something has befallen him and he is not clean—surely he is not clean.

²⁷ But on the morrow, the second day after the new moon, David’s place was empty; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?

²⁸ And Jonathan answered, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.

²⁹ He said, Let me go, I pray, for our family holds a sacrifice in the city and my brother commanded me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers. That is why he has not come to the king’s table.

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan and he said to him, You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do not I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother who bore you?

³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you shall not be established nor shall your kingdom. So now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.

³² Jonathan answered Saul his father, Why should he be killed? What has he done?

³³ But Saul cast his spear at him to smite him, by which Jonathan knew that his father had determined to kill David.

³⁴ So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food that second day of the month, for he grieved for David because his father had disgraced him.

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him.

³⁶ And he said to his lad, Run, find the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

³⁷ When the lad came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called to [him], Is not the arrow beyond you?

³⁸ And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not! The lad gathered up the arrow and came to his master.

³⁹ But the lad knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

⁴⁰ Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and told him, Go, carry them to the city.

⁴¹ And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose from beside the heap of stones and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another until David got control of himself.

⁴² And Jonathan told David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and yours forever. And Jonathan arose and departed into the city.

21 Then David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech was afraid at meeting David, and said to him, Why are you alone and no man with you?

² David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has charged me with a matter and has told me, Let no man know anything of the mission on which I send you and with what I have charged you. I have appointed the young men to a certain place.

³ Now what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you may have.

⁴ And the priest answered David, There is no common bread on hand, but there is hallowed bread—if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.

⁵ And David told the priest, Truly women have been kept from us in these three days since I came out, and the food bags and utensils of the young men are clean, and although the bread will be used in a secular way, it will be set apart in the clean bags.

⁶ So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread which was taken from before the Lord to put hot bread in its place the day when it was taken away.

⁷ Now a certain man of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen.

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, Do you have at hand a sword or spear? The king’s business required haste, and I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me.

⁹ The priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you slew in the Valley of Elah, see, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, do so, for there is no other here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.

¹⁰ David arose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.

¹¹ The servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in their dances: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

¹² David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish king of Gath.

¹³ And he changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be insane in their [Philistine] hands, and scribbled on the gate doors, and drooled on his beard.

¹⁴ Then said Achish to his servants, You see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me?

¹⁵ Have I need of madmen, that you bring this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?

22 So David departed and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.

² And everyone in distress or in debt or discontented gathered to him, and he became a commander over them. And there were with him about 400 men.

³ And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father [of Moabite descent] and my mother, I pray you, come out [of Judah] and be with you till I know what God will do for me.^(A)

⁴ And he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold [in Moab].

⁵ Then the prophet Gad said to David, Do not remain in the stronghold; leave, and get into the land of Judah. So David left and went into the forest of Hareth.

⁶ Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him. Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height, his spear in his hand and all his servants standing about him.

⁷ Saul said to his servants who stood about him, Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards and make you all commanders of thousands and hundreds,

⁸ That all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait, as he does this day?

⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood with Saul’s servants, said, I saw the son of Jesse come to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub.

¹⁰ And [Ahimelech] inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

¹¹ Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and they all came to the king.

¹² Saul said, Hear now, you son of Ahitub. He replied, Here I am, my lord.

¹³ Saul said to him, Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so he could rise against me to lie in wait, as he does this day?

¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, And who is so faithful among all your servants as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and is taken into your council and honored in your house?

¹⁵ Have I only today begun inquiring of God for him? No! Let not the king impute any wrong to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, little or much.

¹⁶ [Saul] said, You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.

¹⁷ And the king said to the guard that stood about him, Turn and slay the Lord’s priests, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hands against the Lord’s priests.

¹⁸ The king said to Doeg, You turn and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests and slew that day eighty-five persons who wore the priest’s linen ephod.

¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, he smote with the sword; both men and women, children and sucklings, oxen and donkeys and sheep, he put to the sword.

²⁰ And one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub named Abiathar escaped and fled after David.

²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain the Lord’s priests.

²² David said to Abiathar, I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all your father’s house.

²³ Stay with me, fear not; for he who seeks my life seeks your life. But with me you shall be safeguarded.