22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread was drawing near, which is called the Passover.

² And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to do away with [Jesus], for they feared the people.

³ But [then] Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve [apostles].

⁴ And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray Him and deliver Him up to them.

⁵ And they were delighted and pledged [themselves] to give him money.

⁶ So he agreed [to this], and sought an opportunity to betray Him to them [without an uprising] in the absence of the throng.

⁷ Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover [lamb] had to be slain.^(A)

⁸ So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare for us the Passover meal, that we may eat it.

⁹ They said to Him, Where do You want us to prepare [it]?

¹⁰ He said to them, Behold, when you have gone into the city, a man carrying an earthen jug or pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters,

¹¹ And say to the master of the house, The Teacher asks you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover [meal] with My disciples?

¹² And he will show you a large room upstairs, furnished [with carpets and with couches properly spread]; there make [your] preparations.

¹³ And they went and found it [just] as He had said to them; and they made ready the Passover [supper].

¹⁴ And when the hour came, [Jesus] reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.

¹⁵ And He said to them, I have earnestly and intensely desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

¹⁶ For I say to you, I shall eat it no more until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

¹⁷ And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He said, Take this and divide and distribute it among yourselves;

¹⁸ For I say to you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine at all until the kingdom of God comes.

¹⁹ Then He took a loaf [of bread], and when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and gave it to them saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.

²⁰ And in like manner, He took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament or covenant [ratified] in My blood, which is shed (poured out) for you.

²¹ But, behold, the hand of him who ^[a]is now engaged in betraying Me is with Me on the table.^(B)

²² For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined and appointed, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed and delivered up!

²³ And they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was who was about to do this.^(C)

²⁴ Now ^[b]an eager contention arose among them [as to] which of them was considered and reputed to be the greatest.

²⁵ But Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles ^[c]are deified by them and exercise lordship [^[d]ruling as emperor-gods] over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors and well-doers.

²⁶ But this is not to be so with you; on the contrary, let him who is the greatest among you become like the youngest, and him who is the chief and leader like one who serves.

²⁷ For who is the greater, the one who reclines at table (the master), or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am in your midst as One Who serves.

²⁸ And you are those who have remained [throughout] and persevered with Me in My trials;

²⁹ And as My Father has appointed a kingdom and conferred it on Me, so do I confer on you [the privilege and decree],

³⁰ That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹ Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan ^[e]has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him [out of the power and keeping of God], that he might sift [all of] you like grain,^(D)

³² But I have prayed especially for you [Peter], that your [own] faith may not fail; and when you yourself have turned again, strengthen and establish your brethren.

³³ And [Simon Peter] said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.

³⁴ But Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, before a [single] cock shall crow this day, you will three times [utterly] deny that you know Me.

³⁵ And He said to them, When I sent you out with no purse or [provision] bag or sandals, did you lack anything? They answered, Nothing!

³⁶ Then He said to them, But now let him who has a purse take it, and also [his provision] bag; and let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy a sword.

³⁷ For I tell you that this Scripture must yet be fulfilled in Me: And He was counted and classed among the wicked (the outlaws, the criminals); for what is written about Me has its fulfillment [has reached its end and is finally settled].^(E)

³⁸ And they said, Look, Lord! Here are two swords. And He said to them, It is enough.

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26 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself on the hill of Hachilah, east of Jeshimon?

² So Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, with 3,000 chosen men of Israel, to seek David [there].

³ Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. And when he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness,

⁴ David sent out spies and learned that Saul had actually come.

⁵ David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and saw where Saul lay with Abner son of Ner, commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the encampment, with the army encamped around him.

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, Who will go down with me into the camp of Saul? And Abishai said, I will go down with you.

⁷ So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there Saul lay sleeping within the encampment with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the army lay round about him.

⁸ Then said Abishai to David, God has given your enemy into your hands this day. Now therefore let me smite him to the earth at once with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.

⁹ David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?

¹⁰ David said, As the Lord lives, [He] will smite him; or his day will come to die or he will go down in battle and perish.

¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but take now the spear that is at his head and the bottle of water, and let us go.

¹² So David took the spear and the bottle of water from Saul’s head, and they got away. And no man saw or knew or wakened, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

¹³ Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of the mountain afar off, a great space being between them.

¹⁴ David called to the army and Abner son of Ner, Will you answer, Abner? Abner replied, Who are you, calling [and disturbing] the king?

¹⁵ David said to Abner, Are you not a valiant man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in [to your camp] to destroy the king your lord.

¹⁶ This thing is not good that you have done. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the bottle of water that was at his head.

¹⁷ And Saul knew David’s voice and said, Is this your voice, my son David? And David said, My voice, my lord O king!

¹⁸ And David said, Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? What have I done? Or what evil is in my hand [tonight]?

¹⁹ Now therefore, I pray you, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods.

²⁰ Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel is come out to seek one flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.

²¹ Then said Saul, I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have ^[a]played the fool and have erred exceedingly.

²² David answered, See the king’s spear! Let one of the young men come and get it.

²³ The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not stretch forth my hand against the Lord’s anointed.

²⁴ And behold, as your life was precious today in my sight, so let my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, May you be blessed, my son David; you will both do mightily and surely prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

27 But David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any more within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.

² So David arose and went over with the 600 men who were with him to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³ And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.

⁴ When it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he sought for him no more.

⁵ And David said to Achish, If I have now found favor in your eyes, let me be given a place to dwell in some country town; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?

⁶ Then Achish gave David the town of Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day.

⁷ The time David dwelt in the Philistines’ country was a year and four months.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites [enemies of Israel Joshua had failed to exterminate]. For from of old those nations inhabited the land, as one goes to Shur even to the land of Egypt.^(A)

⁹ And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and the apparel, and returned to Achish.

¹⁰ Achish would ask, Against whom have you made a raid today? And David would reply, ^[b]Against the South (Negeb) of Judah, or of the Jerahmeelites, or of the Kenites.

¹¹ And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath, thinking, Lest they should say about us, So did David, and so will he do as long as he dwells in the Philistines’ country.

¹² And Achish believed David, saying, He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; so he shall be my servant always.

28 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war against Israel. Achish said to David, Understand that you and your men shall go with me to battle.

² David said to Achish, All right, you shall know what your servant can do. Achish said to David, Therefore I will make you my bodyguard always.

³ Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the wizards out of the land.

⁴ And the Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel and they encamped at Gilboa.

⁵ When Saul saw the Philistine host, he was afraid; his heart trembled greatly.

⁶ When Saul inquired of the Lord, He refused to answer him, either by dreams or by Urim [a symbol worn by the priest when seeking the will of God for Israel] or by the prophets.^(B)

⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, Find me a woman who is a medium [between the living and the dead], that I may go and inquire of her. His servants said, Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor.

⁸ So Saul disguised himself, put on other raiment, and he and two men with him went and came to the woman at night. He said to her, Perceive for me by the familiar spirit and bring up for me the dead person whom I shall name to you.

⁹ The woman said, See here, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and wizards out of the land. Why then do you lay a trap for my life to cause my death?

¹⁰ And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives, there shall no punishment come to you for this.

¹¹ The woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? He said, Bring up Samuel for me.

¹² And when the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and she said to Saul, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!

¹³ The king said to her, Be not afraid; what do you see? The woman said to Saul, I see a god [terrifying superhuman being] coming up out of the earth!

¹⁴ He said to her, In what form is he? And she said, An old man comes up, covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and made obeisance.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me to bring me up? Saul answered, I am bitterly distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.

¹⁶ Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, seeing that the Lord has turned from you and has become your enemy?

¹⁷ The Lord has done to you as He said through me He would do; for [He] has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to your neighbor David.^(C)

¹⁸ Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord or execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.

¹⁹ Moreover, the Lord will also give Israel with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me [among the dead]. The Lord also will give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.

²⁰ Then immediately Saul fell full length upon the earth floor [of the medium’s house], and was exceedingly afraid because of Samuel’s words. There was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

²¹ The woman came to Saul, and seeing that he was greatly troubled, she said to him, Behold, your handmaid has obeyed you, and I have put my life in my hands and have listened to what you said to me.

²² So now, I pray you, listen also to the voice of your handmaid and let me set a morsel of food before you, and eat, so you may have strength when you go on your way.

²³ But he said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he heeded their words. So he arose from the ground and sat upon the bed.

²⁴ The woman had a fat calf in the house; she hurried and killed it, and took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread.

²⁵ Then she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose up and went away that night.