A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman

(Matthew 9.18-26; Luke 8.40-56)

²¹ Once again Jesus got into the boat and crossed Lake Galilee.^[a] Then as he stood on the shore, a large crowd gathered around him. ²² The person in charge of the synagogue was also there. His name was Jairus, and when he saw Jesus, he went over to him. He knelt at Jesus' feet ²³ and started begging him for help. He said, “My little daughter is about to die! Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live.” ²⁴ Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed along and kept crowding around.

²⁵ In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. ^26 (A) She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.

²⁷ The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. ²⁸ She had said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ²⁹ As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was healed.

³⁰ At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹ His disciples said to him, “Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?” ³² But Jesus turned to see who had touched him.

³³ The woman knew what had happened to her. So she came trembling with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story.

³⁴ Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain.”

³⁵ While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from Jairus' home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶ Jesus heard^[b] what they said, and he said to Jairus, “Don't worry. Just have faith!”

³⁷ Jesus did not let anyone go with him except Peter and the two brothers, James and John. ³⁸ They went home with Jairus and saw the people crying and making a lot of noise.^{[c] 39} Then Jesus went inside and said to them, “Why are you crying and carrying on like this? The child isn't dead. She is just asleep.” ⁴⁰ But the people laughed at him.

After Jesus had sent them all out of the house, he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples and went to where she was. ^41-42 He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said, “Talitha, koum!”^[d] which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got right up and started walking around.

Everyone was greatly surprised. ⁴³ But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”

14 Joab knew that David couldn't stop thinking about Absalom, ^2-3 and he sent someone to bring in the wise woman who lived in Tekoa. Joab told her, “Put on funeral clothes and don't use any makeup. Go to the king and pretend you have spent a long time mourning the death of a loved one.” Then he told her what to say.

⁴ The woman from Tekoa went to David. She bowed very low and said, “Your Majesty, please help me!”

⁵ David asked, “What's the matter?”

She replied:

My husband is dead, and I'm a widow. ⁶ I had two sons, but they got into a fight out in a field where there was no one to pull them apart, and one of them killed the other. ⁷ Now all of my relatives have come to me and said, “Hand over your son! We're going to put him to death for killing his brother.” But what they really want is to get rid of him, so they can take over our land.

Please don't let them put out my only flame of hope! There won't be anyone left on this earth to carry on my husband's name.

⁸ “Go on home,” David told her. “I'll take care of this matter for you.”

⁹ The woman said, “I hope your decision doesn't cause any problems for you. But if it does, you can blame me.”^[a]

¹⁰ He said, “If anyone gives you trouble, bring them to me, and it won't happen again!”

¹¹ “Please,” she replied, “swear by the Lord your God that no one will be allowed to kill my son!”

He said, “I swear by the living Lord that no one will touch even a hair on his head!”

¹² Then she asked, “Your Majesty, may I say something?”

“Yes,” he answered.

¹³ The woman said:

Haven't you been hurting God's people? Your own son had to leave the country. And when you judged in my favor, it was the same as admitting that you should have let him come back. ¹⁴ We each must die and disappear like water poured out on the ground. But God doesn't take our lives.^[b] Instead, he figures out ways of bringing us back when we run away.

¹⁵ Your Majesty, I came here to tell you about my problem, because I was afraid of what someone might do to me. I decided to come to you, because I thought you could help. ¹⁶ In fact, I knew that you would listen and save my son and me from those who want to take the land that God gave us.^[c]

^17 (A) I can rest easy now that you have given your decision. You know the difference between right and wrong just like an angel of God, and I pray that the Lord your God will be with you.

¹⁸ Then David said to the woman, “Now I'm going to ask you a question, and don't try to hide the truth!”

The woman replied, “Please go ahead, Your Majesty.”

¹⁹ David asked, “Did Joab put you up to this?”

The woman answered, “Your Majesty, I swear by your life that no one can hide the truth from you. Yes, Joab did tell me what to say, ²⁰ but only to show you the other side of this problem. You must be as wise as the angel of God to know everything that goes on in this country.”

²¹ David turned to Joab and said, “It seems that I have already given my decision. Go and bring Absalom back.”

²² Joab bowed very low and said, “Your Majesty, I thank you for giving your permission. It shows that you approve of me.”

²³ Joab went to Geshur to get Absalom. But when they came back to Jerusalem, ²⁴ David told Joab, “I don't want to see my son Absalom. Tell him to stay away from me.” So Absalom went to his own house without seeing his father.

Absalom Was Handsome

²⁵ No one in all Israel was as handsome and well-built as Absalom. ²⁶ His hair grew so thick and heavy that when he got it cut once a year, it weighed over two kilograms.

²⁷ Absalom had three sons. He also had a daughter named Tamar, who grew up to be very beautiful.

Absalom Finally Sees David

²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without seeing his father. ²⁹ He wanted Joab to talk to David for him. So one day he sent a message asking Joab to come over, but Joab refused. Absalom sent another message, but Joab still refused. ³⁰ Finally, Absalom told his servants, “Joab's barley field is right next to mine. Go set it on fire!” And they did.

³¹ Joab went to Absalom's house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

³² Absalom answered, “You didn't pay any attention when I sent for you. I want you to ask my father why he told me to come back from Geshur. I was better off there. I want to see my father now! If I'm guilty, let him kill me.”

³³ Joab went to David and told him what Absalom had said. David sent for Absalom, and Absalom came. He bowed very low, and David leaned over and kissed him.

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 Daniel wrote:

In the third year of King Belshazzar of Babylonia,^[a] I had a second vision ² in which I was in Susa, the chief city of Babylonia's Elam Province. I was beside the Ulai River,^{[b] 3} when I looked up and saw a ram standing there with two horns on its head—both of them were long, but the second one was longer than the first. ⁴ The ram went charging toward the west, the north, and the south. No other animals were strong enough to oppose him, and nothing could save them from his power. So he did as he pleased and became even more powerful.

⁵ I kept on watching and saw a goat come from the west and charge across the entire earth, without even touching the ground. Between his eyes was a powerful horn,^{[c] 6} and with tremendous anger the goat started toward the ram that I had seen beside the river.^{[d] 7} The goat was so fierce that its attack broke both horns of the ram, leaving him powerless. Then the goat trampled on the ram, and no one could do anything to help. ⁸ After this, the goat became even more powerful. But at the peak of his power, his mighty horn was broken, and four other mighty horns took its place—one pointing to the north and one to the east, one to the south and one to the west.

⁹ A little horn came from one of these, and its power reached to the south, the east, and even to the holy land.^{[e] 10 (A)} It became so strong that it attacked the stars in the sky, which were heaven's army.^[f] Then it threw some of them down to the earth and trampled on them. ^11-12 It humiliated heaven's army and dishonored its leader^[g] by keeping him from offering the daily sacrifices. In fact, it was so terrible that it even disgraced the temple and wiped out true worship. It also did everything else it wanted to do.

¹³ Then one of the holy angels asked another, “When will the daily sacrifices be offered again? What about this horrible rebellion? When will the temple and heaven's army no longer be trampled in the dust?”

¹⁴ The other answered, “It will be 2,300 evenings and mornings before the temple is dedicated and in use again.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵ Daniel wrote:

I was trying to figure out the meaning of the vision, when someone suddenly appeared there beside me. ^16 (B) And from beside the Ulai River,^[h] a voice like that of a human said, “Gabriel, help him understand the vision.”

¹⁷ Gabriel came over, and I fell to the ground in fear. Then he said, “You are merely a human, but you need to understand that this vision is about the end of time.”

¹⁸ While he was speaking, I fell facedown in a deep sleep. But he lifted me to my feet ¹⁹ and said:

Listen, and I will tell you what will happen at the end of time, when God has chosen to show his anger. ²⁰ The two horns of the ram are the kings of Media and Persia, ²¹ the goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the powerful horn between his eyes is the first of its kings. ²² After this horn is broken, four other kingdoms will appear, but they won't be as strong.

²³ When these rulers have become as evil as possible, their power will end, and then a king who is dangerous and cannot be trusted will appear. ²⁴ He will gain strength, but not on his own, and he will cause terrible destruction. He will wipe out powerful leaders and God's people as well. ²⁵ His deceitful lies will make him so successful, that he will think he is really great. Suddenly he will kill many people, and he will even attack God, the Supreme Ruler. But God will crush him!

²⁶ This vision about the evenings and mornings is true, but these things won't happen for a long time, so don't tell it to others.

²⁷ After this, I was so worn out and weak that it was several days before I could get out of bed and go about my duties for the king. I was disturbed by this vision that made no sense to me.