No One Knows the Day or Hour^(A)

³² “But of that day and hour ^(B)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the ^(C)Father. ^33 (D)Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. ^34 (E)It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave ^(F)authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. ^35 (G)Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— ³⁶ lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

The Vision of Paradise

12 It is ^[a]doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to ^(A)visions and ^(B)revelations of the Lord: ² I know a man ^(C)in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one ^(D)was caught up to the third heaven. ³ And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— ⁴ how he was caught up into ^(E)Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. ⁵ Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not ^(F)boast, except in my infirmities. ⁶ For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

The Thorn in the Flesh

⁷ And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a ^(G)thorn in the flesh was given to me, ^(H)a messenger of Satan to ^[b]buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. ^8 (I)Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. ⁹ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly ^(J)I will rather boast in my infirmities, ^(K)that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore ^(L)I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. ^(M)For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance

The Report of Saul’s Death

1 Now it came to pass after the ^(A)death of Saul, when David had returned from ^(B)the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, ² on the third day, behold, it happened that ^(C)a man came from Saul’s camp ^(D)with his clothes ^[a]torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he ^(E)fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

³ And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”

So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴ Then David said to him, ^(F)“How did the matter go? Please tell me.”

And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and ^(G)Jonathan his son are dead also.”

⁵ So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

⁶ Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on ^(H)Mount Gilboa, there was ^(I)Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. ⁷ Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for ^[b]anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ ¹⁰ So I stood over him and ^(J)killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and ^(K)tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they ^(L)mourned and wept and ^(M)fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the ^(N)people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³ Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”

And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

¹⁴ So David said to him, “How ^(O)was it you were not ^(P)afraid to ^(Q)put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ Then ^(R)David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. ¹⁶ So David said to him, ^(S)“Your blood is on your own head, for ^(T)your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

The Song of the Bow

¹⁷ Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, ^18 (U)and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written ^(V)in the Book ^[c]of Jasher:

David Anointed King of Judah

2 It happened after this that David ^(AJ)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?”

And the Lord said to him, “Go up.”

David said, “Where shall I go up?”

And He said, “To ^(AK)Hebron.”

² So David went up there, and his ^(AL)two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ And David brought up ^(AM)the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

^4 (AN)Then the men of Judah came, and there they ^(AO)anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, ^(AP)“The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, ^(AQ)“You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. ⁶ And now may ^(AR)the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ishbosheth Made King of Israel

⁸ But ^(AS)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took ^[e]Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(AT)Mahanaim; ⁹ and he made him king over ^(AU)Gilead, over the ^(AV)Ashurites, over ^(AW)Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. ¹⁰ Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ And ^(AX)the ^[f]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Israel and Judah at War

¹² Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to ^(AY)Gibeon. ¹³ And ^(AZ)Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by ^(BA)the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and compete before us.”

And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

¹⁵ So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ¹⁶ And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called ^[g]the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

¹⁸ Now the ^(BB)three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was ^(BC)as fleet of foot ^(BD)as a wild gazelle. ¹⁹ So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner.

²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Are you Asahel?”

He answered, “I am.”

²¹ And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. ²² So Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?” ²³ However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him ^(BE)in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood ^(BF)still.

²⁴ Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner. And the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the road to the Wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became ^[h]a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?”

²⁷ And Joab said, “As God lives, ^[i]unless ^(BG)you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren.” ²⁸ So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore. ²⁹ Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim.

³⁰ So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel. ³¹ But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner’s men, three hundred and sixty men who died. ³² Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in ^(BH)Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak.