Jesus Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples^(A)

^12 (B)Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they ^[a]killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”

¹³ And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. ¹⁴ Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ ¹⁵ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”

¹⁶ So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (C)In the evening He came with the twelve. ¹⁸ Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, ^(D)one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”

¹⁹ And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” ^[b]And another said, “Is it I?”

²⁰ He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. ^21 (E)The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper^(F)

^22 (G)And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, ^[c]eat; this is My ^(H)body.”

²³ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My blood of the ^[d]new covenant, which is shed for many. ²⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

^26 (I)And when they had sung ^[e]a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(J)

^27 (K)Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble ^[f]because of Me this night, for it is written:

²⁸ “But ^(M)after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

^29 (N)Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to ^[g]stumble, yet I will not be.”

³⁰ Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

³¹ But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And they all said likewise.

Coming with Authority

13 This will be ^(A)the third time I am coming to you. ^(B)“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” ^2 (C)I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent ^[a]I write to those ^(D)who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again ^(E)I will not spare— ³ since you seek a proof of Christ ^(F)speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty ^(G)in you. ^4 (H)For though He was crucified in weakness, yet ^(I)He lives by the power of God. For ^(J)we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

⁵ Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, ^(K)that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you ^[b]are ^(L)disqualified. ⁶ But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.

Paul Prefers Gentleness

⁷ Now ^[c]I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though ^(M)we may seem disqualified. ⁸ For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. ⁹ For we are glad ^(N)when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, ^(O)that you may be made complete. ^10 (P)Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the ^(Q)authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.

Greetings and Benediction

¹¹ Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. ^(R)Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love ^(S)and peace will be with you.

^12 (T)Greet one another with a holy kiss.

¹³ All the saints greet you.

^14 (U)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and ^(V)the ^[d]communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Plea for Judgment of False Accusers

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

David Reigns over All Israel^(A)

5 Then all the tribes of Israel ^(B)came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed ^(C)we are your bone and your flesh. ² Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, ^(D)you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ^(E)‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” ^3 (F)Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, ^(G)and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron ^(H)before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. ⁴ David was ^(I)thirty years old when he began to reign, and ^(J)he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah ^(K)seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

The Conquest of Jerusalem^(L)

^6 (M)And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against ^(N)the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” ⁷ Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion ^(O)(that is, the City of David).

⁸ Now David said on that day, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), ^(P)he shall be chief and captain.” Therefore they say, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”

⁹ Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it ^(Q)the City of David. And David built all around from ^[a]the Millo and inward. ¹⁰ So David went on and became great, and ^(R)the Lord God of hosts was with ^(S)him.

¹¹ Then ^(T)Hiram ^(U)king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. ¹² So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had ^(V)exalted His kingdom ^(W)for the sake of His people Israel.

¹³ And ^(X)David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David. ¹⁴ Now ^(Y)these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: ^[b]Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, ^(Z)Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, ^[c]Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

The Philistines Defeated^(AA)

^17 (AB)Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it ^(AC)and went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸ The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in ^(AD)the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹ So David ^(AE)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

²⁰ So David went to ^(AF)Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place ^[d]Baal Perazim. ²¹ And they left their ^[e]images there, and David and his men ^(AG)carried them away.

^22 (AH)Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³ Therefore ^(AI)David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. ²⁴ And it shall be, when you ^(AJ)hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then ^(AK)the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” ²⁵ And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from ^(AL)Geba^[f] as far as ^(AM)Gezer.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(AN)

6 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. ² And ^(AO)David arose and went with all the people who were with him from ^[g]Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called ^[h]by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, ^(AP)who dwells between the cherubim. ³ So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on ^(AQ)the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new ^[i]cart. ⁴ And they brought it out of ^(AR)the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵ Then David and all the house of Israel ^(AS)played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

⁶ And when they came to ^(AT)Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his ^(AU)hand to the ark of God and ^[j]took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷ Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his ^[k]error; and he died there by the ark of God. ⁸ And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place ^[l]Perez Uzzah to this day.

^9 (AV)David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰ So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the ^(AW)City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the ^(AX)Gittite. ^11 (AY)The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord ^(AZ)blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

¹² Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^(BA)So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. ¹³ And so it was, when ^(BB)those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed ^(BC)oxen and fatted sheep. ¹⁴ Then David ^(BD)danced^[m] before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing ^(BE)a linen ephod. ^15 (BF)So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶ Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, ^(BG)Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ So ^(BH)they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in ^(BI)its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David ^(BJ)offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ^(BK)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ^19 (BL)Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.

^20 (BM)Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, ^(BN)uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the ^(BO)base fellows ^[n]shamelessly uncovers himself!”

²¹ So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, ^(BP)who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the ^(BQ)people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. ²² And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

²³ Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children ^(BR)to the day of her death.

God’s Covenant with David^(BS)

7 Now it came to pass ^(BT)when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, ² that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in ^(BU)a house of cedar, ^(BV)but the ark of God dwells inside tent ^(BW)curtains.”

³ Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your ^(BX)heart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵ “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(BY)“Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? ⁶ For I have not dwelt in a house ^(BZ)since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in ^(CA)a tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷ Wherever I have ^(CB)moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded ^(CC)to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ ⁸ Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(CD)“I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. ⁹ And ^(CE)I have been with you wherever you have gone, ^(CF)and have ^[o]cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. ¹⁰ Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will ^(CG)plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; ^(CH)nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, ^11 (CI)since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord ^[p]tells you ^(CJ)that He will make you a ^[q]house.

^12 (CK)“When your days are fulfilled and you ^(CL)rest with your fathers, ^(CM)I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13 (CN)He shall build a house for My name, and I will ^(CO)establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14 (CP)I will be his Father, and he shall be ^(CQ)My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the ^[r]blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵ But My mercy shall not depart from him, ^(CR)as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ And ^(CS)your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before ^[s]you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁷ According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Thanksgiving to God^(CT)

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: ^(CU)“Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. ^(CV)Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? ²⁰ Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord God, ^(CW)know Your servant. ²¹ For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. ²² Therefore ^(CX)You are great, ^[t]O Lord God. For ^(CY)there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ^(CZ)ears. ²³ And who is like Your people, like Israel, ^(DA)the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before ^(DB)Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? ²⁴ For ^(DC)You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; ^(DD)and You, Lord, have become their God.

²⁵ “Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. ²⁶ So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁷ For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You.

²⁸ “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and ^(DE)Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁹ Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed ^(DF)forever.”