Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

David and Jonathan

20 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged^(A) your father, that he is trying to kill me?”^(B)

² “Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”

³ But David took an oath^(C) and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”

⁴ Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”

⁵ So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast,^(D) and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide^(E) in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission^(F) to hurry to Bethlehem,^(G) his hometown, because an annual^(H) sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper,^(I) you can be sure that he is determined^(J) to harm me. ⁸ As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant^(K) with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill^(L) me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”

⁹ “Never!” Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”

¹⁰ David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”

¹¹ “Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound^(M) out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? ¹³ But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely,^(N) if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with^(O) you as he has been with my father. ¹⁴ But show me unfailing kindness^(P) like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, ¹⁵ and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family^(Q)—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan^(R) made a covenant^(S) with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.^(T)” ¹⁷ And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath^(U) out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.^{(V) 19} The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid^(W) when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows^(X) to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. ²² But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond^(Y) you,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. ²³ And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the Lord is witness^(Z) between you and me forever.”

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, ³⁶ and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond^(A) you?” ³⁸ Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. ³⁹ (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”

⁴¹ After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground.^(B) Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most.

⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace,^(C) for we have sworn friendship^(D) with each other in the name of the Lord,^(E) saying, ‘The Lord is witness^(F) between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.^(G)’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.^[a]

The Church in Antioch

¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed^(A) traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch,^(B) spreading the word only among Jews. ²⁰ Some of them, however, men from Cyprus^(C) and Cyrene,^(D) went to Antioch^(E) and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news^(F) about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord’s hand was with them,^(G) and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.^(H)

²² News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas^(I) to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done,^(J) he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.^{(K) 24} He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit^(L) and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.^(M)

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus^(N) to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples^(O) were called Christians first^(P) at Antioch.