Lead Me to the Rock

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. Of David.

My Soul Waits for God Alone

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

14 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave^[a] at ^(A)Migron. The people who were with him were about ^(B)six hundred men, ³ including ^(C)Ahijah the son of Ahitub, ^(D)Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord ^(E)in Shiloh, ^(F)wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ Within ^(G)the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of ^(H)Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these ^(I)uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, ^(J)for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” ⁷ And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.^[b] Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” ⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming ^(K)out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. ¹⁴ And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre^[c] of land. ¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even ^(L)the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.^[d]

²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, ^(A)every Philistine's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.

Saul's Rash Vow

²⁴ And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, ^(A)so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. ²⁵ Now when all the people^[a] came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, ^(B)so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. ²⁸ Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were ^(C)faint. ²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

7 Since we have these promises, beloved, ^(A)let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body^[a] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Paul's Joy

^2 (B)Make room in your hearts^[b] for us. ^(C)We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that ^(D)you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴ I am acting with ^(E)great boldness toward you; ^(F)I have great pride in you; ^(G)I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

⁵ For even ^(H)when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—^(I)fighting without and fear within. ⁶ But ^(J)God, who comforts the downcast, ^(K)comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. ⁸ For ^(L)even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though ^(M)I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. ⁹ As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but ^(N)because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

¹⁰ For ^(O)godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas ^(P)worldly grief produces death. ¹¹ For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, ^(Q)what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. ¹² So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one ^(R)who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. ¹³ Therefore ^(S)we are comforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^(T)has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ For ^(U)whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you ^(V)was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. ¹⁵ And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers ^(W)the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶ I rejoice, because I have complete ^(X)confidence in you.