Tell of All His Wondrous Works

The Death of Saul

31 ^(A)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^(B)on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^(C)Jonathan and ^(D)Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ^3 (E)The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. ^4 (F)Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^(G)uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^(H)for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^(I)and fell upon it. ⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶ Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. ⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, ^(J)to carry the good news ^(K)to the house of their idols and to the people. ^10 (L)They put his armor in the temple of ^(M)Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of ^(N)Beth-shan. ^11 (O)But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (P)all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh ^(Q)and burned them there. ¹³ And they took their bones ^(R)and buried them under ^(S)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and ^(T)fasted seven days.

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(A)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, ^(B)to present your bodies ^(C)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^{[b] 2 (D)}Do not be conformed to this world,^[c] but be transformed by ^(E)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(F)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[d]

Gifts of Grace

³ For ^(G)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(I)each according to ^(J)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For ^(K)as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, ^(L)though many, ^(M)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(N)members one of another. ^6 (O)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(P)prophecy, ^(Q)in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if ^(R)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(S)the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

^9 (U)Let love be genuine. ^(V)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ^10 (W)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(X)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(Y)be fervent in spirit,^{[g] (Z)}serve the Lord. ^12 (AA)Rejoice in hope, ^(AB)be patient in tribulation, ^(AC)be constant in prayer. ^13 (AD)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(AE)seek to show hospitality.

^14 (AF)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ^15 (AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ^16 (AH)Live in harmony with one another. ^(AI)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{[h] (AJ)}Never be wise in your own sight. ^17 (AK)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(AL)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(AM)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, ^(AN)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(AO)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, ^(AP)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.