There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Mahalath. A Maskil^[a] of David.

The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with ^(E)stringed instruments. A Maskil^[c] of David, ^(F)when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

Absalom Killed

18 Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. ² And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of ^(A)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” ^3 (B)But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” ⁴ The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. ⁵ And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” ^(C)And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

⁶ So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the ^(D)forest of Ephraim. ⁷ And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

⁹ And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak,^{[a] (E)}and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. ¹⁰ And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” ¹¹ Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” ¹² But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king's son, for ^(F)in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ ¹³ On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life^[b] (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” ¹⁴ Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. ¹⁵ And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. ¹⁷ And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him ^(G)a very great heap of stones. And all Israel ^(H)fled every one to his own home. ¹⁸ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself ^(I)the pillar that is in ^(J)the King's Valley, for he said, ^(K)“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument^[c] to this day.

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

¹⁰ Now ^(A)he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had had ^(B)a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” ¹³ And he ^(C)laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she ^(D)glorified God. ¹⁴ But ^(E)the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus ^(F)had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, ^(G)“There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! ^(H)Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ And ought not this woman, ^(I)a daughter of Abraham whom ^(J)Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ As he said these things, ^(K)all his adversaries were put to shame, and ^(L)all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

^18 (M)He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like ^(N)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

²⁰ And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ^21 (O)It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(P)three measures of flour, until it was ^(Q)all leavened.”

The Narrow Door

^22 (R)He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and ^(S)journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ And someone said to him, “Lord, ^(T)will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, ^24 (U)“Strive ^(V)to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ^25 (W)When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ^(X)‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ^(Y)‘I do not know where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ^(Z)‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But he will say, ‘I tell you, ^(AA)I do not know where you come from. ^(AB)Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ ^28 (AC)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see ^(AD)Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but ^(AE)you yourselves cast out. ²⁹ And ^(AF)people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and ^(AG)recline at table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, ^(AH)some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Lament over Jerusalem

³¹ At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from ^(AI)here, for ^(AJ)Herod wants to kill you.” ³² And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(AK)I finish my course. ³³ Nevertheless, ^(AL)I ^(AM)must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that ^(AN)a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ ^34 (AO)O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^(AP)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! ^(AQ)How often would I have ^(AR)gathered ^(AS)your children together ^(AT)as a hen gathers her brood ^(AU)under her wings, and ^(AV)you were not willing! ³⁵ Behold, ^(AW)your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ^(AX)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”