In God I Trust

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A ^(A)Miktam^[a] of David, when the ^(B)Philistines seized him in Gath.

David Hears of Absalom's Death

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, ^(A)“Let me run and carry news to the king that ^(B)the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.” ²⁰ And Joab said to him, “You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king's son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. ²² Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?” ²³ “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of ^(C)the plain, and outran the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David ^(D)was sitting between the two gates, and ^(E)the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. ²⁵ The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer. ²⁶ The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” ²⁷ The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is ^(F)like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, ^(G)“He is a good man and comes with good news.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, ^(H)“Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” ²⁹ And the king said, ^(I)“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king's servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” ³⁰ And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

David's Grief

³¹ And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For ^(J)the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” ³² The king said to the Cushite, ^(K)“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, ^(L)“May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” ^33 [a] And the king was deeply moved and went up ^(M)to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, ^(N)“O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Joab Rebukes David

19 It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” ² So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” ³ And the people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. ⁴ The king ^(O)covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, ^(P)“O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” ⁵ Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines, ⁶ because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. ⁷ Now therefore arise, go out and speak ^(Q)kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.” ⁸ Then the king arose and took his ^(R)seat in the gate. And the people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the king.

David Returns to Jerusalem

Now Israel had ^(S)fled every man to his own home. ⁹ And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, ^(T)“The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and ^(U)saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now ^(V)he has fled out of the land from Absalom. ¹⁰ But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”

¹¹ And King David sent this message to ^(W)Zadok and Abiathar the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king?^{[b] 12} You are my brothers; ^(X)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ ¹³ And say to Amasa, ^(Y)‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? ^(Z)God do so to me and more also, if you are not ^(AA)commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’” ¹⁴ And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah ^(AB)as one man, so that they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.” ¹⁵ So the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan.

Healing of a Man on the Sabbath

14 One Sabbath, ^(A)when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were ^(B)watching him carefully. ² And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. ³ And Jesus responded to ^(C)the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ^(D)“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴ But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. ⁵ And he said to them, ^(E)“Which of you, having a son^[a] or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” ^6 (F)And they could not reply to these things.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

⁷ Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed ^(G)how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, ^(H)so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹ For ^(I)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Parable of the Great Banquet

¹² He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give ^(J)a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers^[b] or your relatives or rich neighbors, ^(K)lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a feast, ^(L)invite ^(M)the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid ^(N)at ^(O)the resurrection of the just.”

¹⁵ When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, ^(P)“Blessed is everyone who will ^(Q)eat bread in the kingdom of God!” ¹⁶ But he said to him, ^(R)“A man once ^(S)gave a great banquet and invited many. ¹⁷ And at the time for the banquet he ^(T)sent his servant^[c] to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ^(U)‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in ^(V)the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you,^{[d] (W)}none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”