The Priests Slain at Nob

22 So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s house heard about it, they went down there to him. ² Everyone who was suffering hardship, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. There were about four hundred men with him.

³ And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my ^[a]father and my mother come [out of Judah] and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the ^[b]stronghold. ⁵ Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶ But Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the high place with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. ⁷ Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Listen now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and hundreds? ⁸ For all of you have conspired against me so that no one ^[c]informs me when my son [Jonathan] makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you cares about me or informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as he does this day?” ⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s servants, replied, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech [the priest] the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ Ahimelech inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ Then the king sent someone to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were at Nob; and all of them came to the king. ¹² Then Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” He replied, “Here I am [at your service], my lord.” ¹³ Saul said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so he would rebel against me by lying in ambush, as he does this day?”

¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is as faithful and trustworthy as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and who is captain over your guard [and your confidant], and is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute any guilt to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing at all about this entire matter.” ¹⁶ But Saul said, “Be assured that you shall die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household (extended family).” ¹⁷ And the king said to the guards who stood around him, “Turn around and kill the priests of the Lord, because their ^[d]loyalty also is with David, and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not inform me.” But the servants of the king were not willing to put out their hands to attack the Lord’s priests. ¹⁸ So the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and ^[e]attacked the priests, and that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the [priest’s] linen ephod. ¹⁹ And he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also he struck oxen and donkeys and sheep with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to David. ²¹ Abiathar told David that Saul had murdered the Lord’s priests. ²² Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul. I have brought about the death of everyone in your father’s household (extended family). ²³ Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, but you are safe with me.”

David Rescues Keilah

23 Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering (robbing) the threshing floors [of the grain].” ² So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” ³ But David’s men said to him, “Listen, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the battle lines of the Philistines?” ⁴ Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will hand over the Philistines to you.” ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; he drove away their cattle and struck them with a great slaughter. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶ When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷ Now when Saul was informed that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city that has double gates and bars.” ⁸ So Saul summoned all the people (soldiers) for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. ⁹ But David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” ¹⁰ Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul intends to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? O Lord, God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” ¹² Then David asked, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” The Lord said, “They will surrender you.” ¹³ Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and left Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. ¹⁴ David stayed in the wilderness in strongholds, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.

Saul Pursues David

¹⁵ Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph [in the woods] at Horesh. ¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went [into the woods] to David at Horesh, and ^[a]encouraged him in God. ¹⁷ He said to him, “Do not be afraid; the hand of my father Saul will not find you. You will be king over Israel and I will be second in command to you; my father Saul knows this too.” ¹⁸ So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; and David stayed [in the woods] at Horesh and Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of ^[b]Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now then, O king, come down [to Ziph] in accordance with all your heart’s desire to do so [and capture him]; and our part shall be to hand him over to the king.” ²¹ Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you have had compassion on me. ²² Go now, be very persistent and investigate, and see where his ^[c]haunt is and who has seen him there; for I am told he is very cunning. ²³ So look, and take note of all the places where he hides and come back to me with the established facts, then I will go with you. If he is [anywhere] in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

²⁴ So they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Then Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed [there] in the Wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard it, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to capture them. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, because the Philistines have attacked the land.” ²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape. ^29 [d]David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

10 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.^(A)

² Now these are the names of the twelve ^[a]apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives): first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; ^[b]James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;^{(B) 3} Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector; ^[c]James the son of ^[d]Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas, not Iscariot); ⁴ Simon the Cananaean (Zealot), and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

⁵ Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them: “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not go into a city of the Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹ Do not take gold, or silver, or [even] copper money in your money belt, ¹⁰ or a provision bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker deserves his support. ¹¹ Whatever city or village you enter, ask who in it is worthy [who welcomes you and your message], and stay at his house until you leave [that city]. ¹² As you go into the house, give it your greeting [that is, ‘Peace be to this house’]. ¹³ If [the family living in] the house is worthy [welcoming you and your message], give it your [blessing of] ^[e]peace [that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favor of God]. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ Whoever does not welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, ^[f]shake the dust [of it] off your feet [in contempt, breaking all ties].^{(C) 15} I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of ^[g]Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the Messiah’s messenger].

A Hard Road before Them

¹⁶ “Listen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves [have no self-serving agenda].^{(D) 17} Beware of men [whose nature is to act in opposition to God], for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you within that [very] hour;^{(E) 20} for it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will rise up and rebel against their parents and cause them to be put death. ²² And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “When they persecute you in one city [because of your faith in Me], flee to the next; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a bond-servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the bond-servant like his master. If they have called the head of the house ^[h]Beelzebul (Satan), how much more [will they speak evil of] the members of his household.^(F)

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed [at the judgment], or kept secret that will not be made known [at the judgment].^{(G) 27} What I say to you in the dark (privately), tell in the light (publicly); and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops [to many people]. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two little sparrows sold for a ^[i]copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ³⁰ But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered [for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge]. ³¹ So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² “Therefore, the one who ^[j]confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword [of division between belief and unbelief].^{(H) 35} For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and a man’s enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].^(I)

³⁷ “^[k]He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.^{(J) 38} And he who does not take his ^[l]cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].^(K)

The Reward of Service

⁴⁰ “He who receives and welcomes you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.^{(L) 41} He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous (honorable) man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives to one of these little ones [these who are humble in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.”