Book of Common Prayer

To the director: To the tune “Shoshanim.”^[a] A maskil from the Korah family. A love song.

To the director: A song from the Korah family.

A song of praise from the Korah family.

David and Nabal the Fool

25 Samuel died. All the Israelites met together and mourned his death. They buried him at his home in Ramah.

Then David moved to the desert of Maon.^{[a] 2} There was a very rich man living in Maon. He had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats. That man was in Carmel taking care of some business. He went there to cut the wool from his sheep. ³ This man’s name was Nabal.^[b] He was from Caleb’s family. Nabal’s wife was named Abigail. She was a wise and beautiful woman, but Nabal was a mean and cruel man.

⁴ David was in the desert when he heard that Nabal was cutting the wool from his sheep. ⁵ David sent ten young men to talk to Nabal. He told them, “Go to Carmel. Find Nabal and tell him ‘Hello’ for me.” ⁶ David gave them this message for Nabal: “May you and your family be well and all that you own be well. ⁷ I heard that you are cutting wool from your sheep. Your shepherds were with us for a while, and we did nothing wrong to them. We never took anything from your shepherds while they were at Carmel. ⁸ Ask your servants and they will tell you this is true. Please be kind to my young men. We come to you now, at this happy time. Please give these young men anything you can. Please do this for me, your friend^[c] David.”

⁹ David’s men went to Nabal. They gave his message to Nabal, ¹⁰ but Nabal said, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? There are many slaves who have run away from their masters these days. ¹¹ I have bread and water, and I have the meat I killed for my servants who cut the wool from my sheep. But I won’t give them to men I don’t even know.”

¹² David’s men went back and told him everything that Nabal had said. ¹³ David’s response was, “Put on your swords.” So David and his men put on their swords. About 400 men went with David while 200 of them stayed with the supplies.

Abigail Prevents Trouble

¹⁴ One of Nabal’s servants spoke to Nabal’s wife Abigail. The servant said, “David sent messengers from the desert to meet our master, but Nabal was rude to them. ¹⁵ These men were very good to us while we were out in the fields with the sheep. David’s men were with us the whole time, and they never did anything wrong to us. They did not take anything from us. ¹⁶ His men protected us night and day. They were like a wall around us—they protected us while we were with them caring for the sheep. ¹⁷ Nabal was foolish to say what he did. Terrible trouble is coming to our master and all his family. You need to think of something to do.”

¹⁸ Abigail quickly gathered up 200 loaves of bread, two full wine bags, five cooked sheep, about a bushel^[d] of cooked grain, about 2 quarts^[e] of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs. She put them on donkeys. ¹⁹ Then Abigail told her servants, “Go on. I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband.

²⁰ Abigail rode her donkey down to the other side of the mountain. She met David and his men coming from the other direction.

²¹ David was saying, “I protected Nabal’s property in the desert. I made sure not one of his sheep was missing. I did all that for nothing. I was good to him, but he was rude to me. ²² I swear,^[f] I won’t let even one man in Nabal’s family live until tomorrow morning.”

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

14 Paul and Barnabas went to the city of Iconium. As they did in Antioch, they entered the Jewish synagogue. They spoke to the people there. They spoke so well that many Jews and Greeks believed what they said. ² But some of the Jews did not believe. They said things that caused the non-Jewish people to be angry and turn against the believers.

³ So Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time, and they spoke bravely for the Lord. They told the people about God’s grace. The Lord proved that what they said was true by causing miraculous signs and wonders to be done through them. ⁴ But some of the people in the city agreed with the Jews who did not believe Paul and Barnabas. Others followed the apostles. So the city was divided.

⁵ Some of the Jews there, as well as their leaders and some of the non-Jewish people, were determined to hurt Paul and Barnabas. They wanted to stone them to death. ⁶ When Paul and Barnabas learned about this, they left the city. They went to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia, and to the surrounding areas. ⁷ They told the Good News there too.

Paul in Lystra and Derbe

⁸ In Lystra there was a man who had something wrong with his feet. He had been born crippled and had never walked. ⁹ He was sitting and listening to Paul speak. Paul looked straight at him and saw that the man believed God could heal him. ¹⁰ So Paul shouted, “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around.

¹¹ When the people saw what Paul did, they shouted in their own Lycaonian language. They said, “The gods have come down to us in the form of humans!” ¹² The people began to call Barnabas “Zeus,” and they called Paul “Hermes,” because he was the main speaker. ¹³ The temple of Zeus was near the city. The priest of this temple brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. The priest and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.

¹⁴ But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, understood what the people were doing, they tore their own clothes.^[a] Then they ran in among the people and shouted to them: ¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing this? We are not gods. We are human just like you. We came to tell you the Good News. We are telling you to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living God, the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.

¹⁶ “In the past God let all the nations do what they wanted. ¹⁷ But God was always there doing the good things that prove he is real. He gives you rain from heaven and good harvests at the right times. He gives you plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

¹⁸ Even after saying all this, Paul and Barnabas still could hardly stop the people from offering sacrifices to them.

Use the Understanding You Have^(A)

²¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You don’t take a lamp and hide it under a bowl or a bed, do you? Of course not. You put it on a lampstand. ²² Everything that is hidden will be made clear. Every secret thing will be made known. ²³ You people who hear me, listen! ²⁴ Think carefully about what you are hearing. God will know how much to give you by how much you understand now. But he will give you more than you deserve. ²⁵ The people who have some understanding will receive more. But those who do not have much will lose even the small amount they have.”

Jesus Uses a Story About Seed

²⁶ Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground. ²⁷ The seed begins to grow. It grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is sleeping or awake, the seed still grows. He doesn’t know how it happens. ²⁸ Without any help the ground produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. ²⁹ When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time.”

What Is God’s Kingdom Like?^(B)

³⁰ Then Jesus said, “What can I use to show you what God’s kingdom is like? What story can I use to explain it? ³¹ God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed, which is smaller than any other seed on earth that you can plant. ³² But when you plant it, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants in your garden. It has branches that are very big. The wild birds can come and make nests there and be protected from the sun.”

³³ Jesus used many stories like these to teach the people. He taught them all they could understand. ³⁴ He always used stories to teach them. But when he was alone with his followers, Jesus explained everything to them.