Book of Common Prayer

Thanksgiving for Victory

Praise to God the King

A psalm of praise. Of David.

17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and chase David tonight. ² I’ll catch him while he is tired and ·weak [discouraged], and I’ll ·frighten [terrorize] him so all his ·people [troops] will run away. But I’ll ·kill [strike down] only King David. ³ Then I’ll bring everyone back to you [^Las a bride returns to her husband].^[a] ·If the man you are looking for is dead [Since you seek the life of only one man], everyone else will ·return safely [be at peace].” ⁴ This plan ·seemed good to [pleased] Absalom and to all the ·leaders [elders] of Israel.

⁵ But Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Arkite, so I can hear what he says.” ⁶ When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “This is the plan Ahithophel gave. Should we follow it? If not, ·tell us [give us your view].”

⁷ Hushai said to Absalom, “Ahithophel’s advice is not good this time.” ⁸ Hushai added, “You know your father and his men are ·strong [^Lmighty fighters/warriors]. They are as ·angry [fierce] as a bear that is robbed of its cubs. Your father is a ·skilled [experienced; expert] ·fighter [in war]. He won’t stay all night with the ·army [troops]. ⁹ He is probably already hiding in a cave or ·some other place [^Lpit; hollow]. ·If the first attack fails [^LWhen some of our men fall at the first attack], people will hear the news and think, ‘Absalom’s followers are ·losing [being slaughtered]!’ ¹⁰ Then even the men who are ·as brave as lions [^Lvaliant, with the heart of a lion] will ·be frightened [^Lmelt/be paralyzed with fear], because all the Israelites know your father is a ·fighter [^Lmighty warrior]. They know his men are brave!

¹¹ “This is what I ·suggest [advise; counsel]: Gather all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba [^Cin the far north and south of Israel]. There will be as many people as grains of sand by the sea. Then you ·yourself must go [personally lead them] into the battle. ¹² We will ·go to [attack; come at] David wherever he is hiding. We will fall on him as dew falls on the ground. ·We will kill him and all of his men so that no one [^LNeither he nor any of his men] will be left alive. ¹³ If David ·escapes [withdraws] into a city, all the Israelites will bring ropes to that city and pull it into the valley. Not ·a stone will be left [a pebble will be found there]!”

¹⁴ Absalom and all the Israelites said, “The ·advice [counsel] of Hushai the Arkite is better than ·that [the counsel] of Ahithophel.” (The Lord had ·planned [determined; resolved; ordained] to ·destroy [thwart; defeat; frustrate] the good ·advice [counsel] of Ahithophel so the Lord could bring ·disaster [calamity; ruin] on Absalom.)

¹⁵ Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had ·suggested [advised; counseled] to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported to them what he himself had ·suggested [advised; counseled]. Hushai said, ¹⁶ “Quickly! Send a message to David. Tell him not to stay tonight at the ·crossings into the desert [fords in the wilderness] but to cross over the Jordan River at once. ·If he crosses the river, he and all his people won’t be destroyed [^LOtherwise the king and everyone with him will be swallowed up].”

¹⁷ Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En Rogel. They did not want to ·be [risk being] seen going into the city, so a servant girl would go out to them and give them messages. Then Jonathan and Ahimaaz would go and tell King David.

¹⁸ But a ·boy [lad; young man] saw Jonathan and Ahimaaz and told Absalom. So Jonathan and Ahimaaz left quickly and went to a man’s house in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. ¹⁹ The man’s wife spread a ·sheet [covering] over the opening of the well and ·covered [scattered] it with grain. ·No one could tell that anyone was hiding there [^LNothing was known].

²⁰ Absalom’s ·servants [men] came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

She said to them, “They have already crossed the brook.”

Absalom’s ·servants [men] then went to ·look [search] for Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they could not find them. So they went back to Jerusalem.

²¹ After ·Absalom’s servants [they] left, Jonathan and Ahimaaz climbed out of the well and went to tell King David. They said, “Hurry, cross over the ·river [water]! Ahithophel has ·said [advised; counseled] these things against you!” ²² So David and all his people crossed the Jordan River. By dawn, everyone had crossed the Jordan.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that the Israelites did not ·accept his advice [follow his counsel], he saddled his donkey and went to his hometown. He ·left orders for his family and property [set his affairs/house in order], and then he hanged himself. He died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

⁶ ·The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham [^LJust as (it says)]: “Abraham believed God, and ·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [^Lit (Abraham’s faith) was credited to him as righteousness; Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4].” ⁷ So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. ⁸ ·The Scriptures, telling what would happen in the future, said [^LScripture foresaw; ^CScripture is personified as foreseeing and speaking] that God would ·make the Gentiles right [justify the Gentiles] through their faith. This ·Good News was told [Gospel was proclaimed] to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: “All nations will be blessed through you [Gen. 12:3; 18:18].” ⁹ So all who ·believe as Abraham believed [rely on faith; have faith; ^Lare of faith] are blessed ·just as Abraham was [^Lwith faithful Abraham; or with Abraham, the man of faith]. ¹⁰ ·But [^LFor] those who depend on ·following [^Lthe works of] the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, “·Anyone [All; Everyone] will be cursed who does not ·always obey what [keep doing everything that] is written in the Book of the Law [Deut. 27:26].” ¹¹ Now it is clear that no one can be ·made right with [justified/declared righteous before] God by the law, because the Scriptures say, “·Those who are right with God will live by faith [The righteous will live by faith; or Those made righteous by faith will live; Gen. 15:6; Hab. 2:4].” ¹² The law is not based on faith. ·It says [^LRather; On the contrary], “A person who ·obeys [does; practices] these things will ·live because of [gain life by/in] them [Lev. 18:5].” ¹³ Christ ·took away [redeemed us from; bought our freedom from] the curse ·the law put on us [^Lof the law]. ·He changed places with us and put himself under that curse [^L…by becoming a curse for us]. [^LFor; Because] It is written in the Scriptures, “Anyone ·whose body is displayed [^Lwho is hung] on a tree is cursed [Deut. 21:23; ^Can executed man’s body was hung on a stake or tree for humiliation and warning; Paul here applies it to Christ’s crucifixion as the curse/judgment for our sin].” ¹⁴ Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham [Gen. 12:2–3] might come through Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. ·Jesus died so that by our believing […so that by faith] we could receive the Spirit that God promised.

Jesus Is God’s Son

³⁰ “I can do nothing ·alone [by myself; on my own initiative]. I judge ·only the way I am told [^Las I hear], so my judgment is ·fair [just; right; righteous]. I don’t ·try to please myself [^Lseek my own will/desire], but ·I try to please [^Lthe will of] the One who sent me.

³¹ “If only I ·tell people [testify; witness] about myself, ·what I say [my testimony; witness] is not ·true [valid]. ³² But there is another who ·tells [testifies; witnesses] about me, and I know that ·the things he says [^Lthe witness/testimony he witnesses/testifies] about me are ·true [valid].

³³ “You have sent people to John, and he has ·told you [testified/witnessed to] the truth. ³⁴ It is not that I ·need [accept; depend on] ·what humans say [human testimony/witness]; I tell you this so you can be saved. ³⁵ John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were ·happy to enjoy [^Lwilling to rejoice in] his light for a while.

³⁶ “But I have a ·proof [testimony; witness] about myself that is ·greater [weightier] than that of John. [^LFor] The ·things [^Lworks] I do, which are the ·things [^Lworks] my Father gave me to ·do [complete; finish; ^Cthe signs and miracles which point to his saving work on the cross], ·prove [testify; witness] that the Father sent me. ³⁷ And the Father himself who sent me has given ·proof [testimony; witness] ·about me [concerning me; on my behalf]. You have never heard his voice or seen ·what he looks like [his form; his outward appearance]. ³⁸ His ·teaching [word; message] does not ·live [remain; abide] in you, because you don’t believe in the One the Father sent. ³⁹ You ·carefully study [search; examine] the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. They do in fact ·tell [testify; witness] ·about me [concerning me; on my behalf], ⁴⁰ but you ·refuse [do not want] to come to me to have that life.

⁴¹ “I don’t ·need [or accept; receive] ·praise [glory; honor] from people. ⁴² But I know you—I know that you don’t have God’s love in you. ⁴³ I have come ·from my Father and speak for him [^Lin my Father’s name], ·but [or and] you don’t ·accept [receive] me. But when another person comes, ·speaking only for himself [^Lin his own name], you will ·accept [receive] him. ⁴⁴ You try to ·get praise [receive glory/honor] from each other, but you do not try to ·get the praise [receive glory/honor] that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? ⁴⁵ Don’t think that I will ·stand before the Father and say you are wrong [^Laccuse you before the Father]. The one who ·says you are wrong [^Laccuses you] is Moses, the one ·you hoped would save you [^Lin whom you hoped]. ⁴⁶ [^LFor] If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because Moses wrote about me [^Cin the Torah, the first five books of the OT; for example, Deut. 18:15 quoted in Acts 3:22]. ⁴⁷ But if you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say?”