The Daily Audio Bible

¹¹ And King David sent this message to ^(A)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?^{[a] 12} You are my brothers; ^(B)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ ¹³ And say to Amasa, ^(C)‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? ^(D)God do so to me and more also, if you are not ^(E)commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’” ¹⁴ And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah ^(F)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.

David Pardons His Enemies

¹⁶ And ^(G)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷ And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And ^(H)Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king, ¹⁸ and they crossed the ford to bring over the king's household and to do his pleasure. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was about to cross the Jordan, ¹⁹ and said to the king, ^(I)“Let not my lord hold me guilty or remember how your servant ^(J)did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. Do not let the king take it to heart. ²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first ^(K)of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” ²¹ Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because ^(L)he cursed the Lord's anointed?” ²² But David said, ^(M)“What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary to me? ^(N)Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?” ^23 (O)And the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king gave him his oath.

²⁴ And ^(P)Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. ²⁵ And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, ^(Q)“Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” ²⁶ He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself,^[b] that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For ^(R)your servant is lame. ^27 (S)He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is ^(T)like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. ²⁸ For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but ^(U)you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?” ²⁹ And the king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” ³⁰ And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home.”

³¹ Now ^(V)Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim, and he went on with the king to the Jordan, to escort him over the Jordan. ³² Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. ^(W)He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. ³³ And the king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem.” ³⁴ But Barzillai said to the king, ^(X)“How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? ³⁵ I am this day ^(Y)eighty years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be ^(Z)an added burden to my lord the king? ³⁶ Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? ³⁷ Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But here is your servant ^(AA)Chimham. Let him go over with my lord the king, and do for him whatever seems good to you.” ³⁸ And the king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you, and all that you desire of me I will do for you.” ³⁹ Then all the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over. And ^(AB)the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own home. ⁴⁰ The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. All the people of Judah, and also half the people of Israel, brought the king on his way.

⁴¹ Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away and ^(AC)brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David's men with him?” ⁴² All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is ^(AD)our close relative. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift?” ⁴³ And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ^(AE)ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” ^(AF)But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

The Rebellion of Sheba

20 Now there happened to be there ^(AG)a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,

² So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

³ And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took ^(AJ)the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.

⁴ Then the king said to ^(AK)Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” ⁵ So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. ⁶ And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take ^(AL)your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.”^{[c] 7} And there went out after him Joab's men and the ^(AM)Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. ⁸ When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. ⁹ And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand ^(AN)to kiss him. ¹⁰ But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. ^(AO)So Joab struck him with it ^(AP)in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.

Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹¹ And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” ¹² And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. ¹³ When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

21 After this Jesus ^(A)revealed himself ^(B)again to the disciples by ^(C)the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. ² Simon Peter, ^(D)Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of ^(E)Cana in Galilee, ^(F)the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but ^(G)that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples ^(H)did not know that it was Jesus. ^5 (I)Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” ^6 (J)He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. ⁷ That disciple ^(K)whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, ^(L)he put on his outer garment, for he was ^(M)stripped for work, and ^(N)threw himself into the sea. ⁸ The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards^[a] off.

⁹ When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, ^(O)“Come and ^(P)have breakfast.” Now ^(Q)none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and ^(R)took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. ^14 (S)This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus and Peter

¹⁵ When they had ^(T)finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ^(U)“Simon, ^(V)son of John, ^(W)do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed ^(X)my lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, ^(Y)“Tend ^(Z)my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him ^(AA)the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, ^(AB)you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed ^(AC)my sheep. ^18 (AD)Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, ^(AE)you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ (This he said to show ^(AF)by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ^(AG)“Follow me.”

Jesus and the Beloved Apostle

²⁰ Peter turned and saw ^(AH)the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, ^(AI)the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” ²¹ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” ²² Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain ^(AJ)until ^(AK)I come, what is that to you? ^(AL)You follow me!” ²³ So the saying spread abroad among ^(AM)the brothers^[b] that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴ This is the disciple ^(AN)who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and ^(AO)we know ^(AP)that his testimony is true.

²⁵ Now ^(AQ)there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that ^(AR)the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Deliver Me, O Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.