Old/New Testament
Chapter 9
David and Meribbaal. 1 David asked, “Is there any survivor of Saul’s house to whom I may show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”(A) 2 Now there was an official of the house of Saul named Ziba. He was summoned to David, and the king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “Your servant.”(B) 3 Then the king asked, “Is there any survivor of Saul’s house to whom I may show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still Jonathan’s son, the one whose feet are crippled.”(C) 4 The king asked him, “Where is he?” and Ziba answered the king, “He is in the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.”(D) 5 So King David sent for him and had him brought from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. 6 When Meribbaal, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David, he fell face down in homage. David said, “Meribbaal,” and he answered, “Your servant.” 7 “Do not be afraid,” David said to him, “I will surely be kind to you for the sake of Jonathan your father. I will restore to you all the lands of Saul your grandfather, and you shall eat at my table always.” 8 Bowing low, he answered, “What am I, your servant, that you should pay attention to a dead dog like me?”(E) 9 The king then called Ziba, Saul’s attendant, and said to him: “All that belonged to Saul and to his entire house, I am giving to your lord’s son. 10 You and your sons and servants must till the land for him. You shall bring in the produce, which shall be food for your lord’s household to eat. But Meribbaal, your lord’s son, shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Ziba answered the king, “Whatever my lord the king commands his servant, so shall your servant do.” And so Meribbaal ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.(F) 12 Meribbaal had a young son whose name was Mica; and all the tenants of Ziba’s household worked for Meribbaal.(G) 13 But Meribbaal lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table. He was lame in both feet.(H)
Chapter 10
Campaigns Against Ammon. 1 (I)After this,[a] the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son succeeded him as king. 2 David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” Therefore David sent his servants to Hanun to console him concerning his father. But when David’s servants had entered the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite princes said to their lord Hanun, “Do you think David is doing this—sending you these consolers—to honor your father? Is it not rather to explore the city, to spy on it, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to you?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s servants, shaved off half their beards, cut away the lower halves of their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.(J) 5 David was told of it and he sent word for them to be intercepted, for the men had been greatly disgraced. “Remain at Jericho,” the king told them, “until your beards have grown again; then come back here.”
6 [b]When the Ammonites realized that they were in bad odor with David, they sent for and hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and twelve thousand men from Tob.(K)
7 When David heard of this, he sent Joab and his whole army of warriors against them.(L) 8 The Ammonites marched out and lined up for battle at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah remained apart in the open field. 9 When Joab saw that there was a battle line both in front of and behind him, he chose some of the best fighters of Israel and lined them up against the Arameans; 10 the rest of the army he placed under the command of his brother Abishai and lined up to oppose the Ammonites. 11 And he said, “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, you must come and save me; and if the Ammonites prove too strong for you, I will come to save you. 12 Hold firm and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in his sight.” 13 Joab therefore advanced with his men for battle with the Arameans, but they fled before him. 14 And when the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai, and reentered their city. Joab then ceased his attack on the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. 15 (M)Seeing themselves vanquished by Israel, the Arameans held a full muster of troops. 16 Hadadezer sent for and brought Arameans from beyond the River. They came to Helam, with Shobach, the captain of Hadadezer’s army, at their head. 17 When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. The Arameans drew up in formation against David and gave battle. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their chariot fighters and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He struck down Shobach, commander of the army, and he died on the field. 19 When Hadadezer’s vassal kings saw themselves vanquished by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became their subjects. After this, the Arameans were afraid to give further aid to the Ammonites.
Chapter 11
David’s Sin. 1 At the turn of the year,[c] the time when kings go to war, David sent out Joab along with his officers and all Israel, and they laid waste the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. David himself remained in Jerusalem.(N) 2 One evening David rose from his bed and strolled about on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof he saw a woman bathing; she was very beautiful. 3 David sent people to inquire about the woman and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Uriah the Hittite, Joab’s armor-bearer.”(O) 4 Then David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he took her to bed, at a time when she was just purified after her period; and she returned to her house.(P) 5 But the woman had become pregnant; she sent a message to inform David, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent a message to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 And when he came, David asked him how Joab was, how the army was, and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well. 8 David then said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.” Uriah left the king’s house, and a portion from the king’s table was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down to his own house. 10 David was told, “Uriah has not gone down to his house.” So he said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why, then, did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah answered David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my lord Joab and my lord’s servants are encamped in the open field. Can I go home to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? As the Lord lives and as you live, I will do no such thing.”(Q) 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day. On the following day, 13 David summoned him, and he ate and drank with David, who got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed among his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his house. 14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab which he sent by Uriah. 15 This is what he wrote in the letter: “Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce. Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead.” 16 So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the defenders were strong. 17 When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab, some officers of David’s army fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18 Then Joab sent David a report of all the details of the battle, 19 instructing the messenger, “When you have finished giving the king all the details of the battle, 20 the king may become angry and say to you: ‘Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall above? 21 Who killed Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal? Was it not a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall above, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’ Then you in turn are to say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”(R) 22 The messenger set out, and on his arrival he reported to David everything Joab had sent him to tell.[d] 23 He told David: “The men had the advantage over us and came out into the open against us, but we pushed them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall above, and some of the king’s servants died; and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” 25 David said to the messenger: “This is what you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this be a great evil in your sight, for the sword devours now here and now there. Strengthen your attack on the city and destroy it.’ Encourage him.”
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband had died, she mourned her lord. 27 But once the mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But in the sight of the Lord what David had done was evil.
The Parable of the Lost Son. 11 Then he said, “A man had two sons, 12 and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. 13 After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.(A) 14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. 15 So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. 16 And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 17 Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. 18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ 20 So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22 But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. 25 Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. 27 The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. 30 But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ 31 He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. 32 But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.