Old/New Testament
David Settles in Ziklag
27 Then David said in his heart, “One day I’ll be swept away by the hand of Saul. There’s nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me in all the territories of Israel, so I’ll escape from his hand.” 2 So David rose and crossed over, he and the 600 men that were with him, to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives—Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. 4 So when Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, let me be given a place in one of the country towns, so I may live there. Why should your servant stay in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish granted him Ziklag that day. Thus Ziklag came to belong to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 The number of days that David stayed in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Gizrites and the Amalekites, for those were inhabitants of the region from ancient times, as you go all the way from Shur and as far as the land of Egypt. 9 David attacked the region and was leaving not a man or woman alive, and took away sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels and clothing. When he returned and came to Achish, 10 Achish would ask, “Where have you raided today?”
So David would reply, “Against the Negev of Judah, against the Negev of the Jerahmeelite and against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 David left no man or woman alive to bring to Gath, thinking, “Unless they should tell about us, saying: ‘So did David.’” So was his practice all the time he stayed in the country of the Philistines. 12 Then Achish trusted David, saying, “He has certainly made himself abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore, he will be my vassal forever.”
Saul Consults a Medium
28 At that time, the Philistines gathered their armed forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You surely know that you and your men must march out with me in the army.”
2 David said to Achish, “Well then, you know what your servant will do.”
“Well then, I appoint you my bodyguard for life,” Achish said to David.
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah, his hometown. Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists.
4 So the Philistines mustered and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped at Gilboa. 5 Now when Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 When Saul inquired of Adonai, Adonai did not answer, neither by dreams nor by Urim or prophets.
7 Then Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go to her and inquire through her.” So his courtiers said to him, “Behold, there is a woman that is a medium at En-dor.” 8 So Saul disguised himself, put on other clothes, and went with two other men, and they reached the woman by night. Then he said, “Please conjure up for me a ghost—bring up for me the one I will name to you.”
9 “Look, you know what Saul has done,” she said, “how he has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. So why then are you setting a trap for my life to get me killed?”
10 Saul vowed to her by Adonai saying, “As Adonai lives, no punishment will come on you for this thing.”
11 “Whom will I bring up for you?” the woman asked.
“Bring me up Samuel,” he said.
12 But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud shriek. Then the woman spoke to Saul saying, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
13 “Don’t be afraid!” the king said to her. “What do you see?”
The woman said to Saul, “I see a godlike being coming up from the earth.”
14 “What does he look like?” he asked her.
“An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a robe,” she said.
Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, so he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I’m in great distress,” Saul answered. “The Philistines are waging war against me, and God has turned away from me—He doesn’t answer me anymore, whether by prophets or by dreams. So I called you up to tell me what I should do.”
16 Samuel said, “So why ask me, since Adonai has turned away from you and become your adversary? 17 Now Adonai has done for Himself just as He foretold through me—Adonai has torn the kingship out of your hand and has given it to another fellow, to David. 18 Since you did not obey the voice of Adonai and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so Adonai has done this to you today. 19 Moreover, Adonai will also give the Israelites who are with you into the hand of the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me! Yes, Adonai will give the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground, and became so terrified because of the words of Samuel that there was absolutely no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 21 Then the woman came to Saul and saw that he was so agitated, so she told him, “Behold, your maidservant obeyed you; I put my life in my hand by listening to your words, which you spoke to me. 22 Please you too listen to the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a morsel of bread before you, so you can eat and have strength to go on your way.”
23 But he refused and said, “I won’t eat.” But when his courtiers and the woman urged him, he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed. 24 The woman had a fatted calf in the house, so she hurried and butchered it, and took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 She brought it before Saul and his courtiers, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.
David Sent Back from Battle
29 Now the Philistines mustered all their armies at Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine lords were proceeding ahead of their hundreds and thousands, David and his men were bringing up the rear with Achish. 3 Then the Philistine commanders said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”
Achish said to the Philistine commanders, “No! That’s David, servant of Israel’s King Saul—he’s been with me today for over a year, and I’ve not found any fault in him since the day he defected to me until now.”
4 But the Philistine commanders got angry with him, and the Philistine commanders said to him, “Make this man go back—back to his place you assigned him. He must not go down with us to the battle, or in the battle he might become our adversary. For how would this fellow appease his lord? Wouldn’t it be with the heads of our men? 5 Isn’t this one David, about whom they were singing in dances saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?’”
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As Adonai lives, you have been upright and your going out and your coming in with me, in the army are pleasing in my eyes. For I never found fault with you since the day of your coming to me up to this day. However, the other lords do not approve of you. 7 So now, turn around and go back in peace, and you won’t be doing anything to displease the Philistine lords.”
8 “But what have I done?” David said to Achish. “What have you found in your servant from the day I have been before you to this day, that I shouldn’t go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 “I know,” Achish answered saying to David. “You are as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 So now, rise up early in the morning, you and the servants of your lord that came with you, and as soon you rise, early in the morning, once there is light, leave.” 11 So David rose up early, he and his men, leaving in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. Meanwhile, the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
13 Now there were some present at the same time who told Yeshua about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 He answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans are worse sinners than the rest of the Galileans because they have suffered these things? 3 No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you all will perish the same way.
4 “Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and were killed, do you suppose that they are worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you all will perish the same way.
6 Then Yeshua began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree he had planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘Indeed, for three years I‘ve come searching for fruit on this fig tree and found none. Remove it! Why does it use up the ground?’
8 “But answering, the gardener said to him, ‘Master, leave it alone for this year also, until I dig around it and apply fertilizer. 9 And if it bears fruit, good. But if not, cut it down.’”
Teaching by Example at the Synagogue
10 Now Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat. 11 And behold, there was a woman with a disabling spirit for eighteen years, bent over and completely unable to stand up straight. 12 When Yeshua saw her, He called out to her and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.” 13 Then He laid hands on her, and instantly she stood up straight and began praising God.
14 But the synagogue leader, indignant that Yeshua had healed on Shabbat, started telling the crowd, “There are six days in which work should be done[a]—so come to be healed on those days and not on Yom Shabbat!”
15 But the Lord answered him and said, “Hypocrites! On Shabbat doesn’t each of you untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to give it drink? 16 So this one, a daughter of Abraham incapacitated by satan for eighteen years, shouldn’t she be set free from this imprisonment on Yom Shabbat?” 17 When Yeshua said these things, all His opponents were put to shame; but the whole crowd was rejoicing at all the glorious things done by Him.[b]
Teaching throughout the Towns and Villages
18 So Yeshua was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and dropped into his own garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” [c] 20 Again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like hametz, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.
22 And He continued on His journey through the towns and villages, teaching and making His way to Jerusalem.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.