Old/New Testament

David Mourns Saul and Jonathan

1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul—when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites—that David stayed two days in Ziklag. ² On the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. Now when he approached David, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

³ Then David asked him, “Where are you coming from?”

“I’ve escaped from the camp of Israel,” he answered.

⁴ “How did things go?” David asked him. “Please, tell me.”

He answered, “The troops fled the battlefield—also many of the troops fell and died. And even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

⁵ David asked the young man informing him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶ The young man informing him answered, “I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, and look, Saul was leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen were closing in on him. ⁷ When he turned around and saw me, he called me. So I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ Then he asked me, ‘Who are you?’

“So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ So he said to me, ‘Stand now over me and kill me! For I’m in agony, yet I’m still alive.’ ¹⁰ So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew he couldn’t survive after he had fallen. Then I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and brought them here—to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men that were with him, ¹² and they mourned, wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, for the troops of Adonai and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ Then David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?”

“I am a son of an Amalekite outsider,” he replied.

¹⁴ Then David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Adonai’s anointed one?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come and strike him down.” And he struck him down and he died. ¹⁶ David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your mouth testified against you saying, ‘I killed Adonai’s anointed.’”

¹⁷ Then David chanted this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the “Song of the Bow.” (Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar):

Judah Anoints David King

2 Now it came to pass after this that David inquired of Adonai saying, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?”

Adonai said to him, “Go up.”

“Where shall I go up?” David asked.

“To Hebron,” He said.

² So David went up there, along with his two wives—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ David also brought up his men that were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns of Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came and there anointed David king over the house of Judah.

Then they told David saying, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “Blessed are you of Adonai for showing this kindness to Saul your lord, by burying him. ⁶ So now may Adonai show you kindness and faithfulness; and I also will show you goodness because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore, be strong and brave, for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Forces of Abner and Joab Battle

⁸ Now Abner son of Ner, Saul’s army commander, had taken Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, and brought him over to Mahanaim. ⁹ Then he made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel. ¹⁰ Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

¹² Once Abner son of Ner and the troops of Saul’s son Ish-bosheth went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ¹³ Meanwhile Joab son of Zeruiah and the troops of David went out—they met each other by the pool of Gibeon, so they sat down, one group on one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, “Now let the young men get up and compete before us.”

“Let them get up,” Joab replied. ¹⁵ Then they got up and came forward by number—12 for Benjamin and for Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and 12 from David’s servants. ¹⁶ Then each grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they all fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim^[a], which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ The battle was very fierce that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated before David’s servants.

¹⁸ Now the three sons of Zeruiah were Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Asahel was as swift-footed as one of the gazelles of the field. ¹⁹ Asahel pursued Abner, not swerving to the right or to the left from pursuing Abner. ²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is it you, Asahel?”

“It is I,” he answered.

²¹ So Abner said to him, “Turn away to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn away from following him. ²² Once again Abner warned Asahel, “Turn away from pursuing me! Why should I strike you to the ground? How would I ever look your brother Joab in the face?” ²³ But he refused to turn aside, so Abner struck him with the butt end of the spear in the groin, so that the spear came out through his back, and he fell down there and died on the spot. When all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stood still. ²⁴ But Joab and Abishai continued pursuing Abner. As the sun was setting, they reached the hill of Ammah, which faces Giah on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵ Then the sons of Benjamin rallied to Abner and became one group, taking their stand on top of one of the hills. ²⁶ Then Abner called out to Joab and said, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize how bitter it will be in the end? How long until you order the people to stop pursuing their kinsmen?”

²⁷ “As God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken, then surely the people would have gone up until the morning, everyone after his kinsman.” ²⁸ So Joab blew the shofar, and all the soldiers halted, and pursued Israel no more, nor did they continue to fight any longer. ²⁹ So Abner and his men marched all that night through the Arabah, then they crossed over the Jordan, and marched through all morning until they reached Mahanaim. ³⁰ Joab returned from pursuing Abner, and when he had gathered all the troops, nineteen of David’s soldiers besides Asahel were missing. ³¹ But David’s soldiers had struck down many of Benjamin and Abner’s men, so that 360 men died. ³² Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in Beth-lehem. Joab and his men marched all night, until the day dawned on them at Hebron.

A Dinner Conversation on Shabbat

14 Now when Yeshua went into the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees to eat a meal on Shabbat, they were watching Him closely. ² And there before Him was a man swollen with fluid. ³ So Yeshua said to the Torah lawyers and the Pharisees, “Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat, or not?”

⁴ But they kept silent. So Yeshua took hold of him and healed him, and He sent him away. ⁵ Then He said to them, “Which of you, with a son or an ox falling into a well on Yom Shabbat, will not immediately pull him out?” ^{[a] 6} And they could not reply to these things.

⁷ Yeshua began telling a parable to those who had been invited, when He noticed how they were choosing the seats of honor. He said to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding, don’t take the seat of honor, for someone more highly esteemed than you may have been invited by him. ⁹ Then the one who invited both of you will come to you and say, ‘Give up this seat.’ And with shame, you would proceed to take the lowest seat. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest seat so that when the one who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you shall be honored in the presence of all those who are dining with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”^[b]

¹² Then Yeshua was also saying to the one who invited Him, “When you host a luncheon or dinner, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise they might invite you in return as your payback. ¹³ But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, since they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ Now hearing this, one of those dining with Yeshua said to Him, “Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁶ But Yeshua said to him, “A certain man was hosting a large banquet, and he invited many. ¹⁷ At the time for the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, everything is already prepared.’

¹⁸ “But every one of them began to beg off. The first said to him, ‘I bought a farm, and I’m obligated to go out to see it. I’m asking you to have me excused.’ ¹⁹ Then another one said, ‘I’ve purchased five teams of oxen, and I’m going to check them out. I’m asking you to have me excused.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I’ve married a wife, so I cannot come.’^[c]

²¹ “The slave came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house got angry and said to his slave, ‘Quickly go out into the squares and alleys of the city and bring here the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame.’

²² “And the slave said, ‘Master, I have done as you instructed, and still there is room.’

²³ “So the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the thoroughfares and fenced areas, and press them to come in so my home may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”