Old/New Testament
Chapter 22
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his family heard about it, they came down to him there.(A) 2 He was joined by all those in difficulties or in debt, or embittered,[a] and became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
3 From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Let my father and mother stay with you, until I learn what God will do for me.” 4 He left them with the king of Moab; they stayed with him as long as David remained in the stronghold.[b]
5 But Gad the prophet said to David: “Do not remain in the stronghold! Leave! Go to the land of Judah.” And so David left and went to the forest of Hereth.(B)
Doeg Betrays Ahimelech. 6 Now Saul heard that David and his men had been located. At the time he was sitting in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree on the high place, holding his spear, while all his servants stood by him.(C) 7 So he said to them: “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he appoint any of you an officer over a thousand or a hundred men?(D) 8 Is that why you have all conspired against me? Why no one told me that my son had made a pact with the son of Jesse? None of you has shown compassion for me by revealing to me that my son has incited my servant to ambush me, as is the case today.”(E) 9 (F)Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officers, spoke up: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, in Nob. 10 He consulted the Lord for him, furnished him with provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
Slaughter of the Priests. 11 So the king summoned Ahimelech the priest, son of Ahitub, and all his family, the priests in Nob. They all came to the king. 12 “Listen, son of Ahitub!” Saul declared. “Yes, my lord,” he replied. 13 Saul questioned him, “Why have you conspired against me with the son of Jesse by giving him food and a sword and by consulting God for him, that he might rise up against me in ambush, as is the case today?” 14 Ahimelech answered the king: “Who among all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and honored in your own house? 15 Is this the first time I have consulted God for him? No indeed! Let not the king accuse his servant or anyone in my family of such a thing. Your servant knows nothing at all, great or small, about the whole matter.” 16 But the king said, “You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, with all your family.” 17 The king then commanded his guards standing by him: “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they gave David a hand. They knew he was a fugitive and yet failed to inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to raise a hand to strike the priests of the Lord.(G)
18 The king therefore commanded Doeg, “You, turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite himself turned and killed the priests that day—eighty-five who wore the linen ephod. 19 Saul also put the priestly city of Nob to the sword, including men and women, children and infants, and oxen, donkeys and sheep.
Abiathar Escapes. 20 One son of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, named Abiathar,[c] escaped and fled to David.(H) 21 When Abiathar told David that Saul had slain the priests of the Lord, 22 David said to him: “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul. I am responsible for the slaughter of all your family. 23 Stay with me. Do not be afraid; whoever seeks your life must seek my life also. You are under my protection.”[d]
Chapter 23
Keilah Liberated. 1 David was informed that the Philistines were attacking Keilah and plundering the threshing floors.(I) 2 So he consulted the Lord, asking, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The Lord answered, Go, attack them, and free Keilah.(J) 3 But David’s men said to him: “Even in Judah we have reason to fear. How much more so if we go to Keilah against the forces of the Philistines!” 4 Again David consulted the Lord, who answered: Go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your power.(K) 5 So David went with his men to Keilah and fought against the Philistines. He drove off their cattle and inflicted a severe defeat on them, and freed the inhabitants of Keilah.
6 Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, who had fled to David, went down with David to Keilah, taking the ephod with him.(L)
Flight from Keilah. 7 When Saul was told that David had entered Keilah, he thought: “God has put him in my hand, for he has boxed himself in by entering a city with gates and bars.” 8 Saul then called all the army to war, in order to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. 9 When David found out that Saul was planning to harm him, he said to the priest Abiathar, “Bring the ephod here.”(M) 10 “Lord God of Israel,” David prayed, “your servant has heard that Saul plans to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will they hand me over? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, tell your servant.” The Lord answered: He will come down. 12 David then asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” The Lord answered: They will deliver you. 13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and wandered from place to place. When Saul was informed that David had fled from Keilah, he did not go forth.
David and Jonathan in Horesh. 14 David now lived in the strongholds in the wilderness, or in the barren hill country near Ziph. Though Saul sought him continually, the Lord did not deliver David into his hand. 15 While David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh he was afraid that Saul had come out to seek his life. 16 Then Saul’s son, Jonathan, came down to David at Horesh and encouraged him in the Lord.(N) 17 He said to him: “Have no fear, my father Saul shall not lay a hand to you. You shall be king of Israel[e] and I shall be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”(O) 18 The two of them made a covenant before the Lord in Horesh, where David remained, while Jonathan returned to his home.(P)
Treachery of the Ziphites. 19 Some of the Ziphites went up to Saul in Gibeah and said, “David is hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hachilah, south of Jeshimon.(Q) 20 Therefore, whenever the king wishes to come down, let him do so. It will be our task to deliver him into the king’s hand.” 21 Saul replied: “The Lord bless you for your compassion toward me.(R) 22 Go now and make sure once more! Take note of the place where he sets foot for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 Look around and learn in which of all the various hiding places he is holding out. Then come back to me with reliable information, and I will go with you. If he is in the region, I will track him down out of all the families of Judah.” 24 So they went off to Ziph ahead of Saul. At this time David and his men were in the wilderness below Maon, in the Arabah south of the wasteland.(S)
Escape from Saul. 25 When Saul and his men came looking for him, David got word of it and went down to the gorge in the wilderness below Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David into the wilderness below Maon. 26 As Saul moved along one side of the gorge, David and his men took to the other. David was anxious to escape Saul, while Saul and his men were trying to outflank David and his men in order to capture them. 27 Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, because the Philistines have invaded the land.” 28 Saul interrupted his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. This is how that place came to be called the Rock of Divisions.
Chapter 24
David Spares Saul.[f] 1 David then went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi. 2 When Saul returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, he was told that David was in the desert near Engedi. 3 So Saul took three thousand of the best men from all Israel and went in search of David and his men in the direction of the wild goat crags. 4 When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he found a cave, which he entered to relieve himself. David and his men were occupying the inmost recesses of the cave.(T)
5 David’s servants said to him, “This is the day about which the Lord said to you: I will deliver your enemy into your hand; do with him as you see fit.” So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul’s robe. 6 Afterward, however, David regretted that he had cut off an end of Saul’s robe.(U) 7 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to lay a hand on him, for he is the Lord’s anointed.”(V) 8 With these words David restrained his men and would not permit them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way. 9 David also stepped out of the cave, calling to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked back, David bowed, his face to the ground in homage, 10 and asked Saul: “Why do you listen to those who say, ‘David is trying to harm you’? 11 You see for yourself today that the Lord just now delivered you into my hand in the cave. I was told to kill you, but I took pity on you instead. I decided, ‘I will not raise a hand against my master, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 12 Look here, my father. See the end of your robe which I hold. I cut off an end of your robe and did not kill you. Now see and be convinced that I plan no harm and no rebellion. I have done you no wrong, though you are hunting me down to take my life.(W) 13 May the Lord judge between me and you. May the Lord exact justice from you in my case. I shall not lay a hand on you. 14 As the old proverb says, ‘From the wicked comes wickedness.’ Thus I will not lay a hand on you. 15 What is the king of Israel attacking? What are you pursuing? A dead dog! A single flea!(X) 16 The Lord will be the judge to decide between us. May the Lord see this, defend my cause, and give me justice against you!”(Y)
Saul’s Remorse. 17 When David finished saying these things to Saul, Saul answered, “Is that your voice, my son David?” And he wept freely. 18 Saul then admitted to David: “You are more in the right than I am. You have treated me graciously, while I have treated you badly. 19 You have declared this day how you treated me graciously: the Lord delivered me into your hand and you did not kill me. 20 For if someone comes upon an enemy, do they send them graciously on their way? So may the Lord reward you graciously for what you have done this day. 21 And now, since I know that you will certainly become king and that the kingship over Israel shall come into your possession,(Z) 22 swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants and that you will not blot out my name from my father’s house.”(AA) 23 David gave Saul his oath and Saul returned home, while David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Chapter 12
The Leaven of the Pharisees.[a] 1 Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot.(A) He began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees.
Courage Under Persecution.[b] 2 (B)“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.(C) 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. 4 I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. 5 I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna;[c] yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?[d] Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. 7 Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.(D) 8 I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.(E)
Sayings About the Holy Spirit.[e] 10 “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven.(F) 11 When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,(G) do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. 12 For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
Saying Against Greed. 13 [f]Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14 He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”(H) 15 Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”(I)
Parable of the Rich Fool. 16 Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17 He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ 18 And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods 19 (J)and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’(K) 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ 21 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”[g]
Dependence on God. 22 (L)He said to [his] disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 24 Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds!(M) 25 Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? 26 If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them.(N) 28 If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 29 As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. 30 All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides.
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.