Old/New Testament
27 But David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any more within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.
2 So David arose and went over with the 600 men who were with him to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath.
3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.
4 When it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he sought for him no more.
5 And David said to Achish, If I have now found favor in your eyes, let me be given a place to dwell in some country town; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?
6 Then Achish gave David the town of Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day.
7 The time David dwelt in the Philistines’ country was a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites [enemies of Israel Joshua had failed to exterminate]. For from of old those nations inhabited the land, as one goes to Shur even to the land of Egypt.(A)
9 And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and the apparel, and returned to Achish.
10 Achish would ask, Against whom have you made a raid today? And David would reply, [a]Against the South (Negeb) of Judah, or of the Jerahmeelites, or of the Kenites.
11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath, thinking, Lest they should say about us, So did David, and so will he do as long as he dwells in the Philistines’ country.
12 And Achish believed David, saying, He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; so he shall be my servant always.
28 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war against Israel. Achish said to David, Understand that you and your men shall go with me to battle.
2 David said to Achish, All right, you shall know what your servant can do. Achish said to David, Therefore I will make you my bodyguard always.
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the wizards out of the land.
4 And the Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel and they encamped at Gilboa.
5 When Saul saw the Philistine host, he was afraid; his heart trembled greatly.
6 When Saul inquired of the Lord, He refused to answer him, either by dreams or by Urim [a symbol worn by the priest when seeking the will of God for Israel] or by the prophets.(B)
7 Then Saul said to his servants, Find me a woman who is a medium [between the living and the dead], that I may go and inquire of her. His servants said, Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor.
8 So Saul disguised himself, put on other raiment, and he and two men with him went and came to the woman at night. He said to her, Perceive for me by the familiar spirit and bring up for me the dead person whom I shall name to you.
9 The woman said, See here, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and wizards out of the land. Why then do you lay a trap for my life to cause my death?
10 And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives, there shall no punishment come to you for this.
11 The woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? He said, Bring up Samuel for me.
12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and she said to Saul, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!
13 The king said to her, Be not afraid; what do you see? The woman said to Saul, I see a god [terrifying superhuman being] coming up out of the earth!
14 He said to her, In what form is he? And she said, An old man comes up, covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and made obeisance.
15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me to bring me up? Saul answered, I am bitterly distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.
16 Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, seeing that the Lord has turned from you and has become your enemy?
17 The Lord has done to you as He said through me He would do; for [He] has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to your neighbor David.(C)
18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord or execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.
19 Moreover, the Lord will also give Israel with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me [among the dead]. The Lord also will give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
20 Then immediately Saul fell full length upon the earth floor [of the medium’s house], and was exceedingly afraid because of Samuel’s words. There was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
21 The woman came to Saul, and seeing that he was greatly troubled, she said to him, Behold, your handmaid has obeyed you, and I have put my life in my hands and have listened to what you said to me.
22 So now, I pray you, listen also to the voice of your handmaid and let me set a morsel of food before you, and eat, so you may have strength when you go on your way.
23 But he said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he heeded their words. So he arose from the ground and sat upon the bed.
24 The woman had a fat calf in the house; she hurried and killed it, and took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread.
25 Then she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose up and went away that night.
29 Now the Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by the fountain in Jezreel.
2 As the Philistine lords were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were in the rear with Achish,
3 The Philistine princes said, What are these Hebrews doing here? Achish said to the Philistine princes, Is not this David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days and years, and I have found no fault in him since he deserted to me to this day?
4 And the Philistine princes were angry with Achish and they said to him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place where you have assigned him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could David reconcile himself to his master? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?
5 Is not this David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, As surely as the Lord lives, you have been honest and upright, and for you to go out and come in with me in the army is good in my sight; for I have found no evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Yet the lords do not approve of you.
7 So return now and go peaceably, so as not to displease the Philistine lords.
8 David said to Achish, But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
9 And Achish said to David, I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.
10 So now rise up early in the morning, with your master’s servants who have come with you, and as soon as you are up and have light, depart.
11 So David and his men rose up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel [to fight against Israel].
13 Just at that time there [arrived] some people who informed Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
2 And He replied by saying to them, Do you think that these Galileans were greater sinners than all the other Galileans because they have suffered in this way?
3 I tell you, No; but unless you repent ([a]change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost [b]eternally.
4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them—do you think that they were more guilty offenders (debtors) than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, No; but unless you repent ([c]change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost [d]eternally.
6 And He told them this parable: A certain man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find [any].
7 So he said to the vinedresser, See here! For these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue also to use up the ground [to [e]deplete the soil, intercept the sun, and take up room]?
8 But he replied to him, Leave it alone, sir, [just] this one more year, till I dig around it and put manure [on the soil].
9 Then perhaps it will bear fruit after this; but if not, you can cut it down and out.
10 Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 And there was a woman there who for eighteen years had had an [f]infirmity caused by a spirit ([g]a demon of sickness). She was [h]bent completely forward and utterly unable to straighten herself up or to [i]look upward.
12 And when Jesus saw her, He called [her to Him] and said to her, Woman, you are released from your infirmity!
13 Then He laid [His] hands on her, and instantly she was made straight, and she [j]recognized and thanked and praised God.
14 But the [k]leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, There are six days on which work ought to be done; so come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath day.(A)
15 But the Lord replied to him, saying, You playactors (hypocrites)! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it out to water it?
16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?
17 Even as He said this, all His opponents were put to shame, and all the people were rejoicing over all the glorious things that were being done by Him.
18 This led Him to say, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the wild birds [l]found shelter and roosted and nested in its branches.
20 And again He said, To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21 It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of wheat flour or meal until it was all leavened (fermented).
22 [Jesus] journeyed on through towns and villages, teaching, and making His way toward Jerusalem.
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