Old/New Testament
23 Now these are the last words of David: David son of Jesse says, and the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, says,
2 The Spirit of the Lord spoke in and by me, and His word was upon my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me, When one rules over men righteously, ruling in the fear of God,
4 He dawns on them like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, when the tender grass springs out of the earth through clear shining after rain.
5 Truly does not my house stand so with God? For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. For will He not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?
6 But wicked, godless, and worthless lives are all like thorns to be thrust away, because they cannot be taken with the hand.
7 But the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire on the spot.
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the Three [heroes], known also as Adino the Eznite; he wielded his spear and went against 800 men, who were slain at one time.(A)
9 Next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines assembled there for battle, and the men of Israel had departed.
10 [Eleazar] arose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword. The Lord wrought a great deliverance and victory that day; the men returned after him only to take the spoil.
11 Next to [Eleazar] was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines were gathered at Lehi on a piece of ground full of lentils; and the [Israelites] fled from the Philistines.
12 But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time to David in the cave of Adullam, and a troop of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
14 And David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15 And David said longingly, Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate!
16 And the three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem by the gate and brought it to David. But he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.
17 And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, to drink this. Is it not [the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? So he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
18 Now Abishai the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three. He wielded his spear against 300 men and slew them, and won a name beside the Three.
19 Was he not most renowned of the Three? So he was their captain; however, he did not attain to the Three.
20 And Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many notable acts, slew two lionlike men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in a pit on a snowy day.
21 And he slew an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew the man with his own spear.
22 These things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and won a name beside the three mighty men.
23 He was more renowned than the Thirty, but he attained not to the [first] Three. David set him over his guard or council.
24 Asahel brother of Joab was one of the Thirty; then Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod,
26 Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa,
27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah,
29 Heleb son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjamites.
30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,
31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
32 Eliahba of Shaalbon, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,
33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,
34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai, son of Maacah, Eliam son of Ahithophel of Giloh,
35 Hezro (Hezrai) of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite,
36 Igal son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,
38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
39 Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.
24 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah.
2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know their number.
3 And Joab said to the king, May the Lord your God add a hundred times as many people as there are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?
4 But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king’s presence to number the Israelites.
5 They passed over the Jordan and encamped in Aroer, on the south side of the city lying in the midst of the ravine [of the Arnon] toward Gad, and on to Jazer.
6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan [Dan in the forest] and around to Sidon,
7 And came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the South (the Negeb) of Judah at Beersheba.
8 So when they had gone through all the land [taking the census], they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king. There were in Israel 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
10 But David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people. David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in what I have done. I beseech You, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.
11 When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
12 Go and say to David, Thus says the Lord, I hold over you three choices; select one of them, so I may bring it upon you.
13 So Gad came to David and told him and said, Shall seven years of famine come to your land? Or will you flee three months before your pursuing enemies? Or do you prefer three days of pestilence in your land? Consider and see what answer I shall return to Him Who sent me.
14 And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are many and great; but let me not fall into the hands of man.
15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba 70,000 men.
16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented of the evil and reversed His judgment and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay your hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel who was smiting the people, he spoke to the Lord and said, Behold, I have sinned and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray You, be [only] against me and against my father’s house.
18 Then Gad came to David and said, Go up, rear an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19 So David went up according to Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded.
20 Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming toward him; and [he] went out and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
21 Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor from you, to build there an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22 And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Behold, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for wood.
23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king. And Araunah said to the king, The Lord your God accept you.
24 But King David said to Araunah, No, but I will buy it of you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and Israel’s plague was stayed.
19 And [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through it.
2 And there was a man called Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, and [he was] rich.
3 And he was trying to see Jesus, which One He was, but he could not on account of the crowd, because he was small in stature.
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.
6 So he hurried and came down, and he received and welcomed Him joyfully.
7 And when the people saw it, they all [a]muttered among themselves and indignantly complained, He has gone in to be the guest of and lodge with a man who is devoted to sin and preeminently a sinner.
8 So then Zacchaeus stood up and solemnly declared to the Lord, See, Lord, the half of my goods I [now] give [by way of restoration] to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I [now] restore four times as much.(A)
9 And Jesus said to him, Today is [[b]Messianic and spiritual] salvation come to [all the members of] this household, since Zacchaeus too is a [real spiritual] son of Abraham;
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
11 Now as they were listening to these things, He proceeded to tell a parable, because He was approaching Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to be brought to light and shown forth immediately.
12 He therefore said, A certain nobleman went into a distant country to obtain for himself a kingdom and then to return.
13 Calling ten of his [own] bond servants, he gave them ten minas [each equal to about one hundred days’ wages or nearly twenty dollars] and said to them, [c]Buy and sell with these [d]while I go and then return.
14 But his citizens detested him and sent an embassy after him to say, We do not want this man to become ruler over us.
15 When he returned after having received the kingdom, he ordered these bond servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know how much each one had made by [e]buying and selling.
16 The first one came before him, and he said, Lord, your mina has made ten [additional] minas.
17 And he said to him, Well done, excellent bond servant! Because you have been faithful and trustworthy in a very little [thing], you shall have authority over ten cities.
18 The second one also came and said, Lord, your mina has made five more minas.
19 And he said also to him, And you will take charge over five cities.
20 Then another came and said, Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept laid up in a [f]handkerchief.
21 For I was [constantly] afraid of you, because you are a stern (hard, severe) man; you pick up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.
22 He said to the servant, I will judge and condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked slave! You knew [did you] that I was a stern (hard, severe) man, picking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?
23 Then why did you not put my money in a bank, so that on my return, I might have collected it with interest?
24 And he said to the bystanders, Take the mina away from him and give it to him who has the ten minas.
25 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas [already]!
26 And [said Jesus,] I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given, but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
27 [The indignant king ended by saying] But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them—bring them here and [g]slaughter them in my presence!
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation