Old/New Testament
Samuel’s Death
25 Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his house at Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
David and Abigail
2 Now there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich and owned[a] three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. Now[b] the shearing of his sheep was taking place in Carmel. 3 The name of the man was Nabal,[c] and the name of his wife was Abigail.[d] Now the woman was wise and beautiful, but the man was stubborn and mean,[e] and he was as his heart.[f] 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal; you will greet him in my name.[g] 6 Then you must say to him, ‘Long life to you, and may it go well with you, with your house, and with all that is yours.[h] 7 Now I have heard that you have shearers.[i] Now while your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and nothing of theirs was missing, all the days they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your servants[j] and they will tell you! Let the young men[k] find favor in your eyes because we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have on hand[l] for your servants and for your son David.”
9 So David’s young men came and they spoke all these words to Nabal in the name of David. Then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, there are many servants breaking away from the presence of their masters. 11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat which I have slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men whom I do not know where they are from? 12 So David’s young men turned on their way and returned and came and told him according to all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Each man strap on his sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14 But a young man of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the desert to greet[m] our master, but he addressed them angrily, 15 even though the men were very good to us; we were not mistreated and did not miss anything all the days we went about with them while we were[n] in the field. 16 They were a wall to us both night and day, all the days we were[o] with them keeping the sheep. 17 And so then, know and consider[p] what you should do, for evil has been decided against our master and against all his household, and he is such a wicked man,[q] nobody can reason with him!”[r]
18 Then Abigail quickly took[s] two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she put them on the donkeys. 19 Then she said to her servants, “Go ahead before me; look, I am coming after you,” but she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And then,[t] as she was riding on the donkey and was going down the ravine of the mountain, David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain[u] I guarded all that this fellow had in the desert. And nothing was missed of all that was his, but he returned evil against me in place of good! 22 May God severely punish the enemies of David[v] and again do thus if I leave behind anything that is his[w] until the morning, not even one male!”[x] 23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell on her face before David’s anger,[y] and she bowed down to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my lord, be the guilt! Please let your female servant speak to you personally![z] Hear the words of your female servant! 25 Please do not let my lord set his heart against this worthless man,[aa] Nabal; for as his name, so is he. Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him! But I, your female servant, did not see the young men[ab] of my lord whom you sent. 26 So then, my lord, as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives,[ac] since Yahweh restrained you from bloodguilt by taking matters into your own hand,[ad] so then, may your enemies be like Nabal, even those who seek to do my lord harm.[ae] 27 So then, this gift which your female servant has brought to my lord, may it be given to the young men who follow my lord.[af] 28 Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, because Yahweh will certainly make a lasting house[ag] for my lord, because my lord is fighting the battles of Yahweh, and evil will not be found in you as long as you live.[ah] 29 Should a man arise to pursue you and to seek your life, may the life of my lord be wrapped in the pouch[ai] of the living with Yahweh your God. But as for the life of your enemy, he will sling it from within[aj] the pocket of the sling! 30 And then[ak] when Yahweh has done for my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you as leader over Israel, 31 then this will not be an obstacle for you or a stumbling block of conscience for my lord either by the shedding of blood without cause or by my lord taking matters into his own hands.[al] And when Yahweh does good to my lord, then remember your female servant.”
32 Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has sent you this day to meet me! 33 And blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have prevented me this day from bloodguilt and from delivering myself by my own hand. 34 But as Yahweh lives,[am] the God of Israel who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been one male[an] left alive for Nabal by the light of morning!” 35 Then David took from her hand what she had brought for him, and he said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice, and I have granted your request.”[ao]
36 Then Abigail went to Nabal, and look, he was holding a feast[ap] in his house like the feast of the king. Nabal was enjoying himself,[aq] and he was very drunk, so she did not tell him a thing, nothing at all,[ar] until the light of morning. 37 And then[as] in the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these words. Then his heart died within him,[at] and he became like a stone. 38 And then,[au] about ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her for his wife. 40 So the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, and they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you for his wife.” 41 She got up and bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “Here is your female servant, as a slave to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 Then Abigail quickly got up[av] and rode on the donkey, along with five of her maidservants who attended her,[aw] and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.
43 David had also taken Ahinoam from Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. 44 (Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.)
David Again Spares Saul
26 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah opposite Jeshimon?” 2 Then Saul got up and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, and three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3 Now Saul was on the hill of Hakilah, which is opposite Jeshimon by the road, but David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come to the wilderness after him, 4 David sent spies, and he learned that Saul had come for certain.[ax] 5 Then David got up and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul was lying down, as well as[ay] Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. (Now Saul was lying in the encampment, and the army was encamping around him.)
6 David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah the brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul, in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai came to the army by night, and there was[az] Saul lying asleep in the encampment with[ba] his spear thrust into the ground near his head, and Abner and the army were lying all around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has handed over your enemy into your hand today! So then, please let me pin him to the ground with the spear[bb] one time,[bc] and I will not strike him twice.”[bd] 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy[be] him! For who has stretched out his hand against Yahweh’s anointed one and remained blameless?” 10 And David said, “As Yahweh lives,[bf] certainly[bg] Yahweh will strike him, or his day will come and he will die, or he will go down in the battle and perish.[bh] 11 Yahweh forbid me[bi] from stretching out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed one! So then, please take the spear that is near his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from near Saul’s head, and they went away. No one saw, no one knew, and no one awakened,[bj] for all of them were sleeping because a deep sleep of Yahweh had fallen upon them.
13 Then David went to the other side and stood on the top of the hill at a distance; the distance was great between them. 14 David called out to the army and to Abner the son of Ner, “Will you not answer, Abner?” And Abner answered and said, “Who are you that you call to the king?” 15 So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why did you not keep watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy[bk] your lord the king. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As Yahweh lives,[bl] surely you people deserve to die[bm] since you have not kept watch over your lord, over Yahweh’s anointed one! So then, see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was near his head!” 17 Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.” 18 Then he said, “Why is my lord pursuing after his servant? For what have I done? And what evil is in my hand? 19 And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if it is mortals,[bn] may they be accursed before[bo] Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods!’ 20 And so then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from[bp] the presence of Yahweh, for the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned! Come back, David my son, for I will not harm you again, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Look, I have acted like a fool and have made a terrible mistake.”[bq] 22 David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear; let one of the young men[br] come over and take it. 23 Yahweh repays to each one his righteousness and his faithfulness, for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed. 24 Look, as your life was precious in my eyes this day, may my life be great in the eyes of Yahweh, and may he rescue me from all trouble.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed are you, my son David; you will not only do many things, but also will always succeed!”[bs] Then David went on his way and Saul returned to his place.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give charitable gifts. Make for yourselves money bags that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven[a] where thief does not approach or moth destroy. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
On the Alert for the Master’s Return
35 “You must be prepared for action[b] and your[c] lamps burning. 36 And you, be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast,[d] so that when he[e] comes back and knocks, they can open the door[f] for him immediately. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he returns! Truly I say to you that he will dress himself for service and have them recline at the table and will come by and[g] serve them. 38 Even if he should come back in the second or in the third watch of the night and find them[h] like this, blessed are they! 39 But understand this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.”[i]
A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave
41 And Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us, or also for everyone?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful wise manager whom the master will put in charge over his servants to give them[j] their[k] food allowance at the right time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he[l] comes back. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave should say to himself,[m] ‘My master is taking a long time to return,’ and he begins to beat the male slaves and the female slaves and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and assign his place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew the will of his master and did not prepare or do according to his will will be given a severe beating.[n] 48 But the one who did not know and did things deserving blows will be given a light beating.[o] And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him for even more.
Not Peace, But a Sword of Divisiveness
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish that it had been kindled already! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am distressed until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to grant peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 For from now on there will be five in one household, divided three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
The Signs of the Times
54 And he also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be burning heat,’ and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to evaluate the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it you do not know how to evaluate this present time?
Settle Accounts Quickly
57 And why do you not also judge for yourselves what is right? 58 For as you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to come to a settlement with him on the way, so that he will not drag you to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff will throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid back even the last cent!”[p]
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