Old/New Testament
David Returns to the Philistines
27 David said to himself, “Any day now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. The best plan for me is to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me within the borders of Israel, and I will escape out of his hand.”
2 So David set out with the six hundred men who were with him and crossed over to Achish son of Maok, king of Gath. 3 David stayed with Achish at Gath—he and his men, each man with his family, including David with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezre’el and Abigail from Carmel, who had been Nabal’s wife. 4 Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, so he did not continue searching for him anymore.
5 David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, assign me a place to live in one of the towns in the countryside. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
6 So that day Achish gave him Ziklag. That is why Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 The length of time that David spent in the territory of the Philistines was a year and four months.
8 David and his men would go out and raid the Geshurites, the Girzites,[a] and the Amalekites—peoples who had been living in the land for a very long time. Their territory extended from the beginning of Shur all the way to the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David attacked a land, he did not leave even one man or woman alive. He would carry off the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he would return and come back to Achish.
10 Achish would ask, “Where have you carried out a raid today?”
David would answer, “Against the Negev[b] of Judah,” or “Against the Negev of the Jerahme’elites,” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 David would not keep even one man or woman alive to bring them to Gath. He said, “If I do, they would inform on us. They would say, ‘This is what David did, and this is what he has been doing the entire time he has been living in the territory of the Philistines.’”
12 Achish trusted David, and he said, “He has made himself a real stench to his people Israel, so he will remain my servant forever.”
The Philistines Go to Fight Saul
28 In those days, the Philistines brought together their armies to prepare for war against Israel. Achish said to David, “You certainly understand that you must go along with me in the army, you and your men.”
2 David said to Achish, “When I do, you will know what your servant can do.”
Achish said to David, “When you do, I will make you my bodyguard permanently.”
Saul and the Witch of Endor
3 At this time, Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, which was his hometown.
Saul had banished the mediums and spiritists[c] from the land.
4 The Philistines joined forces and set up camp at Shunem. Saul brought all Israel together, and they set up camp at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was terrified and trembled with fear. 6 Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him through dreams, or through Urim, or through prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his attendants, “Find a woman who consults the spirits of the dead for me, so that I can go to her and inquire of her.”
His servants said to him, “As a matter of fact, there is a woman at Endor who consults the spirits of the dead.”
8 So Saul disguised himself and put on different clothing. Then he went with two men, and they visited the woman at night. He said, “Please consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the person I name to you.”
9 The woman said to him, “Look, you must know what Saul has done. He has cut off mediums and spiritists from the land. Why then are you setting a death trap for me, to make me die?”
10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”
11 Then the woman said, “Who is it that you want me to bring up for you?”
He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid! What do you see?”
The woman said to Saul, “I see a powerful spirit[d] coming up out of the earth.”
14 He said to her, “What does he look like?”
She said, “An old man is coming up. He is covered with a robe.” Saul recognized that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground to show respect.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
Saul answered, “I am in dire straits because the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me through prophets or through dreams. That is why I have called you, so that you can let me know what I should do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? 17 The Lord has done exactly what he told you through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord’s voice and did not execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 What’s more, the Lord will deliver Israel into the hands of the Philistines, along with you. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Saul immediately fell full-length on the ground. Not only was he terrified because of Samuel’s words, but he also had no strength left because he had eaten no food all that day and all that night.
21 The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified. So she said to him, “Look, your servant has obeyed you, and I have taken my life in my hands. I have listened to the words you spoke to me. 22 Now please listen to your servant, and allow me to set some food in front of you. Eat, so that you will have strength when you go on your way.”
23 Saul refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his attendants, together with the woman, strongly urged him, and he listened to them. So he got up off the ground and sat on the bed. 24 The woman had a fattened calf at the house. She quickly butchered it. She took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread with it. 25 She set it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and left during the night.
David Is Dismissed by the Philistines
29 The Philistines gathered all their armies together at Aphek, and the Israelites camped beside the spring at Jezre’el. 2 As the serens[e] of the Philistines were marching past with their units of a hundred and units of a thousand, David and his men were marching in the rear of the column with Achish.
3 The officers of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”
Achish said to the officers of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me for some time now?[f] I have found no fault in him from the day he defected, right up to today.”
4 But the officers of the Philistines were angry with him, and the officers of the Philistines said, “Make this man return to the place that you have assigned to him. He must not go down to battle with us, or else he might become an adversary against us during the battle. What better way for this man to reconcile himself to his master than with the heads of these men of ours? 5 Isn’t this David, about whom they sang to one another as they danced, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?’”
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been straightforward with me. As far as I am concerned,[g] it would be good to have you accompany me[h] on this campaign, because I have not found anything wrong with you from the day you came to me right up to this day. Nevertheless, in the opinion of the serens you are a liability. 7 So now return. Go in peace, so that you do not displease the serens of the Philistines.”
8 David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I came into your presence until this day that would disqualify me from going and fighting against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered David, “I know that, as far as I am concerned, you are as good as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the officers of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up to the battle with us.’ 10 So get up early in the morning, along with the servants of your master who have come with you. Get up early in the morning, and leave as soon as it is light.”[i]
11 So David got up early, and he and his men left early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezre’el.
Repent
13 At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? 3 I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.”
Parable of the Fig Tree
6 He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ 8 But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. 9 If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’”
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman
10 Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And a woman was there who had a spirit that had disabled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 He placed his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began to glorify God.
14 But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. He said to the crowd in response, “There are six days to do work. So come to be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath day!”
15 The Lord answered him, “Hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the Sabbath and lead it to water? 16 Here is this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years! Shouldn’t she be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame. But the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things he was doing.
Mustard Seed and Yeast
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what will I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20 Again he said, “To what will I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed into a bushel[a] of flour until it was all leavened.”
The Narrow Door
22 He went on his way from one town and village to another, teaching, and making his way to Jerusalem.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.