Old/New Testament

Saul Tries to Kill David

19 Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan found much joy in David. ² So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul wants to kill you. I beg you, be careful in the morning. Stay hidden in a secret place. ³ I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak to my father about you. If I find out anything, I will tell you.” ⁴ Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, saying, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David. He has not sinned against you. What he has done has been good for you. ⁵ He put his life in danger and killed the Philistine. And the Lord helped all Israel with His saving power. You saw it and were glad. Why then will you sin against him who has done no wrong, by killing David for no reason?” ⁶ Saul listened to Jonathan, and promised, “As the Lord lives, David will not be killed.” ⁷ Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. He brought David to Saul, and David stayed with Saul as before.

⁸ When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines. He killed many of them, and the others ran away from him. ⁹ Then a bad spirit sent from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. David was playing the harp. ¹⁰ Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but David got out of the way. Saul hit the wall with the spear, and David ran away that night.

¹¹ Then Saul sent men to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ¹² So Michal let David down through a window, and he ran away. ¹³ Michal took a house god and laid it on the bed. She put a goat hair pillow at its head, and covered it with clothes. ¹⁴ When Saul sent men to take David, Michal said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent men to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ When the men came in, the house god was on the bed, with the goat hair pillow at its head. ¹⁷ So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you fooled me like this and let the man I hate go? Now he has run away to be safe.” Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

¹⁸ Now David ran away from Saul and came to Samuel at Ramah. He told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. ¹⁹ Saul was told, “See, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ So Saul sent men to take David. But when they saw the men of God saying what was going to happen, with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came upon the men sent by Saul. And they began saying what was going to happen also. ²¹ When Saul heard this, he sent other men, and they began saying what was going to happen. So Saul sent men for the third time, and they began saying what was going to happen. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah, and came as far as the large well in Secu. He asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “See, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ So he went to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also. As he traveled he said what would happen, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ He took off his clothes and said what was going to happen in front of Samuel. He lay down without clothing all that day and all that night. So they say, “Is Saul among those who say what will happen?”

Jonathan Is Good to David

20 Then David ran from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my sin? What have I done wrong to your father, that he wants to kill me?” ² Jonathan said to him, “Far from it, you will not die. See, my father does nothing big or small without telling me about it. So why should my father hide this from me? It is not so!” ³ But David answered, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes. He has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, because it would fill him with sorrow.’ But it is true. As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is only a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “I will do for you whatever you say.” ⁵ David said to Jonathan, “See, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should sit down to eat with the king. But let me go. I will hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David asked me to let him leave to run to his city Bethlehem. It is the time for the whole family to gather there for the gift given on the altar in worship each year.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Good!’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, then you will know that he has decided to do what is bad. ⁸ So be kind to your servant. For you have brought me into an agreement of the Lord with you. But if I am guilty, kill me yourself. For why should you bring me to your father?” ⁹ Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that my father has decided to do something bad to you, would I not tell you about it?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father is angry when he answers you?” ¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field.

¹² Jonathan said to David, “May the Lord, the God of Israel, see it. I will speak with my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day. If he feels good about David, will I not send news to you and let you know it? ¹³ But if my father wants to hurt you, may the Lord do the same to Jonathan and even more, if I do not let you know and send you away, so you may be safe. May the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord, that I may not die. ¹⁵ Do not stop being faithful to my house forever, not even when the Lord destroys from the earth all who hate David. ¹⁶ Do not let the name of Jonathan be lost from the family of David. And may the Lord punish those who hate you.” ¹⁷ Jonathan made David promise again, by his love for him. For he loved him as he loved his own life.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the new moon. You will be missed because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ On the third day hurry and come to the place where you hid yourself the other time. Stay by the stone called Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I shot at a mark. ²¹ Then I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy these words, ‘See, the arrows are on this side of you, get them!’ then you may come. For it is safe for you and there is no danger, as the Lord lives. ²² But if I say to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are farther away,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. ²³ As for the agreement you and I have spoken, see, the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ The king sat on his seat by the wall as he did other times. Jonathan sat on the other side from him, and Abner sat beside Saul. But David’s place was empty. ²⁶ But Saul did not say anything that day. For he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean. For sure he is not clean.” ²⁷ But David’s place was empty the next day, the second day of the new moon. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the supper yesterday and today?” ²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul, “David asked me to let him go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘I beg you, let me go. Our family is giving a gift on the altar in the city. And my brother has told me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me leave and see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰ Then Saul was very angry with Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a sinful woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother who gave birth to you? ³¹ As long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you and the power you would have as king will not last. So send for him and bring him to me. For he must die.” ³² Jonathan answered his father Saul, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” ³³ But Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him, so he knew that his father had decided to kill David. ³⁴ Jonathan rose from the table very angry. He did not eat any food on the second day of the new moon. For he was filled with sorrow for David, because his father had brought shame upon him.

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out to the field at the time he and David agreed to meet. A little boy was with him. ³⁶ Jonathan said to his boy, “Run, find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy was running, he shot an arrow past him. ³⁷ The boy came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow. Jonathan called to the boy and said, “Is not the arrow farther away?” ³⁸ Jonathan called to the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” Then Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his owner. ³⁹ The boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew what had happened. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to his boy and told him, “Go, take them to the city.” ⁴¹ When the boy was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground. He bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and cried together, but David more. ⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. For we have promised each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you, and between my children and your children forever.’” Then David got up and left, and Jonathan went into the city.

David Runs from Saul

21 David came to Ahimelech the religious leader at Nob. Ahimelech came shaking in fear to meet David, and said to him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” ² David said to Ahimelech the religious leader, “The king has given me something to do. And he has said to me, ‘Let no one know anything about what I have sent you to do.’ I have told the young men to meet at a certain place. ³ Now, what do you have ready? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you may have.” ⁴ The religious leader answered David, “I only have bread which has been set apart as holy, if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” ⁵ And David told the religious leader, “For sure women have been kept from us while we have traveled. The bodies of the young men are holy even on everyday trips. How much more they are today!” ⁶ So the religious leader gave him holy bread. For there was no bread there but the bread before the Lord. It was taken from before the Lord, so hot bread could be put in its place. ⁷ Now one of Saul’s servants happened to be there that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the head of Saul’s shepherds.

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or a sword? I did not bring my sword or any spears with me, because I had to hurry to do the king’s work.” ⁹ The religious leader said, “The sword is here that belonged to Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah. See, it is behind the linen vest, with a cloth around it. Take it, if you will. For it is the only one here.” And David said, “There is none like it. Give it to me.”

¹⁰ Then David got up and ran that day from Saul. He went to Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ The servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to each other about him as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” ¹² David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he changed the way he acted in front of them. He pretended to be crazy while he was with them. He made marks on the doors of the gate. He let his spit run down into the hair of his face. ¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, “See, you see the man is crazy. Why have you brought him to me? ¹⁵ Do I need any crazy men, that you bring this one to act crazy in front of me? Will this one come into my house?”

Jesus Tells about Jonah ^(A)

²⁹ When the people were gathered near Jesus, He said, “The people of this day are sinful. They are looking for something special to see. They will get nothing special to see, except what Jonah the early preacher did. ³⁰ As Jonah was something special to the people of the city of Nineveh, the Son of Man will be to the people of this day also. ³¹ The queen of the south will stand up on the day men stand before God. She will say the people of this day are guilty because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wise sayings of Solomon. And look, Someone greater than Solomon is here! ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up on the day men stand before God. They will say the people of this day are guilty because the men of Nineveh were sorry for their sins and turned from them when Jonah preached. And look, Someone greater than Jonah is here!

Jesus Teaches about Light

³³ “No man lights a lamp and then hides it under a pail. He puts the light on a lamp-stand so those who come in can see it. ³⁴ The eye is the light of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. When your eye is sinful, your whole body is full of darkness. ³⁵ Be careful that the light in you is not dark. ³⁶ If your whole body is full of light, with no dark part, then it will shine. It will be as a lamp that gives light.”

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Proud Religious Law-Keeper

³⁷ As Jesus was talking, a proud religious law-keeper asked Him to eat with him. Jesus went to the man’s house and took His place at the table. ³⁸ The proud religious law-keeper was surprised and wondered why Jesus had not washed before He ate. ³⁹ But the Lord said to him, “You proud religious law-keepers make the outside of the cup and plate clean, but inside you are full of stealing and sinning. ⁴⁰ You are foolish. Did not He that made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ Give yourself as a gift and then you will be clean.

⁴² “It is bad for you, proud religious law-keepers! You give one-tenth part of your spices. But you give no thought to what is right and to the love of God. You should do both of these.

⁴³ “It is bad for you, proud religious law-keepers! For you like to have the important seats in the places of worship. You like to have people speak good-sounding words to you as you are in the center of town where people gather. ⁴⁴ It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers and you who pretend to be someone you are not! For you are like graves that are hidden. Men walk on graves without knowing they are there.”

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Men Who Knew the Law

⁴⁵ One of the men who knew the Law said to Jesus, “Teacher, You are making us look bad when You speak like this.” ⁴⁶ Jesus said, “It is bad for you also, you men who know the Law! For you put heavy loads on the shoulders of men. But you will not even put your finger on one of these loads to help them. ⁴⁷ It is bad for you! For you make beautiful buildings for the graves of the early preachers your fathers killed. ⁴⁸ You are saying what your fathers did was good, because they killed the early preachers and you are making their graves.

⁴⁹ “For this reason the wisdom of God has said, ‘I will send them early preachers and missionaries. Some they will kill and some they will make it very hard for.’ ⁵⁰ The blood of all the early preachers from the beginning of the world is on the people of this day. ⁵¹ It will be from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, the one who died between the altar and the house of God. For sure, I tell you, the people of this day will be guilty for this.

⁵² “It is bad for you men who know the Law! For you have locked the door to the house of learning. You are not going in yourselves and you do not allow those to go in who are about to go in.”

⁵³ As Jesus went away from there, the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers were very angry and tried to make Him say many things. ⁵⁴ They planned against Jesus and tried to trap Him with something He might say.