Old/New Testament
David and the Philistines
27 But David thought to himself, “Saul will catch me someday. The best thing I can do is escape to the land of the Philistines. Then he will give up looking for me in Israel. That way I can get away from him.”
2 So David and his 600 men left Israel. They went to Achish son of Maoch. Achish was king of Gath. 3 David, his men and their families made their home in Gath with Achish. David had his two wives with him. Their names were Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel. Abigail was the widow of Nabal. 4 Now Saul was told that David had run away to Gath. So he stopped looking for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If you are pleased with me, give me a place in one of the country towns. I can live there. I don’t need to live in the royal city with you.”
6 That day Achish gave David the town of Ziklag. That is why Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived in the Philistine land a year and four months.
8 David and his men went to raid the people of Geshur, Girzi and Amalek. (These people had lived for a long time in the land that reached to Shur and Egypt.) 9 When David fought them, he killed all the men and women. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
10 Many times Achish would ask David, “Where did you go raiding today?” And David would tell him that he had gone to the southern part of Judah. Or he would say he had gone to the territory of the Jerahmeelites or of the Kenites. 11 David never brought a man or woman alive to Gath. He thought, “If we bring anyone alive, he may tell Achish, ‘This is what David really did.’” David did this all the time he lived in the Philistine land. 12 Achish trusted David. He said to himself, “David’s own people, the Israelites, now hate David very much. So David will serve me forever.”
Saul and the Medium of Endor
28 Later, the Philistines gathered their armies to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You understand that you and your men must join with me in my army.”
2 David answered, “Certainly! Then you can see for yourself what I, your servant, can do!”
Achish said, “Fine, I’ll make you my bodyguard for life.”
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all the Israelites had shown their sadness for him. They had buried Samuel in his hometown of Ramah.
And Saul had forced out the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land of Israel.
4 The Philistines came together and made camp at Shunem. Saul gathered all the Israelites and made camp at Gilboa. 5 When he saw the Philistine army, he was afraid. His heart pounded with fear. 6 He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him through dreams, Urim or prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium. I’ll go and ask her what will happen.”
His servants answered, “There is a medium in Endor.”
8 Then Saul put on other clothes so no one would know who he was. At night Saul and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “Talk to a spirit for me. Call up the person I name.”
9 But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has forced the mediums and fortune-tellers out from the land of Israel. You are trying to trap me and kill me.”
10 Saul made a promise to the woman in the name of the Lord. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for doing this.”
11 The woman asked, “Whom do you want me to bring up for you?”
He answered, “Bring up Samuel.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed loudly. She said, “Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!”
13 The king said to the woman, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”
14 Saul asked, “What does he look like?”
The woman answered, “An old man wearing a coat is coming up.”
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown on the ground.
15 Samuel asked Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
Saul said, “I am greatly troubled. The Philistines are fighting against me. God has left me. He won’t answer me anymore, either by prophets or in dreams. That’s why I called you. I want you to tell me what to do.”
16 Samuel said, “The Lord has left you. He has become your enemy. So why do you call on me? 17 He has done what he said he would do. He said these things through me. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands. He has given it to one of your neighbors, David. 18 You did not obey the Lord. You did not show the Amalekites how angry he was with them. That’s why he has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will give both Israel and you to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will let the Philistines defeat the army of Israel.”
20 Saul quickly fell to the ground and lay there. He was afraid because of what Samuel had said. He was also very weak because he had eaten nothing all that day and night.
21 Then the woman came to Saul. She saw that he was really frightened. She said, “Look, I, your servant, have obeyed you. I have risked my life and done what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen to me. Let me give you some food. Then you may eat and have enough strength to go on your way.”
23 But Saul refused. He said, “I won’t eat.”
His servants joined the woman in asking him to eat. And he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.
24 The woman had a fat calf at the house. She quickly killed it. She took some flour and mixed dough with her hands. Then she baked some bread without yeast. 25 She put the food before them, and they ate. Then that same night they got up and left.
David Goes Back to Ziklag
29 The Philistines gathered all their soldiers at Aphek. Israel camped by the spring at Jezreel. 2 The Philistine kings were marching with their groups of 100 and 1,000 men. David and his men were marching at the back with Achish. 3 The Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”
Achish told them, “This is David. He was an officer to Saul king of Israel. But he has been with me for over a year now. I have found nothing wrong in David since the time he left Saul and came to me.”
4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish. They said, “Send David back! He must go back to the city you gave him. He can’t go with us into battle. If he’s here, we’ll have an enemy in our own camp. He would please his king by killing our own men. 5 David is the one the Israelites sing about in their dances:
‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies.
But David has killed tens of thousands.’”
6 So Achish called David. He said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are loyal. I would be pleased to have you serve in my army. Since the day you came to me, I have found no wrong in you. But the Philistine kings don’t trust you. 7 Go back in peace. Don’t do anything to displease the Philistine kings.”
8 David asked, “What wrong have I done? What evil have you found in me from the day I came to you until now? Why won’t you allow me to fight your enemies, my lord and king?”
9 Achish answered, “I know you are as pleasing to me as an angel from God. But the Philistine commanders have said, ‘David can’t go with us into battle.’ 10 Early in the morning you and your master’s servants, the Israelites, should go back. Go back to the city I gave you. Leave as soon as the sun comes up.”
11 So David and his men got up early in the morning. They went back to the country of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
Change Your Hearts
13 At that time some people were there with Jesus. They told him about what had happened to some people from Galilee. Pilate[a] killed those people while they were worshiping. He mixed their blood with the blood of the animals they were sacrificing to God. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think this happened to them because they were more sinful than all others from Galilee? 3 No, they were not! But if all of you don’t change your hearts and lives, then you will be destroyed as they were! 4 What about those 18 people who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were more sinful than all the others who live in Jerusalem? 5 They were not! But I tell you, if you don’t change your hearts and lives, then you will all be destroyed too!”
The Useless Tree
6 Jesus told this story: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for some fruit on the tree, but he found none. 7 So the man said to his servant who took care of his vineyard, ‘I have been looking for fruit on this tree for three years, but I never find any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the ground?’ 8 But the servant answered, ‘Master, let the tree have one more year to produce fruit. Let me dig up the dirt around it and put on some fertilizer. 9 Maybe the tree will produce fruit next year. If the tree still doesn’t produce fruit, then you can cut it down.’”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
10 Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. 11 In the synagogue there was a woman who had an evil spirit in her. This spirit had made the woman a cripple for 18 years. Her back was always bent; she could not stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, your sickness has left you!” 13 Jesus put his hands on her. Immediately she was able to stand up straight and began praising God.
14 The synagogue leader was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. He said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come to be healed on one of those days. Don’t come for healing on the Sabbath day.”
15 The Lord answered, “You people are hypocrites! All of you untie your work animals and lead them to drink water every day—even on the Sabbath day! 16 This woman that I healed is our Jewish sister. But Satan has held her for 18 years. Surely it is not wrong for her to be freed from her sickness on a Sabbath day!” 17 When Jesus said this, all the men who were criticizing him were ashamed. And all the people were happy for the wonderful things Jesus was doing.
Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast
18 Then Jesus said, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it with? 19 God’s kingdom is like the seed of the mustard plant.[b] A man plants this seed in his garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree. The wild birds build nests on its branches.”
20 Jesus said again, “What can I compare God’s kingdom with? 21 It is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”
The Narrow Door
22 Jesus was teaching in every town and village. He continued to travel toward Jerusalem.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.