Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song by David for going up to worship.

David Makes a Promise to Jonathan

20 David fled from the pastures at Ramah, came to Jonathan, and asked, “What have I done? What crime am I guilty of? What sin have I committed against your father that he’s trying to kill me?”

² Jonathan answered, “That’s unthinkable! You’re not going to die! My father does nothing without telling me, whether it’s important or not. Why should my father hide this from me? It’s just not that way.”

³ But David took an oath, saying, “Your father certainly knows that you support me, so he said ⌞to himself⌟, ‘Jonathan must not know about this. It will bring him distress.’ But I solemnly swear, as the Lord and you live, I’m only one step away from death.”

⁴ Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do whatever you say.”

⁵ David replied, “Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival, when I should sit and eat at the king’s ⌞table⌟. But let me go and hide in the countryside for two more nights. ⁶ If your father really misses me, tell him, ‘David repeatedly begged me to let him run to Bethlehem, his hometown, because his relatives are offering the annual sacrifice there.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Good!’ then I will be safe. But if he gets really angry, then you’ll know for sure that he has decided to harm me. ⁸ Now, be kind to me. After all, you forced me into an agreement with the Lord. If I have committed any crime, kill me yourself. Why bother taking me to your father?”

⁹ Jonathan answered, “That’s unthinkable! If I knew for sure that my father had decided to harm you, I would have told you about it.”

¹⁰ Then David asked, “Who will tell me whether or not your father gives you a harsh answer?”

¹¹ Jonathan said, “Let’s go out into the country.” So they went out into the country.

¹² “As the Lord God of Israel ⌞is my witness⌟,” Jonathan continued, “I’ll find out in the next two or three days how my father feels about you. If he does feel kindly toward you, then I will send someone to tell you. ¹³ If my father plans to harm you and I fail to tell you and send you away safely, may the Lord harm me even more. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. ¹⁴ But as long as I live, ⌞promise me that you will⌟ show me kindness because of the Lord. And even when I die, ¹⁵ never stop being kind to my family. The Lord will wipe each of David’s enemies off the face of the earth. ¹⁶ At that time, if Jonathan’s name ^[a] is cut off from David’s family, then may the Lord punish David’s house.” ^[b]

¹⁷ Once again Jonathan swore an oath to David because of his love for David. He loved David as much as ⌞he loved⌟ himself. ¹⁸ “Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival,” Jonathan told him, “and you will be missed when your seat is empty. ¹⁹ The day after tomorrow you will be missed even more. So go to the place where you hid on that other occasion, and stay by the rock. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows from beside it toward a target. ²¹ Then I will send out a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ Now, if I tell the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are next to you; get them,’ then come ⌞back with me⌟. You will be safe, and there will be no trouble. I swear it, as the Lord lives. ²² But if I tell the boy, ‘The arrows are next to you,’ then go, because the Lord has sent you away. ²³ We have made a promise to each other, and the Lord is ⌞a witness⌟ between you and me forever.”

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out to the country to the place he and David had agreed on. Jonathan had a young boy with him. ³⁶ “Run,” he told the boy, “please find the arrows I shoot.”

The boy ran, and Jonathan shot the arrow over him. ³⁷ When the boy reached the place where Jonathan’s arrow ⌞had landed⌟, Jonathan called after him, “The arrows are next to you!” ³⁸ Jonathan added, “Quick! Hurry up! Don’t stand there!” Jonathan’s young servant gathered the arrows and came to his master. ³⁹ The boy had no idea what was going on, but Jonathan and David understood. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy. He told the boy, “Take them back into town.”

⁴¹ When the boy had left, David came out from the south side ⌞of the rock⌟ and quickly bowed down three times with his face touching the ground. Then they kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the loudest.

⁴² “Go in peace!” Jonathan told David. “We have both taken an oath in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘The Lord will be ⌞a witness⌟ between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ” ^[a]

So David left, and Jonathan went into the city.

The New Church in Antioch

¹⁹ Some of the believers who were scattered by the trouble that broke out following Stephen’s death went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and the city of Antioch. They spoke God’s word only to Jewish people. ²⁰ But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, arrived in Antioch. They started to spread the Good News about the Lord Jesus to Greeks. ²¹ The Lord’s power was with his followers, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²² After the news about Antioch reached the church in Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived there, he was pleased to see what God had done for them out of kindness.^[a] So he encouraged all the people to remain solidly committed to the Lord. ²⁴ Barnabas was a dependable man, and he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. A large crowd believed in the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas left Antioch to go to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. ²⁶ After finding Saul, Barnabas brought him back to Antioch. Barnabas and Saul met with the church in Antioch for a whole year and taught a large group of people. The disciples were called Christians for the first time in the city of Antioch.