Old/New Testament
Saul Repeatedly Attempts to Take David’s Life
19 Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much.[a] 2 So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying[b] to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find[c] a hiding place and stay in seclusion.[d] 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak to my father about you. When I find out what the problem is,[e] I will let you know.”
4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf[f] to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial[g] for you. 5 He risked his life[h] when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”
6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice[i] and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly.[j]
8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly,[k] and they ran away from him. 9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon[l] Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre.[m] 10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, and the spear drove into the wall.[n] David escaped quickly[o] that night.
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save yourself[p] tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!” 12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped.
13 Then Michal took a household idol[q] and put it on the bed. She put a quilt[r] made of goats’ hair over its head[s] and then covered the idol with a garment. 14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, “He’s sick.”
15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 16 When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goats’ hair at its head.
17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!” Michal replied to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!’”[t]
18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. 19 It was reported to Saul saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied. 21 When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. 22 Finally Saul[u] himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” They said, “At Naioth in Ramah.”
23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there[v] naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”)
Jonathan Seeks to Protect David
20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked,[w] “What have I done? What is my offense?[x] How have I sinned before your father, that he is seeking my life?”
2 Jonathan[y] said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing[z] large or small without making me aware of it.[aa] Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”
3 Taking an oath, David again[ab] said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact[ac] that I have found favor with you, and he has thought,[ad] ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!” 4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.”[ae]
5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal.[af] You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go[ag] to his town Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’[ah] then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me.[ai] 8 You must be loyal[aj] to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name.[ak] If I am guilty,[al] you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”
9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?” 10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”
When the two of them had gone out into the field, 12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness![am] I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know?[an] 13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know[ao] and send word to you, so you can go safely on your way.[ap] May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die. 15 Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth 16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant[aq] with the house of David.[ar] 17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life.[as] 18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day[at] you should go down quickly[au] and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started.[av] Stay near the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 When I send a boy after them, I will say, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you;[aw] get them,’ then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will be no problem. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’[ax] then get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. 23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever.”[ay]
24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him[az] and Abner at his side.[ba] But David’s place was vacant. 26 However, Saul said nothing about it[bb] that day, for he thought,[bc] “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.” 27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Permit me to go,[bd] for we are having a family sacrifice in the town, and my brother urged[be] me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go[bf] to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Saul became angry with Jonathan[bg] and said to him, “You stupid traitor![bh] Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? 31 For as long as[bi] this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men[bj] and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!”[bk]
32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan[bl] in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced[bm] that his father had decided to kill David. 34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David.[bn]
35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan[bo] shot the arrow beyond him. 37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to[bp] the servant, “Isn’t the arrow farther beyond you?” 38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.)[bq] 40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the town.”
41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound,[br] knelt[bs] with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”
David Goes to Nob
(21:1)[bt] Then David[bu] got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the town of Naioth.[bv] 21 1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met[bw] David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?” 2 David replied to Ahimelech the priest, “The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, ‘Don’t let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.’[bx] I have told my soldiers[by] to wait at a certain place.[bz] 3 Now what do you have at your disposal?[ca] Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
4 The priest replied to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers[cb] have abstained from relations with women.”[cc] 5 David said to the priest, “Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers’[cd] equipment[ce] is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!”
6 So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the Bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away. 7 (One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s shepherds.) 8 David said to Ahimelech, “Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don’t have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king’s instructions.”
David Goes to Gath
9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that one, there’s no sword here.” David said, “There’s nothing like it. Give it to me.” 10 So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. 11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,
‘Saul struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands’?”
12 David thought about what they said[cf] and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. 13 He altered his behavior in their presence.[cg] Since he was in their power,[ch] he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard.
14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? 15 Do I have a shortage of fools so that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?”
The Sign of Jonah
29 As[a] the crowds were increasing, Jesus[b] began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign,[c] but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.[d] 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh,[e] so the Son of Man will be a sign[f] to this generation.[g] 31 The queen of the South[h] will rise up at the judgment[i] with the people[j] of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now,[k] something greater[l] than Solomon is here! 32 The people[m] of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them[n]—and now,[o] something greater than Jonah is here!
Internal Light
33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place[p] or under a basket,[q] but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy,[r] your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased,[s] your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore see to it[t] that the light in you[u] is not darkness. 36 If[v] then[w] your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark,[x] it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”[y]
Rebuking the Pharisees and Experts in the Law
37 As he spoke,[z] a Pharisee[aa] invited Jesus[ab] to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.[ac] 38 The[ad] Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus[ae] did not first wash his hands[af] before the meal. 39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean[ag] the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.[ah] 40 You fools![ai] Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well?[aj] 41 But give from your heart to those in need,[ak] and[al] then everything will be clean for you.[am]
42 “But woe to you Pharisees![an] You give a tenth[ao] of your mint,[ap] rue,[aq] and every herb, yet you neglect justice[ar] and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.[as] 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats[at] in the synagogues[au] and elaborate greetings[av] in the marketplaces![aw] 44 Woe to you![ax] You are like unmarked graves, and people[ay] walk over them without realizing it!”[az]
45 One of the experts in religious law[ba] answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult[bb] us too.” 46 But Jesus[bc] replied,[bd] “Woe to you experts in religious law as well![be] You load people[bf] down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch[bg] the burdens with even one of your fingers! 47 Woe to you! You build[bh] the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors[bi] killed. 48 So you testify that you approve of[bj] the deeds of your ancestors,[bk] because they killed the prophets[bl] and you build their[bm] tombs![bn] 49 For this reason also the wisdom[bo] of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that this generation may be held accountable[bp] for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning[bq] of the world,[br] 51 from the blood of Abel[bs] to the blood of Zechariah,[bt] who was killed[bu] between the altar and the sanctuary.[bv] Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against[bw] this generation. 52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away[bx] the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered[by] those who were going in.”
53 When he went out from there, the experts in the law[bz] and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly,[ca] and to ask him hostile questions[cb] about many things, 54 plotting against[cc] him, to catch[cd] him in something he might say.
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