David’s Wives and Children

1 ^tAnd Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. 2 And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

3 And David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters. 4 ^uThese are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: ^vShammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 5 Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, 6 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 7 Elishama, ^wBeeliada and ^xEliphelet.

Philistines Defeated

8 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them. 9 Now the Philistines had come and ^ymade a raid in the ^zValley of Rephaim. 10 And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” 11 And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through¹ my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. 12 And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned.

13 And the Philistines yet again ^amade a raid in the valley. 14 And when David again inquired of God, ^bGod said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 15 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 16 And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. 17 And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the ^cfear of him upon all nations.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

1 David² built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and ^dpitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry ^ethe ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. 3 ^fAnd David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord ^gto its place, which he had prepared for it. 4 And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and ^hthe Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; 8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. 11 Then David summoned the priests ⁱZadok and ^jAbiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. ^kConsecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, ^lto the place that I have prepared for it. 13 ^mBecause you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders ⁿwith the poles, ^oas Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on ^pmusical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed ^qHeman the son of Joel; and of his brothers ^rAsaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, ^sEthan the son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, ^tAziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to ^uAlamoth; 21 but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, ^vObed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to ^wthe Sheminith. 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should ^xblow the trumpets before the ark of God. ^vObed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.

25 ^ySo David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of ^vObed-edom with rejoicing. 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed ^zseven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, ^atrumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on ^bharps and lyres.

29 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 At that time ^wJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^xthey began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^y“Look, your disciples are doing ^zwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, ^a“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate ^bthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read ^cin the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, ^dsomething greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known ^ewhat this means, ^f‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For ^gthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

9 He went on from there and ^hentered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ⁱ“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—^jso that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^kif it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 ^lOf how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^mit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ⁿthe man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God’s Chosen Servant

15 Jesus, aware of this, ^owithdrew from there. And ^pmany followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ^qordered them not to make him known. 17 ^rThis was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 ^wThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 ^xAnd all the people were amazed, and said, ^x“Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^y“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 ^zKnowing their thoughts, ^ahe said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^bby whom do ^cyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is ^dby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ^ethe kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or ^fhow can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ^ghe may plunder his house. 30 ^hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 ⁱTherefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^jthe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word ^kagainst the Son of Man ^lwill be forgiven, but ^jwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^mthis age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 ⁿ“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^ofor the tree is known by its fruit. 34 ^pYou brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^qwhen you are evil? ^rFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 ^rThe good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, ^son the day of judgment ^tpeople will give account for ^uevery careless word they speak, 37 for ^vby your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^wwe wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, ^x“An evil and ^yadulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For ^zjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^aso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 ^bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^ccondemn it, for ^dthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^esomething greater than Jonah is here. 42 ^fThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^esomething greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

43 “When ^gthe unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^hwaterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ⁱthe last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^jevil generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, ^khis mother and his ^lbrothers¹ stood outside, asking to speak to him.² 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For ^mwhoever ⁿdoes the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”