David Avenges the Gibeonites
1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David zsought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but aof the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless bthe heritage of the Lord?” 4 The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” 5 They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at cGibeah of Saul, dthe chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of ethe oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 The king took the two sons of fRizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab1 the daughter of Saul, whom gshe bore to hAdriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, iat the beginning of barley harvest.
10 jThen Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 11 When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, kwho had stolen them from the public square of lBeth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in mZela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that nGod responded to the plea for the land.
War with the Philistines
15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants oof the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels2 of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, p“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench qthe lamp of Israel.”
18 rAfter this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then sSibbecai tthe Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants uof the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and vElhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, wthe shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.3 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended xfrom the giants. 21 And when yhe taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended xfrom the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
David’s Song of Deliverance
1 And David spoke zto the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 aHe said,
b“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 cmy4 God, my rock, din whom I take refuge,
emy shield, and fthe horn of my salvation,
gmy stronghold and hmy refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is iworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 j“For the waves of death encompassed me,
the torrents of destruction assailed me;5
6 kthe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 l“In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry mcame to his ears.
8 “Then nthe earth reeled and rocked;
othe foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,6
and devouring fire from his mouth;
pglowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 qHe bowed the heavens and rcame down;
sthick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he was seen on tthe wings of the wind.
12 He made sdarkness around him uhis canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
vcoals of fire flamed forth.
14 wThe Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out xarrows and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the yblast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 z“He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
20 aHe brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because bhe delighted in me.
21 “The Lord cdealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the dcleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 eFor I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 fFor all his rules were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was gblameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
25 dAnd the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 h“With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the gblameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 iYou save a humble people,
jbut your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 kFor you are my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
30 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God—lhis way is perfect;
the mword of the Lord proves true;
he is na shield for all those who take refuge in him.
32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
oAnd who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my pstrong refuge
and has made my7 way blameless.8
34 qHe made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure ron the heights.
35 sHe trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your gentleness made me great.
37 tYou gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet9 did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
they fell uunder my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made vthose who rise against me sink under me.
41 You wmade my enemies turn their backs to me,10
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but xhe did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine yas the dust of the earth;
I crushed them and stamped them down zlike the mire of the streets.
44 “You delivered me from strife with my people;11
you kept me as the head of athe nations;
bpeople whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be dmy God, ethe rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and fbrought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above vthose who rose against me;
you delivered me from gmen of violence.
50 h“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
51 iGreat salvation he brings13 to his king,
and shows steadfast love to jhis anointed,
to David and his offspring kforever.”
The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, fthe servant of the Lord, gwho addressed the words of this hsong to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my irock and my jfortress and my deliverer,
my God, my irock, in kwhom I take refuge,
my lshield, and mthe horn of my salvation, my nstronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is oworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 pThe cords of death encompassed me;
qthe torrents of destruction assailed me;1
5 pthe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 rIn my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his stemple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth treeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,2
and devouring ufire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He vbowed the heavens and wcame down;
xthick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on zthe wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his acanopy around him,
thick clouds bdark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
chailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The Lord also dthundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his evoice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his farrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and grouted them.
15 Then hthe channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your irebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of jthe breath of your nostrils.
16 He ksent from on high, he took me;
he ldrew me out of mmany waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were ntoo mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into oa broad place;
he rescued me, because he pdelighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me qaccording to my righteousness;
according to rthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have skept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For tall his rules3 were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was ublameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With vthe merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with wthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save xa humble people,
but ythe haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my zlamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can aleap over ba wall.
30 This God—his way is cperfect;4
the word of the Lord dproves true;
31 For gwho is God, but the Lord?
And who is ha rock, except our God?—
32 the God who iequipped me with strength
and made my way jblameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a kdeer
and set me secure on lthe heights.
34 He mtrains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand nsupported me,
and your ogentleness made me great.
36 You pgave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies qturn their backs to me,5
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 rThey cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as sdust before the wind;
I cast them out like tthe mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from ustrife with the people;
you made me vthe head of the nations;
wpeople whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
xforeigners ycame cringing to me.
45 xForeigners lost heart
and zcame trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and asubdued peoples under me,
48 who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you bexalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from cthe man of violence.
49 dFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and esing to your name.
50 Great fsalvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his ganointed,
to hDavid and his offspring forever.
I Am the Bread of Life
22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only done boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord ehad given thanks. 24 fSo when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and gwent to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, h“Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, iyou are seeking me, not because you saw jsigns, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 kDo not work for the food that perishes, but for lthe food that endures to eternal life, which mthe Son of Man will give to you. For on nhim God the Father has oset his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing pthe works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, qthat you believe in him whom rhe has sent.” 30 So they said to him, s“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 tOur fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, u‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is vhe who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, w“Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, x“I am the bread of life; ywhoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 zAll that athe Father gives me will come to me, and bwhoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For cI have come down from heaven, not to do dmy own will but dthe will of him ewho sent me. 39 And fthis is the will of him who sent me, gthat I should lose nothing of hall that he has given me, but iraise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who jlooks on the Son and kbelieves in him lshould have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
