Whose Son Is the Christ?
35 fAnd as gJesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that hthe Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, iin the Holy Spirit, declared,
j“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies kunder your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So lhow is he his son?” And the great throng mheard him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38 nAnd in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and othe places of honor at feasts, 40 pwho devour widows’ houses and qfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering
41 rAnd he sat down opposite sthe treasury and watched the people tputting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two usmall copper coins, which make a penny.1 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, vthis poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her wpoverty has put in everything she had, all xshe had to live on.”
Paul Defends His Ministry
1 iI, Paul, myself entreat you, by the jmeekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you kthat when I am present I may not have to show lboldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the mweapons of nour warfare are not of the flesh but have odivine power pto destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and qevery lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to robey Christ, 6 sbeing ready to punish every disobedience, twhen your obedience is complete.
7 uLook at what is before your eyes. vIf anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as whe is Christ’s, xso also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of your authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but zhis bodily presence is weak, and ahis speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or bcompare ourselves with some of those who care commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are dwithout understanding.
13 But we will not boast ebeyond limits, but will fboast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, gto reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. hFor we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that ias your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be jgreatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. 17 “Let kthe one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is lnot the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one mwhom the Lord commends.
Tell of All His Wondrous Works
1 tOh give thanks to the Lord; ucall upon his name;
vmake known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
wtell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his xstrength;
yseek his presence continually!
5 Remember the zwondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and athe judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of bAbraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his cchosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
his djudgments are in all the earth.
8 He eremembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for fa thousand generations,
9 gthe covenant that he made with Abraham,
his hsworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to iJacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, j“To you I will give the land of Canaan
as kyour portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were lfew in number,
of little account, and msojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he nallowed no one to oppress them;
he orebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, p“Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he qsummoned a famine on the land
and rbroke all supply1 of bread,
17 he had ssent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was tsold as a slave.
18 His ufeet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until vwhat he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord wtested him.
20 xThe king sent and yreleased him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he zmade him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind2 his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then aIsrael came to Egypt;
Jacob bsojourned in cthe land of Ham.
24 And the Lord dmade his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He eturned their hearts to hate his people,
to fdeal craftily with his servants.
26 He gsent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, hwhom he had chosen.
27 iThey performed his signs among them
and miracles in cthe land of Ham.
28 He jsent darkness, and made the land dark;
they kdid not rebel3 against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and lcaused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in mthe chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came nswarms of flies,
oand gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery plightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and qshattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the rlocusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He sstruck down all the firstborn in their land,
sthe firstfruits of all their strength.
37 Then he brought out Israel with tsilver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 uEgypt was glad when they departed,
for vdread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He wspread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 xThey asked, and he ybrought quail,
and gave them zbread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and awater gushed out;
it flowed through bthe desert like a river.
42 For he cremembered his holy promise,
and dAbraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his dchosen ones with esinging.
44 And he fgave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
45 that they might gkeep his statutes
and hobserve his laws.
iPraise the Lord!
David Spares Saul’s Life
1 yWhen Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took zthree thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in ato relieve himself.1 Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts bof the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, c“Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 And afterward dDavid’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, e“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is fthe Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words gand did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. hAnd some told me to kill you, but I spared you.2 I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, ffor he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that ithere is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though jyou hunt my life to take it. 12 kMay the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? lAfter a dead dog! mAfter a flea! 15 kMay the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and nplead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, o“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, pfor you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, qI know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 rSwear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and sthat you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up tto the stronghold.
The Death of Samuel
1 uNow Samuel died. And all Israel assembled vand mourned for him, and they buried him win his house at xRamah.
David and Abigail
Then David rose and went down to ythe wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in zMaon whose business was in aCarmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. bHe was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; che was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal bwas shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: d‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, eand they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come fon a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, g“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? hThere are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take imy bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to jmen who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And kabout four hundred men went up after David, kwhile two hundred lremained with the baggage.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, nand we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were oa wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, pfor harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such qa worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs3 of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, rso that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has sreturned me evil for good. 22 tGod do so to the enemies of David4 and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”
23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried uand got down from the donkey vand fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, w“On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard qthis worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal5 is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, xas the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because ythe Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from zsaving with your own hand, now then alet your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this bpresent that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord ca sure house, because my lord dis fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies ehe shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince6 over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord zworking salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
32 And David said to Abigail, f“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, ywho have kept me this day from bloodguilt zand from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely gas the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, ywho has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, h“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”
36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, ihe was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart jwas merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing kat all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later lthe Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, f“Blessed be the Lord who has mavenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, nand has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. oThe Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and pspoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose qand bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.
43 David also took Ahinoam of rJezreel, sand both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
