1 Samuel 25

³Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.

²⁹When the whole congregation saw that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.

⁸The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

²⁰And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried at his palace. And his son Amon reigned in his place.

²God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

²¹And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,

²⁴So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon,

¹³When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”

¹⁹Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

²⁰And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores

¹²So the Lord blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

²And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.

¹Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

¹⁰A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.

⁵No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.

⁶For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the Lord; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

³For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.

³⁰Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

³¹Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.

¹⁷Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”

²³Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.

¹³When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”

²³“It is fine,” said the steward. “Do not be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you the treasure that was in your sacks. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²²Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.

¹⁸Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

⁷May there be peace within your walls, and prosperity inside your fortresses.”

⁶But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.

⁵Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

¹²As you enter the home, greet its occupants.

¹³If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it, but if it is not, let your peace return to you.

²¹Now David had just said, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good.

¹⁵Yet these men were very good to us. When we were in the field, we were not harassed, and nothing of ours went missing the whole time we lived among them.

¹⁶They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.

⁶The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.

⁷The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

¹⁴Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.

¹⁹This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.

¹⁰Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”

²Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

¹¹See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. Know and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

⁶Once again the Lord called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.”

²²as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.

⁷So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁴On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

¹⁵When the sons of the prophets who were watching him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.

²⁸Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?

⁷From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

⁸They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.

¹Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”

⁷The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

⁵No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.

³Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.

⁴We have endured much scorn from the arrogant, much contempt from the proud.

⁶But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”

¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

¹⁷You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”

¹³As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.

¹⁴Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them.

¹⁵Yet these men were very good to us. When we were in the field, we were not harassed, and nothing of ours went missing the whole time we lived among them.

¹Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

²Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

¹³So Gad went and said to David, “Do you choose to endure three years of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

²¹But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

²²Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

¹³Then David and his men, about six hundred strong, set out and departed from Keilah, moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he declined to go forth.

²Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

²¹When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Brook of Besor, they came out to meet him and the troops with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them,

²²but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”

¹⁹Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

²⁰On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

¹¹A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

⁵Afterward, David’s conscience was stricken because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

⁶So he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

¹⁰Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

²⁹And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

⁷Now I hear that it is time for shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.

²¹Now David had just said, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good.

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

¹⁰Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

⁵For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory within it.’”

²⁰Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver you, declares the Lord.

¹³that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),

⁷If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he is enraged, you will know he has evil intentions.

²⁵My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.

⁹“Never!” Jonathan replied. “If I ever found out that my father had evil intentions against you, would I not tell you?”

¹²Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord

⁶But the worthless are all like thorns raked aside, for they can never be gathered by hand.

⁷The man who touches them must be armed with iron or with the shaft of a spear. The fire burns them to ashes in the place where they lie.”

¹When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

¹⁶A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.

⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.

⁵Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

²⁵Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.

¹²Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.

⁴⁰And their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant supplies of flour, fig cakes and raisin cakes, wine and oil, oxen and sheep. Indeed, there was joy in Israel.

²⁰You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I will appease Esau with the gift that is going before me. After that I can face him, and perhaps he will accept me.”

¹⁶He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds.”

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value.

¹²She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life.

²⁷She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁴Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”

¹³If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.

²⁶“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

²⁰How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

²¹For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

¹⁵Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

¹⁰Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone!

¹³But if my father intends to bring evil on you, then may the Lord punish me, and ever so severely, if I do not tell you and send you on your way in safety. May the Lord be with you, just as He has been with my father.

¹⁷“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”

²¹This is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free.

⁸The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel.

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies accountable.”

⁴¹When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept more.

¹⁸One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”

¹⁴One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”

⁸After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed facedown in reverence

⁹But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and on my father’s house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless.”

³And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.

²⁸Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the Lord will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the Lord’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.

³⁷She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.

¹⁸Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

¹⁷Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”

²If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the Lord of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.

³³So now, my lord the king, do not take to heart the report that all the sons of the king are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

²⁵So He poured out on them His furious anger and the fierceness of battle. It enveloped them in flames, but they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

²⁶Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.

³²The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” And the Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you to harm you be like that young man.”

¹⁹Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

²⁰On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

⁶Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

⁴⁷the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.

³⁰For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

¹⁹For a time, Daniel, who was also known as Belteshazzar, was perplexed, and his thoughts alarmed him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.” “My lord,” replied Belteshazzar, “may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!

²⁶When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”

¹¹Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” So Jacob pressed him until he accepted.

¹⁵Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “Now I know for sure that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

²“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you beforehand and make arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. This way, your gift will be prepared generously and not begrudgingly.

⁴²So Abigail hurried and got on a donkey, and attended by five of her maidens, she followed David’s messengers and became his wife.

¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹¹and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.

²⁵For You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build a house for him. Therefore Your servant has found the courage to pray before You.

¹¹See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. Know and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

¹⁰and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you.

⁵then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

²¹that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

¹⁷“They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.

²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

¹⁸For this is what the Lord says: “Behold, at this time I will sling out the inhabitants of the land and bring distress upon them so that they may be captured.”

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

⁹He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.

¹⁴But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the Lord.”

¹⁷saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.”

²⁰I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

²⁸So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

¹⁴But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison.

³³Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

¹⁹Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”

¹O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.

¹²and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.

²⁷saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

¹⁰Jethro declared, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from the hand of the Egyptians.

²⁷Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the Lord in Jerusalem,

¹⁶But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.

²⁶Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.

²³He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.

²¹A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

⁹Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

¹⁰A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.

¹²Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.

⁶Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

¹¹The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions, and during the morning watch they invaded the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them, until the hottest part of the day. And the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

¹⁸Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys

²⁶Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.

⁹After marching all night from Gilgal, Joshua caught them by surprise.

⁴²And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.

¹⁹“Go in peace,” said Elisha. But after Naaman had traveled a short distance,

²¹“Very well,” he answered, “I will grant this request as well, and will not demolish the town you indicate.

⁴⁸“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

¹⁹who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.

⁹“Go in peace,” said the king. So Absalom got up and went to Hebron.

²³Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.

⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.

²⁸Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

¹⁹and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

¹³Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

²¹Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

²²He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.

³⁴Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.”

²²May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one male belonging to Nabal survive until morning.”

²⁸The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,

³³Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

⁷And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.

¹⁰David added, “As surely as the Lord lives, the Lord Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.

¹⁵So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from God, in order that the Lord might fulfill the word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

³⁵And that very night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!

⁵And the Lord afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, so that he lived in a separate house while his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

³⁴Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.”

²³for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.

²⁶Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.

¹⁶His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

³²Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day!

¹⁵May the Lord be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”

⁵¹Rebekah is here before you. Take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decreed.”

³⁷My master made me swear an oath and said, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell,

³⁸but you shall go to my father’s house and to my kindred to take a wife for my son.’

¹⁰and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.

¹⁰At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”

³Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.

⁴So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist.

⁴Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.

¹²Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

³³The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

⁶¹Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶²Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev.

¹⁰Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house,

¹¹and the king will desire your beauty; bow to him, for he is your lord.

³David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

⁵David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.

⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,

²And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart. But it was not this way from the beginning.

¹³After he had arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

¹⁴These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

²⁷David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as payment in full to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David in marriage.

¹⁴Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife, Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

³⁰Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!

²⁰Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David, and when this was reported to Saul, it pleased him.