Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Festival.^(A) Jesus knew that the hour had come^(B) for him to leave this world and go to the Father.^(C) Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.^{(D) 3} Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,^(E) and that he had come from God^(F) and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.^{(G) 5} After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,^(H) drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”^(I)

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean,^(J) though not every one of you.”^{(K) 11} For he knew who was going to betray him,^(L) and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’^(M) and ‘Lord,’^(N) and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.^{(O) 15} I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.^{(P) 16} Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,^(Q) nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.^(R)

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

¹⁸ “I am not referring to all of you;^(S) I know those I have chosen.^(T) But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture:^(U) ‘He who shared my bread^(V) has turned^[a](W) against me.’^[b](X)

¹⁹ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe^(Y) that I am who I am.^{(Z) 20} Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”^(AA)

²¹ After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit^(AB) and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”^(AC)

²² His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³ One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved,^(AD) was reclining next to him. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

²⁵ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”^(AE)

²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas,^(AF) the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.^(AG)

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸ But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Since Judas had charge of the money,^(AH) some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival,^(AI) or to give something to the poor.^{(AJ) 30} As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.^(AK)

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(AL)

³¹ When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man^(AM) is glorified^(AN) and God is glorified in him.^{(AO) 32} If God is glorified in him,^[c] God will glorify the Son in himself,^(AP) and will glorify him at once.

³³ “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.^(AQ)

³⁴ “A new command^(AR) I give you: Love one another.^(AS) As I have loved you, so you must love one another.^{(AT) 35} By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”^(AU)

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”^(AV)

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now,^(AW) but you will follow later.”^(AX)

³⁷ Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!^(AY)

The Gibeonites Avenged

21 During the reign of David, there was a famine^(A) for three successive years; so David sought^(B) the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

² The king summoned the Gibeonites^(C) and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) ³ David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”^(D)

⁴ The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”^(E)

“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.

⁵ They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, ⁶ let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed^(F) before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen^(G) one.”

So the king said, “I will give them to you.”

⁷ The king spared Mephibosheth^(H) son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath^(I) before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul. ⁸ But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah,^(J) whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,^[a] whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.^{(K) 9} He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death^(L) during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.^(M)

¹⁰ Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night.^{(N) 11} When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, ¹² he went and took the bones of Saul^(O) and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead.^(P) (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan,^(Q) where the Philistines had hung^(R) them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.)^{(S) 13} David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.

¹⁴ They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela^(T) in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that,^(U) God answered prayer^(V) in behalf of the land.^(W)

Wars Against the Philistines^(X)

¹⁵ Once again there was a battle between the Philistines^(Y) and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. ¹⁶ And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels^[b] and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai^(Z) son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp^(AA) of Israel will not be extinguished.^(AB)”

¹⁸ In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbekai^(AC) the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha.

¹⁹ In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair^[c] the Bethlehemite killed the brother of^[d] Goliath the Gittite,^(AD) who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.^(AE)

²⁰ In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. ²¹ When he taunted^(AF) Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah,^(AG) David’s brother, killed him.

²² These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.

David’s Song of Praise^(AH)

22 David sang^(AI) to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ² He said:

David’s Last Words

23 These are the last words of David:

David’s Mighty Warriors^(EE)

⁸ These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:^(EF)

Josheb-Basshebeth,^[o](EG) a Tahkemonite,^[p] was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed^[q] in one encounter.

⁹ Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai^(EH) the Ahohite.^(EI) As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim^[r] for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, ¹⁰ but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.

¹¹ Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. ¹² But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹³ During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam,^(EJ) while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.^{(EK) 14} At that time David was in the stronghold,^(EL) and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.^{(EM) 15} David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁶ So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured^(EN) it out before the Lord. ¹⁷ “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood^(EO) of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.

¹⁸ Abishai^(EP) the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three.^[s] He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. ¹⁹ Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.

²⁰ Benaiah^(EQ) son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel,^(ER) performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²¹ And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²² Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. ²³ He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.