David and Jonathan's Friendship

18 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan ^(A)loved him as his own soul. ² And Saul took him that day ^(B)and would not let him return to his father's house. ³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because ^(C)he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵ And David went out ^(D)and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

Saul's Jealousy of David

⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, ^(E)the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.^{[a] 7} And the women ^(F)sang to one another as they celebrated,

⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but ^(H)the kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on.

¹⁰ The next day ^(I)a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and ^(J)he raved within his house while David was ^(K)playing the lyre, as he did day by day. ^(L)Saul had his spear in his hand. ¹¹ And Saul ^(M)hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

^12 (N)Saul was afraid of David because ^(O)the Lord was with him ^(P)but had departed from Saul. ¹³ So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. ^(Q)And he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David ^(R)had success in all his undertakings, ^(S)for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ And when Saul saw that ^(T)he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. ^16 (U)But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is ^(V)my elder daughter Merab. ^(W)I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me ^(X)and fight the Lord's battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, ^(Y)but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” ¹⁸ And David said to Saul, ^(Z)“Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father's clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹ But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to ^(AA)Adriel the ^(AB)Meholathite for a wife.

²⁰ Now ^(AC)Saul's daughter Michal ^(AD)loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹ Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may ^(AE)be a snare for him ^(AF)and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time,^{[b] (AG)}“You shall now be my son-in-law.” ²² And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law.’” ²³ And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, ^(AH)“Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” ²⁴ And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” ²⁵ Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no ^(AI)bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^(AJ)that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.’” ^(AK)Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. ^(AL)Before the time had expired, ²⁷ David arose and went, ^(AM)along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. ^(AN)And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. ²⁸ But when Saul saw and knew that ^(AO)the Lord was with David, ^(AP)and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, ²⁹ Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually.

^30 (AQ)Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out ^(AR)David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

Saul Tries to Kill David

19 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. ^(AS)But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. ² And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” ⁴ And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king ^(AT)sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. ⁵ For ^(AU)he took his life in his hand ^(AV)and he struck down the Philistine, ^(AW)and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against ^(AX)innocent blood by killing David without cause?” ⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, ^(AY)“As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷ And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence ^(AZ)as before.

⁸ And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. ^9 (BA)Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. ^(BB)And David was playing the lyre. ^10 (BC)And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

^11 (BD)Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ^12 (BE)So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. ¹³ Michal took ^(BF)an image^[c] and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. ¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, ^(BG)the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. ¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. ^(BH)Why should I kill you?’”

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at ^(BI)Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. ¹⁹ And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, ^(BJ)the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, ^(BK)and they also prophesied. ²¹ When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, ^(BL)and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, ^(BM)and they also prophesied. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in ^(BN)Ramah.” ²³ And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. ^(BO)And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ^24 (BP)And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, ^(BQ)“Is Saul also among the prophets?”

Descendants of David

3 ^(A)These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second, ^(B)Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite, ² the third, Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; ³ the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah; ⁴ six were born to him in Hebron, ^(C)where he reigned for seven years and six months. ^(D)And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ^5 (E)These were born to him in Jerusalem: ^(F)Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and ^(G)Solomon, four by ^(H)Bath-shua, the daughter of ^(I)Ammiel; ⁶ then Ibhar, ^(J)Elishama, Eliphelet, ⁷ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸ Elishama, ^(K)Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. ⁹ All these were David's sons, besides the sons of the concubines, ^(L)and Tamar was their sister.

¹⁰ The son of Solomon was ^(M)Rehoboam, ^(N)Abijah his son, ^(O)Asa his son, ^(P)Jehoshaphat his son, ^11 (Q)Joram his son, ^(R)Ahaziah his son, ^(S)Joash his son, ^12 (T)Amaziah his son, ^(U)Azariah his son, ^(V)Jotham his son, ^13 (W)Ahaz his son, ^(X)Hezekiah his son, ^(Y)Manasseh his son, ^14 (Z)Amon his son, ^(AA)Josiah his son. ¹⁵ The sons of Josiah: ^(AB)Johanan the firstborn, the second ^(AC)Jehoiakim, the third ^(AD)Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. ¹⁶ The descendants of ^(AE)Jehoiakim: ^(AF)Jeconiah his son, ^(AG)Zedekiah his son; ¹⁷ and the sons of Jeconiah, the ^(AH)captive: ^(AI)Shealtiel his son, ¹⁸ Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah; ¹⁹ and the sons of Pedaiah: ^(AJ)Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the sons of ^(AK)Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister; ²⁰ and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed, five. ²¹ The sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, his son^[a] Rephaiah, his son Arnan, his son Obadiah, his son Shecaniah. ²² The son^[b] of Shecaniah: ^(AL)Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: ^(AM)Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat, six. ²³ The sons of Neariah: Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three. ²⁴ The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven.

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David, ^(C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch ^(A)prophets and ^(B)teachers, ^(C)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,^[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of ^(D)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, ^(E)the Holy Spirit said, ^(F)“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^(G)for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and ^(H)praying they laid their hands on them and ^(I)sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out ^(J)by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God ^(K)in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^(L)John to ^(M)assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^(N)magician, ^(O)a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with ^(P)the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(Q)magician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^(R)opposed them, seeking to turn ^(S)the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^(T)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You ^(U)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^(V)villainy, will you not stop ^(W)making crooked ^(X)the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, ^(Y)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^(Z)people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^(AA)the teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

¹³ Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And ^(AB)John left them and returned ^(AC)to Jerusalem, ¹⁴ but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And ^(AD)on the Sabbath day ^(AE)they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After ^(AF)the reading from ^(AG)the Law and the Prophets, ^(AH)the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any ^(AI)word of encouragement for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and ^(AJ)motioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and ^(AK)you who fear God, listen. ^17 (AL)The God of this people Israel ^(AM)chose our fathers and ^(AN)made the people great ^(AO)during their stay in the land of Egypt, and ^(AP)with uplifted arm he led them out of it. ¹⁸ And for about ^(AQ)forty years ^(AR)he put up with^[b] them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And ^(AS)after destroying ^(AT)seven nations in the land of Canaan, ^(AU)he gave them their land as an inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years. And after that ^(AV)he gave them judges until ^(AW)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then ^(AX)they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul ^(AY)the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And ^(AZ)when he had removed him, ^(BA)he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^(BB)‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ^(BC)a man after my heart, ^(BD)who will do all my will.’ ^23 (BE)Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel ^(BF)a Savior, Jesus, ^(BG)as he promised. ²⁴ Before his coming, ^(BH)John had proclaimed ^(BI)a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, ^(BJ)he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you ^(BK)who fear God, to us has been sent ^(BL)the message of ^(BM)this salvation. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ^(BN)they did not recognize him nor understand ^(BO)the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, ^(BP)fulfilled them by condemning him. ²⁸ And ^(BQ)though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, ^(BR)they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ And when ^(BS)they had carried out all that was written of him, ^(BT)they took him down from ^(BU)the tree and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But ^(BV)God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days ^(BW)he appeared to those ^(BX)who had come up with him ^(BY)from Galilee to Jerusalem, ^(BZ)who are now ^(CA)his witnesses to the people. ³² And we bring you the good news ^(CB)that what God promised to the fathers, ^33 (CC)this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

³⁴ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, ^(CE)(CF)no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

³⁵ Therefore he says also in another psalm,

³⁶ For David, after he had ^(CI)served the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(CJ)fell asleep and ^(CK)was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, ³⁷ but he whom ^(CL)God raised up did not see corruption. ³⁸ Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, ^(CM)that through this man ^(CN)forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and by him ^(CO)everyone who believes is freed^[c] from everything ^(CP)from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

⁴² As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and ^(CR)devout ^(CS)converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them ^(CT)to continue in ^(CU)the grace of God.

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ^45 (CV)But ^(CW)when the Jews^[d] saw the crowds, they were filled with ^(CX)jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, ^(CY)reviling him. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God ^(CZ)be spoken first to you. ^(DA)Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves ^(DB)unworthy of eternal life, behold, we ^(DC)are turning to the Gentiles. ^47 (DD)For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and ^(DH)glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. ^50 (DI)But the Jews incited the devout ^(DJ)women of high standing and the leading men of the city, ^(DK)stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and ^(DL)drove them out of their district. ⁵¹ But they ^(DM)shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled ^(DN)with joy and ^(DO)with the Holy Spirit.