David Learns of Saul’s Death

1 Now it came about after ^(A)the death of Saul, when David had returned from ^(B)the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David stayed two days in Ziklag. ² And on the third day, behold, ^(C)a man came from ^[a]Saul’s camp ^(D)with his clothes torn and ^[b]dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, ^(E)he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. ³ Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴ David said to him, “^(F)How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” ⁵ Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁶ The young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on ^(G)Mount Gilboa, and behold, ^(H)Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen had overtaken him. ⁷ When he looked behind himself, he saw me, and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I ^[c]answered him, ‘^(I)I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ‘Please stand next to me and finish me off, for ^[d]agony has seized me because my ^[e]life still lingers in me.’ ¹⁰ So I stood next to him ^(J)and finished him off, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And ^(K)I took the crown which was on his head and the band which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then ^(L)David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they mourned and wept and ^(M)fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ Then David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?” And he ^[f]answered, “^(N)I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ And David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid ^(O)to reach out with your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come forward, ^[g]put him to death.” ^(P)So he struck him and he died. ¹⁶ And David said to him, “^[h](Q)Your blood is on your head, because ^(R)your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have finished off the Lord’s anointed.’”

David’s Song of Mourning for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ Then David ^(S)sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in ^(T)the Book of Jashar.

David Made King over Judah

2 Then it came about afterward that ^(AJ)David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “^(AK)To Hebron.” ² So David went up there, and ^(AL)his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the ^[p]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ And ^(AM)David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they settled in the cities of Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came, and there they ^(AN)anointed David king over the house of Judah.

And they told David, saying, “It was ^(AO)the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “^(AP)May you be blessed of the Lord because you have ^[q]shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him. ⁶ And now ^(AQ)may the Lord ^[r]show kindness and truth to you; and I also will ^[s]show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now then, let your hands be strong and be ^[t]valiant, since Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel

⁸ But ^(AR)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken ^[u]Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^(AS)Mahanaim. ⁹ And he made him king over ^(AT)Gilead, over the ^(AU)Ashurites, over ^(AV)Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel. ¹⁰ Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. ¹¹ And ^(AW)the ^[v]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now there were some ^(A)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at ^(B)the feast; ²¹ these people then came to ^(C)Philip, who was from ^(D)Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip *came and *told ^(E)Andrew; then Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. ²³ But Jesus *answered them by saying, “^(F)The hour has come for the Son of Man to ^(G)be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly I say to you, ^(H)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ^25 (I)The one who loves his ^[a]life loses it, and the one who ^(J)hates his ^[b]life in this world will keep it ^[c]to eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone ^[d]serves Me, he must follow Me; and ^(K)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone ^[e]serves Me, the Father will ^(L)honor him.

Jesus Foretells His Death

²⁷ “^(M)Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘^(N)Father, save Me from ^(O)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ^28 (P)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a ^(Q)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “^(R)An angel has spoken to Him!” ³⁰ Jesus responded and said, “^(S)This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours. ^31 (T)Now judgment is upon this world; now ^(U)the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, if I ^(V)am lifted up from the earth, will ^(W)draw all people to Myself.” ³³ Now He was saying this ^(X)to indicate what kind of death He was going to die. ³⁴ The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from ^(Y)the Law that ^(Z)the ^[f]Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The ^(AA)Son of Man must be ^(AB)lifted up’? Who is this ^(AC)Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, “^(AD)For a little while longer ^(AE)the Light is among you. ^(AF)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who ^(AG)walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the Light, ^(AH)believe in the Light, so that you may become ^(AI)sons of Light.”

These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and ^(AJ)hid Himself from them. ³⁷ But though He had performed so many ^[g]signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him. ³⁸ This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: “^(AK)Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ⁴⁰ “^(AL)He has blinded their eyes and He ^(AM)hardened their heart, so that they will not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and ^[h]be converted, and so I will not heal them.” ⁴¹ These things Isaiah said because ^(AN)he saw His glory, and ^(AO)he spoke about Him. ⁴² Nevertheless ^(AP)many, even of ^(AQ)the rulers, believed in Him, but ^(AR)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be ^(AS)excommunicated from the synagogue; ^43 (AT)for they loved the ^[i]approval of people rather than the ^[j]approval of God.

⁴⁴ Now Jesus cried out and said, “^(AU)The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And ^(AV)the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ^46 (AW)I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears My ^[k]teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for ^(AX)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ^48 (AY)The one who rejects Me and does not ^[l]accept My ^[m]teachings has one who judges him: ^(AZ)the word which I spoke. That will judge him on ^(BA)the last day. ^49 (BB)For I did not speak ^[n]on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me ^(BC)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that ^(BD)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak ^(BE)just as the Father has told Me.”