The Resurrection

20 ^(A)Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that ^(B)the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, ^(C)the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and ^(D)we do not know where they have laid him.” ^3 (E)So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ And stooping to look in, he saw ^(F)the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and ^(G)the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'^[a] head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, ^(H)who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet ^(I)they did not understand the Scripture, ^(J)that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² And ^(K)she saw ^(L)two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, ^(M)“Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, ^(N)“They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and ^(O)saw Jesus standing, ^(P)but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, ^(Q)“Woman, why are you weeping? ^(R)Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be ^(S)the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,^{[b] (T)}“Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to ^(U)my brothers and say to them, ^(V)‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to ^(W)my God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene ^(X)went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

^19 (Y)On the evening ^(Z)of that day, the first day of the week, ^(AA)the doors being locked where the disciples were ^(AB)for fear of the Jews,^[c] Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ^(AC)“Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, ^(AD)he showed them his hands and his side. Then ^(AE)the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As ^(AF)the Father has sent me, ^(AG)even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he ^(AH)breathed on them and said to them, ^(AI)“Receive the Holy Spirit. ^23 (AJ)If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus and Thomas

²⁴ Now ^(AK)Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,^[d] was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, ^(AL)“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. ^(AM)Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ^(AN)“Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, ^(AO)“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, ^(AP)“My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? ^(AQ)Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of This Book

^30 (AR)Now Jesus did many other signs ^(AS)in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ^31 (AT)but these are written so that you may ^(AU)believe that Jesus is the Christ, ^(AV)the Son of God, and that by believing ^(AW)you may have life ^(AX)in his name.

Absalom Killed

18 Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. ² And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of ^(A)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” ^3 (B)But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” ⁴ The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. ⁵ And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” ^(C)And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

⁶ So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the ^(D)forest of Ephraim. ⁷ And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

⁹ And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak,^{[a] (E)}and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. ¹⁰ And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” ¹¹ Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” ¹² But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king's son, for ^(F)in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ ¹³ On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life^[b] (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” ¹⁴ Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. ¹⁵ And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. ¹⁷ And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him ^(G)a very great heap of stones. And all Israel ^(H)fled every one to his own home. ¹⁸ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself ^(I)the pillar that is in ^(J)the King's Valley, for he said, ^(K)“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument^[c] to this day.

David Hears of Absalom's Death

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, ^(L)“Let me run and carry news to the king that ^(M)the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.” ²⁰ And Joab said to him, “You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king's son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. ²² Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?” ²³ “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of ^(N)the plain, and outran the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David ^(O)was sitting between the two gates, and ^(P)the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. ²⁵ The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer. ²⁶ The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” ²⁷ The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is ^(Q)like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, ^(R)“He is a good man and comes with good news.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, ^(S)“Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” ²⁹ And the king said, ^(T)“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king's servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” ³⁰ And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

David's Grief

³¹ And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For ^(U)the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” ³² The king said to the Cushite, ^(V)“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, ^(W)“May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” ^33 [d] And the king was deeply moved and went up ^(X)to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, ^(Y)“O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Joab Rebukes David

19 It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” ² So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” ³ And the people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. ⁴ The king ^(Z)covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, ^(AA)“O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” ⁵ Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines, ⁶ because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. ⁷ Now therefore arise, go out and speak ^(AB)kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.” ⁸ Then the king arose and took his ^(AC)seat in the gate. And the people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the king.

David Returns to Jerusalem

Now Israel had ^(AD)fled every man to his own home. ⁹ And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, ^(AE)“The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and ^(AF)saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now ^(AG)he has fled out of the land from Absalom. ¹⁰ But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”

Resh

Sin and Shin

Taw