Old/New Testament
Chapter 30
Ziklag Destroyed. 1 Three days later David and his men arrived in Ziklag. The Amalekites had invaded the Negeb and Ziklag; Ziklag was attacked and burned down. 2 The women who were there, young and old, were taken captive. They did not kill any of them, but they carried them off and went on their way.
3 When David and his men arrived in Ziklag, they found it burned to the ground and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 David and his men with him wept out loud until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelite, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel were also taken captive.
6 David was greatly distressed because the people were talking about stoning him. Every single one of them was embittered because of his sons and his daughters, but David found strength in the Lord, his God.
7 David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring the ephod out here.” Abiathar brought the ephod out to David.[a] 8 David inquired of the Lord saying, “Shall I pursue after this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you are sure to overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”
David Pursues the Amalekites. 9 David and the six hundred men who were with him left and arrived at the Wadi Besor where some stayed behind, 10 for two hundred men stayed behind who were too exhausted to continue on over the Wadi Besor. David continued the pursuit with four hundred men.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and they brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink 12 as well as a piece of fig cake and two raisin cakes. When he had eaten, he revived, for he had not had anything to eat or any water to drink for three days and three nights. 13 David asked him, “To whom do you belong? Where are you from?” The young man answered, “Egypt. I am a slave to an Amalekite. My master abandoned me because I became sick three days ago. 14 We raided the south of the Cherethites, and the territory of Judah, and the south of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.” 15 David said to him, “Can you lead me to this raiding party?” He answered, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”
16 He took him down, and they were scattered all over the countryside, eating, drinking, and dancing to celebrate the great plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. 17 David fought them from dusk of that day until the next evening. None of them escaped except for four hundred young men who mounted their camels and fled away.
18 David recovered everything that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, not young nor old, not sons nor daughters, not plunder nor anything that they had taken. David recovered it all. 20 David drove all of the flocks and herds before the livestock saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 Division of the Spoils. David came to the two hundred men who were so weary that they could not follow and whom David had left behind at the Wadi Besor. They came out to meet David and the people who were with him. As David and the people drew near, he greeted them. 22 All of those who had gone with David but who were wicked men of Belial said, “None of them went with us, so we should not give them any of the spoil. Each of them can take his wife and children and depart.” 23 David replied, “No, my brothers. You must not do that with what the Lord has given us. The Lord protected us and delivered over into our hands the raiding party that came out against us. 24 Who will listen to what you are saying? The share of the man who went down into battle will be the same as the share of the man who stayed with the supplies. They will be equal shares.” 25 He made this a statute and an ordinance in Israel from that day up until the present.
26 When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah[b] who were his friends saying, “Behold, this is a gift from the spoils of the enemies of the Lord.” 27 He sent it to those who were in Bethel, to those who were in Ramoth-negeb, to those who were in Jattir, 28 to those who were in Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in Eshtemoa, 29 to those who were in Rachal, to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 to those who were in Hormah, to those who were in Borashan, to those who were in Athach, 31 to those who were in Hebron, and to those who were in all those places where David had roamed.
Chapter 31[c]
The Death of Saul. 1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the Israelites fled before the Philistines, and many were killed at Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines pressed hard upon Saul and his sons. His sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua were killed by the Philistines.
3 There was fierce fighting around Saul, and when the archers found their mark, they seriously wounded him. 4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust it through me, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But the armor-bearer would not do this for he was terrified. Saul, therefore, took his sword and fell upon it. 5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he, too, fell upon his sword and died with him.
6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all of his men died together on the same day. 7 When the Israelites on the other side of the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the Israelites had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities, and the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day the Philistines came out to strip the dead, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor. They sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among the people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of Astartes, and they fastened his body to the wall in Beth-shan.
11 Saul Is Buried.[d] When those living in Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all of their brave men traveled during the night and took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They went to Jabesh where they cremated them. 13 They took their bones and they buried them under a tree in Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.[e]
23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He answered, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter but will not succeed in doing so.
25 “When once the master of the house has gotten up and shut the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door and begging, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say in reply, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will protest, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the kingdom of God as you yourselves are being thrown out. 29 Then from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, people will come and take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
31 Herod’s Desire To Kill Jesus.[a] At that time, some Pharisees came and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He answered them, “Go and tell that fox: ‘Behold, today and tomorrow I will be casting out demons and healing people, and on the third day I will finish my work. 33 Yet I must continue to go on today and tomorrow and the next day, since it would not be right for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.
34 The Lament over Jerusalem.[b]“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you murder the Prophets and stone the messengers sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not allow it! 35 Behold, your house has been abandoned. I tell you, you will not see me until you say: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
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