Old/New Testament
David Helps Saul’s Family(A)
9 David asked, “Is anyone still left in Saul’s ·family [L house]? I want to show ·kindness [loyalty] to that person for Jonathan’s sake [1 Sam. 20:13–15]!”
2 Now there was a servant named Ziba from Saul’s ·family [L house]. So David’s servants ·called [summoned] Ziba to him. King David said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He answered, “·Yes, I am your servant [At your service].”
3 The king asked, “Is anyone left in Saul’s ·family [L house]? I want to show God’s kindness to that person.”
Ziba answered the king, “Jonathan has a son still living who is ·crippled [lame] in both feet.”
4 The king asked Ziba, “Where is this son?”
Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
5 Then King David had servants bring Jonathan’s son from the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar. 6 Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, came before David and bowed facedown ·on the floor [and prostrated himself].
David said, “Mephibosheth!”
Mephibosheth said, “·I am your servant [At your service].”
7 David said to him, “Don’t be afraid. I will be kind to you for your father Jonathan’s sake. I will ·give you back [restore to you] all the ·land [property] of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table [C the king will provide for his provisions].”
8 Mephibosheth ·bowed [prostrated himself] to David again and said, “·You are being very kind to me, your servant! And I am no better than a dead dog! [L What is your servant, that you should show kindness/favor to a dead dog like me?]”
9 Then King David called Saul’s servant Ziba. David said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his ·family [L house]. 10 You, your sons, and your servants will farm the land and harvest the crops. ·Then your family […so your master’s household] will have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will always eat at my table.”
(Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) 11 Ziba said to King David, “I, your servant, will do everything my ·master [lord], the king, commands me.”
So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as if he were one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. Everyone in Ziba’s ·family [household] became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table. And he was ·crippled [lame] in both feet.
War with the Ammonites and Arameans
10 When Nahash king of the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] died, his son Hanun became king after him. 2 David said, “Nahash ·was loyal [showed kindness; C kept treaty obligations] to me, so I will ·be loyal [show kindness] to his son Hanun.” So David sent his ·messengers [L servants] to ·comfort [console; express sympathy/condolences to] Hanun about his father’s death.
David’s ·officers [L servants] went to the land of the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon]. 3 But the ·Ammonite leaders [L princes/commanders of the sons/descendants of Ammon] said to Hanun, their master, “Do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to ·comfort [console; sympathize with] you? No! David sent them to ·study [explore; search] the city and spy it out and ·capture [overthrow] it!” 4 So Hanun ·arrested [seized] David’s ·officers [L servants]. To shame them he shaved off half their beards and cut off their clothes at the ·hips [L buttocks]. Then he sent them away.
5 When the people told David, he sent messengers to meet ·his officers [L the men] because they were ·very ashamed [humiliated]. King David said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back. Then come home.”
6 ·The Ammonites knew that they had insulted David. So [L When the sons/descendants of Ammon realized they had become odious to/greatly offended David,] they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah. They also hired the king of Maacah with a thousand men and twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the whole army [L with all its warriors]. 8 The ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] came out and ·prepared for battle [drew up in battle formations] at the city gate. The ·Arameans [Syrians] from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah were out in the field by themselves.
9 Joab saw that there were ·enemies [battle lines] both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the ·best soldiers [elite troops] of Israel and ·sent them out to fight [deployed them against] the ·Arameans [Syrians]. 10 Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. Then he ·sent them out to fight [deployed them against] the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon]. 11 Joab said to Abishai, “If the ·Arameans [Syrians] are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] are too strong for you, I will help you. 12 Be strong. ·We must fight bravely [Let us show ourselves courageous] for our people and the cities of our God. ·The Lord will [May the Lord] do what he thinks is right.”
13 Then Joab and the army with him ·went [advanced] to attack the ·Arameans [Syrians], and the ·Arameans [Syrians] ·ran away [fled before him]. 14 When the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] saw that the ·Arameans [Syrians] were ·running away [fleeing], they also ·ran away [fled] from Abishai and ·went back [retreated] to their city. So Joab returned from the battle with the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] and came to Jerusalem.
15 When the ·Arameans [Syrians] saw that Israel had defeated them, they came together into one big army. 16 Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the ·Arameans [Syrians] from ·east of the Euphrates River [L beyond the river], and they went to Helam. Their leader was Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army.
17 When David heard about this, he gathered all the Israelites together. They crossed over the Jordan River and went to Helam. There the ·Arameans [Syrians] ·prepared for battle [drew up in battle formations] and attacked him. 18 But the ·Arameans [Syrians] ·ran away [fled] from the Israelites. David killed seven hundred Aramean chariot drivers and forty thousand Aramean ·horsemen [or foot soldiers]. He also killed Shobach, the commander of the Aramean army.
19 When the kings who ·served [were allied with; L were the servants of] Hadadezer saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they ·made peace with [surrendered to] the Israelites and served them. And the ·Arameans [Syrians] were afraid to help the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] again.
David Sins with Bathsheba
11 In the spring, when the kings normally went out to war, David sent out Joab, his ·servants [officers; army], and all the Israelites. They ·destroyed [massacred; ravaged] the Ammonites and ·attacked [besieged] the city of Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem. 2 One ·evening [afternoon] David got up from his ·bed [midday rest] and walked around on the roof [C the flat roofs of Israelite houses were used for living space] of ·his palace [L the king’s house]. While he was on the roof, he saw a woman bathing. She was very beautiful. 3 So David sent his servants to find out who she was. A servant answered, “That woman is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite [C Hittites were foreigners, but he joined the Israelite cause].” 4 So David sent messengers to bring Bathsheba to him. When she came to him, he ·had sexual relations [L lay] with her. (Now Bathsheba had purified herself from her ·monthly period [L uncleanness; Lev. 15:19–24].) Then she went back to her house. 5 But Bathsheba ·became pregnant [conceived] and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent a message to Joab: “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were, and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go home and ·rest [L wash your feet; C perhaps a euphemism for sex].”
So Uriah left the ·palace [L king’s house], and the king sent a gift to him. 9 But Uriah did not go home. Instead, he slept outside the door of the palace as all the king’s ·officers [guard; L servants] did.
10 The officers told David, “Uriah did not go home.”
Then David said to Uriah, “You came from a long trip. Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah said to him, “The Ark and the soldiers of Israel and Judah are staying in ·tents [booths; C temporary shelters]. My ·master [lord; commander] Joab and his officers are camping out in the fields. ·It isn’t right for me to [L How can I…?] go home to eat and drink and ·have sexual relations [L lie] with my wife [C thus rendering himself ritually unclean and unable to go into the presence of the Ark; Lev. 15:16–18]!”
12 David said to Uriah, “Stay here today. Tomorrow I’ll send you back to the battle.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David called Uriah to come to see him, so Uriah ate and drank with David. David made Uriah drunk, but he still did not go home. That evening Uriah again slept with the king’s ·officers [guard; L servants].
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. 15 In the letter David wrote, “Put Uriah on the front lines where the fighting is ·worst [fiercest; hardest] and ·leave him there alone [then pull back/withdraw]. Let him be ·killed in battle [L struck down and die].”
16 Joab ·watched [or besieged] the city and saw where its ·strongest defenders [valiant men] were and put Uriah there. 17 When the men of the city came out to fight against Joab, some of David’s men ·were killed [L fell]. And Uriah the Hittite was one of them.
18 Then Joab sent David a complete ·account [report] of the ·war [battle; fighting]. 19 Joab told the messenger, “Tell King David what happened in the ·war [battle; fighting]. 20 After you finish, the king may be angry and ask, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the city wall? 21 Do you remember who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth [C another name for Gideon]? It was a woman on the city wall. She threw a large stone for grinding grain on Abimelech and killed him there in Thebez [Judg. 9:50–57]. Why did you go so near the wall?’ If King David asks that, tell him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’”
22 The messenger left and went to David and told him everything Joab had told him to say. 23 The messenger told David, “The men of Ammon were ·winning [gaining an advantage over us]. They came out and attacked us in the field, but we ·fought [drove; chased] them back to the city gate. 24 The archers on the city wall shot at your servants, and some of ·your men [L the king’s servants] were killed. Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.”
25 David said to the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t be ·upset [discouraged; troubled] about this. The sword ·kills everyone the same [L devours first one and then another]. ·Make a stronger attack [Fight harder; Press your attack] against the city and capture it.’ Encourage Joab with these words.”
26 When ·Bathsheba [L the wife of Uriah] heard that her husband was dead, she ·cried [mourned] for him. 27 After she finished her time of ·sadness [mourning], David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became David’s wife and gave birth to his son, but the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
The Son Who Left Home
11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the ·property [estate; C his inheritance].’ So the father divided the ·property [wealth; assets; L life] between his two sons. 13 ·Then [Some time later; L After not many days] the younger son gathered up all that was his and traveled ·far away to another [to a distant] country. There he ·wasted [squandered; scattered] his money in ·foolish [wild; reckless] living. 14 After he had spent everything, a time came when there was ·no food anywhere [L a severe famine] in the country, and the son ·was poor and hungry [L began to be in need]. 15 So he ·got a job with [hired himself out to] one of the citizens there who sent the son into the fields to feed pigs [C degrading work, since pigs were ritually unclean and detestable animals to Jews]. 16 The son was so hungry that he wanted to ·eat [or fill his stomach with] the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 When he ·realized what he was doing [came to his senses; L came to himself], he thought, ‘All of my father’s ·servants [hired workers] have ·plenty of [more than enough; abundant] ·food [bread]. But I am here, ·almost dying [perishing] with hunger. 18 I will ·leave and return [get up and go] to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against ·God [L heaven; C Jews often used “heaven” for “God” out of reverence for the divine Name] and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son, but ·let me be [make me] like one of your ·servants [hired workers].”’ 20 So the son left and went to his father.
“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt ·sorry [compassion] for his son. So the father ran to him [C an undignified act for a family patriarch; evidence of his unrestrained love] and hugged and kissed him. 21 The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against ·God [L heaven; v. 18] and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[a] 22 But the father said to his ·servants [slaves], ‘Hurry! Bring the ·best clothes [L first/best robe; C either the father’s own, or a ceremonial robe for an honored guest] and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger [C probably a signet ring indicating sonship and authority; Gen. 41:42] and sandals on his feet [C slaves went barefoot]. 23 And get our ·fat [fattened; C prepared for slaughter] calf and kill it [C people only occasionally ate meat; such a large animal indicates a major celebration] so we can have a feast and celebrate. 24 My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “The older son was in the field, and as he came closer to the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 So he ·called to [summoned] one of the [household] servants and asked what all this meant. 27 The servant said, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father killed the ·fat [fattened; v. 23] calf, because your brother came home ·safely [healthy; safe and sound].’ 28 The older son was angry and ·would not [had no desire to] go in to the feast. So his father went out and ·begged [urged; encouraged] him to come in. 29 But the older son ·said to [answered] his father, ‘[L Look; T Behold] I have served you like a slave for many years and have ·always obeyed [never disobeyed; L never neglected] your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to ·have at a feast [celebrate] with my friends. 30 But ·your other son [L this son of yours], who ·wasted [squandered; devoured] ·all your money [your property; L your life] on prostitutes, comes home, and you kill the fat [fattened; v. 23] calf for him!’ 31 The father said to him, ‘·Son [Child], you ·are always with [or have always stood by] me, and all that I have is yours. 32 [L But] We had to celebrate and ·be happy [rejoice] because ·your brother [L this brother of yours; v. 30] was dead, but ·now he is alive [has come back to life]. He was lost, but now he is found.’”
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