Old/New Testament
David Helps Saul’s Family
9 David asked, “Is anyone still left in Saul’s family? I want to show kindness to that person for Jonathan’s sake!”
2 Now there was a servant named Ziba from Saul’s family. So David’s servants called Ziba to him. King David said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He answered, “Yes, I am your servant.”
3 The king asked, “Is anyone left in Saul’s family? I want to show God’s kindness to that person.”
Ziba answered the king, “Jonathan has a son still living who is crippled 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.
David said, “Mephibosheth!”
Mephibosheth said, “I am your servant.”
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 all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
8 Mephibosheth bowed to David again and said, “You are being very kind to me, your servant! And I am no better than a dead dog!”
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. 10 You, your sons, and your servants will farm the land and harvest the crops. Then your family 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, 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 became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table. And he was crippled in both feet.
War with the Ammonites and Arameans
10 When Nahash king of the Ammonites died, his son Hanun became king after him. 2 David said, “Nahash was loyal to me, so I will be loyal to his son Hanun.” So David sent his messengers to comfort Hanun about his father’s death.
David’s officers went to the land of the Ammonites. 3 But the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to comfort you? No! David sent them to study the city and spy it out and capture it!” 4 So Hanun arrested David’s officers. To shame them he shaved off half their beards and cut off their clothes at the hips. Then he sent them away.
5 When the people told David, he sent messengers to meet his officers because they were very ashamed. 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 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. 8 The Ammonites came out and prepared for battle at the city gate. The Arameans 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 both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the best soldiers of Israel and sent them out to fight the Arameans. 10 Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. Then he sent them out to fight the Ammonites. 11 Joab said to Abishai, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. 12 Be strong. We must fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he thinks is right.”
13 Then Joab and the army with him went to attack the Arameans, and the Arameans ran away. 14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were running away, they also ran away from Abishai and went back to their city. So Joab returned from the battle with the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
15 When the Arameans saw that Israel had defeated them, they came together into one big army. 16 Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the Arameans from east of the Euphrates 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 prepared for battle and attacked him. 18 But the Arameans ran away from the Israelites. David killed seven hundred Aramean chariot drivers and forty thousand Aramean horsemen. He also killed Shobach, the commander of the Aramean army.
19 When the kings who served Hadadezer saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they made peace with the Israelites and served them. And the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites again.
David Sins with Bathsheba
11 In the spring, when the kings normally went out to war, David sent out Joab, his servants, and all the Israelites. They destroyed the Ammonites and attacked the city of Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof[a] of his palace. 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.” 4 So David sent messengers to bring Bathsheba to him. When she came to him, he had sexual relations with her. (Now Bathsheba had purified herself from her monthly period.) Then she went back to her house. 5 But Bathsheba became pregnant 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.”
So Uriah left the palace, 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 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. My master Joab and his officers are camping out in the fields. It isn’t right for me to go home to eat and drink and have sexual relations with my wife!”
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.
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 and leave him there alone. Let him be killed in battle.”
16 Joab watched the city and saw where its strongest defenders 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. And Uriah the Hittite was one of them.
18 Then Joab sent David a complete account of the war. 19 Joab told the messenger, “Tell King David what happened in the war. 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?[b] It was a woman on the city wall. She threw a large stone for grinding grain on Abimelech and killed him there in Thebez. 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. They came out and attacked us in the field, but we fought them back to the city gate. 24 The archers on the city wall shot at your servants, and some of your men were killed. Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.”
25 David said to the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t be upset about this. The sword kills everyone the same. Make a stronger attack against the city and capture it.’ Encourage Joab with these words.”
26 When Bathsheba heard that her husband was dead, she cried for him. 27 After she finished her time of sadness, David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became David’s wife and gave birth to his son, but the Lord did not like 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, ‘Give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided the property between his two sons. 13 Then the younger son gathered up all that was his and traveled far away to another country. There he wasted his money in foolish living. 14 After he had spent everything, a time came when there was no food anywhere in the country, and the son was poor and hungry. 15 So he got a job with one of the citizens there who sent the son into the fields to feed pigs. 16 The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 When he realized what he was doing, he thought, ‘All of my father’s servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dying with hunger. 18 I will leave and return to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son, but let me be like one of your servants.”’ 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 for his son. So the father ran to him and hugged and kissed him. 21 The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[a] 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get our fat calf and kill it 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 one of the servants and asked what all this meant. 27 The servant said, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father killed the fat calf, because your brother came home safely.’ 28 The older son was angry and would not go in to the feast. So his father went out and begged him to come in. 29 But the older son said to his father, ‘I have served you like a slave for many years and have always obeyed your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to have at a feast with my friends. 30 But your other son, who wasted all your money on prostitutes, comes home, and you kill the fat calf for him!’ 31 The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate and be happy because your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.’”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.