David Spares Saul Again

¹tThen the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” ²So Saul arose and went down to uthe wilderness of Ziph with vthree thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, ⁴David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. ⁵Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with wAbner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within xthe encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

⁶Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother yAbishai the son of Zeruiah, z“Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” ⁷So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within xthe encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground aat his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. ⁸Then Abishai said to David, b“God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” ⁹But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand cagainst the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?” ¹⁰And David said, d“As the Lord lives, ethe Lord will strike him, or fhis day will come to die, gor he will go down into battle and perish. ¹¹hThe Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is iat his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” ¹²So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because ja deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

¹³Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. ¹⁴And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” ¹⁵And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. ¹⁶This thing that you have done is not good. kAs the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was lat his head.”

¹⁷Saul recognized David's voice and said, m“Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” ¹⁸And he said, n“Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? ¹⁹Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ofor they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in pthe heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek qa single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹Then Saul said, r“I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” ²²And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. ²³sThe Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. ²⁴Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” ²⁵Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will tsucceed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Principles for Marriage

¹Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: t“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” ²But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. ³uThe husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ⁵vDo not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, wso that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

⁶Now as a concession, xnot a command, I say this.1 ⁷yI wish that all were zas I myself am. But aeach has his own gift from God, bone of one kind and one of another.

⁸To the unmarried and the widows I say that cit is good for them to remain single, das I am. ⁹But if they cannot exercise self-control, ethey should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰To the married fI give this charge (not I, but the Lord): gthe wife should not separate from her husband ¹¹(but if she does, hshe should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and gthe husband should not divorce his wife.

¹²To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. ¹³If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. iOtherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. ¹⁵But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you2 jto peace. ¹⁶For how do you know, wife, kwhether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Live as You Are Called

¹⁷Only let each person lead the life3 lthat the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. mThis is my rule in nall the churches. ¹⁸Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? oLet him not seek circumcision. ¹⁹pFor neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but qkeeping the commandments of God. ²⁰rEach one should remain in the condition in which he was called. ²¹Were you a bondservant4 when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) ²²For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is sa freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is ta bondservant of Christ. ²³uYou were bought with a price; vdo not become bondservants of men. ²⁴So, brothers,5 win whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

The Unmarried and the Widowed

²⁵Now concerning6 the betrothed,7 xI have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as yone who by the Lord's mercy is ztrustworthy. ²⁶I think that in view of the present8 distress ait is good for a person to remain as he is. ²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman9 marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. ²⁹This is what I mean, brothers: bthe appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, ³⁰and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy cas though they had no goods, ³¹and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For dthe present form of this world is passing away.

³²I want you to be efree from anxieties. fThe unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. ³³But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, ³⁴and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. ³⁵I say this for your own benefit, gnot to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

³⁶If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed,10 if his11 passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. ³⁷But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. ³⁸So then he who marries his betrothed hdoes well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.

³⁹iA wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only jin the Lord. ⁴⁰Yet kin my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think lthat I too have the Spirit of God.

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

¹“And you, aO son of man, take a bsharp sword. Use it as ca barber's razor and dpass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. ²eA third part you shall burn in the fire fin the midst of the city, gwhen the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. hAnd a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and iI will unsheathe the sword after them. ³jAnd you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. ⁴kAnd of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

⁵“Thus says the Lord God: lThis is Jerusalem. I have set her min the center of the nations, with countries all around her. ⁶And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness nmore than the nations, and against my statutes more than mthe countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. ⁷Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are omore turbulent than the nations that are all around you, pand have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, qand have not1 even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, ⁸therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, ram against you. sAnd I will execute judgments2 in your midst tin the sight of the nations. ⁹And because of all your abominations I will do with you uwhat I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. ¹⁰Therefore vfathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. sAnd I will execute judgments on you, wand any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. ¹¹Therefore, xas I live, declares the Lord God, surely, ybecause you have defiled my sanctuary zwith all your detestable things and with all your aabominations, btherefore I will withdraw.3 cMy eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. ¹²dA third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; da third part shall fall by the sword all around you; dand a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.

¹³e“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that fI am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—ewhen I spend my fury upon them. ¹⁴Moreover, I will make you ga desolation and han object of reproach among ithe nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. ¹⁵You shall be4 a reproach and a taunt, a warning jand a horror, to ithe nations all around you, kwhen I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and lwith furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken— ¹⁶when I send against you5 mthe deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon nyou and break your supply6 of bread. ¹⁷I will send famine and owild beasts against you, pand they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and qblood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Psalm 42

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of sthe Sons of Korah.

¹tAs a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

²uMy soul thirsts for God,

for vthe living God.

When shall I come and wappear before God?2

³xMy tears have been my food

day and night,

ywhile they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

⁴These things I remember,

as I zpour out my soul:

ahow I would go bwith the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

ca multitude keeping festival.

⁵dWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you ein turmoil within me?

fHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation3 ⁶and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I gremember you

hfrom the land of Jordan and of iHermon,

from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

jall your breakers and your kwaves

have gone over me.

⁸By day the Lord lcommands his steadfast love,

and at mnight his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I say to God, nmy rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

oWhy do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?”

¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

pwhile they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

¹¹qWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Psalm 43

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

¹rVindicate me, O God, and sdefend my cause

against an ungodly people,

from tthe deceitful and unjust man

deliver me!

²For you are uthe God in whom I take refuge;

why have you vrejected me?

Why do I wgo about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

³xSend out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your yholy hill

and to your zdwelling!

⁴Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy,

and I will praise you with the lyre,

O God, my God.

⁵aWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

bHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.