The Last Words of David

¹Now these are the last words of David:

The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,

the oracle of lthe man who was raised on high,

jthe anointed of the God of Jacob,

the sweet psalmist of Israel:1

²m“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me;

his word is on my tongue.

³The God of Israel has spoken;

nthe Rock of Israel has said to me:

When one rules justly over men,

ruling oin the fear of God,

⁴he pdawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

like rain2 that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

⁵“For does not my house stand so with God?

qFor he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure.

For will he not cause to prosper

all my help and my desire?

⁶But worthless men3 are all like thorns that are thrown away,

for they cannot be taken with the hand;

⁷but the man who touches them

arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,

and they are utterly consumed with fire.”4

David's Mighty Men

⁸rThese are the names of the mighty men whom David had: sJosheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.5 He wielded his spear6 against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

⁹And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of tDodo, son of uAhohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. ¹⁰He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

¹¹And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the vHararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi,7 where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹²But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

¹³And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the wcave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped xin the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴David was then yin the stronghold, and zthe garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁵And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁶Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord ¹⁷and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink athe blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

¹⁸Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.8 And he wielded his spear against three hundred men9 and killed them and won a name beside the three. ¹⁹He was the most renowned of the thirty10 and became their commander, but he did not attain to bthe three.

²⁰And cBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man11 of dKabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels12 of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²¹And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²²These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²³He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁴eAsahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁵fShammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, ²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh gof Tekoa, ²⁷Abiezer hof Anathoth, Mebunnai ithe Hushathite, ²⁸Zalmon jthe Ahohite, Maharai kof Netophah, ²⁹Heleb the son of Baanah kof Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of lGibeah of the people of Benjamin, ³⁰Benaiah mof Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of nGaash, ³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of oBahurim, ³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ³³pShammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai qof Maacah, rEliam the son of sAhithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵Hezro13 tof Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶Igal the son of Nathan uof Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai vof Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ³⁸wIra the xIthrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹yUriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

¹O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? zIt was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly aportrayed as crucified. ²Let me ask you only this: bDid you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by chearing with faith? ³Are you so foolish? dHaving begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by1 the flesh? ⁴eDid you suffer2 so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and fworks miracles among you do so gby works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶just as hAbraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷Know then that it is ithose of faith who are jthe sons of Abraham. ⁸And the Scripture, foreseeing that kGod would justify3 the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, l“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰For all who rely on works of the law are munder a curse; for it is written, n“Cursed be everyone who does not oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹Now it is evident that pno one is justified before God by the law, for q“The righteous shall live by faith.”4 ¹²But the law is not of faith, rather r“The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³Christ sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, t“Cursed is everyone who is hanged uon a tree”— ¹⁴so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might vcome to the Gentiles, so that wwe might receive xthe promised Spirit5 through faith.

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵yTo give a human example, brothers:6 zeven with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶Now athe promises were made bto Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, c“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷This is what I mean: the law, which came d430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as eto make the promise void. ¹⁸For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but fGod gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹Why then the law? gIt was added because of transgressions, huntil the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was iput in place through angels jby an intermediary. ²⁰Now kan intermediary implies more than one, but lGod is one.

²¹Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For mif a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²²But the Scripture nimprisoned everything under sin, so that othe promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given pto those who believe.

²³Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, qimprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴So then, rthe law was our sguardian until Christ came, tin order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus uyou are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷For as many of you as vwere baptized winto Christ have xput on Christ. ²⁸yThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave7 nor free, zthere is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And aif you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, bheirs according to promise.

A Lament for Egypt

¹The word of the Lord came to me: ²v“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

w“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

³wFor the day is near,

xthe day of the Lord is near;

it will be ya day of clouds,

a time of doom for1 the nations.

⁴zA sword shall come upon Egypt,

aand anguish shall be in bCush,

when the slain fall in Egypt,

and cher wealth2 is carried away,

and dher foundations are torn down.

⁵bCush, and ePut, and Lud, and fall Arabia, and Libya,3 and the people of the land that is in league,4 shall fall with them by the sword.

⁶“Thus says the Lord:

gThose who support Egypt shall fall,

and hher proud might shall come down;

ifrom Migdol to Syene

they shall fall within her by the sword,

declares the Lord God.

⁷jAnd they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,

and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.

⁸kThen they will know that I am the Lord,

when lI have set fire to Egypt,

and gall her helpers are broken.

⁹“On that day mmessengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting bpeople of Cush, and aanguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;5 for, behold, it comes!

¹⁰“Thus says the Lord God:

n“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,

by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

¹¹He and his people with him, othe most ruthless of nations,

shall be brought in to destroy the land,

zand they shall draw their swords against Egypt

and fill the land with the slain.

¹²And pI will qdry up the Nile

and will sell the land into the hand of revildoers;

sI will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,

by the hand of tforeigners;

uI am the Lord; I have spoken.

¹³“Thus says the Lord God:

v“I will destroy the idols

and put an end to the images in wMemphis;

xthere shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;

so yI will put fear in the land of Egypt.

¹⁴I will make zPathros a desolation

and will set fire to aZoan

band will execute judgments on cThebes.

¹⁵And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt,

and cut off the multitude6 of Thebes.

¹⁶And I will set fire to Egypt;

Pelusium shall be in great agony;

Thebes shall be breached,

and wMemphis shall face enemies7 by day.

¹⁷The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,

and the women8 shall go into captivity.

¹⁸At dTehaphnehes ethe day shall be dark,

when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,

and fher proud might shall come to an end in her;

she shall be covered by a cloud,

and her daughters shall go into captivity.

¹⁹Thus gI will execute judgments on Egypt.

hThen they will know that I am the Lord.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

²⁰iIn the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²¹j“Son of man, kI have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, lit has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. ²²Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and mwill break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³nI will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. ²⁴And oI will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put pmy sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him qlike a man mortally wounded. ²⁵I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. rThen they shall know that I am the Lord, swhen I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. ²⁶And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

³⁸Yet he, being ocompassionate,

patoned for their iniquity

and did not destroy them;

he restrained his anger often

and did not stir up all his wrath.

³⁹He qremembered that they were but rflesh,

sa wind that passes and comes not again.

⁴⁰How often they trebelled against him in the wilderness

and ugrieved him in vthe desert!

⁴¹They wtested God again and again

and provoked xthe Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They ydid not remember his power5

or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

⁴³zwhen he performed his asigns in Egypt

and his bmarvels in cthe fields of Zoan.

⁴⁴He dturned their rivers to blood,

so that they could not drink of their streams.

⁴⁵He sent among them swarms of eflies, which devoured them,

and ffrogs, which destroyed them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to gthe destroying locust

and the fruit of their labor to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hhail

and their sycamores with frost.

⁴⁸He gave over their icattle to the hail

and their flocks to thunderbolts.

⁴⁹He let loose on them his burning anger,

wrath, indignation, and distress,

a company of jdestroying angels.

⁵⁰He made a path for his anger;

he did not spare them from death,

but gave their lives over to the plague.

⁵¹He struck down every kfirstborn in Egypt,

the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of lHam.

⁵²Then he led out his people mlike sheep

and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

⁵³nHe led them in safety, so that they owere not afraid,

but pthe sea overwhelmed their enemies.

⁵⁴And he brought them to his qholy land,

rto the mountain which his right hand had swon.

⁵⁵He tdrove out nations before them;

he uapportioned them for a possession

and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶Yet they vtested and wrebelled against the Most High God

and did not keep his testimonies,

⁵⁷but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;

they twisted like xa deceitful bow.

⁵⁸For they yprovoked him to anger with their zhigh places;

they amoved him to jealousy with their bidols.

⁵⁹When God heard, he was full of cwrath,

and he utterly rejected Israel.

⁶⁰He dforsook his dwelling at eShiloh,

the tent where he dwelt among mankind,

⁶¹and delivered his fpower to captivity,

his gglory to the hand of the foe.

⁶²He hgave his people over to the sword

and ivented his wrath on his heritage.

⁶³jFire devoured their young men,

and their young women had no kmarriage song.

⁶⁴Their lpriests fell by the sword,

and their mwidows made no lamentation.

⁶⁵Then the Lord nawoke as from sleep,

like a strong man shouting because of wine.

⁶⁶And he oput his adversaries to rout;

he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷He rejected the tent of pJoseph;

he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah,

Mount Zion, which he qloves.

⁶⁹He rbuilt his sanctuary like the high heavens,

like the earth, which he has founded forever.

⁷⁰He schose David his servant

and took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹from tfollowing the nursing ewes he brought him

to ushepherd Jacob his people,

Israel his vinheritance.

⁷²With wupright heart he shepherded them

and xguided them with his skillful hand.