David and Jonathan

20 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged^(A) your father, that he is trying to kill me?”^(B)

² “Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”

³ But David took an oath^(C) and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”

⁴ Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”

⁵ So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast,^(D) and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide^(E) in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission^(F) to hurry to Bethlehem,^(G) his hometown, because an annual^(H) sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper,^(I) you can be sure that he is determined^(J) to harm me. ⁸ As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant^(K) with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill^(L) me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”

⁹ “Never!” Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”

¹⁰ David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”

¹¹ “Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound^(M) out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? ¹³ But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely,^(N) if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with^(O) you as he has been with my father. ¹⁴ But show me unfailing kindness^(P) like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, ¹⁵ and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family^(Q)—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan^(R) made a covenant^(S) with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.^(T)” ¹⁷ And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath^(U) out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.^{(V) 19} The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid^(W) when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows^(X) to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. ²² But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond^(Y) you,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. ²³ And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the Lord is witness^(Z) between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast^(AA) came, the king sat down to eat. ²⁵ He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan,^[a] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty.^{(AB) 26} Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.^(AC)” ²⁷ But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

²⁸ Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission^(AD) to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice^(AE) in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰ Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? ³¹ As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom^(AF) will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!”

³² “Why^(AG) should he be put to death? What^(AH) has he done?” Jonathan asked his father. ³³ But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended^(AI) to kill David.

³⁴ Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, ³⁶ and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond^(AJ) you?” ³⁸ Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. ³⁹ (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”

⁴¹ After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground.^(AK) Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most.

⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace,^(AL) for we have sworn friendship^(AM) with each other in the name of the Lord,^(AN) saying, ‘The Lord is witness^(AO) between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.^(AP)’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.^[b]

David at Nob

21 ^[a]David went to Nob,^(A) to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled^(B) when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

² David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. ³ Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

⁴ But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread^(C) on hand; however, there is some consecrated^(D) bread here—provided the men have kept^(E) themselves from women.”

⁵ David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual^(F) whenever^[b] I set out. The men’s bodies are holy^(G) even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” ⁶ So the priest gave him the consecrated bread,^(H) since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.

⁷ Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg^(I) the Edomite,^(J) Saul’s chief shepherd.

⁸ David asked Ahimelek, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s mission was urgent.”

⁹ The priest replied, “The sword^(K) of Goliath^(L) the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah,^(M) is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.”

David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

David at Gath

¹⁰ That day David fled from Saul and went^(N) to Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:

¹² David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he pretended to be insane^(P) in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.

¹⁴ Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? ¹⁵ Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”

Psalm 111^[a]

Submission to Governing Authorities

13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities,^(A) for there is no authority except that which God has established.^(B) The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,^(C) and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.^{(D) 4} For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.^{(E) 5} Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.^(F)

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes,^(G) for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes;^(H) if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Love Fulfills the Law

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.^{(I) 9} The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”^[a](J) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up^(K) in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[b](L) 10} Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.^(M)

The Day Is Near

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come^(N) for you to wake up from your slumber,^(O) because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.^(P) So let us put aside the deeds of darkness^(Q) and put on the armor^(R) of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,^(S) not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.^{(T) 14} Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,^(U) and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.^[c](V)

The Weak and the Strong

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak,^(A) without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.^{(B) 3} The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt^(C) the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge^(D) the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?^(E) To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another;^(F) another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God;^(G) and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone,^(H) and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.^{(I) 9} For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life^(J) so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.^(K)

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister^[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt?^(L) For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.^{(M) 11} It is written:

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.^(P)

¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment^(Q) on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.^{(R) 14} I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself.^(S) But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.^{(T) 15} If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.^(U) Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.^{(V) 16} Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.^{(W) 17} For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,^(X) but of righteousness, peace^(Y) and joy in the Holy Spirit,^{(Z) 18} because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.^(AA)

¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace^(AB) and to mutual edification.^{(AC) 20} Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.^(AD) All food is clean,^(AE) but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.^{(AF) 21} It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.^(AG)

²² So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn^(AH) himself by what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts^(AI) is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.^[c]