May 24 Reading through the Bible Day 145

2 SAMUEL 4:1-6:23
JOHN 13:31-14:14
PSALM 119:17-32
PROVERBS 15:31-32

2 SAMUEL 4:1-6:23
When Ishbosheth heard about Abner's death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and his people were paralyzed with fear. 2 Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth's raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Beeroth. The town of Beeroth is now part of Benjamin's territory 3 because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners. 4 (Saul's son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were killed at the battle of Jezreel. When news of the battle reached the capital, the child's nurse grabbed him and fled. But she fell and dropped him as she was running, and he became crippled as a result.) 5 One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth's home around noon as he was taking a nap. 6 The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past the doorkeeper, went into Ishbosheth's bedroom, and stabbed him in the stomach. Then they escaped. 7 But before leaving, they cut off his head as he lay there on his bed. Taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley through the night. 8 They arrived at Hebron and presented Ishbosheth's head to David. " Look!" they exclaimed. " Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the LORD has given you revenge on Saul and his entire family!" 9 But David said to Recab and Baanah, " As surely as the LORD lives, the one who saves me from my enemies, I will tell you the truth. 10 Once before, someone told me, ` Saul is dead,' thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That's the reward I gave him for his news! 11 Now what reward should I give the wicked men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Should I not also demand your very lives?" 12 So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb in Hebron.5:1 THEN all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, " We are all members of your family. 2 For a long time, even while Saul was our king, you were the one who really led Israel. And the LORD has told you, ` You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be their leader.' " 3 So there at Hebron, David made a covenant with the leaders of Israel before the LORD. And they anointed him king of Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. 5 He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years. 6 David then led his troops to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites. " You'll never get in here," the Jebusites taunted. " Even the blind and lame could keep you out!" For the Jebusites thought they were safe. 7 But David captured the fortress of Zion, now called the City of David. 8 When the insulting message from the defenders of the city reached David, he told his own troops, " Go up through the water tunnel into the city and destroy those ` lame' and ` blind' Jebusites. How I hate them." That is the origin of the saying, " The blind and the lame may not enter the house." 9 So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He built additional fortifications around the city, starting at the Millo and working inward. 10 And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him. 11 Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with carpenters and stonemasons to build him a palace. Hiram also sent many cedar logs for lumber. 12 And David realized that the LORD had made him king over Israel and had made his kingdom great for the sake of his people Israel.13 After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more wives and concubines, and he had many sons and daughters. 14 These are the names of David's sons who were born in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. 17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming and went into the stronghold. 18 The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim. 19 So David asked the LORD, " Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD replied, " Yes, go ahead. I will certainly give you the victory." 20 So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. " The LORD has done it!" David exclaimed. " He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!" So David named that place Baal-perazim (which means " the Lord who bursts through"). 21 The Philistines had abandoned their idols there, so David and his troops confiscated them. 22 But after a while the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim. 23 And once again David asked the LORD what to do. " Do not attack them straight on," the LORD replied. " Instead, circle around behind them and attack them near the balsam trees. 24 When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the balsam trees, attack! That will be the signal that the LORD is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistines." 25 So David did what the LORD commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.6:1 THEN David mobilized thirty thousand special troops. 2 He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring home the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. 3 They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the hillside home of Abinadab. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab's sons, were guiding the cart 4 with the Ark of God on it, with Ahio walking in front. 5 David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments--lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. 6 But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark of God. 7 Then the LORD's anger blazed out against Uzzah for doing this, and God struck him dead beside the Ark of God. 8 David was angry because the LORD's anger had blazed out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means " outbreak against Uzzah"). It is still called that today. 9 David was now afraid of the LORD and asked, " How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?" 10 So David decided not to move the Ark of the LORD into the City of David. He took it instead to the home of Obed-edom of Gath. 11 The Ark of the LORD remained there with the family of Obed-edom for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. 12 Then King David was told, " The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's home and everything he has because of the Ark of God." So David went there and brought the Ark to the City of David with a great celebration. 13 After the men who were carrying it had gone six steps, they stopped and waited so David could sacrifice an ox and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly tunic. 15 So David and all Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with much shouting and blowing of trumpets. 16 But as the Ark of the LORD entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she was filled with contempt for him. 17 The Ark of the LORD was placed inside the special tent that David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. 18 When he had finished, David blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19 Then he gave a gift of food to every man and woman in Israel: a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then everyone went home. 20 When David returned home to bless his family, Michal came out to meet him and said in disgust, " How glorious the king of Israel looked today! He exposed himself to the servant girls like any indecent person might do!" 21 David retorted to Michal, " I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me above your father and his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the LORD. So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the LORD. 22 Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, but I will be held in honor by the girls of whom you have spoken!" 23 So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her life.

JOHN 13:31-14:14
As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, " The time has come for me, the Son of Man, to enter into my glory, and God will receive glory because of all that happens to me. 32 And God will bring me into my glory very soon. 33 Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me--just as I told the Jewish leaders. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." 36 Simon Peter said, " Lord, where are you going?" And Jesus replied, " You can't go with me now, but you will follow me later." 37 " But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. " I am ready to die for you." 38 Jesus answered, " Die for me? No, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.14:1 " DON'T be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know where I am going and how to get there." 5 " No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. " We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus told him, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my Father is. From now on you know him and have seen him!" 8 Philip said, " Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus replied, " Philip, don't you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see him? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do. 12 " The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!"

PSALM 119:17-32
Be good to your servant,
that I may live and obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the wonderful truths in your law.
19 I am but a foreigner here on earth;
I need the guidance of your commands.
Don't hide them from me!
20 I am overwhelmed continually
with a desire for your laws.
21 You rebuke those cursed proud ones
who wander from your commands.
22 Don't let them scorn and insult me,
for I have obeyed your decrees.
23 Even princes sit and speak against me,
but I will meditate on your principles.
24 Your decrees please me;
they give me wise advice.
25 I lie in the dust, completely discouraged;
revive me by your word.
26 I told you my plans, and you answered.
Now teach me your principles.
27 Help me understand the meaning of your commandments,
and I will meditate on your wonderful miracles.
28 I weep with grief;
encourage me by your word.
29 Keep me from lying to myself;
give me the privilege of knowing your law.
30 I have chosen to be faithful;
I have determined to live by your laws.
31 I cling to your decrees.
LORD, don't let me be put to shame!
32 If you will help me,
I will run to follow your commands.

PROVERBS 15:31-32
If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

May 23 Reading through the Bible Day 144

2 SAMUEL 2:12-3:39
JOHN 13:1-30
PSALM 119:1-16
PROVERBS 15:29-30

2 SAMUEL 2:12-3:39
One day Abner led some of Ishbosheth's troops from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 About the same time, Joab son of Zeruiah led David's troops from Hebron, and they met Abner at the pool of Gibeon. The two groups sat down there, facing each other from opposite sides of the pool. 14 Then Abner suggested to Joab, " Let's have a few of our warriors put on an exhibition of hand-to-hand combat." " All right," Joab agreed. 15 So twelve men were chosen from each side to fight against each other. 16 Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other's side so that all of them died. The place has been known ever since as the Field of Swords. 17 The two armies then began to fight each other, and by the end of the day Abner and the men of Israel had been defeated by the forces of David. 18 Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, the three sons of Zeruiah, were among David's forces that day. Asahel could run like a deer, 19 and he began chasing Abner. He was relentless and single-minded in his pursuit. 20 When Abner looked back and saw him coming, he called out, " Is that you, Asahel?" " Yes, it is," he replied. 21 " Go fight someone else!" Abner warned. " Take on one of the younger men and strip him of his weapons." But Asahel refused and kept right on chasing Abner. 22 Again Abner shouted to him, " Get away from here! I will never be able to face your brother Joab if I have to kill you!" 23 But Asahel would not give up, so Abner thrust the butt end of his spear through Asahel's stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there. And everyone who came by that spot stopped and stood still when they saw Asahel lying there. 24 When Joab and Abishai found out what had happened, they set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at the hill of Ammah near Giah, along the road to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 Abner's troops from the tribe of Benjamin regrouped there at the top of the hill to take a stand. 26 Abner shouted down to Joab, " Must we always solve our differences with swords? Don't you realize the only thing we will gain is bitterness toward each other? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?" 27 Then Joab said, " God only knows what would have happened if you hadn't spoken, for we would have chased you all night if necessary." 28 So Joab blew his trumpet, and his men stopped chasing the troops of Israel. 29 All that night Abner and his men retreated through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, traveling all through the morning, and they did not stop until they arrived at Mahanaim.30 Meanwhile, Joab and his men also returned home. When Joab counted his casualties, he discovered that only nineteen men were missing, in addition to Asahel. 31 But three hundred and sixty of Abner's men, all from the tribe of Benjamin, had been killed. 32 Joab and his men took Asahel's body to Bethlehem and buried him there beside his father. Then they traveled all night and reached Hebron at daybreak. 3:1 THAT was the beginning of a long war between those who had been loyal to Saul and those who were loyal to David. As time passed David became stronger and stronger, while Saul's dynasty became weaker and weaker. 2 These were the sons who were born to David in Hebron: The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel. 3 The second was Kileab, whose mother was Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. 4 The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital. 5 The sixth was Ithream, whose mother was David's wife Eglah. These sons were all born to David in Hebron. 6 As the war went on, Abner became a powerful leader among those who were loyal to Saul's dynasty. 7 One day Ishbosheth, Saul's son, accused Abner of sleeping with one of his father's concubines, a woman named Rizpah. 8 Abner became furious. " Am I a Judean dog to be kicked around like this?" he shouted. " After all I have done for you and your father by not betraying you to David, is this my reward--that you find fault with me about this woman? 9 May God deal harshly with me if I don't help David get all that the LORD has promised him! 10 I should just go ahead and give David the rest of Saul's kingdom. I should set him up as king over Israel as well as Judah, from Dan to Beersheba." 11 Ishbosheth didn't dare say another word because he was afraid of what Abner might do. 12 Then Abner sent messengers to David, saying, " Let's make an agreement, and I will help turn the entire nation of Israel over to you." 13 " All right," David replied, " but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring back my wife Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come." 14 David then sent this message to Ishbosheth, Saul's son: " Give me back my wife Michal, for I bought her with the lives of one hundred Philistines." 15 So Ishbosheth took Michal away from her husband Palti son of Laish. 16 Palti followed along behind her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, " Go back home!" So Palti returned. 17 Meanwhile, Abner had consulted with the leaders of Israel. " For some time now," he told them, " you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now is the time! For the LORD has said, ` I have chosen David to save my people from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.' " 19 Abner also spoke with the leaders of the tribe of Benjamin. Then he went to Hebron to tell David that all the people of Israel and Benjamin supported him. 20 When Abner came to Hebron with his twenty men, David entertained them with a great feast. 21 Then Abner said to David, " Let me go and call all the people of Israel to your side. They will make a covenant with you to make you their king. Then you will be able to rule over everything your heart desires." So David sent Abner safely on his way. 22 But just after Abner left, Joab and some of David's troops returned from a raid, bringing much plunder with them. 23 When Joab was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in safety, 24 he rushed to see the king. " What have you done?" he demanded. " What do you mean by letting Abner get away? 25 You know perfectly well that he came to spy on you and to discover everything you are doing!"26 Joab then left David and sent messengers to catch up with Abner. They found him at the pool of Sirah and brought him back with them. But David knew nothing about it. 27 When Abner arrived at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gateway as if to speak with him privately. But then he drew his dagger and killed Abner in revenge for killing his brother Asahel. 28 When David heard about it, he declared, " I vow by the LORD that I and my people are innocent of this crime against Abner. 29 Joab and his family are the guilty ones. May his family in every generation be cursed with a man who has open sores or leprosy or who walks on crutches or who dies by the sword or who begs for food!" 30 So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because Abner had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon. 31 Then David said to Joab and all those who were with him, " Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth. Go into deep mourning for Abner." And King David himself walked behind the procession to the grave. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king and all the people wept at his graveside. 33 Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner: " Should Abner have died as fools die?
34 Your hands were not bound;
your feet were not chained.
No, you were murdered--
the victim of a wicked plot."
All the people wept again for Abner. 35 David had refused to eat anything the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David had made a vow, saying, " May God kill me if I eat anything before sundown." 36 This pleased the people very much. In fact, everything the king did pleased them! 37 So everyone in Judah and Israel knew that David was not responsible for Abner's death. 38 Then King David said to the people, " Do you not realize that a great leader and a great man has fallen today in Israel? 39 And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah--Joab and Abishai--are too strong for me to control. So may the LORD repay these wicked men for their wicked deeds."

JOHN 13:1-30
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love. 2 It was time for supper, and the Devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him. 6 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, " Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, " You don't understand now why I am doing it; someday you will." 8 " No," Peter protested, " you will never wash my feet!" Jesus replied, " But if I don't wash you, you won't belong to me." 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, " Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!" 10 Jesus replied, " A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you are clean, but that isn't true of everyone here." 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, " Not all of you are clean."12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, " Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ` Teacher' and ` Lord,' and you are right, because it is true. 14 And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17 You know these things--now do them! That is the path of blessing. 18 " I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scriptures declare, ` The one who shares my food has turned against me,' and this will soon come true. 19 I tell you this now, so that when it happens you will believe I am the Messiah. 20 Truly, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me." 21 Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, " The truth is, one of you will betray me!" 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 One of Jesus' disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this terrible thing. 25 Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, " Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus said, " It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce." And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, " Hurry. Do it now." 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.

PSALM 119:1-16
Happy are people of integrity,>
who follow the law of the LORD.
2 Happy are those who obey his decrees
and search for him with all their hearts.
3 They do not compromise with evil,
and they walk only in his paths.
4 You have charged us
to keep your commandments carefully.
5 Oh, that my actions would consistently
reflect your principles!
6 Then I will not be disgraced
when I compare my life with your commands.
7 When I learn your righteous laws,
I will thank you by living as I should!
8 I will obey your principles.
Please don't give up on me!
9 How can a young person stay pure?
By obeying your word and following its rules.
10 I have tried my best to find you--
don't let me wander from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your principles.
13 I have recited aloud
all the laws you have given us.
14 I have rejoiced in your decrees
as much as in riches.
15 I will study your commandments
and reflect on your ways.
16 I will delight in your principles
and not forget your word.

PROVERBS 15:29-30
The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.

May 22 Reading through the Bible Day 143

2 SAMUEL 1:1-2:11
JOHN 12:20-50
PSALM 118:19-29
PROVERBS 15:27-28

2 SAMUEL 1:1-2:11
After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. 2 On the third day after David's return, a man arrived from the Israelite battlefront. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect. 3 " Where have you come from?" David asked. " I escaped from the Israelite camp," the man replied.4 " What happened?" David demanded. " Tell me how the battle went." The man replied, " Our entire army fled. Many men are dead and wounded on the battlefield, and Saul and his son Jonathan have been killed." 5 " How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead?" David demanded. 6 The young man answered, " I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. I saw Saul there leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots closing in on him. 7 When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. ` How can I help?' I asked him. 8 And he said to me, ` Who are you?' I replied, ` I am an Amalekite.' 9 Then he begged me, ` Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.' 10 " So I killed him," the Amalekite told David, " for I knew he couldn't live. Then I took his crown and one of his bracelets so I could bring them to you, my lord." 11 David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the LORD's army and the nation of Israel, because so many had died that day. 13 Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, " Where are you from?" And he replied, " I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land." 14 " Were you not afraid to kill the LORD's anointed one?" David asked. 15 Then David said to one of his men, " Kill him!" So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him. 16 " You die self-condemned," David said, " for you yourself confessed that you killed the LORD's anointed one." 17 Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan. 18 Later he commanded that it be taught to all the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar.19 Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills!
How the mighty heroes have fallen!
20 Don't announce the news in Gath,
or the Philistines will rejoice.
Don't proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,
or the pagans will laugh in triumph.
21 O mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you or your slopes.
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled;
the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil.
22 Both Saul and Jonathan killed their strongest foes;
they did not return from battle empty-handed.
23 How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan!
They were together in life and in death.
They were swifter than eagles;
they were stronger than lions.
24 O women of Israel, weep for Saul,
for he dressed you in fine clothing and gold ornaments.
25 How the mighty heroes have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies dead upon the hills.
26 How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan!
Oh, how much I loved you!
And your love for me was deep,
deeper than the love of women!
27 How the mighty heroes have fallen!
Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.
2:1 AFTER this, David asked the LORD, " Should I move back to Judah?" And the LORD replied, " Yes." Then David asked, " Which town should I go to?" And the LORD replied, " Hebron." 2 David's wives were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. So David and his wives 3 and his men and their families all moved to Judah, and they settled near the town of Hebron. 4 Then Judah's leaders came to David and crowned him king over the tribe of Judah. When David heard that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul, 5 he sent them this message: " May the LORD bless you for being so loyal to your king and giving him a decent burial. 6 May the LORD be loyal to you in return and reward you with his unfailing love! And I, too, will reward you for what you have done. 7 And now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king." 8 But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul's son Ishbosheth. 9 There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel. 10 Ishbosheth was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the tribe of Judah remained loyal to David. 11 David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years.

JOHN 12:20-50
Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover 21 paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, " Sir, we want to meet Jesus." 22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, " The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. 24 The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies it will be alone--a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels--a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who despise their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them. 27 Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ` Father, save me from what lies ahead'? But that is the very reason why I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name." Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, " I have already brought it glory, and I will do it again." 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him. 30 Then Jesus told them, " The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time of judgment for the world has come, when the prince of this world will be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up on the cross,* I will draw everyone to myself." 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.34 " Die?" asked the crowd. " We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. Why are you saying the Son of Man will die? Who is this Son of Man you are talking about?" 35 Jesus replied, " My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, so you will not stumble when the darkness falls. If you walk in the darkness, you cannot see where you are going. 36 Believe in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light." After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them. 37 But despite all the miraculous signs he had done, most of the people did not believe in him. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: " Lord, who has believed our message?
To whom will the Lord reveal his saving power?"
39 But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said, 40 " The Lord has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts--
so their eyes cannot see,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them."
41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, because he was given a vision of the Messiah's glory. 42 Many people, including some of the Jewish leaders, believed in him. But they wouldn't admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God. 44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, " If you trust me, you are really trusting God who sent me. 45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness. 47 If anyone hears me and doesn't obey me, I am not his judge--for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 49 I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me gave me his own instructions as to what I should say. 50 And I know his instructions lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say!"

PSALM 118:19-29
Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the LORD.
20 Those gates lead to the presence of the LORD,
and the godly enter there.
21 I thank you for answering my prayer
and saving me!
22 The stone rejected by the builders
has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing,
and it is marvelous to see.
24 This is the day the LORD has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, LORD, please save us.
Please, LORD, please give us success.
26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God, shining upon us.
Bring forward the sacrifice and put it on the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you!
You are my God, and I will exalt you!
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

PROVERBS 15:27-28
Dishonest money brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live. The godly think before speaking; the wicked spout evil words.

May 21 Reading through the Bible Day 142

1 SAMUEL 29:1-31:13
JOHN 11:55-12:19
PSALM 118:1-18
PROVERBS 15:24-26

1 SAMUEL 29:1-31:13
The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers were leading out their troops in groups of one hundred and one thousand, David and his men marched at the rear with King Achish. 3 But the Philistine commanders demanded, " What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish told them, " This is David, the man who ran away from King Saul of Israel. He's been with me for years, and I've never found a single fault in him since he defected to me." 4 But the Philistine commanders were angry. " Send him back!" they demanded. " He can't go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by turning on us in battle? 5 Isn't this the same David about whom the women of Israel sing in their dances, ` Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" 6 So Achish finally summoned David and his men. " I swear by the LORD," he told them, " you are some of the finest men I've ever met. I think you should go with us, but the other Philistine rulers won't hear of it. 7 Please don't upset them, but go back quietly." 8 " What have I done to deserve this treatment?" David demanded. " Why can't I fight the enemies of my lord, the king?" 9 But Achish insisted, " As far as I'm concerned, you're as perfect as an angel of God. But my commanders are afraid to have you with them in the battle. 10 Now get up early in the morning, and leave with your men as soon as it gets light." 11 So David headed back into the land of the Philistines, while the Philistine army went on to Jezreel.30:1 THREE days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and had burned Ziklag to the ground. 2 They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. 3 When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, 4 they wept until they could weep no more. 5 David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel, were among those captured. 6 David was now in serious trouble because his men were very bitter about losing their wives and children, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God. 7 Then he said to Abiathar the priest, " Bring me the ephod!" So Abiathar brought it. 8 Then David asked the LORD, " Should I chase them? Will I catch them?" And the LORD told him, " Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!" 9 So David and his six hundred men set out, and they soon came to Besor Brook. 10 But two hundred of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with his four hundred remaining troops. 11 Some of David's troops found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and some water to drink. 12 They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins because he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. It wasn't long before his strength returned. 13 " To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" David asked him. " I am an Egyptian--the slave of an Amalekite," he replied. " My master left me behind three days ago because I was sick. 14 We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag." 15 " Will you lead me to them?" David asked. The young man replied, " If you swear by God's name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them." 16 So the Egyptian led them to the Amalekite encampment. When David and his men arrived, the Amalekites were spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. 17 David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except four hundred young men who fled on camels. 18 David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. 20 His troops rounded up all the flocks and herds and drove them on ahead. " These all belong to David as his reward!" they said. 21 When they reached Besor Brook and met the two hundred men who had been too tired to go with them, David greeted them joyfully. 22 But some troublemakers among David's men said, " They didn't go with us, so they can't have any of the plunder. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone." 23 But David said, " No, my brothers! Don't be selfish with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the enemy. 24 Do you think anyone will listen to you when you talk like this? We share and share alike--those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment." 25 From then on David made this a law for all of Israel, and it is still followed. 26 When he arrived at Ziklag, David sent part of the plunder to the leaders of Judah, who were his friends. " Here is a present for you, taken from the LORD's enemies," he said. 27 The gifts were sent to the leaders of the following towns where David and his men had been: Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir, 28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29 Racal, the towns of the Jerahmeelites, the towns of the Kenites, 30 Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, 31 Hebron, and all the other places they had visited.31:1 NOW the Philistines attacked Israel, forcing the Israelites to flee. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons--Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. 3 The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. 4 Saul groaned to his armor bearer, " Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines run me through and humiliate me." But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. 6 So Saul, three of his sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day. 7 When the Israelites on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that their army had been routed and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. 8 The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off Saul's head and stripped off his armor. Then they proclaimed the news of Saul's death in their pagan temple and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. 10 They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan. 11 But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 their warriors traveled all night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies. 13 Then they took their remains and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

JOHN 11:55-12:19
It was now almost time for the celebration of Passover, and many people from the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the cleansing ceremony before the Passover began. 56 They wanted to see Jesus, and as they talked in the Temple, they asked each other, " What do you think? Will he come for the Passover?" 57 Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly announced that anyone seeing Jesus must report him immediately so they could arrest him. 12:1 SIX days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus--the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus' honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples--the one who would betray him--said, 5 " That perfume was worth a small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." 6 Not that he cared for the poor--he was a thief who was in charge of the disciples' funds, and he often took some for his own use. 7 Jesus replied, " Leave her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer." 9 When all the people heard of Jesus' arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, 11 for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus. 12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A huge crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, " Praise God!
Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hail to the King of Israel!"
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: 15 " Don't be afraid, people of Israel.
Look, your King is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt."
16 His disciples didn't realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered that these Scriptures had come true before their eyes. 17 Those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling others all about it. 18 That was the main reason so many went out to meet him--because they had heard about this mighty miracle. 19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, " We've lost. Look, the whole world has gone after him!"

PSALM 118:1-18
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Let the congregation of Israel repeat:
" His faithful love endures forever."
3 Let Aaron's descendants, the priests, repeat:
" His faithful love endures forever."
4 Let all who fear the LORD repeat:
" His faithful love endures forever."
5 In my distress I prayed to the LORD,
and the LORD answered me and rescued me.
6 The LORD is for me, so I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 Yes, the LORD is for me; he will help me.
I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to trust the LORD
than to put confidence in people.
9 It is better to trust the LORD
than to put confidence in princes.
10 Though hostile nations surrounded me,
I destroyed them all in the name of the LORD.
11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
but I destroyed them all in the name of the LORD.
12 They swarmed around me like bees;
they blazed against me like a roaring flame.
But I destroyed them all in the name of the LORD.
13 You did your best to kill me, O my enemy,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my victory.
15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things!
16 The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things!
17 I will not die, but I will live
to tell what the LORD has done.
18 The LORD has punished me severely,
but he has not handed me over to death.

PROVERBS 15:24-26
The path of the wise leads to life above; they leave the grave behind. The LORD destroys the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows. The LORD despises the thoughts of the wicked, but he delights in pure words.

May 20 Reading through the Bible Day 141

1 SAMUEL 26:1-28:25
JOHN 11:1-54
PSALM 117:1-2
PROVERBS 15:22-23

1 SAMUEL 26:1-28:25
Now some messengers from Ziph came back to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, " David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon." 2 So Saul took three thousand of his best troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. But David knew of Saul's arrival, 4 so he sent out spies to watch his movements. 5 David slipped over to Saul's camp one night to look around. Saul and his general, Abner son of Ner, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors. 6 " Will anyone volunteer to go in there with me?" David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother. " I'll go with you," Abishai replied. 7 So David and Abishai went right into Saul's camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the warriors were lying asleep around him. 8 " God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!" Abishai whispered to David. " Let me thrust that spear through him. I'll pin him to the ground, and I won't need to strike twice!" 9 " No!" David said. " Don't kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the LORD's anointed one? 10 Surely the LORD will strike Saul down someday, or he will die in battle or of old age. 11 But the LORD forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But I'll tell you what--we'll take his spear and his jug of water and then get out of here!" 12 So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul's head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the LORD had put Saul's men into a deep sleep. 13 David climbed the hill opposite the camp until he was at a safe distance. 14 Then he shouted down to Abner and Saul, " Wake up, Abner!" " Who is it?" Abner demanded. 15 " Well, Abner, you're a great man, aren't you?" David taunted. " Where in all Israel is there anyone as mighty? So why haven't you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? 16 This isn't good at all! I swear by the LORD that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the LORD's anointed! Look around! Where are the king's spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?" 17 Saul recognized David's voice and called out, " Is that you, my son David?" And David replied, " Yes, my lord the king. 18 Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? 19 But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the LORD. For you have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the LORD's people and worship as I should. 20 Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the LORD? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?" 21 Then Saul confessed, " I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong." 22 " Here is your spear, O king," David replied. " Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23 The LORD gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the LORD placed you in my power, for you are the LORD's anointed one. 24 Now may the LORD value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles." 25 And Saul said to David, " Blessings on you, my son David. You will do heroic deeds and be a great conqueror." Then David went away, and Saul returned home.27:1 BUT David kept thinking to himself, " Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing for me to do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me, and I will finally be safe." 2 So David took his six hundred men and their families and went to live at Gath under the protection of King Achish. 3 David brought his two wives along with him--Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow. 4 Word soon reached Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he stopped hunting for him. 5 One day David said to Achish, " If it is all right with you, we would rather live in one of the country towns instead of here in the royal city." 6 So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag (which still belongs to the kings of Judah to this day), 7 and they lived there among the Philistines for a year and four months. 8 David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites--people who had lived near Shur, along the road to Egypt, since ancient times. 9 David didn't leave one person alive in the villages he attacked. He took the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing before returning home to see King Achish. 10 " Where did you make your raid today?" Achish would ask. And David would reply, " Against the south of Judah, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites." 11 No one was left alive to come to Gath and tell where he had really been. This happened again and again while he was living among the Philistines. 12 Achish believed David and thought to himself, " By now the people of Israel must hate him bitterly. Now he will have to stay here and serve me forever!"28:1 ABOUT that time the Philistines mustered their armies for another war with Israel. King Achish told David, " You and your men will be expected to join me in battle." 2 " Very well!" David agreed. " Now you will see for yourself what we can do." Then Achish told David, " I will make you my personal bodyguard for life." 3 Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown. And Saul had banned all mediums and psychics from the land of Israel. 4 The Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul and the armies of Israel camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. 6 He asked the LORD what he should do, but the LORD refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. 7 Saul then said to his advisers, " Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do." His advisers replied, " There is a medium at Endor." 8 So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman's home at night, accompanied by two of his men. " I have to talk to a man who has died," he said. " Will you call up his spirit for me?" 9 " Are you trying to get me killed?" the woman demanded. " You know that Saul has expelled all the mediums and psychics from the land. Why are you setting a trap for me?" 10 But Saul took an oath in the name of the LORD and promised, " As surely as the LORD lives, nothing bad will happen to you for doing this." 11 Finally, the woman said, " Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?" " Call up Samuel," Saul replied. 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, " You've deceived me! You are Saul!" 13 " Don't be afraid!" the king told her. " What do you see?" " I see a god coming up out of the earth," she said. 14 " What does he look like?" Saul asked. " He is an old man wrapped in a robe," she replied. Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground before him. 15 " Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?" Samuel asked. " Because I am in deep trouble," Saul replied. " The Philistines are at war with us, and God has left me and won't reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do." 16 But Samuel replied, " Why ask me if the LORD has left you and has become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done just as he said he would. He has taken the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. 18 The LORD has done this because you did not obey his instructions concerning the Amalekites. 19 What's more, the LORD will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The LORD will bring the entire army of Israel down in defeat." 20 Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel's words. He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 21 When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, " Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life. 22 Now do what I say, and let me give you something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back." 23 But Saul refused. The men who were with him also urged him to eat, so he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the couch. 24 The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She kneaded dough and baked unleavened bread. 25 She brought the meal to Saul and his men, and they ate it. Then they went out into the night.

JOHN 11:1-54
A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who poured the expensive perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, " Lord, the one you love is very sick." 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, " Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this." 5 Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days and did not go to them. 7 Finally after two days, he said to his disciples, " Let's go to Judea again." 8 But his disciples objected. " Teacher," they said, " only a few days ago the Jewish leaders in Judea were trying to kill you. Are you going there again?" 9 Jesus replied, " There are twelve hours of daylight every day. As long as it is light, people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 Only at night is there danger of stumbling because there is no light." 11 Then he said, " Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up." 12 The disciples said, " Lord, if he is sleeping, that means he is getting better!" 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was having a good night's rest, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 Then he told them plainly, " Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sake, I am glad I wasn't there, because this will give you another opportunity to believe in me. Come, let's go see him." 16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, " Let's go, too--and die with Jesus." 17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to pay their respects and console Martha and Mary on their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, " Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." 23 Jesus told her, " Your brother will rise again." 24 " Yes," Martha said, " when everyone else rises, on resurrection day."25 Jesus told her, " I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. 26 They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?" 27 " Yes, Lord," she told him. " I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God." 28 Then she left him and returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, " The Teacher is here and wants to see you." 29 So Mary immediately went to him. 30 Now Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house trying to console Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus's grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell down at his feet and said, " Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, he was moved with indignation and was deeply troubled. 34 " Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, " Lord, come and see." 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, " See how much he loved him." 37 But some said, " This man healed a blind man. Why couldn't he keep Lazarus from dying?" 38 And again Jesus was deeply troubled. Then they came to the grave. It was a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 " Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, said, " Lord, by now the smell will be terrible because he has been dead for four days." 40 Jesus responded, " Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?" 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, " Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me." 43 Then Jesus shouted, " Lazarus, come out!" 44 Lazarus came out, bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, " Unwrap him and let him go!" 45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together to discuss the situation. " What are we going to do?" they asked each other. " This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we leave him alone, the whole nation will follow him, and then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation." 49 And one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, " How can you be so stupid? 50 Why should the whole nation be destroyed? Let this one man die for the people." 51 This prophecy that Jesus should die for the entire nation came from Caiaphas in his position as high priest. He didn't think of it himself; he was inspired to say it. 52 It was a prediction that Jesus' death would be not for Israel only, but for the gathering together of all the children of God scattered around the world.53 So from that time on the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus' death. 54 As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.

PSALM 117:1-2
Praise the LORD, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.
2 For he loves us with unfailing love;
the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!

PROVERBS 15:22-23
Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success. Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!

May 19 Reading through the Bible Day 140

1 SAMUEL 24:1-25:44
JOHN 10:22-42
PSALM 116:1-19
PROVERBS 15:20-21

1 SAMUEL 24:1-25:44
After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. 2 So Saul chose three thousand special troops from throughout Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. 3 At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding in that very cave! 4 " Now's your opportunity!" David's men whispered to him. " Today is the day the LORD was talking about when he said, ` I will certainly put Saul into your power, to do with as you wish.' " Then David crept forward and cut off a piece of Saul's robe.5 But then David's conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul's robe. 6 " The LORD knows I shouldn't have done it," he said to his men. " It is a serious thing to attack the LORD's anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him." 7 So David sharply rebuked his men and did not let them kill Saul. After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, 8 David came out and shouted after him, " My lord the king!" And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him. 9 Then he shouted to Saul, " Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? 10 This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn't true. For the LORD placed you at my mercy back there in the cave, and some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ` I will never harm him--he is the LORD's anointed one.' 11 Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn't kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me. 12 The LORD will decide between us. Perhaps the LORD will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. 13 As that old proverb says, ` From evil people come evil deeds.' So you can be sure I will never harm you. 14 Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a flea? 15 May the LORD judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!" 16 Saul called back, " Is that really you, my son David?" Then he began to cry. 17 And he said to David, " You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. 18 Yes, you have been wonderfully kind to me today, for when the LORD put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn't do it. 19 Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the LORD reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. 20 And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and Israel will flourish under your rule. 21 Now, swear to me by the LORD that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!" 22 So David promised, and Saul went home. But David and his men went back to their stronghold.25:1 NOW Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him near his home at Ramah. Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon. 2 There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the village of Carmel. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. 3 This man's name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was mean and dishonest in all his dealings. 4 When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 he sent ten of his young men to Carmel. He told them to deliver this message: 6 " Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! 7 I am told that you are shearing your sheep and goats. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. 8 Ask your own servants, and they will tell you this is true. So would you please be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please give us any provisions you might have on hand." 9 David's young men gave this message to Nabal and waited for his reply. 10 " Who is this fellow David?" Nabal sneered. " Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. 11 Should I take my bread and water and the meat I've slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?" 12 So David's messengers returned and told him what Nabal had said. 13 " Get your swords!" was David's reply as he strapped on his own. Four hundred men started off with David, and two hundred remained behind to guard their equipment. 14 Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants went to Abigail and told her, " David sent men from the wilderness to talk to our master, and he insulted them. 15 But David's men were very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. 16 In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. 17 You'd better think fast, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He's so ill- tempered that no one can even talk to him!" 18 Abigail lost no time. She quickly gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, one hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys and said to her servants, 19 " Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly." But she didn't tell her husband what she was doing. 20 As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. 21 David had just been saying, " A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God deal with me severely if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!" 23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. 24 She fell at his feet and said, " I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. 25 I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don't pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the messengers you sent. 26 " Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies be as cursed as Nabal is. 27 And here is a present I have brought to you and your young men. 28 Please forgive me if I have offended in any way. The LORD will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the LORD's battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life. 29 " Even when you are chased by those who seek your life, you are safe in the care of the LORD your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! 30 When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, 31 don't let this be a blemish on your record. Then you won't have to carry on your conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the LORD has done these great things for you, please remember me!" 32 David replied to Abigail, " Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! 33 Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murdering the man and carrying out vengeance with my own hands. 34 For I swear by the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal's men would be alive tomorrow morning." 35 Then David accepted her gifts and told her, " Return home in peace. We will not kill your husband." 36 When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal had thrown a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn't tell him anything about her meeting with David until the next morning. 37 The next morning when he was sober, she told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay on his bed paralyzed. 38 About ten days later, the LORD struck him and he died. 39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, " Praise the LORD, who has paid back Nabal and kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin." Then David wasted no time in sending messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife. 40 When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, " David has sent us to ask if you will marry him." 41 She bowed low to the ground and responded, " Yes, I am even willing to become a slave to David's servants!" 42 Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David's messengers. And so she became his wife. 43 David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. 44 Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish.

JOHN 10:22-42
It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah. 23 He was at the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, " How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus replied, " I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is what I do in the name of my Father. 26 But you don't believe me because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. 30 The Father and I are one." 31 Once again the Jewish leaders picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, " At my Father's direction I have done many things to help the people. For which one of these good deeds are you killing me?" 33 They replied, " Not for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, have made yourself God." 34 Jesus replied, " It is written in your own law that God said to certain leaders of the people, ` I say, you are gods!' 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people, who received God's message, were called ` gods,' 36 why do you call it blasphemy when the Holy One who was sent into the world by the Father says, ` I am the Son of God'? 37 Don't believe me unless I carry out my Father's work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in what I have done, even if you don't believe me. Then you will realize that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father."39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. 40 He went beyond the Jordan River to stay near the place where John was first baptizing. 41 And many followed him. " John didn't do miracles," they remarked to one another, " but all his predictions about this man have come true." 42 And many believed in him there.

PSALM 116:1-19
I love the LORD because he hears
and answers my prayers.
2 Because he bends down and listens,
I will pray as long as I have breath!
3 Death had its hands around my throat;
the terrors of the grave overtook me.
I saw only trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
" Please, LORD, save me!"
5 How kind the LORD is! How good he is!
So merciful, this God of ours!
6 The LORD protects those of childlike faith;
I was facing death, and then he saved me.
7 Now I can rest again,
for the LORD has been so good to me.
8 He has saved me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9 And so I walk in the LORD's presence
as I live here on earth!
10 I believed in you, so I prayed,
" I am deeply troubled, LORD."
11 In my anxiety I cried out to you,
" These people are all liars!"
12 What can I offer the LORD
for all he has done for me?
13 I will lift up a cup symbolizing his salvation;
I will praise the LORD's name for saving me.
14 I will keep my promises to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
15 The LORD's loved ones are precious to him;
it grieves him when they die.
16 O LORD, I am your servant;
yes, I am your servant, the son of your handmaid,
and you have freed me from my bonds!
17 I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will keep my promises to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the house of the LORD,
in the heart of Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!

PROVERBS 15:20-21
Sensible children bring joy to their father; foolish children despise their mother. Foolishness brings joy to those who have no sense; a sensible person stays on the right path.

May 18 Reading through the Bible Day 139

1 SAMUEL 22:1-23:29
JOHN 10:1-21
PSALM 115:1-18
PROVERBS 15:18-19

1 SAMUEL 22:1-23:29
So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and other relatives joined him there. 2 Then others began coming--men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented--until David was the leader of about four hundred men. 3 Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the king, " Would you let my father and mother live here under royal protection until I know what God is going to do for me?" 4 The king agreed, and David's parents stayed in Moab while David was living in his stronghold. 5 One day the prophet Gad told David, " Leave the stronghold and return to the land of Judah." So David went to the forest of Hereth. 6 The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. At the time, the king was sitting beneath a tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, holding his spear and surrounded by his officers. 7 " Listen here, you men of Benjamin!" Saul shouted when he heard the news. " Has David promised you fields and vineyards? Has he promised to make you commanders in his army? 8 Is that why you have conspired against me? For not one of you has ever told me that my own son is on David's side. You're not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son--encouraging David to try and kill me!" 9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul's men, spoke up. " When I was at Nob," he said, " I saw David talking to Ahimelech the priest. 10 Ahimelech consulted the LORD to find out what David should do. Then he gave David food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine." 11 King Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and all his family, who served as priests at Nob. 12 When they arrived, Saul shouted at him, " Listen to me, you son of Ahitub!" " What is it, my king?" Ahimelech asked. 13 " Why have you and David conspired against me?" Saul demanded. " Why did you give him food and a sword? Why have you inquired of God for him? Why did you encourage him to revolt against me and to come here and attack me?" 14 " But sir," Ahimelech replied, " is there anyone among all your servants who is as faithful as David, your son-in-law? Why, he is the captain of your bodyguard and a highly honored member of your household! 15 This was certainly not the first time I had consulted God for him! Please don't accuse me and my family in this matter, for I knew nothing of any plot against you." 16 " You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!" the king shouted. 17 And he ordered his bodyguards, " Kill these priests of the LORD, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn't tell me!" But Saul's men refused to kill the LORD's priests. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, " You do it." So Doeg turned on them and killed them, eighty-five priests in all, all still wearing their priestly tunics. 19 Then he went to Nob, the city of the priests, and killed the priests' families--men and women, children and babies, and all the cattle, donkeys, and sheep. 20 Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David. 21 When he told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD, 22 David exclaimed, " I knew it! When I saw Doeg there that day, I knew he would tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father's family. 23 Stay here with me, and I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both."23:1 ONE day news came to David that the Philistines were at Keilah stealing grain from the threshing floors. 2 David asked the LORD, " Should I go and attack them?" " Yes, go and save Keilah," the LORD told him. 3 But David's men said, " We're afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don't want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!" 4 So David asked the LORD again, and again the LORD replied, " Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines." 5 So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. 6 Abiathar the priest went to Keilah with David, taking the ephod with him to get answers for David from the LORD. 7 Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. " Good!" he exclaimed. " We've got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled city!" 8 So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and attack David and his men. 9 But David learned of Saul's plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the LORD what he should do. 10 And David prayed, " O LORD, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell me." And the LORD said, " He will come." 12 Again David asked, " Will these men of Keilah really betray me and my men to Saul?" And the LORD replied, " Yes, they will betray you." 13 So David and his men--about six hundred of them now--left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn't go to Keilah after all. 14 David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn't let him be found. 15 One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. 16 Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. 17 " Don't be afraid," Jonathan reassured him. " My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father is well aware." 18 So the two of them renewed their covenant of friendship before the LORD. Then Jonathan returned home, while David stayed at Horesh. 19 But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him. " We know where David is hiding," they said. " He is in the strongholds of Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which is in the southern part of Jeshimon. 20 Come down whenever you're ready, O king, and we will catch him and hand him over to you!" 21 " The LORD bless you," Saul said. " At last someone is concerned about me! 22 Go and check again to be sure of where he is staying and who has seen him there, for I know that he is very crafty. 23 Discover his hiding places, and come back with a more definite report. Then I'll go with you. And if he is in the area at all, I'll track him down, even if I have to search every hiding place in Judah!" 24 So the men of Ziph returned home ahead of Saul. Meanwhile, David and his men had moved into the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah Valley south of Jeshimon. 25 When David heard that Saul and his men were searching for him, he went even farther into the wilderness to the great rock, and he remained there in the wilderness of Maon. But Saul kept after him. 26 He and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men, 27 an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. 28 So Saul quit the chase and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape. 29 David then went to live in the strongholds of En-gedi.

JOHN 10:1-21
" I [Jesus] assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 For a shepherd enters through the gate. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't recognize his voice." 6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them. " I assure you, I am the gate for the sheep," he said. 8 " All others who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. Wherever they go, they will find green pastures. 10 The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. 11 " I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will leave the sheep because they aren't his and he isn't their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he is merely hired and has no real concern for the sheep. 14 " I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock with one shepherd. 17 " The Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may have it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power to take it again. For my Father has given me this command." 19 When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some of them said, " He has a demon, or he's crazy. Why listen to a man like that?" 21 Others said, " This doesn't sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

PSALM 115:1-18
Not to us, O LORD, but to you goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
2 Why let the nations say,
" Where is their God?"
3 For our God is in the heavens,
and he does as he wishes.
4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
shaped by human hands.
5 They cannot talk, though they have mouths,
or see, though they have eyes!
6 They cannot hear with their ears,
or smell with their noses,
7 or feel with their hands,
or walk with their feet,
or utter sounds with their throats!
8 And those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust the LORD!
He is your helper; he is your shield.
10 O priests of Aaron, trust the LORD!
He is your helper; he is your shield.
11 All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD!
He is your helper; he is your shield.
12 The LORD remembers us,
and he will surely bless us.
He will bless the people of Israel
and the family of Aaron, the priests.
13 He will bless those who fear the LORD,
both great and small.
14 May the LORD richly bless
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the LORD,
but he has given the earth to all humanity.
17 The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD,
for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
18 But we can praise the LORD
both now and forever!
Praise the LORD!

PROVERBS 15:18-19
A hothead starts fights; a cool-tempered person tries to stop them. A lazy person has trouble all through life; the path of the upright is easy!

May 17 Reading through the Bible Day 138

1 SAMUEL 20:1-21:15
JOHN 9:1-41
PSALM 113:1-114:8
PROVERBS 15:15-17

1 SAMUEL 20:1-21:15
David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. " What have I done?" he exclaimed. " What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?" 2 " That's not true!" Jonathan protested. " I'm sure he's not planning any such thing, for he always tells me everything he's going to do, even the little things. I know he wouldn't hide something like this from me. It just isn't so!" 3 Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, " Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ` I won't tell Jonathan--why should I hurt him?' But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the LORD and by your own soul!" 4 " Tell me what I can do!" Jonathan exclaimed. 5 David replied, " Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. I've always eaten with your father on this occasion, but tomorrow I'll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. 6 If your father asks where I am, tell him I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family sacrifice. 7 If he says, ` Fine!' then you will know all is well. But if he is angry and loses his temper, then you will know he was planning to kill me. 8 Show me this kindness as my sworn friend--for we made a covenant together before the LORD--or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don't betray me to him!" 9 " Never!" Jonathan exclaimed. " You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once." 10 Then David asked, " How will I know whether or not your father is angry?" 11 " Come out to the field with me," Jonathan replied. And they went out there together. 12 Then Jonathan told David, " I promise by the LORD, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know. 13 But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the LORD kill me if I don't warn you so you can escape and live. May the LORD be with you as he used to be with my father. 14 And may you treat me with the faithful love of the LORD as long as I live. But if I die, 15 treat my family with this faithful love, even when the LORD destroys all your enemies." 16 So Jonathan made a covenant with David, saying, " May the LORD destroy all your enemies!" 17 And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself. 18 Then Jonathan said, " Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid before, and wait there by the stone pile. 20 I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ` They're on this side,' then you will know, as surely as the LORD lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble. 22 But if I tell him, ` Go farther--the arrows are still ahead of you,' then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the LORD is sending you away. 23 And may the LORD make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them." 24 So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat at his usual place against the wall, with Jonathan sitting opposite him and Abner beside him. But David's place was empty. 26 Saul didn't say anything about it that day, for he said to himself, " Something must have made David ceremonially unclean. Yes, that must be why he's not here." 27 But when David's place was empty again the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, " Why hasn't the son of Jesse been here for dinner either yesterday or today?" 28 Jonathan replied, " David earnestly asked me if he could go to Bethlehem. 29 He wanted to take part in a family sacrifice. His brother demanded that he be there, so I told him he could go. That's why he isn't here." 30 Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. " You stupid son of a whore!" he swore at him. " Do you think I don't know that you want David to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? 31 As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you'll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!" 32 " But what has he done?" Jonathan demanded. " Why should he be put to death?" 33 Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David. 34 Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat all that day, for he was crushed by his father's shameful behavior toward David. 35 The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows. 36 " Start running," he told the boy, " so you can find the arrows as I shoot them." So the boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy had almost reached the arrow, Jonathan shouted, " The arrow is still ahead of you. 38 Hurry, hurry, don't wait." So the boy quickly gathered up the arrows and ran back to his master. 39 He, of course, didn't understand what Jonathan meant; only Jonathan and David knew. 40 Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to the city. 41 As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile. Then David bowed to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David. 42 At last Jonathan said to David, " Go in peace, for we have made a pact in the LORD's name. We have entrusted each other and each other's children into the LORD's hands forever." Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the city.21:1 DAVID went to the city of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. " Why are you alone?" he asked. " Why is no one with you?" 2 " The king has sent me on a private matter," David said. " He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. 3 Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have." 4 " We don't have any regular bread," the priest replied. " But there is the holy bread, which I guess you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently." 5 " Don't worry," David replied. " I never allow my men to be with women when they are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!" 6 So, since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread--the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the LORD in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread. 7 Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, was there that day for ceremonial purification. 8 David asked Ahimelech, " Do you have a spear or sword? The king's business was so urgent that I didn't even have time to grab a weapon!" 9 " I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah," the priest replied. " It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here." " There is nothing like it!" David replied. " Give it to me!" 10 So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. 11 But Achish's officers weren't happy about his being there. " Isn't this David, the king of the land?" they asked. " Isn't he the one the people honor with dances, singing, ` Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" 12 David heard these comments and was afraid of what King Achish might do to him. 13 So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. 14 Finally, King Achish said to his men, " Must you bring me a madman? 15 We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?"

JOHN 9:1-41
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 " Teacher," his disciples asked him, " why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" 3 " It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. " He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. 5 But while I am still here in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man's eyes. 7 He told him, " Go and wash in the pool of Siloam" (Siloam means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing! 8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, " Is this the same man--that beggar?" 9 Some said he was, and others said, " No, but he surely looks like him!" And the beggar kept saying, " I am the same man!" 10 They asked, " Who healed you? What happened?" 11 He told them, " The man they call Jesus made mud and smoothed it over my eyes and told me, ` Go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the mud.' I went and washed, and now I can see!" 12 " Where is he now?" they asked. " I don't know," he replied. 13 Then they took the man to the Pharisees. 14 Now as it happened, Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, " He smoothed the mud over my eyes, and when it was washed away, I could see!" 16 Some of the Pharisees said, " This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath." Others said, " But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?" So there was a deep division of opinion among them. 17 Then the Pharisees once again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, " This man who opened your eyes--who do you say he is?" The man replied, " I think he must be a prophet." 18 The Jewish leaders wouldn't believe he had been blind, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, " Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?" 20 His parents replied, " We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don't know how he can see or who healed him. He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him." 22 They said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That's why they said, " He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him." 24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, " Give glory to God by telling the truth, because we know Jesus is a sinner." 25 " I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. " But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" 26 " But what did he do?" they asked. " How did he heal you?" 27 " Look!" the man exclaimed. " I told you once. Didn't you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" 28 Then they cursed him and said, " You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know anything about him." 30 " Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. " He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know anything about him! 31 Well, God doesn't listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Never since the world began has anyone been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn't do it." 34 " You were born in sin!" they answered. " Are you trying to teach us?" And they threw him out of the synagogue. 35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and said, " Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 The man answered, " Who is he, sir, because I would like to." 37 " You have seen him," Jesus said, " and he is speaking to you!" 38 " Yes, Lord," the man said, " I believe!" And he worshiped Jesus. 39 Then Jesus told him, " I have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind." 40 The Pharisees who were standing there heard him and asked, " Are you saying we are blind?" 41 " If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. " But you remain guilty because you claim you can see."

PSALM 113:1-114:8
Praise the LORD!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the LORD.
Praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
forever and ever.
3 Everywhere--from east to west--
praise the name of the LORD.
4 For the LORD is high above the nations;
his glory is far greater than the heavens.
5 Who can be compared with the LORD our God,
who is enthroned on high?
6 Far below him are the heavens and the earth.
He stoops to look,
7 and he lifts the poor from the dirt
and the needy from the garbage dump.
8 He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
so that she becomes a happy mother.
Praise the LORD!
114:1 WHEN the Israelites escaped from Egypt--
when the family of Jacob left that foreign land--
2 the land of Judah became God's sanctuary,
and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way!
The water of the Jordan River turned away.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the little hills like lambs!
5 What's wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
Why, little hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Israel.
8 He turned the rock into pools of water;
yes, springs of water came from solid rock.

PROVERBS 15:15-17
For the poor, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. It is better to have little with fear for the LORD than to have great treasure with turmoil. A bowl of soup with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.