The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the EHV. Switch to the EHV to read along with the audio.
Jonathan Helps David
20 Then David ·ran away [fled] from Naioth in Ramah. He went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my ·crime [guilt; iniquity]? How did I ·sin against [offend; wrong] your father? Why is he ·trying to kill me [L seeking my life]?”
2 Jonathan answered, “·No [Never; Far from it]! You won’t die! See, my father doesn’t do anything ·great or small [important or unimportant] without first ·telling [confiding in] me. Why would he ·keep [hide] this from me? It’s not true!”
3 But David ·took an oath [vowed; swore], saying, “Your father knows very well that ·you like me [L I have found favor in your sight]. He says to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it, or he will be ·upset [hurt; grieved].’ As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I am only a step away from death!”
4 Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do ·anything you want me to do [L for you whatever you say].”
5 So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival [Num. 29:6; 2 Chr. 8:13; Ezra 3:5; Col. 2:16]. I am supposed to eat with the king, but let me hide in the field until the ·third evening [L evening of the third day]. 6 If your father notices I am gone, tell him, ‘David begged ·me to let him go [L to hurry/run] to his hometown of Bethlehem. Every year at this time his ·family group [whole clan] offers a sacrifice.’ 7 If your father says, ‘·Fine [Very well; Good],’ ·I am safe [L your servant is well]. But if he becomes angry, you will know that he ·wants to hurt me [is determined to harm me; has an evil plan]. 8 Jonathan, ·be loyal [show kindness/faithful love] to me, your servant. You have made an ·agreement [covenant; solemn pact] with me before the Lord. If I ·am guilty [have sinned], you may kill me yourself! Why ·hand me over [betray me] to your father?”
9 Jonathan answered, “·No, never [L Far be it from you]! If I learn that my father ·plans to hurt you [L decided on evil], ·I will warn you [wouldn’t I tell you?]!”
10 David asked, “Who will let me know if your father answers you ·unkindly [harshly]?”
11 Then Jonathan said [L to David], “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So the two of them went out into the field.
12 Jonathan said to David, “·I promise this before [L By] the Lord, the God of Israel: ·At [By] this same time ·the day after tomorrow [or tomorrow or the next day], I will ·find out how my father feels [sound out my father]. If he feels good toward you, I will send word to you and let you know. 13 But if my father plans to ·hurt [harm; kill] you, I will let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord ·punish me terribly [L deal severely with me, and worse,] if I don’t do this. And may the Lord be with you as he ·has been [used to be] with my father. 14 ·But show me the kindness of the Lord as long as I live so that I may not die [or If I am still alive, show me the faithful love/loyalty of the Lord. But if I die…] . 15 You must never ·stop showing [L cut off] your ·kindness [faithful love/loyalty] to my ·family [L house], even when the Lord has ·destroyed [exterminated; L cut off] all your enemies from the [L face of the] earth.”
16 So Jonathan ·made [L cut] an ·agreement [covenant; solemn pact] with David. He said, “May the Lord ·hold David’s enemies responsible [or destroy David’s enemies].” 17 And Jonathan asked David to repeat his ·promise [vow; oath] of love for him, because he loved David as much as he loved ·himself [L his own life/soul].
18 Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon festival [20:5]. Your ·seat [place] will be empty, so my father will miss you. 19 ·On the third day [The day after tomorrow] go to the place where you hid when this trouble began. Wait by the ·rock Ezel [stone pile; mound of rock]. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of the rock as if I am shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy to find the arrows. If I say to him, ‘The arrows are ·near you [L on this side]; bring them here,’ you may come out of hiding. You are safe. As the Lord lives, there is no ·danger [trouble; harm]. 22 But if I say to the ·boy [youngster], ‘Look, the arrows are ·beyond you [further on],’ you must go, because the Lord is sending you away. 23 Remember ·what we talked about [the promise we made]. The Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
24 So David hid in the field. When the New Moon festival [20:5] came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat where he ·always [usually; customarily] sat, near the wall. Jonathan sat ·across from [facing] him, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 That day Saul said nothing. He thought, “Maybe something has happened to David so that he is unclean. [L Yes, surely he is unclean; C ritually unclean so he could not participate in a religious ceremony; Lev. 11–15] 27 But the next day was the second day of the month, and David’s place was still empty. So Saul said to Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the ·feast [meal] yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan answered [L Saul], “David begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go, because our ·family [whole clan] has a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has ·ordered [commanded] me to be there. Now if I ·am your friend [L have found favor in your sight/eyes], please let me go to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Then Saul ·became very angry with [L burned with anger against] Jonathan. He said, “You son of a ·wicked, worthless woman [whore; rebellious slut]! ·I [L Do I not…?] know you are on the side of David son of Jesse! ·You bring shame on yourself and on your mother who gave birth to you [L …to your own shame and the shame of your mother’s nakedness]. 31 As long as Jesse’s son lives [L on this earth], ·you will never be king or have a kingdom [L neither you nor your kingdom will be established]. Now send for David and bring him to me. He ·must [deserves to] die!”
32 Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be killed? What wrong has he done?” 33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, ·trying to kill [L to strike] him. So Jonathan knew that his father ·really wanted [was determined] to kill David. 34 Jonathan ·was very angry [rose in fierce anger] and left the table. That second day of the ·month [or New Moon festival] he refused to eat. He ·was ashamed of his father and upset over David [grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David; or grieved for David and because his father had disgraced/insulted/dishonored him].
35 The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David as they had agreed. He had a young boy with him. 36 Jonathan said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” When he ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37 The boy ran to the place where Jonathan’s arrow fell, but Jonathan called, “The arrow is ·beyond [further ahead of] you!” 38 Then he shouted [L to the boy], “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t ·stop [stay; linger]!” The boy picked up the arrow and brought it back to his master. 39 (The boy ·knew nothing about what this meant [suspected nothing]; only Jonathan and David ·knew [understood].) 40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, “Go [L bring them] back to town.”
41 When the boy left, David came out from the south side of the rock. He bowed facedown on the ground ·before Jonathan three [three] times. Then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the more.
42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in ·peace [safety]. We have ·promised [vowed; sworn] by the [L name of the] Lord ·that we will be friends [to each other]. We said, ‘The Lord will ·be a witness [L be] between you and me, and between our descendants always.’” Then ·David [L he got up and] left, and Jonathan went back to town.
David Goes to See Ahimelech
21 David went to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech ·shook with fear [trembled; C perhaps rumors of Saul’s displeasure were circulating] when he saw David, and he asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
2 David answered him, “The king ·gave me a special order [sent me on a mission; commissioned me]. He told me, ‘No one must know ·what I am sending you to do or what I told you to do [about the mission I am sending you on].’ I told my [L young] men ·where to meet me [to meet me at a certain place]. 3 Now, what ·food do you have with you [L is at hand]? Give me five loaves of bread or anything you find.”
4 The priest said to David, “I don’t have any ·plain [ordinary; regular] bread here, but I do have some ·holy [consecrated; holy] bread [C from the Table of Presence; Ex. 25:23–30]. You may eat it if your men have ·kept themselves from [not recently slept with] women [C sexual relations rendered a man ritually unclean; Lev. 15:16–18].”
5 David answered [L the priest and said to him], “No women have been near us ·for days [or as usual on a campaign]. My men always keep ·themselves [their bodies/L vessels] holy, even ·when we do ordinary work [on an ordinary/common journey]. And this is especially true when the ·work [journey] is holy.”
6 So the priest gave David the ·holy [consecrated] bread ·from the presence of God [—the bread of the Presence—] because there was no other. Each day the holy bread was replaced with ·hot [fresh] bread.
7 One of Saul’s servants happened to be there that day. He had been ·held there [detained] before the Lord [C for some unspecified ritual purpose]. He was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.
8 David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword here? The king’s business was very ·important [urgent], so I ·left without [brought neither…nor] my sword or any other weapon.”
9 The priest answered, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, the one you ·killed [L struck] in the Valley of Elah [ch. 17], is here. It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ·holy vest [ephod; Ex. 28:6–14]. If you want it, you may take it. There’s no other sword here but that one.”
David said, “There is ·no other sword [none] like it. Give it to me.”
David Goes to Gath
10 That day David ·ran away [L fled] from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath [C a major Philistine town]. 11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “·This is [L Isn’t this…?] David, the king of the ·Israelites [L land]. ·He’s [L Isn’t he…?] the man they dance and sing about, saying:
‘Saul has ·killed thousands of his enemies [T slain his thousands],
·but [and] David has ·killed [T slain his] tens of thousands [18:7].’”
12 David ·paid attention to [L took to heart] these words and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13 So he ·pretended to be crazy in front of Achish and his servants [L changed his behavior in their eyes/presence]. ·While he was with them [L In their hands], he acted like a madman and ·clawed [scratched; scribbled] on the doors of the gate and ·let spit run [drooled] down his beard.
14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He’s crazy! Why do you bring him to me? 15 ·I [Don’t I…?] have enough madmen. I don’t need you to bring him here to act like this in front of me! ·Don’t let him in [Must this one come into…?] my house!”
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus ·was walking along [passed by; went along], he saw a man who had been born blind. 2 His ·followers [disciples] asked him, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], whose sin caused this man to be born blind—his own sin or his parents’ sin?” [C The disciples, like the friends of Job, viewed suffering as the result of a person’s own sins.]
3 Jesus answered, “It is not this man’s sin or his parents’ sin that made him blind. This man was born blind so that God’s ·power [L works] could be ·shown [displayed; revealed; manifest] in him. 4 While it is daytime, we must continue doing the work of the One who sent me. Night is coming [C Jesus’ death], when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world [see 8:12].”
6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and made some mud with ·it [L the saliva] and ·put [spread; anointed] the mud on the man’s eyes [C the significance of the mud made with spit is unclear]. 7 Then he told the man, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (Siloam [C from a Hebrew word] means Sent.) So the man went, washed, and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and some people who had earlier seen this man begging said, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some said, “He is the one,” but others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
The man himself said, “I am the man.”
10 [L Therefore] They asked him, “How [L then] ·did you get your sight [L were your eyes opened]?”
11 He answered, “The man named Jesus made some mud and ·put [spread; anointed] it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 They asked him, “Where is this man?”
“I don’t know,” he answered.
Pharisees Question the Healing
13 Then the people took to the Pharisees [C a religious party which strictly observed OT laws and later customs] the man who had been blind. 14 The day Jesus had made mud and healed his eyes was a Sabbath day [C on which no work was allowed]. 15 So now the Pharisees asked the man, “How did you get your sight?”
He answered, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.”
16 So some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man does not keep the Sabbath day [C according to rabbinic tradition neither kneading nor healing were permitted on the Sabbath], so he is not from God.”
But others said, “·A man who is a sinner can’t [L How can a man who is a sinner…?] do ·miracles [L signs] like these.” So ·they could not agree with each other [L there was a division among them].
17 [L Therefore; So; Then] They asked the man again, “What do you say about him, since it was your eyes he opened?”
The man answered, “He is a prophet.”
18 ·These leaders [L The Jews; C the Pharisees] did not believe that he had been blind and could now see again. So they sent for the ·man’s parents [L parents of the man who could now see] 19 and asked them, “Is this your son who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”
20 [L Therefore; So] His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But we don’t know how he can now see. We don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself [C of legal age to give testimony].” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the ·elders [Jewish leaders; L Jews], who had already decided that anyone who ·said [confessed; acknowledged] Jesus was the ·Christ [Messiah] would be ·avoided [L put out of the synagogue; C an act of expulsion or excommunication]. 23 That is why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time, they called the man who had been blind. They said, “·You should give God the glory by telling the truth [L Give God the glory; C see Josh. 7:19 where this phrase is a command to tell the truth]. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 [L So; Then] He answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see.”
26 [L So; Then] They asked, “What did he do to you? How did he ·make you see again [L open your eyes]?”
27 He answered them, “I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his ·followers [disciples] too?”
28 Then they ·insulted [ridiculed; reviled] him and said, “You are his ·follower [disciple], but we are ·followers [disciples] of Moses. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses [Ex. 33:11; Num. 12:8; Deut. 34:10], but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 The man answered, “This is a very ·strange [astonishing; marvelous] thing. You don’t know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he listens to anyone who ·worships [is devout; is godfearing] and ·obeys him [L does his will]. 32 Nobody has ·ever [or since the beginning of the world; L from the age/eternity] heard of anyone giving sight to a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 They answered, “You were born ·full of sin [or in utter sinfulness]! Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out [C of the synagogue; an act of excommunication].
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard that they had ·thrown [cast; driven] him out [C of the synagogue], Jesus found him and said, “Do you ·believe [trust] in the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14]?”
36 He asked, “Who is ·the Son of Man [L he], sir, so that I can ·believe [trust] in him?”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him. ·The Son of Man [L He] is the one talking with you.”
38 He said, “·Lord [C the same word is rendered “sir” in v. 36, but here may have a more solemn sense], I ·believe [trust]!” Then the man ·worshiped [prostrated himself before] Jesus.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world ·so that the world could be judged [L for judgment]. I came so that the blind would see and so that those who see will become blind.” [C Those who acknowledge they are spiritually blind will see the truth; and those who think they see spiritually (the Jewish religious leaders) are actually blind; Is. 6:10; 42:19.]
40 Some of the Pharisees who were nearby heard Jesus say this and asked, “Are you saying we are blind, too?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you keep saying you see, your ·guilt [or sin] remains.”
Praise for the Lord’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name ·should [is to] be ·praised [blessed]
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name ·should [is to] be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is ·supreme [exalted] over all the nations [99:2];
his glory [C God’s manifest presence] ·reaches to the skies [is over the heavens].
5 ·No one [L Who…?] is like the Lord our God,
who ·rules [L is seated/enthroned] ·from heaven [on high],
6 who ·bends [stoops] down to look
at the ·skies [heavens] and the earth.
7 The Lord ·lifts [raises] the poor from the ·dirt [dust]
and ·takes [exalts] the ·helpless [needy] from the ashes.
8 He ·seats [enthrones] them with princes,
the princes of his people [1 Sam. 2:8; Luke 1:52].
9 He gives ·children to the woman who has none [L the barren woman a home]
and makes her ·a happy mother [L joyful with children].
Praise the Lord!
God Brought Israel from Egypt
114 When ·the Israelites [Israel] went out of Egypt,
the ·people [L house] of Jacob left ·that foreign country [L a people of incomprehensible language].
2 Then Judah became God’s holy place [Ex. 19:6];
Israel became ·the land he ruled [his dominion].
3 The Sea [C Red (or Reed) Sea; Ex. 14–15] looked and ·ran away [fled];
the Jordan River turned back [Josh. 3].
4 The mountains ·danced [skipped] like ·sheep [rams]
and the hills like little lambs.
5 Sea, why did you ·run away [flee]?
Jordan, why did you turn back?
6 Mountains, why did you ·dance [skip] like ·sheep [rams]?
Hills, why did you ·dance [skip] like little lambs?
7 Earth, ·shake with fear [writhe; tremble] before the Lord,
before the God of Jacob.
8 He turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard ·rock [flint] into a spring of water [Ex. 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13].
15 Every day is hard for ·those who suffer [or the poor],
but a happy heart is like a continual feast.
16 It is better to ·be poor [have little] and ·respect [fear] the Lord
than to ·be wealthy [have great treasure] and ·have much trouble [turmoil].
17 It is better to eat vegetables with those who love you
than ·to eat meat [L an ox of the stall] with those who hate you.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.