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David Spares Saul at En-gedi
24 Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him saying, “Look, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.” 2 So Saul took 3,000 chosen men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the mountain goats. 3 When he came across the sheepfolds along the way where there was a cave, Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were already sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 So David’s men said to him, “Look, it’s the day Adonai spoke to you about, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, so you may do to him as seems good in your eyes.’” Then David crept and cut off the corner of Saul’s robe stealthily.
5 But afterward, David’s conscience bothered him for cutting off the edge of Saul’s robe. 6 So he said to his fellow men, “Adonai forbid that I should do such a thing to my lord, Adonai’s anointed, stretching out my hand against him—for he is Adonai’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his fellow men with these words and did not let them rise against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.
8 David also rose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out after Saul saying, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and prostrated himself. 9 Then David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to men’s words saying: ‘Look, David intends you harm’? 10 Look, today your own eyes should see how Adonai delivered you today into my hand, in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but my eye had pity on you, and I said: ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is Adonai’s anointed.’ 11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, look at the corner of your robe in my hand! For in cutting off the corner of your robe, yet not killing you, you should know and realize that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I haven’t sinned against you, even though you are lying in wait for my life, to take it. 12 May Adonai judge between me and you, and may Adonai avenge me of you, but my hand will not be against you. 13 As the old proverb goes, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’—but my hand will never be on you. 14 Whom has the king of Israel come after? Who are you chasing? A dead dog? A single flea? 15 May Adonai be judge and decide between me and you! And may He see and plead my cause and vindicate me against you.”
16 Now when David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son, David?” Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept aloud. 17 Then he said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have done good to me, while I have done evil to you. 18 You’ve told today how well you’ve dealt with me, for Adonai had delivered me up into your hand, yet you did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away on a good road? May Adonai reward you with good in return for what you have done to me today. 20 Now behold, I know for certain that you will be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will rise in your hand. 21 Swear now to me by Adonai that you won’t cut off my descendants after me, and that you won’t wipe out my name from my father’s house.” 22 So David swore to Saul. Then Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Abigail and Foolish Nabal
25 Then Samuel died, and all Israel gathered and lamented him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. David then arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2 Now there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel, and the man was so wealthy, he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The man’s name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings. 4 While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David dispatched ten young men, and said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and when you reach Nabal, greet him in my name. 6 Thus you will say: ‘Long life! And shalom to you, shalom to your house and shalom to all that is yours. 7 Now I hear that you have shearers. When your shepherds were with us, we did them no harm and nothing of theirs was missing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore, let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. So please, give to your servants and to your son David, whatever you find at hand.’”
9 David’s young men went and told Nabal all those words in David’s name, and waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants by saying, “Who is David? And who is Jesse’s son? Nowadays there are many slaves each running away from his master. 11 So should I take my bread, my water and my meat that I have cooked for my shearers, and give it to men whom I don’t know where they come from?”
12 So David’s young men turned around and went back. When they came and reported to him all these words, 13 David said to his men, “Everyone buckle on your sword!” So each man buckled on his sword and David also buckled on his sword. About 400 men went up following David, while 200 stayed with the baggage.
14 But one of the young men told Nabal’s wife Abigail saying, “Look, David had sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he spurned them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us. We were not harmed, nor were we missing anything as long as we went about with them while we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time that we were with them tending the sheep. 17 Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household. But he is such a worthless fellow that no one can speak to him.”
18 Then Abigail hurried and took 200 loaves, two bottles of wine, five dressed sheep, five measures of roasted corn, 100 cakes of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and put them on donkeys. 19 Then she said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me—see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 As she was riding on the donkey and going down by the hidden pass of the mountain, behold, David and his men were coming down towards her, so she met them.
21 Now David had been saying, “Surely in vain I’ve guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missing of all that belonged to him—yet he has returned me evil for good. 22 May God do so and even more to David’s enemies if by the morning I leave even one male of all who belong to him!”
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly dismounted from her donkey, fell before David on her face and bowed down to the ground. 24 As she fell at his feet, she pleaded, “On me, only me, my lord, be the punishment! But please, let your maidservant speak in your ears, and listen to the words of your maidservant. 25 Please my lord, pay no attention to this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he—Nabal[a] is his name and disgraceful folly is with him. But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.
26 “So now my lord, as Adonai lives and as your soul lives, since Adonai has restrained you from shedding blood and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies and those who are seeking to harm my lord be as Nabal. 27 Now let this blessing, which your maidservant has brought to my lord, be given to the young men who are accompanying my lord. 28 Please, forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For Adonai will certainly make an enduring house for my lord[b], because my lord is fighting the battles of Adonai. So let no wrongdoing be found in you all your days. 29 If anyone rises to pursue you and seek your life, then let my lord’s life be bound up in the bundle of the living—with Adonai your God. But let the soul of your enemies be hurled away as from the hollow of a sling.
30 “So when Adonai has fulfilled for my lord all the good things that He had spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 then this will not be a stumbling-block for you, or offense of heart to my lord, or needless bloodshed by my lord avenging himself. So when Adonai has dealt graciously with my lord, then remember your handmaid.”
32 Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be Adonai God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day! 33 Blessed be your discernment, and may you be blessed for keeping me this day from shedding blood, from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 Yet as Adonai God of Israel lives, who restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely not one male of Nabal’s line would have been left alive by the morning light!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in shalom to your house. Look, I have listened to your plea and have granted your request.”
36 Then Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was holding a banquet in his house like that of a king—Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was quite drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak. 37 It came to pass in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, and his wife told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he was paralyzed like a stone. 38 About ten days later, Adonai struck Nabal and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be Adonai who took the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal, yet has restrained His servant from evil! Adonai has returned Nabal’s vileness on his own head.” Then David sent word and proposed to Abigail to take her as his wife. 40 When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they told her, “David has sent us to you, to take you as his wife.”
41 So she rose, bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 Then Abigail rose quickly and mounted a donkey, with five of her maidens following her, following David’s messengers, and she became his wife.
43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and the two of them were his wives. 44 Meanwhile Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
Some Despise the Light and Harden
22 Then came Hanukkah;[a] it was winter in Jerusalem. 23 Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 Then the Judean leaders surrounded Him, saying, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us outright!”
25 Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. 26 But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again the Judean leaders picked up stones to stone Him. 32 Yeshua answered them, “I’ve shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone Me?”
33 The Judean leaders answered, “We aren’t stoning you for a good work, but for blasphemy. Though You are a man, You make Yourself God!”
34 Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t it written in your Writings,[b] ‘I have said you are gods’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him, the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You speak blasphemy,’ because I said, ‘I am Ben-Elohim’?
37 “If I don’t do the works of My Father, don’t believe Me! 38 But if I do, even if you don’t trust Me, trust the deeds. Then you may come to know and continue to understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.” 39 Therefore they tried to capture Him again, but He escaped from their hand.
40 Again He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first started immersing, and He stayed there. 41 Many people came to Him and were saying, “John performed no sign, but all John said about this man was true.” 42 And many trusted in Him there.
Lift Up the Cup of Salvation
Psalm 116
1 I love Adonai,
for He hears my voice, my cries.
2 Because He has turned His ear to me,
I will call on Him all my days.
3 The ropes of death entangled me,
and the torments of Sheol found me.
I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the Name of Adonai:
“Adonai, save my soul!”
5 Adonai is gracious and righteous—
yes, our God is compassionate.
6 Adonai protects the simple-hearted.
When I was brought low, He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for Adonai has been good to you.
8 For You delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9 I will walk before Adonai
in the lands of the living.
10 I trusted even when I said,
“I am very afflicted”—
11 even when I said in my haste,
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all His bounties to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and call on the Name of Adonai.
14 I will fulfill my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all His people.
15 Precious in the sight of Adonai
is the death of His kedoshim.
16 O Adonai! Surely I am Your servant.
I am Your servant,
the son of Your maidservant.
You have freed me from my bonds.
17 To You I will offer a sacrifice of praise,
and will call on the Name of Adonai.
18 I will fulfill my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all His people,
19 in the courts of the House of Adonai,
in your midst, O Jerusalem. Halleluyah!
20 A wise child brings joy to his father,
but a foolish person despises his mother.
21 Folly is joy to one who lacks sense,
but one with discernment walks straight.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.