The Daily Audio Bible

²³ While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over. The king was also crossing over ^(A)the brook Kidron, and all the people were crossing over toward ^(B)the way of the wilderness.

²⁴ Now behold, ^(C)Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, ^(D)carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(E)Abiathar came up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵ And the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the Lord, then ^(F)He will bring me back and show me both it and ^(G)His habitation. ²⁶ But if He says this: ‘^(H)I have no delight in you,’ then here I am, ^(I)let Him do to me as seems good ^[a]to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not ^(J)a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your ^(K)two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I am going to wait ^(L)at the river crossing places of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

³⁰ And David was going up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and ^(M)his head was covered, and he was walking ^(N)barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his own head, and they were going up, weeping as they went. ³¹ Now someone informed David, saying, “^(O)Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “Lord, please ^(P)make the advice of Ahithophel foolish.”

³² It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold, Hushai the ^(Q)Archite met him with his ^[b]coat torn, and ^[c]dust on his head. ³³ And David said to him, “If you go over with me, then you will become ^(R)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city and ^(S)say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; even as I was your father’s servant in time past, so now I will also be your servant,’ then you can foil the advice of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ Are Zadok and Abiathar the priests not with you there? So it shall be that ^(T)whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Behold ^(U)their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and ^(V)by them you shall send me everything that you hear.” ³⁷ So Hushai, ^(W)David’s friend, came into the city, and ^(X)Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Ziba, a False Servant

16 Now when David had gone on ^(Y)a little beyond the summit, behold, ^(Z)Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him ^(AA)with a team of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine. ² And the king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” And Ziba said, “^(AB)The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine, ^(AC)for whoever is weary in the wilderness to drink.” ³ Then the king said, “And where is ^(AD)your master’s son?” And ^(AE)Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’” ⁴ So the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I prostrate myself; may I find favor in your sight, my lord, the king!”

David Is Cursed

⁵ When King David came to ^(AF)Bahurim, behold, a man was coming out from there from the family of the house of Saul, and ^(AG)his name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he was coming out, ^(AH)cursing as he came. ⁶ He also threw stones at David and all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left. ⁷ This is what Shimei said when he cursed: “Go away, go away, ^(AI)you man of bloodshed and worthless man! ^8 (AJ)The Lord has brought back upon you all ^(AK)the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have become king; and the Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. And behold, you are caught in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

⁹ Then ^(AL)Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should ^(AM)this dead dog ^(AN)curse my lord the king? Now let me go over and ^[d]cut off his head.” ¹⁰ But the king said, “^[e](AO)What business of mine is yours, you sons of Zeruiah? ^(AP)If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ ^(AQ)then who should say, ‘Why have you done so?’” ¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, ^(AR)my son who came out of my own body seeks my life; how much more now this Benjaminite? Leave him alone and let him curse, ^(AS)for the Lord has told him. ¹² Perhaps the Lord will look on my ^[f]misery and ^[g](AT)return good to me instead of his cursing this day.” ¹³ So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei kept going on the hillside close beside him, and as he went he cursed and threw stones and dirt at him. ¹⁴ And the king and all the people who were with him arrived exhausted, and he refreshed himself there.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

^15 (AU)Then Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ¹⁶ Now it came about, when ^(AV)Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, that ^(AW)Hushai said to Absalom, “^(AX)Long live the king! Long live the king!” ¹⁷ But Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your ^[h]loyalty to your friend? ^(AY)Why did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸ So Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whomever the Lord, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I shall be, and with him I shall remain. ¹⁹ Besides, ^(AZ)whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? Just as I have served in your father’s presence, so I shall be in your presence.”

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What should we do?” ²¹ Ahithophel said to Absalom, “^(BA)Have relations with your father’s concubines, whom he has left behind to take care of the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself repulsive to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.” ²² So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, ^(BB)and Absalom had relations with his father’s concubines ^(BC)in the sight of all Israel. ²³ Now ^(BD)the advice of Ahithophel, which he ^[i]gave in those days, was taken as though one inquired of the word of God; ^(BE)so was all the advice of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

^25 (A)Now ^(B)Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “^(C)You are not one of His disciples as well, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the slaves of the high priest, who was related to the one ^(D)whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in ^(E)the garden with Him?” ²⁷ Peter then denied it again, and immediately ^(F)a rooster crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

^28 (G)Then they *brought Jesus from ^(H)Caiaphas into ^(I)the ^[a]Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter ^(J)the ^[b]Praetorium, so that ^(K)they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. ^29 (L)Therefore Pilate came out to them and *said, “What accusation are you bringing against this Man?” ³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not ^[c]a criminal, we would not have handed Him over to you.” ³¹ So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not ^[d]permitted to put anyone to death.” ³² This happened so that ^(M)the word of Jesus which He said, indicating what kind of death He was going to die, would be fulfilled.

³³ Therefore Pilate ^(N)entered the Praetorium again, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “^(O)You are the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Are you saying this ^[e]on your own, or did others tell you about Me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me; what have You done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “^(P)My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not ^[f]of this realm.” ³⁷ Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “^(Q)You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: ^(R)to testify to the truth. ^(S)Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” ³⁸ Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”

And after saying this, he ^(T)came out again to the Jews and *said to them, “^(U)I find no grounds at all for charges in ^[g]His case. ^39 (V)However, you have a custom that I release one prisoner ^[h]for you at the Passover; therefore do you wish that I release ^[i]for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ So they shouted again, saying, “^(W)Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a rebel.

The Crown of Thorns

19 So Pilate then took Jesus and ^[j](X)had Him flogged. ^2 (Y)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple ^[k]cloak on Him; ³ and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “^(Z)Hail, King of the Jews!” and ^(AA)slapped Him in the face again and again. ⁴ And then Pilate ^(AB)came out again and *said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that ^(AC)I find no grounds at all for charges in ^[l]His case.” ⁵ Jesus then came out, ^(AD)wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!” ⁶ So when the chief priests and the ^(AE)officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for ^(AF)I find no grounds for charges in ^[m]His case!” ⁷ The Jews answered him, “^(AG)We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He ^(AH)made Himself out to be the Son of God!”

⁸ Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; ⁹ and he ^(AI)entered the ^[n]Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But ^(AJ)Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate *said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” ¹¹ Jesus answered him, “^(AK)You would have no authority ^[o]over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason ^(AL)the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” ¹² As a result of this, Pilate ^[p]made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “^(AM)If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king ^[q]opposes Caesar!”

¹³ Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and ^(AN)sat down on the judgment seat at a place called ^[r]The Pavement—but ^(AO)in ^[s]Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was ^(AP)the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the ^[t](AQ)sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Look, ^(AR)your King!” ¹⁵ So they shouted, “^(AS)Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”

The Crucifixion

¹⁶ So he then ^(AT)handed Him over to them to be crucified.

^17 (AU)They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, ^[u](AV)carrying His own cross, to the place called ^(AW)the Place of a Skull, which ^(AX)in ^[v]Hebrew is called, Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him, and with Him ^(AY)two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. ¹⁹ Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “^(AZ)JESUS THE NAZARENE, ^(BA)THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁰ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written ^(BB)in ^[w]Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘^(BC)The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am ^(BD)King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “^(BE)What I have written, I have written.”

Samekh

Ayin