The Daily Audio Bible

²³ While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people passed over. The king also passed over ^(A)the brook Kidron, and all the people passed 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 passing from the city. ²⁵ 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 again and show me both it and ^(G)His habitation. ²⁶ But if He should say thus, ‘^(H)I have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am, ^(I)let Him do to me as seems good ^[a]to Him.” ²⁷ The king said also 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 fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ Therefore Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

³⁰ And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and ^(M)his head was covered and he walked ^(N)barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his head and went up weeping as they went. ³¹ Now someone told David, saying, “^(O)Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, ^(P)make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.”

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 David said to him, “If you pass over with me, then you will be ^(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; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,’ then you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests 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 with them there, 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 passed ^(Y)a little beyond the summit, behold, ^(Z)Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him ^(AA)with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine. ² The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” And Ziba said, “^(AB)The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine, ^(AC)for whoever is faint 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; let me find favor in your sight, O my lord, the king!”

David Is Cursed

⁵ When King David came to ^(AF)Bahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul ^(AG)whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out ^(AH)cursing continually as he came. ⁶ He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left. ⁷ Thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Get out, get out, ^(AI)you man of bloodshed, and worthless fellow! ^8 (AJ)The Lord has returned upon you all ^(AK)the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken 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? Let me go over now and ^[d]cut off his head.” ¹⁰ But the king said, “^(AO)What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? ^(AP)If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ ^(AQ)then who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” ¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, ^(AR)my son who came out from ^[e]me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, ^(AS)for the Lord has told him. ¹² Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction and ^[f](AT)return good to me instead of his cursing this day.” ¹³ So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him. ¹⁴ The king and all the people who were with him arrived weary 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 Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your ^[g]loyalty to your friend? ^(AY)Why did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸ Then Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whom the Lord, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹ Besides, ^(AZ)whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so I will be in your presence.”

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?” ²¹ Ahithophel said to Absalom, “^(BA)Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious 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 went in to his father’s concubines ^(BC)in the sight of all Israel. ^23 (BD)The advice of Ahithophel, which he ^[h]gave in those days, was as if 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 standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “^(C)You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of 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 *led Jesus from ^(H)Caiaphas into ^(I)the ^[a]Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into ^(J)the ^[b]Praetorium so that ^(K)they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. ^29 (L)Therefore Pilate went out to them and *said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” ³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him 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 permitted to put anyone to death,” ³² to fulfill ^(M)the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

³³ Therefore Pilate ^(N)entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “^(O)Are You the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Are you saying this ^[c]on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “^(P)My kingdom ^[d]is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not ^[e]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 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 hears My voice.” ³⁸ Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he ^(T)went out again to the Jews and *said to them, “^(U)I find no guilt in Him. ^39 (V)But you have a custom that I release someone ^[f]for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release ^[g]for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ So they cried out again, saying, “^(W)Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

The Crown of Thorns

19 Pilate then took Jesus and ^[h](X)scourged Him. ^2 (Y)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; ³ and they began to come up to Him and say, “^(Z)Hail, King of the Jews!” and to ^(AA)give Him slaps in the face. ⁴ Pilate ^(AB)came out again and *said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that ^(AC)I find no guilt in Him.” ⁵ Jesus then came out, ^(AD)wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!” ⁶ So when the chief priests and the ^(AE)officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for ^(AF)I find no guilt in Him.” 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 into the ^[i]Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But ^(AJ)Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” ¹¹ Jesus answered, “^(AK)You would have no authority ^[j]over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason ^(AL)he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” ¹² As a result of this Pilate ^[k]made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “^(AM)If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king ^[l]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 ^[m]The Pavement, but ^(AO)in ^[n]Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was ^(AP)the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the ^[o](AQ)sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Behold, ^(AR)your King!” ¹⁵ So they cried out, “^(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 but 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, ^[p](AV)bearing His own cross, to the place called ^(AW)the Place of a Skull, which is called ^(AX)in ^[q]Hebrew, Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified Him, and with Him ^(AY)two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. ¹⁹ 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, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written ^(BB)in ^[r]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’; but that He said, ‘I am ^(BD)King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “^(BE)What I have written I have written.”

Samekh.

Ayin.