The Gospel of Mark (Part Seven)

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 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">David at Nob</div><div class="p"> # In Hebrew texts 21:1-15 is numbered 21:2-16. 1David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, &#8220;Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2David answered Ahimelek the priest, &#8220;The king sent me on a mission and said to me, &#8216;No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.&#8217; As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4But the priest answered David, &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here&#8212;provided the men have kept themselves from women.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5David replied, &#8220;Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever#21:5 Or from us in the past few days since I set out. The men&#8217;s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!&#8221; 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.</div><div class="p"> 7Now one of Saul&#8217;s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul&#8217;s chief shepherd.</div><div class="p"> 8David asked Ahimelek, &#8220;Don&#8217;t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven&#8217;t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king&#8217;s mission was urgent.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9The priest replied, &#8220;The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.&#8221;</div><div class="p">David said, &#8220;There is none like it; give it to me.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">David at Gath</div><div class="p"> 10That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11But the servants of Achish said to him, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t this David, the king of the land? Isn&#8217;t he the one they sing about in their dances:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Saul has slain his thousands,</div><div class="q2">and David his tens of thousands&#8217;?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.</div><div class="p"> 14Achish said to his servants, &#8220;Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">22</div><div class="s1">David at Adullam and Mizpah</div><div class="p"> 1David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father&#8217;s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.</div><div class="p"> 3From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, &#8220;Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?&#8221; 4So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.</div><div class="p"> 5But the prophet Gad said to David, &#8220;Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.&#8221; So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.</div><div class="s1">Saul Kills the Priests of Nob</div><div class="p"> 6Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul was seated, spear in hand, under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side. 7He said to them, &#8220;Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9But Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul&#8217;s officials, said, &#8220;I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelek son of Ahitub at Nob. 10Ahimelek inquired of the Lord for him; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelek son of Ahitub and all the men of his family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. 12Saul said, &#8220;Listen now, son of Ahitub.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, my lord,&#8221; he answered.</div><div class="p"> 13Saul said to him, &#8220;Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Ahimelek answered the king, &#8220;Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king&#8217;s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? 15Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father&#8217;s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16But the king said, &#8220;You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Then the king ordered the guards at his side: &#8220;Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But the king&#8217;s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 18The king then ordered Doeg, &#8220;You turn and strike down the priests.&#8221; So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.</div><div class="p"> 20But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. 21He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22Then David said to Abiathar, &#8220;That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family. 23Stay with me; don&#8217;t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">23</div><div class="s1">David Saves Keilah</div><div class="p"> 1When David was told, &#8220;Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,&#8221; 2he inquired of the Lord, saying, &#8220;Shall I go and attack these Philistines?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord answered him, &#8220;Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But David&#8217;s men said to him, &#8220;Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, &#8220;Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.&#8221; 5So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6(Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)</div><div class="s1">Saul Pursues David</div><div class="p"> 7Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, &#8220;God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.&#8221; 8And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.</div><div class="p"> 9When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, &#8220;Bring the ephod.&#8221; 10David said, &#8220;Lord, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell your servant.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And the Lord said, &#8220;He will.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Again David asked, &#8220;Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?&#8221;</div><div class="p">And the Lord said, &#8220;They will.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.</div><div class="p"> 14David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.</div><div class="p"> 15While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that#23:15 Or he was afraid because Saul had come out to take his life. 16And Saul&#8217;s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17&#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid,&#8221; he said. &#8220;My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.&#8221; 18The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.</div><div class="p"> 19The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, &#8220;Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Saul replied, &#8220;The Lord bless you for your concern for me. 22Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 25Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.</div><div class="p"> 26Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27a messenger came to Saul, saying, &#8220;Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.&#8221; 28Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.#23:28 Sela Hammahlekoth means rock of parting. 29And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.#23:29 In Hebrew texts this verse (23:29) is numbered 24:1.</div>
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 <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1">David Spares Saul&#8217;s Life</div><div class="p"> # In Hebrew texts 24:1-22 is numbered 24:22-23. 1After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, &#8220;David is in the Desert of En Gedi.&#8221; 2So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.</div><div class="p"> 3He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4The men said, &#8220;This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said#24:4 Or &#8220;Today the Lord is saying to you, &#8216;I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul&#8217;s robe.</div><div class="p"> 5Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6He said to his men, &#8220;The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord&#8217;s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.&#8221; 7With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.</div><div class="p"> 8Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, &#8220;My lord the king!&#8221; When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9He said to Saul, &#8220;Why do you listen when men say, &#8216;David is bent on harming you&#8217;? 10This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, &#8216;I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord&#8217;s anointed.&#8217; 11See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13As the old saying goes, &#8216;From evildoers come evil deeds,&#8217; so my hand will not touch you.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16When David finished saying this, Saul asked, &#8220;Is that your voice, David my son?&#8221; And he wept aloud. 17&#8220;You are more righteous than I,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father&#8217;s family.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.</div>
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