Becoming an Ally Leader

Advent Devotional

Hope

There's No Christmas Without Chanukah

Parenting Your Child's Heart -- Not Just Their Head

Gratitude for Daily Provision

Get Free From Stress

Journeying Through Advent

Number Our Days

Christ: The Treasure of Our Hearts

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMRK">
 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="MRK.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man</div><div class="p"> 1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.#5:1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.</div><div class="p"> 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, &#8220;What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God&#8217;s name don&#8217;t torture me!&#8221; 8For Jesus had said to him, &#8220;Come out of this man, you impure spirit!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Then Jesus asked him, &#8220;What is your name?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;My name is Legion,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;for we are many.&#8221; 10And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.</div><div class="p"> 11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, &#8220;Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.&#8221; 13He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.</div><div class="p"> 14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man&#8212;and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.</div><div class="p"> 18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, &#8220;Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.&#8221; 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis#5:20 That is, the Ten Cities how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.</div><div class="s1">Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman</div><div class="p"> 21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded earnestly with him, &#8220;My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.&#8221; 24So Jesus went with him.</div><div class="p">A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, &#8220;If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.&#8221; 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.</div><div class="p"> 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, &#8220;Who touched my clothes?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31&#8220;You see the people crowding against you,&#8221; his disciples answered, &#8220;and yet you can ask, &#8216;Who touched me?&#8217; &#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, &#8220;Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 35While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. &#8220;Your daughter is dead,&#8221; they said. &#8220;Why bother the teacher anymore?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36Overhearing#5:36 Or Ignoring what they said, Jesus told him, &#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid; just believe.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, &#8220;Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.&#8221; 40But they laughed at him.</div><div class="p">After he put them all out, he took the child&#8217;s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, &#8220;Talitha koum!&#8221; (which means &#8220;Little girl, I say to you, get up!&#8221;). 42Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="1SA.23">
 <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="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="1SA.24">
 <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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