David Flees to the Philistines

27 Then David said to ^[a]himself, “Now I will ^[b]perish one day by the hand of Saul. ^(A)There is nothing better for me than to safely escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” ² So David set out and went over, he and ^(B)the six hundred men who were with him, to ^(C)Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ And David lived with Achish in Gath, he and his men, ^(D)each with his own household—David with ^(E)his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s ^[c]widow. ⁴ Now it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, have them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶ So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore ^(F)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was ^(G)a year and four months.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and attacked ^(H)the Geshurites, the Girzites, and ^(I)the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to ^(J)Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹ David ^[d]attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he ^(K)took the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰ Now Achish said, “^[e]Where did you ^(L)carry out an attack today?” And David said, “Against the ^[f]Negev of Judah, against the ^[g]Negev of ^(M)the Jerahmeelites, and against the ^[h]Negev of ^(N)the Kenites.” ¹¹ And David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘This is what David has done, and this has been his practice all the time that he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’” ¹² So Achish believed David, saying, “He has undoubtedly made himself repulsive among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.

A Psalm of David.

People of Jerusalem

9 So all Israel was enrolled in genealogies; and behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And ^(A)Judah was taken into exile to Babylon for their infidelity.

^2 (B)Now the first inhabitants who lived on their own property in their cities were people of Israel, including the priests, the Levites, and ^(C)the ^[a]temple servants. ³ Some of the sons of Judah, some of the sons of Benjamin, and some of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh lived in ^(D)Jerusalem: ⁴ Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, from the sons of Perez the ^(E)son of Judah. ⁵ From the Shilonites were Asaiah the firstborn and his sons. ⁶ From the sons of Zerah were Jeuel and their relatives, 690 of them. ⁷ From the sons of Benjamin were Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah, ⁸ and Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; ⁹ and their relatives according to their generations, ^(F)956. All these men were heads of fathers’ households according to their fathers’ houses.

^10 (G)From the priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ and ^[b]Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, ^(H)the chief officer of the house of God; ¹² and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; ¹³ and their relatives, heads of their fathers’ households, 1,760 competent men for the work of the service of the house of God.

^14 (I)Of the Levites, there were Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; ¹⁵ and Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal; and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of ^[c]Zichri, the son of Asaph, ¹⁶ and ^[d]Obadiah the son of ^[e]Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the settlements of the Netophathites.

¹⁷ Now the gatekeepers were ^[f]Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives (Shallum the chief ¹⁸ being stationed until now at ^(J)the king’s gate to the east). These were the gatekeepers for the camp of the sons of Levi. ¹⁹ Shallum the son of Kore, the son of ^[g]Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his relatives of his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, doorkeepers of the tent; and their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance. ^20 (K)Phinehas the son of Eleazar was supervisor over them previously, and the Lord was with him. ^21 (L)Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper of the entrance of the tent of meeting. ²² Those who were chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds were 212 in all. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements, ^(M)those whom David and Samuel the seer appointed ^(N)in their official capacity. ²³ So they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, the house of the tent, in their divisions of service. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were ^[h]on the four sides, to the east, west, north, and south. ²⁵ Their relatives in their settlements ^(O)were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with ^[i]them; ²⁶ for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, served in an official capacity, and were in charge of the chambers and in charge of the treasuries in the house of God. ²⁷ They spent the night around the house of God, ^(P)because the watch was ^[j]committed to them; and they were in charge of opening it morning by morning.

²⁸ Now some of them were in charge of the utensils of the service, for ^[k]they counted them when they brought them in and when they took them out. ²⁹ Some of them also were appointed over the furniture and over all the utensils of the sanctuary, and ^(Q)over the finely milled flour, the wine, the olive oil, the frankincense, and the balsam oil. ³⁰ Some of ^(R)the sons of the priests prepared the mixing of the balsam oil. ³¹ Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had ^(S)the ^[l]responsibility for the baking of cakes in pans. ³² Some of their relatives of the sons of the Kohathites ^(T)were in charge of the showbread to prepare it every Sabbath.

³³ Now these are ^(U)the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple free of other duties; for they were ^[m]engaged ^(V)in their work day and night. ³⁴ These were heads of fathers’ households of the Levites according to their generations, chief men ^[n]who lived in Jerusalem.

Ancestry and Descendants of Saul

^35 (W)Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and his wife’s name was Maacah, ³⁶ and his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸ Mikloth fathered Shimeam. And they also lived with their relatives in Jerusalem opposite their other relatives. ^39 (X)Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰ The son of Jonathan was ^[o]Merib-baal; and Merib-baal fathered Micah. ⁴¹ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, ^(Y)and Ahaz. ⁴² Ahaz fathered Jarah, Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri fathered Moza. ⁴³ Moza fathered Binea, and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ⁴⁴ Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

10 Jesus ^(A)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to ^(B)heal every disease and every sickness.

^2 (C)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, ^(D)Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother ^(E)Andrew; and ^[a](F)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother ^[b]John; ^3 (G)Philip and ^[c]Bartholomew; ^(H)Thomas and ^(I)Matthew the tax collector; ^[d](J)James the son of Alphaeus, and ^(K)Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[e]Zealot, and ^(L)Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

^5 (M)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road ^[f]to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(N)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(O)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[g]preach, saying, ‘^(P)The kingdom of heaven ^[h]has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (Q)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[i]bag for your journey, or even two ^[j]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(R)the worker is deserving of his ^[k]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[l]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[m]house, ^(S)give it your ^[n]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, ^[o]take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, ^(T)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(U)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(V)Sodom and Gomorrah on ^(W)the day of judgment, than for that city.

A Hard Road Ahead of Them

¹⁶ “^(X)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as ^(Y)wary as serpents, and as ^(Z)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the ^(AA)courts and flog you ^(AB)in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (AC)But when they hand you over, ^(AD)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. ²⁰ For ^(AE)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking ^[p]in you.

²¹ “Now ^(AF)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and ^(AG)children will rise up against parents and ^[q]cause them to be put to death. ²² And ^(AH)you will be hated by all because of My name, but ^(AI)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “But whenever they ^(AJ)persecute you in ^[r]one city, flee to the ^[s]next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel ^(AK)until the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “^(AL)A ^[t]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. ^(AM)If they have called the head of the house ^[u](AN)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!

²⁶ “So do not ^(AO)fear them, ^(AP)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ^27 (AQ)What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim ^(AR)on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather ^(AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[v](AT)hell. ^29 (AU)Are two sparrows not sold for an ^[w]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(AV)even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹ So do not fear; ^(AW)you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

³² “Therefore, ^(AX)everyone who ^[x]confesses Me before people, I will also confess ^[y]him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But ^(AY)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “^(AZ)Do not think that I came to ^[z]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to ^[aa]bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to ^(BA)turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and ^(BB)a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷ “^(BC)The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And ^(BD)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (BE)The one who has found his ^[ab]life will lose it, and the one who has lost his ^[ac]life on My account will find it.

The Reward for Service

⁴⁰ “^(BF)The one who ^[ad]receives you ^[ae]receives Me, and ^(BG)the one who ^[af]receives Me ^[ag]receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (BH)The one who ^[ah]receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who ^[ai]receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And ^(BI)whoever gives one of these ^[aj]little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”