2 Samuel 1 - 2, James 4 - 5, Proverbs 24

Saul and Jonathan Are Dead

1Now it happened after ^athe death of Saul, that David returned from ^bstriking down the Amalekites. Then David remained two days in Ziklag. ²Now it happened that on the third day, behold, ^aa man came out of the camp from Saul. And ^bhis clothes were torn and ¹dust was on his head. And it happened when he came to David, that ^che fell to the ground and prostrated himself. ³Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴And David said to him, “^aHow did things go? Tell me now.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.” ⁵So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁶And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on ^aMount Gilboa, and behold, ^bSaul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely. ⁷“Then he turned to look behind him, and he saw me and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸“And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I ¹answered him, ‘^aI am an Amalekite.’ ⁹“Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and put me to death, for agony has seized me because my ¹life still lingers in me.’ ¹⁰“So I stood beside him ^aand put him to death, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And ^bI took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹Then ^aDavid took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. ¹²And they lamented and wept and ^afasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of ¹Yahweh and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³And David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he ¹answered, “^aI am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid ^ato send forth your hand to destroy the anointed of Yahweh?” ¹⁵And David called one of the young men and said, “Approach and fall upon him.” ^aSo he struck him and he died. ¹⁶And David said to him, “^aYour blood is on your head, for ^byour mouth has answered against you, saying, ‘I have put the anointed of Yahweh to death.’”

David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷Then David ^achanted with this funeral lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, ¹⁸and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in ^athe book of Jashar.

¹⁹“¹Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places!^aHow have the mighty fallen!²⁰“^aTell it not in Gath,Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,Lest ^bthe daughters of the Philistines be glad,Lest the daughters of ^cthe uncircumcised exult.²¹“^aO mountains of Gilboa,^bLet not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings;For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,The shield of Saul, not ^canointed with oil.²²“^aFrom the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,^bThe bow of Jonathan did not turn back,And the sword of Saul did not return empty.²³“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life,And in their death they were not separated;^aThey were swifter than eagles,^bThey were mightier than lions.²⁴“O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,Who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.²⁵“^aHow have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!Jonathan is slain on your high places.²⁶“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;You have been very pleasant to me.^aYour love to me was more wonderfulThan the love of women.²⁷“^aHow have the mighty fallen,And ^bthe weapons of war perished!”

David Anointed King of Judah

2Now it happened afterwards that ^aDavid asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And Yahweh said to him, “Go up.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “^bTo Hebron.” ²So David went up there, and ^ahis two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ³And ^aDavid brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron. ⁴Then the men of Judah came and there ^aanointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “It was ^bthe men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” ⁵And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “^aMay you be blessed of Yahweh because you have ¹shown this lovingkindness with your lord, with Saul, and have buried him. ⁶“So now, ^amay Yahweh ¹show lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will ²show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. ⁷“So now, let your hands be strong and be ¹valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel

⁸Now ^aAbner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken ¹Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^bMahanaim. ⁹And he made him king over ^aGilead, over the ^bAshurites, over ^cJezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel. ¹⁰Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. ¹¹^aAnd the ¹time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Abner Defeated Before David

¹²Now Abner the son of Ner, went out from Mahanaim to ^aGibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul. ¹³And ^aJoab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met ¹them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, ²one on the one side of the pool and ³the other on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴Then Abner said to Joab, “Now let the young men arise and ¹^,^ahold a contest before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” ¹⁵So they arose and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. ¹⁶And each one of them seized his ¹opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his ²opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called ³Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷And that day the battle was very severe, and ^aAbner and the men of Israel were ¹defeated before the servants of David.

¹⁸Now ^athe three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel; and Asahel was ^bas ¹swift-footed as one of the gazelles which is in the field. ¹⁹And Asahel pursued Abner and did not ¹turn to the right or to the left from following Abner. ²⁰Then Abner turned to look behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” ²¹So Abner said to him, “¹Turn to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his spoil.” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him. ²²And Abner repeated again to Asahel, “Turn ¹aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? ^aHow then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?” ²³However, he refused to turn aside; therefore Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died on the spot. And it happened that all who came to the place where ^aAsahel had fallen and died, stood still.

²⁴But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. Now the sun was going down, and they came to the hill of Ammah, which is in front of Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one band, and they stood on the top of a certain hill. ²⁶Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long will you ¹refrain from telling the people to turn back from following their brothers?” ²⁷And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then the people would have only gone away in the morning, each from following his brother.” ²⁸So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no longer, ^anor did they continue to fight anymore. ²⁹But Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to ^aMahanaim.

³⁰Now Joab returned from following Abner. And he had gathered all the people together, and ¹nineteen of David’s servants besides Asahel were missing. ³¹But the servants of David had struck down many of Benjamin and Abner’s men, so that 360 men died. ³²And they took up Asahel and buried him ^ain his father’s tomb which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men went all night until the day ¹dawned at Hebron.

Draw Near to God

4¹What is the source of quarrels and ^aconflicts among you? ²Is not the source your pleasures that wage ^bwar in your members? ²You lust and do not have, so you ^amurder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. ³You ask and ^ado not receive, because you ask ¹with wrong motives, so that you may spend it ²on your pleasures. ⁴You ^aadulteresses, do you not know that friendship with ^bthe world is ^cenmity toward God? ^dTherefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think that the Scripture ^aspeaks to no purpose: “¹He ²jealously desires ^bthe Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? ⁶But ^aHe gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “^bGod is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷^aBe subject therefore to God. ^bResist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸^aDraw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^bCleanse your hands, you sinners, and ^cpurify your hearts, you ^ddouble-minded. ⁹^aBe miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰^aHumble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

¹¹^aDo not slander one another, ^bbrothers. He who slanders a brother or ^cjudges his brother, slanders ^dthe law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not ^ea doer of the law but a judge of it. ¹²There is only one ^aLawgiver and Judge, the One who is ^bable to save and to destroy. But ^cwho are you who judge your neighbor?

Life Is a Vapor

¹³^aCome now, you who say, “^bToday or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” ¹⁴¹Yet you do not know ²what your life will be like tomorrow. ^aYou are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. ¹⁵¹Instead, you ought to say, “^aIf the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” ¹⁶But as it is, you boast in your ¹arrogance. ^aAll such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Therefore, ^ato one who knows to do the ¹right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Miseries of the Rich

5^aCome now, ^byou rich, ^ccry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. ²^aYour riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure ^ain the last days! ⁴Behold, ^athe pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and ^bthe outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of ^cthe ¹Lord of ²Sabaoth. ⁵You have ^alived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have ¹fattened your hearts in a ^bday of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and ^amurdered ^bthe righteous man; ¹he does not resist you.

Patience and Perseverance

⁷Therefore be patient, ^abrothers, ^buntil the coming of the Lord. Behold, ^cthe farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until ¹it receives ^dthe early and late rains. ⁸^aYou too be patient; ^bstrengthen your hearts, for ^cthe coming of the Lord is ^dat hand. ⁹^aDo not groan, ^bbrothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, ^cthe Judge is standing ¹^,^dright at the ²door. ¹⁰As an example, ^abrothers, of suffering and patience, take ^bthe prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹Behold, we count those ^ablessed who persevere. You have heard of ^bthe ¹perseverance of Job and have seen ^cthe ²outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^dthe Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹²But above all, ^amy brothers, ^bdo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let ¹your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

¹³Is anyone among you ^asuffering? ^bThen he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^csing praises. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^athe elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ¹^,^banointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the ^aprayer ¹offered in faith will ^bsave the one who is ²sick, and the Lord will ^craise him up, and if he has committed sins, ³they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶Therefore, ^aconfess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^bhealed. ^cThe effective ¹prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. ¹⁷Elijah was ^aa man with a nature like ours, and ^bhe prayed ¹earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^cthree years and six months. ¹⁸Then he ^aprayed again, and ^bthe ¹sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers, ^aif any among you strays from ^bthe truth and one turns him back, ²⁰let him know that ¹he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will ^asave his soul from death and will ^bcover a multitude of sins.

My Son, Fear Yahweh

24Do not be ^ajealous of evil men,And do not desire to ^bbe with them;²For their heart meditates on ^adestruction,And their lips ^btalk of mischief.³^aBy wisdom a house is built,And by discernment it is firmly established;⁴And by knowledge the rooms are ^afilledWith all precious and pleasant riches.⁵A ^awise man is ¹strong,And a man of knowledge strengthens his power.⁶For ^aby guidance you will make war,And ^bin abundance of counselors there is salvation.⁷Wisdom is ^atoo exalted for an ignorant fool,He does not open his mouth ^bin the gate.⁸One who ^adeliberately thinks to do evil,Men will call a ¹schemer.⁹The ^ascheming of folly is sin,And the scoffer is an abomination to men.¹⁰If you ^aare slack in the day of trouble,Your strength is in trouble.¹¹^aDeliver those who are being taken away to death,And those who are stumbling to the slaughter, Oh hold them back.¹²If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”Does not He ^awho weighs the hearts ^bunderstand?And ^cdoes not He who ^dguards your soul know?And will not He ¹^,^erender to man according to his work?¹³Eat ^ahoney, my son, for it is good,Indeed, the ^bhoney from the comb is sweet to your taste;¹⁴Know that ^awisdom is thus for your soul;If you find it, then there will be a ¹^,^bfuture,And your hope will not be cut off.¹⁵^aDo not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the abode of the righteous;Do not destroy his resting place;¹⁶For a ^arighteous man falls seven times, and rises again,But the ^bwicked will stumble in ¹calamity.¹⁷When your enemy falls, ^ado not be glad,And when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice;¹⁸Lest Yahweh see it and it be evil in His eyes,And turn His anger away from him.¹⁹^aDo not fret because of evildoersDo not be ^bjealous of the wicked;²⁰For ^athere will be no ¹^,^bfuture for the evil one;The ^clamp of the wicked will go out.²¹My son, ¹^,^afear Yahweh and the king;Do not associate with those who change,²²For suddenly their ^adisaster will rise,And who knows the upheaval that comes from both of them?²³These also are ^asayings of the wise.To ¹^,^bshow partiality in judgment is not good.²⁴He ^awho says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”^bPeoples will curse him, nations will be indignant with him;²⁵But ^ato those who reprove the wicked, it will be pleasant,And a good blessing will come upon them.²⁶He kisses the lipsWho responds with right words.²⁷Establish your work outsideAnd ^amake it ready for yourself in the field;And afterwards, you shall build your house.²⁸Do not be a ^awitness against your neighbor without cause,Nor ^bdeceive with your lips.²⁹^aDo not say, “As he did to me so I shall do to him;I will ¹render to the man according to his work.”³⁰I passed by the field of the sluggardAnd by the vineyard of the man ^alacking a heart of wisdom,³¹And behold, it was completely ¹^,^aovergrown with thistles;²^,^bNettles have covered its surface,And its stone ^cwall has been torn down.³²And I beheld, I set my heart upon it;I saw, I received discipline.³³“^aA little sleep, a little slumber,A little folding of the hands to rest,”³⁴Then your poverty will come as ¹a robberAnd your want like ²an armed man.