2 Samuel 21 - 22, Revelation 1, Ecclesiastes 5

David Gives Saul’s Sons to the Gibeonites

21And there was ^aa famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and ^bDavid sought the presence of Yahweh. And Yahweh said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” ²So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, and ^athe sons of Israel ¹made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah). ³Thus David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? And how can I make atonement that you may bless ^athe inheritance of Yahweh?” ⁴Then the Gibeonites said to him, “^aWe have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.” ⁵So they said to the king, “^aThe man who consumed us and who planned ¹to eradicate us from standing within any border of Israel, ⁶let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will ¹hang them ^abefore Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, ^bthe chosen of Yahweh.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

⁷But the king spared ^aMephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, ^bbecause of the oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Saul’s son Jonathan. ⁸So the king took the two sons of ^aRizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth whom she had borne to Saul, and the five sons of ¹^,^bMerab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the ^cMeholathite. ⁹Then he gave them into the hand of the Gibeonites, and they ¹hanged them in the mountain before Yahweh, so that the seven of them fell together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest at ^athe beginning of barley harvest.

¹⁰^aAnd Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until ¹it rained on them from the sky; and ^bshe ²allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night. ¹¹Then it was told to David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. ¹²So David went and took ^athe bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the open square of ^bBeth-shan, ^cwhere the Philistines had hanged them on the day ^dthe Philistines struck down Saul in Gilboa. ¹³And he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been ¹hanged. ¹⁴Then they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin in ^aZela, in the grave of Kish his father; thus they did all that the king commanded, and afterwards ^bGod was moved by the entreaty for the land.

War with the Philistines

¹⁵And ^athe Philistines were at war again with Israel, so David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary. ¹⁶Then Ishbi-benob, who was ^aamong those born to the ¹giants, the weight of whose spear was ²three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, ³was girded with a new sword, and he ⁴intended to strike down David. ¹⁷But ^aAbishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and put him to death. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “^bYou shall not go out again with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish ^cthe lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸^aNow it happened afterwards that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then ^bSibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among those born to the ¹giants. ¹⁹There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite struck down ¹Goliath the Gittite, ^athe shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ²⁰Then there was war at Gath again, and there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born ^ato the ¹giants. ²¹And he ¹reproached Israel, so Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. ²²^aThese four were born to the ¹giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

David’s Song of Deliverance

22^aAnd David spoke to Yahweh ^bthe words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the ¹hand of all his enemies and from the ²hand of Saul. ²He said, “^aYahweh is my ¹rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

³¹^,^aMy God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,My ^bshield and ^cthe horn of my salvation, my stronghold and ^dmy refuge;My savior, You save me from violence.⁴“I call upon Yahweh, ^awho is worthy to be praised,And I am saved from my enemies.⁵“For ^athe waves of death encompassed me;^bThe torrents of ¹vileness terrorized me;⁶^aThe cords of Sheol surrounded me;The snares of death confronted me.⁷“^aIn my distress I called upon Yahweh,And I called to my God;And out of His temple He heard my voice,And my cry for help came into His ears.⁸“Then ^athe earth shook and quaked;^bThe foundations of heaven were tremblingAnd were shaken, because He was angry.⁹“Smoke went up ¹out of His nostrils,^aAnd fire from His mouth devoured;^bCoals were kindled by it.¹⁰“He bowed the heavens and came downWith ^athick darkness under His feet.¹¹“^aHe rode on a cherub and flew;And He ¹appeared upon ^bthe wings of the wind.¹²“^aAnd He made darkness ¹canopies around Him,A mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies.¹³“From the brightness before Him^aCoals of fire were kindled.¹⁴“^aYahweh thundered from heaven,And the Most High gave forth His voice.¹⁵“^aAnd He sent out arrows, and scattered them,Lightning, and ¹threw them into confusion.¹⁶“Then the channels of the sea appeared,The foundations of the world were ¹laid bareBy the rebuke of Yahweh,^aAt the blast of the breath of His nostrils.¹⁷“^aHe sent from on high, He took me;^bHe drew me out of many waters.¹⁸“He delivered me from my strong enemy,From those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.¹⁹“They confronted me in the day of my disaster,^aBut Yahweh was my support.²⁰“^aHe brought me forth also into a broad place;He rescued me, ^bbecause He delighted in me.²¹“^aYahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;^bAccording to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.²²“^aFor I have kept the ways of Yahweh,And have not wickedly departed from my God.²³“^aFor all His ¹judgments were before me,And as for His statutes, I did not depart from ²them.²⁴“^aI was also ¹blameless toward Him,And I kept myself from my iniquity.²⁵“^aTherefore Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness,According to my cleanness before His eyes.²⁶“^aWith the ¹kind You show Yourself ²kind,With the ³blameless You show Yourself ⁴blameless;²⁷^aWith the pure You show Yourself pure,^bAnd with the crooked You show Yourself ¹astute.²⁸“^aAnd You save an afflicted people;^bBut Your eyes are on the haughty whom You bring down.²⁹“^aFor You are my lamp, O Yahweh;And Yahweh illumines my darkness.³⁰“^aFor by You I can ¹run upon a troop;By my God I can leap over a wall.³¹“^aAs for God, His way is ¹blameless;^bThe word of Yahweh is ²tried;^cHe is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.³²“^aFor who is God, but Yahweh?^bAnd who is a rock, but our God?³³“^aGod is my strong fortress;And He ¹sets the ²blameless in ³His way.³⁴“^aHe makes ¹my feet like hinds’ feet,^bAnd sets me on my high places.³⁵“^aHe trains my hands for battle,^bSo that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.³⁶“You have also given me ^athe shield of Your salvation,And Your answer to me makes me great.³⁷“^aYou enlarge my steps under me,And my ankles have not given way.³⁸“I pursued my enemies and ^adestroyed them,And I did not turn back until they were consumed.³⁹“And I have consumed them and crushed them, so that they did not rise;And ^athey fell under my feet.⁴⁰“For You have girded me with strength for battle;You have ¹subdued under me ^athose who rose up against me.⁴¹“¹You have also ^amade my enemies turn their backs to me,And I ²destroyed those who hated me.⁴²“^aThey looked, but there was none to save;^bEven to Yahweh, but He did not answer them.⁴³“^aThen I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;^bI pulverized and stamped them as the mire of the streets.⁴⁴“^aYou have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;^bYou have kept me as head of the nations;^cA people whom I have not known serve me.⁴⁵“^aForeigners cower before me;As soon as they hear, they obey me.⁴⁶“Foreigners fade away,^aAnd ¹come trembling out of their ²fortresses.⁴⁷“Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock;And let ¹^,^aGod, the rock of my salvation, be lifted high,⁴⁸^aThe God who executes vengeance for me,^bAnd brings down peoples under me,⁴⁹Who also brings me out from my enemies;You even lift me above ^athose who rise up against me;^bYou rescue me from the violent man.⁵⁰“^aTherefore I will give thanks to You, O Yahweh, among the nations,And I will sing praises to Your name.⁵¹“^aHe ¹gives great salvation to His king,And ^bshows lovingkindness to His anointed,^cTo David and his seed forever.”

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which ^aGod gave Him to ^bshow to His slaves ^cthe things which must soon happen; and He indicated this ^dby sending it through His angel to His slave ¹^,^eJohn, ²who bore witness to ^athe word of God and to ^bthe witness of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³^aBlessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it, ^bfor the time is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

⁴^aJohn to ^bthe seven churches that are in ^cAsia: ^dGrace to you and peace, from ^ethe One who is and who was and who ¹is to come, and from ^fthe seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, ^athe faithful witness, the ^bfirstborn of the dead, and the ^cruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^dloves us and released us from our sins ¹by His blood— ⁶and He has made us to be a ^akingdom, ^bpriests to ¹^,^cHis God and Father—^dto Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen. ⁷^aBehold, He is coming with the clouds, and ^bevery eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^cmourn over Him. Yes, amen.

⁸“I am ^athe Alpha and the Omega,” says the ¹^,^bLord God, “^cwho is and who was and who ²is to come, the Almighty.”

The Vision of the Son of Man

⁹^aI, John, your ^bbrother and ^cfellow partaker in the tribulation and ^dkingdom and ¹^,^eperseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^fbecause of the word of God and the witness of Jesus. ¹⁰I was ¹^,^ain the Spirit on ^bthe Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^clike a trumpet, ¹¹saying, “^aWrite in a scroll what you see, and send it to the ^bseven churches: to ^cEphesus and to ^dSmyrna and to ^ePergamum and to ^fThyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw ^aseven golden lampstands; ¹³and ^ain the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^blike ¹a son of man, ^cclothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^dgirded across His chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴And His head and His ^ahair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^bHis eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵His ^afeet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His ^bvoice was like the sound of many waters, ¹⁶and having in His right hand ^aseven stars, and a ^bsharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His ^cface was like ^dthe sun ¹shining in its power.

¹⁷And when I saw Him, I ^afell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^bplaced His right hand on me, saying, “^cDo not fear; ^dI am the first and the last, ¹⁸and the ^aliving One; and I ¹^,^bwas dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have ^cthe keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹“Therefore ^awrite ^bthe things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^cafter these things. ²⁰“As for the ^amystery of the ^bseven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^cseven golden lampstands: the ^dseven stars are the angels of ^ethe seven churches, and the seven ^flampstands are the seven churches.

Fear God

5¹^,^aGuard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the ^bsacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. ²¹Do not be ^ahasty with your mouth or ²impulsive in your heart to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven but you are on the earth; therefore let your ^bwords be few. ³For the dream comes through abundant endeavor and the voice of a ^afool through abundant words.

⁴When you ^amake a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. ^bPay what you vow! ⁵It is ^abetter that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a ^amistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and wreak destruction on the work of your hands? ⁷For in many dreams and vanities are many words. Rather, ¹^,^afear God.

The Vanity of Riches

⁸If you see ^aoppression of the poor and ^brobbery of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be ^castonished over the ¹matter; for a lofty one keeps watch over another lofty one, and there are loftier ones over them. ⁹But the advantage of the land in everything is this—a king committed to a cultivated field.

¹⁰^aHe who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its produce. This too is ¹vanity. ¹¹^aWhen good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the success to their masters except to look on with their eyes? ¹²The sleep of the laboring man is ^asweet, whether he eats little or much; but the satisfaction of the rich man does not ¹allow him to sleep.

¹³There is a sickening evil which I have seen under the sun: ^ariches being ¹hoarded by their master to his own evil demise. ¹⁴And those riches were lost through a bad endeavor; and he became the father of a son, but there was nothing in his hand for him. ¹⁵^aAs he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will ^bcarry nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can bring in his hand. ¹⁶This also is a sickening evil—exactly as a man came, so will he go. So ^awhat is the advantage to him who ^blabors for the wind? ¹⁷Also, all his days ^ahe eats in darkness with ^bmuch vexation, and his sickness and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be ^agood, which is ¹beautiful: to eat, to drink, and to see good in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God has given him; for this is his ^bportion. ¹⁹Furthermore, as for every man to whom ^aGod has given riches and wealth, He has also ^bempowered him to eat from them and to take up his portion and be glad in his labor; this is the ^cgift of God. ²⁰For he will not remember much the days of his life because ^aGod allows ¹him to occupy himself with the gladness of his heart.