2 Samuel 3 - 5, 1 Peter 1 - 2, Proverbs 25

The House of David Strengthened

3Now ^athe war between the house of Saul and the house of David was long; and David grew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker continually.

²^aAnd sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by ^bAhinoam the Jezreelitess; ³and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of ^aMaacah, the daughter of Talmai king of ^bGeshur; ⁴and the fourth, ^aAdonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; ⁵and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David at Hebron.

Abner Cuts a Covenant with David

⁶Now it happened, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David that ^aAbner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. ⁷Now Saul had a concubine whose name was ^aRizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and ¹Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” ⁸Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “^aAm I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show lovingkindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hands of David; and yet today you charge me with a guilt concerning the woman. ⁹“^aMay God do so to Abner, and more also, if ^bas Yahweh has sworn to David, I do not do this for him, ¹⁰^ato transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, ^bfrom Dan even to Beersheba.” ¹¹And he could no longer respond a word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

¹²Then Abner sent messengers to David in his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Cut your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to turn all Israel over to you.” ¹³And he said, “Good! I will cut a covenant with you, but I ask one thing of you, ¹namely, ^ayou shall not see my face unless you ^bfirst bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” ¹⁴So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed ^afor one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” ¹⁵And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from ¹Paltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶But her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her as far as ^aBahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” So he returned.

¹⁷Now Abner had ¹consultation with ^athe elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you. ¹⁸“So now, do it! For Yahweh has spoken of David, saying, ‘^aBy the hand of My servant David ¹I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’” ¹⁹Abner also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that was good in the sight of Israel and in the sight of ^athe whole house of Benjamin.

²⁰Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. ²¹And Abner said to David, “Let me arise and go and ^agather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may cut a covenant with you, and that ^byou may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

²²And behold, ^athe servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. ²³Now Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, and they told Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” ²⁴Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you sent him away and he is already gone? ²⁵“You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive you and to know of ^ayour going out and your coming in and to know all that you are doing.”

Joab Strikes Abner

²⁶Then Joab came out from David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know it. ²⁷So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there ^ahe struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel his brother. ²⁸Afterward David heard it, so he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before Yahweh forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. ²⁹“^aMay it whirl on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may ^bone who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who takes hold of a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread not be cut off from the house of Joab.” ³⁰So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner ^abecause he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

David’s Lament for Abner

³¹Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “^aTear your clothes and gird on sackcloth and lament before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. ³²Thus they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at ^athe grave of Abner, and all the people wept. ³³^aAnd the king chanted a lament for Abner and said, “Should Abner die as a wicked fool dies?

³⁴“Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters;As one falls before the ¹unrighteous, you have fallen.” And all the people continued to weep over him.

³⁵Then all the people came ^ato ¹persuade David to eat bread while it was still day; but David swore an oath, saying, “^bMay God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else ^cbefore the sun goes down.” ³⁶Now all the people took note of it, and it was good in their sight, just as everything the king did was good in the sight of all the people. ³⁷So all the people and all Israel knew that day that it had not been the will of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. ³⁸Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? ³⁹“Thus I am ^aweak today, though anointed king; and these men ^bthe sons of Zeruiah are too difficult for me. ^cMay Yahweh repay the evildoer according to his evil.”

Ish-bosheth Put to Death

4Then ¹Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son heard that ^aAbner had died in Hebron. And ²^,^bhe lost courage, and all Israel was dismayed. ²Now Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of bands: the name of the one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin (for ^aBeeroth is also considered ^bpart of Benjamin, ³and the Beerothites fled to ^aGittaim and have been sojourners there until this day).

⁴Now ^aJonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the ^breport of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was ¹^,^cMephibosheth.

⁵So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went forth and came to the house of ^aIsh-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. ⁶¹They came to the middle of the house as ²if to get wheat, and ^athey struck him in the belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. ⁷Thus they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, and they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. And they took his head and ^awent on the way leading to the Arabah all night. ⁸Then they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth ^athe son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus Yahweh has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his seed.”

⁹And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As Yahweh lives, ^awho has redeemed my life from all distress, ¹⁰^awhen one told me, saying, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and ¹thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. ¹¹“How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now ^arequire his blood from your hand and purge you from the earth?” ¹²Then ^aDavid commanded the young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth ^band buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.

David Anointed King over All Israel

5^aThen all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and ¹said, “Behold, we are ^byour bone and your flesh. ²“Previously, when Saul was king over us, ^ayou were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and Yahweh said to you, ‘^bYou will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ^ca ruler over Israel.’” ³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David ^acut a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; then ^bthey anointed David king over Israel. ⁴Now David was ^athirty years old when he became king, and ^bhe reigned forty years. ⁵At Hebron ^ahe reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

⁶^aThen the king and his men went to ^bJerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to ¹David, “You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame will turn you away”; ²thinking, “David cannot enter here.” ⁷Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, that is ^athe city of David. ⁸And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.” ⁹Then David lived in the fortress and called it ^athe city of David. And David built all around from the ¹^,^bMillo and inward. ¹⁰^aAnd David became greater and greater, and Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him.

¹¹^aThen Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and craftsmen of wood and craftsmen of stone walls; and ^bthey built a house for David. ¹²Thus David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that He had lifted up his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

Children Born to David in Jerusalem

¹³And ^aDavid took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David. ¹⁴Now ^athese are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.

David Goes Up Against the Philistines

¹⁷Then the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, so ^aall the Philistines went up to seek out David. And David heard of it and went down to the ^bfortress. ¹⁸Now the Philistines had come and spread themselves out in ^athe valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹Then ^aDavid asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You give them into my hand?” And ^bYahweh said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” ²⁰So David came to ^aBaal-perazim, and there David struck them down; and he said, “Yahweh has broken through my enemies before me, like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place ¹Baal-perazim. ²¹And they forsook their idols there; so ^aDavid and his men carried them away.

²²Then ^athe Philistines yet again came up and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. ²³So ^aDavid asked of Yahweh, and He said, “You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the ¹balsam trees. ²⁴“And it will be that when ^ayou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the ¹balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then ^bYahweh will have gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” ²⁵Then David did so, just as Yahweh had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from ¹^,^aGeba ²as far as ^bGezer.

A Living Hope

1^aPeter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as ^bexiles, ^cscattered throughout ^dPontus, ^eGalatia, ^fCappadocia, ^gAsia, and ^hBithynia, who are chosen ²according to the ^aforeknowledge of God the Father, ^bby the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the ^cobedience of Jesus Christ and the ^dsprinkling of His blood: ^eMay grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³^aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ^baccording to His great mercy ^chas caused us to be born again to ^da living hope through the ^eresurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to obtain an ^ainheritance incorruptible and undefiled and ^bunfading, having been ^ckept in heaven for you, ⁵who are ^aprotected by the power of God ^bthrough faith for ^ca salvation ready ^dto be revealed in the last time. ⁶^aIn this you greatly rejoice, even though now ^bfor a little while, ^cif necessary, you have been grieved by ^dvarious ¹trials, ⁷so that the ¹^,^aproof of your faith, being more precious than gold which ²is perishable, ^beven though tested by fire, ^cmay be found to result in praise and glory and honor at ^dthe revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸And ^athough you have not seen Him, you ^blove Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and ¹full of glory, ⁹receiving as ^athe outcome of your faith the salvation of ¹your souls.

¹⁰^aConcerning this salvation, the prophets, who ^bprophesied of the ^cgrace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, ¹¹¹inquiring to know what time or what kind of time ^athe Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was ^bpredicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories ²to follow. ¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who ^aproclaimed the gospel to you by ^bthe Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which ^cangels long to ¹look.

¹³Therefore, having ¹^,^agirded your minds for action, ²^,^bbeing sober in spirit, fix your ^chope completely on the ^dgrace ³to be brought to you at ^ethe revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As ¹^,^aobedient children, not ²^,^bbeing conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ^cignorance, ¹⁵but ¹^,^alike the Holy One who called you, ²^,^bbe holy yourselves also ^cin all your conduct; ¹⁶because it is written, “^aYou shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷And if you ^aaddress as Father the One who ^bimpartially ^cjudges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves ¹^,^din fear during the time of your ^esojourn, ¹⁸knowing that you were not ¹^,^aredeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your ^bfutile conduct inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹but with precious ^ablood, as of a ^blamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰He was ^aforeknown before ^bthe foundation of the world, but ^cappeared ¹in these last times ^dfor the sake of you ²¹who through Him are ^abelievers in God, who raised Him from the dead and ^bgave Him glory, so that your faith and ^chope are in God.

²²Since you have ^ain obedience to the truth ^bpurified your souls for a love of the brothers ^cwithout hypocrisy, fervently love one another from ¹the heart, ²³for you have been ^aborn again ^bnot of corruptible seed but incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring ^cword of God. ²⁴For, “^aAll flesh is like grass,And all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers,And the flower falls off,

²⁵^aBut the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is ^bthe word which was ¹proclaimed to you as good news.

As Living Stones, God’s Chosen Family

2Therefore, ^alaying aside all ¹malice and all deceit and ²hypocrisy and ³envy and all ⁴^,^bslander, ²^alike newborn babies, long for the ¹^,^bpure ²milk of the word, so that by it you may ^cgrow ³in respect to salvation, ³if you have ^atasted ¹^,^bthe kindness of the ²Lord.

⁴And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been ^arejected by men, but is ¹choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵^ayou also, as living stones, ¹are being built up as a ^bspiritual house for a holy ^cpriesthood, to ^doffer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For this is contained in ¹Scripture: “^aBehold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a ^bprecious corner stone,And he who believes upon ²Him will not be put to shame.”

⁷^aThis precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “^bThe stone which the builders ^crejected,This has become the chief corner stone,”

⁸and, “^aA stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” ^bThey stumble because they are disobedient to the word, ^cand to this stumbling they were also appointed.

⁹But you are ^aa chosen family, a royal ^bpriesthood, a ^choly nation, ^da people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ^eout of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰^afor you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹^aBeloved, ^bI urge you as ^csojourners and exiles to abstain from ^dfleshly lusts which wage ^ewar against the soul, ¹²^aby keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they ^bslander you as evildoers, they may ¹because of your good works, as they observe them, ^cglorify God ^din the day of ²visitation.

Be Subject to Authority

¹³^aBe subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴or to governors as sent ¹by him ^afor the punishment of evildoers and the ^bpraise of those who do good. ¹⁵For ¹^,^asuch is the will of God that by doing good you may ^bsilence the ignorance of foolish men. ¹⁶Act as ^afree people, and ¹do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as ^bslaves of God. ¹⁷^aHonor all people, ^blove the ¹brethren, ^cfear God, ^dhonor the ²king.

¹⁸^aServants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and ^bconsiderate, but also to those who are ¹crooked. ¹⁹For this finds ¹favor, if for the sake of ^aconscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unrighteously. ²⁰For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if ^awhen you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.

Christ, Our Example

²¹For to this ^ayou have been called, ^bsince Christ also suffered for you, leaving you ^can example that you should follow in His steps, ²²who ^adid no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; ²³who being ^areviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. ²⁴Who Himself ¹^,^abore our sins in His body on the ^btree, so that ^chaving died to ²sin, we might live to righteousness; ^dby His ³wounds you were ^ehealed. ²⁵For you were ^acontinually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the ^bShepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Analogies of Wisdom

25These also are ^aproverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.

²It is the glory of God to ^aconceal a matter,But the glory of ^bkings is to search out a matter.³As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,So the heart of kings is unsearchable.⁴Take away the ^adross from the silver,And there comes out a vessel for the ^bsmith;⁵Take away the ^awicked before the king,And his ^bthrone will be established in righteousness.⁶Do not promote your majesty in the presence of the king,And in the place of great men do not stand;⁷For ^ait is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of a noble,Whom your eyes have seen.⁸Do not go out ^ahastily to plead your case;Lest, what will you do in ¹the end,When your neighbor humiliates you?⁹^aPlead your case with your neighbor,And ^bdo not reveal the secret of another,¹⁰Lest he who hears it bring disgrace upon you,And the bad report about you will not turn away.¹¹Like apples of gold in settings of silverIs a ^aword spoken in ¹right circumstances.¹²Like ¹an ^aearring of gold and an ^bornament of ^cfine goldIs a wise reprover to a ^dlistening ear.¹³Like the cold of snow in the ¹time of harvestIs a ^afaithful envoy to those who send him,For he refreshes the soul of his masters.¹⁴Like ^aclouds and ^bwind without rainIs a man who boasts ¹of his gifts falsely.¹⁵^aWhen one is slow to anger, a ruler may be persuaded,And a soft tongue breaks the bone.¹⁶Have you ^afound honey? Eat only enough for you,Lest you have more than your fill and vomit it.¹⁷Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house,Lest he have more than his fill of you and hate you.¹⁸Like a club and a ^asword and a sharp ^barrowIs a man who bears ¹^,^cfalse witness against his neighbor.¹⁹Like ¹an aching tooth and a slipping footIs trust in a ^atreacherous man in a day of distress.²⁰Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on ¹soda,Is he who sings songs to ²an aching heart.²¹^aIf ¹your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;²²For you will ¹heap burning coals on his head,And ^aYahweh will repay you.²³The north wind brings forth rain,And a ^atongue of secrets, an indignant face.²⁴It is ^abetter to live in a corner of the roofThan ¹in a house shared with a contentious woman.²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul,So is a ^agood report from a distant land.²⁶Like a ^amuddied spring and a corrupted wellIs a righteous man shaking before the wicked.²⁷To eat too much honey is not good,Nor is it glory to ^asearch out ¹one’s own glory.²⁸Like a ^acity that is broken into and without a wallIs a man ^bwithout restraint over his spirit.