Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (115 page)
May 22Saul was dead and David had returned to Ziklag after slaughtering the Amalekites. Three days later a man arrived from the Israeli army with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect.
3
“Where do you come from?” David asked.
“From the Israeli army,” he replied.
4
“What happened?” David demanded. “Tell me how the battle went.”
And the man replied, “Our entire army fled. Thousands of men are dead and wounded on the field, and Saul and his son Jonathan have been killed.”
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“How do you know they are dead?”
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“Because I was on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul leaning against his spear with the enemy chariots closing in upon him.
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When he saw me he cried out for me to come to him.
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“‘Who are you?’ he asked.
“‘An Amalekite,’ I replied.
9
“‘Come and put me out of my misery,’ he begged, ‘for I am in terrible pain but life lingers on.’
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“So I killed him,
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for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and one of his bracelets to bring to you, my lord.”
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David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news.
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They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s people, and for the men of Israel who had died that day.
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Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, “Where are you from?”
And he replied, “I am an Amalekite.”
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“Why did you kill God’s chosen king?” David demanded.
15
Then he said to one of his young men, “Kill him!” So he ran him through with his sword and he died.
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“You die self-condemned,” David said, “for you yourself confessed that you killed God’s appointed king.”
17-18
Then David composed a dirge for Saul and Jonathan and afterward commanded that it be sung throughout Israel. It is quoted here from the book
Heroic Ballads.
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O Israel, your pride and joy lies dead upon the hills;
Mighty heroes have fallen.
20
Don’t tell the Philistines, lest they rejoice.
Hide it from the cities of Gath and Ashkelon,
Lest the heathen nations laugh in triumph.
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O Mount Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Let no crops of grain grow on your slopes.
*
For there the mighty Saul has died;
He is God’s appointed king no more.
22
Both Saul and Jonathan slew their strongest foes,
And did not return from battle empty-handed.
23
How much they were loved, how wonderful they were—
Both Saul and Jonathan!
They were together in life and in death.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
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But now, O women of Israel, weep for Saul;
He enriched you
With fine clothing and gold ornaments.
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These mighty heroes have fallen in the midst of the battle.
Jonathan is slain upon the hills.
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How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan;
How much I loved you!
And your love for me was deeper
Than the love of women!
27
The mighty ones have fallen,
Stripped of their weapons, and dead.
2:
1
David then asked the Lord, “Shall I move back to Judah?”
And the Lord replied, “Yes.”
“Which city shall I go to?”
And the Lord replied, “Hebron.”
2
So David and his wives—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal from Carmel—
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and his men and their families all moved to Hebron.
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Then the leaders of Judah came to David and crowned him king of the Judean confederacy.
When David heard that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul,
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he sent them this message: “May the Lord bless you for being so loyal to your king and giving him a decent burial.
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May the Lord be loyal to you in return and reward you with many demonstrations of his love! And I too will be kind to you because of what you have done.
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And now I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects, now that Saul is dead. Be like the tribe of Judah who have appointed me as their new king.”
8
But Abner, Saul’s commander-in-chief, had gone to Mahanaim to crown Saul’s son Ish-bosheth as king.
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His territory included Gilead, Ashuri, Jezreel, Ephraim, the tribe of Benjamin, and all the rest of Israel.
10-11
Ish-bosheth was forty years old at the time. He reigned in Mahanaim for two years; meanwhile, David was reigning in Hebron and was king of the Judean confederacy for seven and a half years.
Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover
21
paid a visit to Philip,
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who was from Bethsaida, and said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.”
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Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
23-24
Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that
“I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone—a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.
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If you love your life down here—you will lose it. If you despise your life down here—you will exchange it for eternal glory.
26
“If these Greeks
*
want to be my disciples, tell them to come and follow me, for my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them.
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Now my soul is deeply troubled. Shall I pray, ‘Father, save me from what lies ahead’? But that is the very reason why I came!
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Father, bring glory and honor to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven saying, “I have already done this, and I will do it again.”
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When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
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Then Jesus told them,
“The voice was for your benefit, not mine.
31
The time of judgment for the world has come—and the time when Satan,
*
the prince of this world, shall be cast out.
32
And when I am lifted up on the cross,
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I will draw everyone to me.”
33
He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
34
“Die?” asked the crowd. “We understood that the Messiah would live forever and never die. Why are you saying he will die? What Messiah are you talking about?”
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Jesus replied,
“My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, and go where you want to go before the darkness falls, for then it will be too late for you to find your way.
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Make use of the Light while there is still time; then you will become light bearers.”
*
After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.
37
But despite all the miracles he had done, most of the people would not believe he was the Messiah.
38
This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who will believe us? Who will accept God’s mighty miracles as proof?”
*
39
But they couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said:
40
“God
*
has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they can neither see nor understand nor turn to me to heal them.”
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Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, for he had seen a vision of the Messiah’s glory.
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However, even many of the Jewish leaders believed him to be the Messiah but wouldn’t admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would excommunicate them from the synagogue;
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for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
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Jesus shouted to the crowds,
“If you trust me, you are really trusting God.
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For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.
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I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in the darkness.
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If anyone hears me and doesn’t obey me, I am not his judge—for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.
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But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the Day of Judgment by the truths I have spoken.
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For these are not my own ideas, but I have told you what the Father said to tell you.
50
And I know his instructions lead to eternal life; so whatever he tells me to say, I say!”
Open the gates of the Temple
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—I will go in and give him my thanks.
20
Those gates are the way into the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.
21
O Lord, thank you so much for answering my prayer and saving me.
22
The stone rejected by the builders has now become the capstone of the arch!
*
23
This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see!
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This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25
O Lord, please help us. Save us. Give us success.
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Blessed is the one who is coming, the one sent by the Lord.
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We bless you from the Temple.
27-28
Jehovah God is our light. I present to him my sacrifice upon the altar, for you are my God, and I shall give you this thanks and this praise.
29
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is so good! For his loving-kindness is forever.
Dishonest money brings grief to all the family, but hating bribes brings happiness.
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28
A good man thinks before he speaks; the evil man pours out his evil words without a thought.
May 23One day General Abner led some of Ish-bosheth’s troops to Gibeon from Mahanaim,
13
and General Joab (the son of Zeruiah) led David’s troops out to meet them. They met at the pool of Gibeon, where they sat facing each other on opposite sides of the pool.
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Then Abner suggested to Joab, “Let’s watch some sword play between our young men!”
Joab agreed,
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so twelve men were chosen from each side to fight in mortal combat.
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Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other’s side, so that all of them died. The place has been known ever since as Sword Field.
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The two armies then began to fight each other, and by the end of the day Abner and the men of Israel had been defeated by Joab
*
and the forces of David.
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Joab’s brothers, Abishai and Asahel, were also in the battle. Asahel could run like a deer,
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and he began chasing Abner. He wouldn’t stop for anything, but kept on, single-minded, after Abner alone.
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When Abner looked behind and saw him coming, he called out to him, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“Yes,” he called back, “it is.”
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“Go after someone else!” Abner warned. But Asahel refused and kept on coming.
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Again Abner shouted to him, “Get away from here. I could never face your brother Joab if I have to kill you!”
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But he refused to turn away, so Abner pierced him through the belly with the butt end of his spear. It went right through his body and came out his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there, and everyone stopped when they came to the place where he lay.
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Now Joab and Abishai set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at Ammah Hill near Giah, along the road into the Gibeon Desert.
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Abner’s troops from the tribe of Benjamin regrouped there at the top of the hill,
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and Abner shouted down to Joab, “Must our swords continue to kill each other forever? How long will it be before you call off your people from chasing their brothers?”
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Joab shouted back, “I swear by God that even if you hadn’t spoken, we would all have gone home tomorrow morning.”
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Then he blew his trumpet and his men stopped chasing the troops of Israel.
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That night Abner and his men retreated across the Jordan Valley, crossed the river, and traveled all the next morning until they arrived at Mahanaim.
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Joab and the men who were with him returned home, too, and when he counted his casualties, he learned that only nineteen men were missing, in addition to Asahel.
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But three hundred and sixty of Abner’s men (all from the tribe of Benjamin) were dead.
32
Joab and his men took Asahel’s body to Bethlehem and buried him beside his father; then they traveled all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.
3:
1
That was the beginning of a long war between the followers of Saul and of David. David’s position now became stronger and stronger, while Saul’s dynasty became weaker and weaker.
2
Several sons were born to David while he was at Hebron. The oldest was Amnon, born to his wife Ahinoam.
3
His second son, Chileab, was born to Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. The third was Absalom, born to Maacah, the daughter of King Talmai of Geshur.
4
The fourth was Adonijah, who was born to Haggith. Then Shephatiah was born to Abital, and
5
Ithream was born to Eglah.
6
As the war went on, Abner became a very powerful political leader among the followers of Saul.
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He took advantage of his position by sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines, a girl named Rizpah. But when Ish-bosheth accused Abner of this,
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Abner was furious.
“Am I a Judean dog to be kicked around like this?” he shouted. “After all I have done for you and for your father by not betraying you to David, is this my reward—to find fault with me about some woman?
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May God curse me if I don’t do everything I can to take away the entire kingdom from you, all the way from Dan to Beersheba, and give it to David, just as the Lord predicted.”
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Ish-bosheth made no reply, for he was afraid of Abner.
12
Then Abner sent messengers to David to discuss a deal—to surrender the kingdom of Israel to him in exchange for becoming commander-in-chief of the combined armies of Israel and Judah.
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“All right,” David replied, “but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring me my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter.”
14
David then sent this message to Ish-bosheth: “Give me back my wife Michal, for I bought her with the lives of one hundred Philistines.”
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So Ish-bosheth took her away from her husband Palti.
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16
He followed along behind her as far as Behurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, “Go on home now.” So he returned.
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Meanwhile, Abner consulted with the leaders of Israel and reminded them that for a long time they had wanted David as their king.
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“Now is the time!” he told them. “For the Lord has said, ‘It is David by whom I will save my people from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.’”
19
Abner also talked to the leaders of the tribe of Benjamin; then he went to Hebron and reported to David his progress with the people of Israel and Benjamin.
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Twenty men accompanied him, and David entertained them with a feast.
21
As Abner left, he promised David, “When I get back I will call a convention of all the people of Israel, and they will elect you as their king, as you’ve so long desired.” So David let Abner return in safety.
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But just after Abner left, Joab and some of David’s troops returned from a raid, bringing much loot with them.
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When Joab was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in peace,
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he rushed to the king, demanding, “What have you done? What do you mean by letting him get away? You know perfectly well that he came to spy on us and that he plans to return and attack us!”
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Then Joab sent messengers to catch up with Abner and tell him to come back. They found him at the well of Sirah and he returned with them; but David knew nothing about it.
27
When Abner arrived at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the city gate as if to speak with him privately; but then he pulled out a dagger and killed him in revenge for the death of his brother Asahel.
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When David heard about it he declared, “I vow by the Lord that I and my people are innocent of this crime against Abner.
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Joab and his family are the guilty ones. May each of his children be victims of cancer, or be lepers, or be sterile, or die of starvation, or be killed by the sword!”
30
So Joab and his brother, Abishai, killed Abner because of the death of their brother, Asahel, at the battle of Gibeon.
31
Then David said to Joab and to all those who were with him, “Go into deep mourning for Abner.” And King David accompanied the bier to the cemetery.
32
They buried Abner in Hebron. And the king and all the people wept at the graveside.
33-34
“Should Abner have died like a fool?” the king lamented.
“Your hands were not bound,
Your feet were not tied—
You were murdered—
The victim of a wicked plot.”
And all the people wept again for him.
35-36
David had refused to eat anything the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to take a bite of supper. But David vowed that he would eat nothing until sundown. This pleased his people, just as everything else he did pleased them!
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Thus the whole nation, both Judah and Israel, understood from David’s actions that he was in no way responsible for Abner’s death.
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And David said to his people, “A great leader and a great man has fallen today in Israel;
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and even though I am God’s chosen king, I can do nothing with these two sons of Zeruiah. May the Lord repay wicked men for their wicked deeds.”
Jesus knew on the evening of Passover Day that it would be his last night on earth before returning to his Father. During supper the devil had already suggested to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that this was the night to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. And how he loved his disciples!
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So he got up from the supper table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his loins,
*
5
poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.
6
When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Master, you shouldn’t be washing our feet like this!”
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Jesus replied,
“You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.”
8
“No,” Peter protested, “you shall never wash my feet!”
“But if I don’t, you can’t be my partner,”
Jesus replied.
9
Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well—not just my feet!”
10
Jesus replied,
“One who has bathed all over needs only to have his feet washed to be entirely clean. Now you are clean—but that isn’t true of everyone here.”
11
For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said,
“Not all of you are clean.”
12
After washing their feet he put on his robe again and sat down and asked,
“Do you understand what I was doing?
13
You call me ‘Master’ and ‘Lord,’ and you do well to say it, for it is true.
14
And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.
15
I have given you an example to follow: do as I have done to you.
16
How true it is that a servant is not greater than his master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends him.
17
You know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing.
18
“I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scripture declares, ‘One who eats supper with me will betray me,’ and this will soon come true.
19
I tell you this now so that when it happens, you will believe on me.
20
“Truly, anyone welcoming my messenger is welcoming me. And to welcome me is to welcome the Father who sent me.”
21
Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit and exclaimed,
“Yes, it is true—one of you will betray me.”
22
The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean.
23
Since I
*
was sitting next to Jesus at the table, being his closest friend,
24
Simon Peter motioned to me to ask him who it was who would do this terrible deed.
25
So I turned and
*
asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26
He told me,
“It is the one I honor by giving the bread dipped in the sauce.”
*
And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.
27
As soon as Judas had eaten it, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him,
“Hurry—do it now.”
28
None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant.
29
Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.
30
Judas left at once, going out into the night.
Happy are all who perfectly follow the laws of God.
2
Happy are all who search for God and always do his will,
3
rejecting compromise with evil and walking only in his paths.
4
You have given us your laws to obey—
5
oh, how I want to follow them consistently.
6
Then I will not be disgraced, for I will have a clean record.
7
After you have corrected me,
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I will thank you by living as I should!
8
I
will
obey! Oh, don’t forsake me and let me slip back into sin again.
*
9
How can a young man stay pure? By reading your Word and following its rules.
10
I have tried my best to find you—don’t let me wander off from your instructions.
11
I have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin.
12
Blessed Lord, teach me your rules.
13
I have recited your laws
14
and rejoiced in them more than in riches.
15
I will meditate upon them and give them my full respect.
16
I will delight in them and not forget them.