From: "FamilyNet"
Bible Reading for April 02
1 Samuel 25
[1] And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and
lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went
down to the wilderness of Paran. [2] And there was a man in Maon, whose
possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three
thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
[3] Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and
she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the
man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
[4] And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. [5] And
David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to
Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: [6] And thus shall ye say
to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine
house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. [7] And now I have heard that
thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not,
neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
[8] Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men
find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee,
whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. [9]
And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those
words in the name of David, and ceased. [10] And Nabal answered David's
servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many
servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
[11] Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed
for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
[12] So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told
him all those sayings.
[13] And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they
girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there
went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
[14] But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold,
David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he
railed on them.
[15] But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed
we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the
fields:
[16] They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were
with them keeping the sheep.
[17] Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined
against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of
Belial, that a man cannot speak to him. [18] Then Abigail made haste, and took
two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and
five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two
hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
[19] And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after
you. But she told not her husband Nabal. [20] And it was so, as she rode on
the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and
his men came down against her; and she met them.
[21] Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath
in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him:
and he hath requited me evil for good. [22] So and more also do God unto the
enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light
any that pisseth against the wall. [23] And when Abigail saw David, she
hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed
herself to the ground, [24] And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord,
upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in
thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. [25] Let not my lord, I
pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is
he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the
young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. [26] Now therefore, my lord, as
the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee
from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now
let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
[27] And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let
it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. [28] I pray thee,
forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my
lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil
hath not been found in thee all thy days. [29] Yet a man is risen to pursue
thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the
bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them
shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.
[30] And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord
according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have
appointed thee ruler over Israel; [31] That this shall be no grief unto thee,
nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless,
or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well
with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
[32] And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent
thee this day to meet me:
[33] And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this
day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
[34] For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me
back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely
there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth
against the wall.
[35] So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said
unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice,
and have accepted thy person.
[36] And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house,
like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was
very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning
light.
[37] But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal,
and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he
became as a stone.
[38] And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that
he died.
[39] And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD,
that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath
kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal
upon his own head, And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to
him to wife.
[40] And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake
unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee to take thee to him to wife. [41]
And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold,
let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
[42] And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of
hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and
became his wife.
[43] David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his
wives.
[44] But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son
of Laish, which was of Gallim.
1 Samuel 26
[1] And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide
himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? [2] Then Saul
arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen
men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
[3] And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the
way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him
into the wilderness.
[4] David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very
deed.
[5] And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David
beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his
host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.
[6] Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the
son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to
the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. [7] So David and Abishai
came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench,
and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay
round about him. [8] Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine
enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee,
with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second
time. [9] And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch
forth his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless? [10] David said
furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall
come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. [11] The LORD forbid
that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed: but, I pray
thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water,
and let us go. [12] So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's
bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither
awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was
fallen upon them. [13] Then David went over to the other side, and stood on
the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: [14] And David
cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not,
Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
[15] And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to
thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there
came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. [16] This thing is not
good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye
have not kept your master, the LORD's anointed. And now see where the king's
spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.
[17] And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David?
And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. [18] And he said, Wherefore
doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil
is in mine hand? [19] Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear
the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him
accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before
the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance
of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods. [20] Now therefore, let not my
blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is
come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
[21] Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more
do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I
have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. [22] And David answered and
said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and
fetch it. [23] The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his
faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not
stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed. [24] And, behold, as thy
life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in
the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.
[25] Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both
do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and
Saul returned to his place.
1 Samuel 27
[1] And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of
Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into
the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more
in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. [2] And David
arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto
Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. [3] And David dwelt with Achish at
Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two
wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.
[4] And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more
again for him.
[5] And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let
them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for
why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? [6] Then Achish gave
him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto
this day.
[7] And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full
year and four months.
[8] And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the
Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of
the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. [9] And David
smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep,
and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned,
and came to Achish. [10] And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day?
And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the
Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.
[11] And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath,
saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his
manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. [12] And
Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor
him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
1 Samuel 28
[1] And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their
armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David,
Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy
men.
[2] And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do.
And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for
ever.
[3] Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in
Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar
spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. [4] And the Philistines gathered
themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all
Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
[5] And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his
heart greatly trembled.
[6] And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by
dreams nor by Urim, nor by prophets. [7] Then said Saul unto his servants,
Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire
of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a
familiar spirit at Endor. [8] And Saul disguised himself, and put on other
raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by
night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and
bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
[9] And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how
he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the
land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
[10] And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there
shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. [11] Then said the woman,
Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
[12] And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman
spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. [13] And
the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman
said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. [14] And he said unto
her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered
with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his
face to the ground, and bowed himself. [15] And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast
thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed;
for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and
answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have
called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. [16] Then
said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed
from thee, and is become thine enemy? [17] And the LORD hath done to him, as
he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and
given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
[18] Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his
fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee
this day.
[19] Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the
Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also
shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. [20] Then
Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of
the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no
bread all the day, nor all the night. [21] And the woman came unto Saul, and
saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath
obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto
thy words which thou spakest unto me.
[22] Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine
handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou
mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. [23] But he refused, and
said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled
him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat
upon the bed. [24] And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted,
and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread
thereof: [25] And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and
they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
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