1 Samuel 21-22, 1 Chronicles 5, Psalm 52, Acts 15 - NASB Bible Online

1 Samuel 21-22

David Takes Consecrated Bread

Then David came to ^aNob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech ^bcame trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no one with you?” 2 David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘^aLet no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ 3 Now therefore, what ¹do you have on hand? Give ²me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” 4 The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread ¹on hand, but there is ^aconsecrated bread; if only the young men have ^bkept themselves from women.” 5 David answered the priest and said to him, “^aSurely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the ^bvessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will ¹their vessels be holy?” 6 So ^athe priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the ^bbread of the Presence which was removed from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.
7 Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was ^aDoeg the Edomite, the ^bchief of Saul’s shepherds.
8 David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there not a spear or a sword ¹on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons ²with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.” 9 Then the priest said, “^aThe sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you ¹killed ^bin the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
10 Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to ^aAchish king of Gath. 11 But the ^aservants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? ^bDid they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,

‘Saul has slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands’?”

12 David ^atook these words ¹to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. 13 So he ^adisguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

The Priests Slain at Nob

So David departed from there and ^aescaped to ^bthe cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. 2 Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who ¹was in debt, and everyone who was ²discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were ^aabout four hundred men with him.
3 And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” 4 Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 ^aThe prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
6 Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now ^aSaul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. 7 Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? ^aWill he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8 For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who ¹discloses to me ^awhen my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you ^bwho is sorry for me or ¹discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” 9 Then ^aDoeg the Edomite, who was ¹standing by the servants of Saul, said, “^bI saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to ^cAhimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 ^aHe inquired of the Lord for him, ^bgave him provisions, and ^cgave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
11 Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he ¹answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me ^aby lying in ambush as it is this day?”
14 ^aThen Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who ¹is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? 15 Did I just begin ^ato inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! ^bDo not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing ¹at all of this whole affair.” 16 But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” 17 And ^athe king said to the ¹guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not ²reveal it to me.” But the ^bservants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to ³attack the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and ¹attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and ²attacked the priests, and ^ahe killed that day eighty-five men ^bwho wore the linen ephod. 19 And ^ahe struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword.
20 But ^aone son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^bescaped and fled after David. 21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when ^aDoeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father’s household. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for ^ahe who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are ¹safe with me.”

1 Chronicles 5

Genealogy from Reuben

Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for ^ahe was the firstborn, but because ^bhe defiled his father’s bed, ^chis birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. 2 ^aThough Judah prevailed over his brothers, and ^bfrom him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), 3 ^athe sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. 4 The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, ^aShimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 Beerah his son, whom ¹Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was leader of the Reubenites. 7 His ¹kinsmen by their families, ^ain the genealogy of their generations, were Jeiel the chief, then Zechariah 8 and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who lived in ^aAroer, even to Nebo and Baal-meon. 9 To the east he settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, ^abecause their cattle had increased in the land of Gilead. 10 In the days of Saul ^athey made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand, so that they ¹occupied their tents throughout ²all the land east of Gilead.
11 Now the sons of Gad lived opposite them in the land of ^aBashan as far as ^bSalecah. 12 Joel was the chief and Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat in Bashan. 13 Their ¹kinsmen of their fathers’ households were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. 14 These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their fathers’ households. 16 They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasture lands of ^aSharon, as far as their ¹borders. 17 All of these were enrolled in the genealogies in the days of ^aJotham king of Judah and in the days of ^bJeroboam king of Israel.
18 The sons of Reuben and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, consisting of valiant men, men who bore shield and sword and shot with bow and were skillful in battle, were 44,760, who ^awent to war. 19 They made war against ^athe Hagrites, ^bJetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for ^athey cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because ^bthey trusted in Him. 21 They took away their cattle: their 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys; and 100,000 ¹men. 22 For many fell slain, because ^athe war was of God. And ^bthey settled in their place until the ^cexile.
23 Now the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land; from Bashan to Baal-hermon and ^aSenir and Mount Hermon they were numerous. 24 These were the heads of their fathers’ households, even Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers’ households.
25 But they ^aacted treacherously against the God of their fathers and ^bplayed the harlot ^cafter the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of ^aPul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of ¹Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he ^bcarried them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan, to this day.

Psalm 52

Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the choir director. A ¹Maskil of David, ²when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

Why do you ^aboast in evil, O mighty man?

The ^blovingkindness of God endures all day long.

Your tongue devises ^adestruction,

Like a ^bsharp razor, ^cO worker of deceit.

You ^alove evil more than good,

^bFalsehood more than speaking what is right. ¹Selah.

You love all words that devour,

O ^adeceitful tongue.

¹But God will break you down forever;

He will snatch you up and ^atear you away from your tent,

And ^buproot you from the ^cland of the living. Selah.

The righteous will ^asee and fear,

And will ^blaugh at him, saying,

“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,

But ^atrusted in the abundance of his riches

And ^bwas strong in ¹his evil desire.”

But as for me, I am like a ^agreen olive tree in the house of God;

I ^btrust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

I will ^agive You thanks forever, because You have done it,

And I will wait on Your name, ^bfor it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

Acts 15

The Council at Jerusalem

^aSome men came down from Judea and began teaching ^bthe brethren, “Unless you are ^ccircumcised according to ^dthe custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And when Paul and Barnabas had ¹great dissension and ^adebate with them, ^bthe brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^capostles and elders concerning this issue. 3 Therefore, being ^asent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^bPhoenicia and Samaria, ^cdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^dthe brethren. 4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^athe apostles and the elders, and they ^breported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of ^athe sect of the ^bPharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^ccircumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”
6 ^aThe apostles and the elders came together to ¹look into this ²matter. 7 After there had been much ^adebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that ¹in the early days ^bGod made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^cthe gospel and believe. 8 And God, ^awho knows the heart, testified to them ^bgiving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; 9 and ^aHe made no distinction between us and them, ^bcleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why do you ^aput God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^bneither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we are saved through ^athe grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
12 All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were ^arelating what ^bsigns and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James’s Judgment

13 After they had stopped speaking, ¹^aJames answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me. 14 ^aSimeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. 15 With this the words of ^athe Prophets agree, just as it is written,
16

‘^aAfter these things ^bI will return,

And I will rebuild the ¹tabernacle of David which has fallen,

And I will rebuild its ruins,

And I will restore it,

^aSo that the rest of ¹mankind may seek the Lord,

And all the Gentiles ²^bwho are called by My name,’

^aSays the Lord, who ¹^bmakes these things known from long ago.

19 Therefore it is ^amy judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from ¹^athings contaminated by idols and from ^bfornication and from ^cwhat is strangled and from blood. 21 For ^aMoses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since ¹he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
22 Then it seemed good to ^athe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to ^bAntioch with Paul and Barnabas⁠—Judas called Barsabbas, and ^cSilas, leading men among ^dthe brethren, 23 and they ¹sent this letter by them,

“^aThe apostles and the brethren who are elders, to ^bthe brethren in ^cAntioch and ^dSyria and ^eCilicia who are from the Gentiles, ^fgreetings.

“Since we have heard that ^asome ¹of our number to whom we gave no instruction have ^bdisturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,

^ait seemed good to us, having ¹become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

men who have ¹^arisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Therefore we have sent ^aJudas and ^bSilas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

“For ^ait seemed good to ^bthe Holy Spirit and to ^cus to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

that you abstain from ^athings sacrificed to idols and from ^ablood and from ^athings strangled and from ^afornication; ¹if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

30 So when they were sent away, ^athey went down to Antioch; and having gathered the ¹congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its ¹encouragement. 32 ^aJudas and ^bSilas, also being ^cprophets themselves, ¹encouraged and strengthened ^dthe brethren with a lengthy message. 33 After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren ^ain peace to those who had ^bsent them out. 34 [¹But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] 35 But ^aPaul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and ^bpreaching with many others also, ^cthe word of the Lord.

Second Missionary Journey

36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in ^aevery city in which we proclaimed ^bthe word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take ^aJohn, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had ^adeserted them ¹in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took ^aMark with him and sailed away to ^bCyprus. 40 But Paul chose ^aSilas and left, being ^bcommitted by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through ^aSyria and ^bCilicia, strengthening the churches.

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