Today’s
Reading : 2Samuel 19 – 21 and Romans
16 (KJV)
2Samuel 19
2Sa
19:1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king
weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.
2Sa 19:2 And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the
people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.
2Sa 19:3 And the people got them by stealth that day
into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
2Sa 19:4 But the king covered his face, and the king
cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
2Sa 19:5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and
said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day
have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the
lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
2Sa 19:6 In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest
thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither
princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and
all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.
2Sa 19:7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak
comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth,
there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee
than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.
2Sa 19:8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And
they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate.
And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his
tent.
2Sa 19:9 And all the people were at strife throughout
all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our
enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is
fled out of the land for Absalom.
2Sa 19:10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is
dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king
back?
2Sa 19:11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar
the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the
last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is
come to the king, even to his house.
2Sa 19:12 Ye are
my brethren, ye are my bones and my
flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
2Sa 19:13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do
so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me
continually in the room of Joab.
2Sa 19:14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of
Judah, even as the heart of
one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy
servants.
2Sa 19:15 So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And
Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.
2Sa 19:16 And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite,
which was of Bahurim, hasted and came
down with the men of Judah to meet king David.
2Sa 19:17 And there
were a thousand men of Benjamin with
him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his
twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
2Sa 19:18 And there went over a ferry boat to carry
over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son
of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan;
2Sa 19:19 And said unto the king, Let not my lord
impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did
perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king
should take it to his heart.
2Sa 19:20 For thy servant doth know that I have sinned:
therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to
go down to meet my lord the king.
2Sa 19:21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and
said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD's
anointed?
2Sa 19:22 And David said, What have I to do with you,
ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there
any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?
2Sa 19:23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou
shalt not die. And the king swore unto him.
2Sa 19:24 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to
meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor
washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.
2Sa 19:25 And it came to pass, when he was come to
Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not
thou with me, Mephibosheth?
2Sa 19:26 And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant
deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride
thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is
lame.
2Sa 19:27 And he hath slandered thy servant unto my
lord the king; but my lord the king is
as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
2Sa 19:28 For all of
my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set
thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore
have I yet to cry any more unto the king?
2Sa 19:29 And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou
any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.
2Sa 19:30 And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let
him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own
house.
2Sa 19:31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from
Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.
2Sa 19:32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the
king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was
a very great man.
2Sa 19:33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou
over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.
2Sa 19:34 And Barzillai said unto the king, How long
have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
2Sa 19:35 I am
this day fourscore years old: and can I
discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I
drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women?
wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?
2Sa 19:36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan
with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?
2Sa 19:37 Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back
again, that I may die in mine own city, and
be buried
by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let
him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto
thee.
2Sa 19:38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over
with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and
whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that
will I do for thee.
2Sa 19:39 And all the people went over Jordan. And when
the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he
returned unto his own place.
2Sa 19:40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham
went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half
the people of Israel.
2Sa 19:41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to
the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen
thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David's men
with him, over Jordan?
2Sa 19:42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of
Israel, Because the king is near of kin
to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the
king's cost? or hath he given us any
gift?
2Sa 19:43 And the men of Israel answered the men of
Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise
us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the
words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
2Samuel 20
2Sa
20:1 And there happened to be there a man of
Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of
Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David,
neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O
Israel.
2Sa 20:2 So every man of Israel went up from after
David, and followed Sheba the son of
Bichri: but the men of Judah cleaved unto their king, from Jordan even to
Jerusalem.
2Sa 20:3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and
the king took the ten women his
concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed
them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their
death, living in widowhood.
2Sa 20:4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the
men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
2Sa 20:5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time
which he had appointed him.
2Sa 20:6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba
the son of Bichri do us more harm than did
Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him
fenced cities, and escape us.
2Sa 20:7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and
the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out
of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
2Sa 20:8 When they were
at the great stone which is in Gibeon,
Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto
him, and upon it a girdle with a sword
fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell
out.
2Sa 20:9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took
Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
2Sa 20:10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in
the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels
to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his
brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
2Sa 20:11 And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said,
He that favoureth Joab, and he that is
for David, let him go
after Joab.
2Sa 20:12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of
the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed
Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw
that every one that came by him stood still.
2Sa 20:13 When he was removed out of the highway, all
the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
2Sa 20:14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel
unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered
together, and went also after him.
2Sa 20:15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of
Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the
trench: and all the people that were
with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
2Sa 20:16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city,
Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with
thee.
2Sa 20:17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman
said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he.
Then she said unto him Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do
hear.
2Sa 20:18 Then she spoke, saying, They were wont to
speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel
at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
2Sa 20:19 I am one of them that are peaceable and
faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why
wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?
2Sa 20:20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be
it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
2Sa 20:21 The matter is
not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath
lifted up his hand against the king, even
against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman
said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
2Sa 20:22 Then the woman went unto all the people in
her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they
retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem
unto the king.
2Sa 20:23 Now Joab was
over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
2Sa 20:24 And Adoram was
over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was
recorder:
2Sa 20:25 And Sheva was
scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the
priests:
2Sa 20:26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler
about David.
2Samuel 21
2Sa
21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David
three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD
answered, It is
for Saul, and for his bloody house,
because he slew the Gibeonites.
2Sa 21:2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said
unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not
of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children
of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the
children of Israel and Judah.)
2Sa 21:3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites,
What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may
bless the inheritance of the LORD?
2Sa 21:4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will
have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou
kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.
2Sa 21:5 And they answered the king, The man that
consumed us, and that devised against us that
we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,
2Sa 21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto
us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I
will give them.
2Sa 21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of
Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the
son of Saul.
2Sa 21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the
daughter of Aiah, whom she bore unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the
five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the
son of Barzillai the Meholathite:
2Sa 21:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the
Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the
days of harvest, in the first days, in
the beginning of barley harvest.
2Sa 21:10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took
sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest
until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of
the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
2Sa 21:11 And it was told David what Rizpah the
daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
2Sa 21:12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and
the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen
them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when
the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:
2Sa 21:13 And he brought up from thence the bones of
Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them
that were hanged.
2Sa 21:14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son
buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his
father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was
entreated for the land.
2Sa 21:15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again
with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against
the Philistines: and David waxed faint.
2Sa 21:16 And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose
spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with
a new sword, thought to have slain David.
2Sa 21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him,
and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore unto him,
saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the
light of Israel.
2Sa 21:18 And it came to pass after this, that there
was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite
slew Saph, which was of the sons of the
giant.
2Sa 21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the
Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother
of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of
whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
2Sa 21:20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was
a man of great stature, that had on
every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number;
and he also was born to the giant.
2Sa 21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son
of Shimea the brother of David slew him.
2Sa 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath,
and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
Romans 16
Rom
16:1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is
a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
Rom 16:2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh
saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for
she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.
Rom 16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in
Christ Jesus:
Rom 16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own
necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the
Gentiles.
Rom 16:5 Likewise greet
the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the
firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
Rom 16:6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.
Rom 16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and
my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in
Christ before me.
Rom 16:8 Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.
Rom 16:9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and
Stachys my beloved.
Rom 16:10 Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute
them which are of Aristobulus' household.
Rom 16:11 Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that
be of the household of Narcissus, which
are in the Lord.
Rom 16:12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in
the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.
Rom 16:13 Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his
mother and mine.
Rom 16:14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas,
Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.
Rom 16:15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his
sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.
Rom 16:16 Salute one another with a holy kiss. The
churches of Christ salute you.
Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which
cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;
and avoid them.
Rom 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord
Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive
the hearts of the simple.
Rom 16:19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet
I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under
your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Rom 16:21 Timothy my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason,
and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.
Rom 16:22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.
Rom 16:23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth
you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.
Rom 16:24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to establish you
according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
Rom 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the
Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting
God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
Rom 16:27 To God only wise, be
glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.