The Death of Samuel

1 ^uNow Samuel died. And all Israel assembled ^vand mourned for him, and they buried him ^win his house at ^xRamah.

David and Abigail

Then David rose and went down to ^ythe wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in ^zMaon whose business was in ^aCarmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. ^bHe was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; ^che was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal ^bwas shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him:^{1 d}‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, ^eand they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come ^fon a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, ^g“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? ^hThere are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take ⁱmy bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to ^jmen who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And ^kabout four hundred men went up after David, ^kwhile two hundred ^lremained with the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, ⁿand we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were ^oa wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, ^pfor harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such ^qa worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs² of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, ^rso that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has ^sreturned me evil for good. 22 ^tGod do so to the enemies of David³ and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried ^uand got down from the donkey ^vand fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, ^w“On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard ^qthis worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal⁴ is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, ^xas the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because ^ythe Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from ^zsaving with your own hand, now then ^alet your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this ^bpresent that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord ^ca sure house, because my lord ^dis fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies ^ehe shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince⁵ over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord ^zworking salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

32 And David said to Abigail, ^f“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, ^ywho have kept me this day from bloodguilt ^zand from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely ^gas the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, ^ywho has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, ^h“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, ⁱhe was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart ^jwas merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing ^kat all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later ^lthe Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, ^f“Blessed be the Lord who has ^mavenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, ⁿand has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. ^oThe Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and ^pspoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose ^qand bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoam of ^rJezreel, ^sand both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

ⁱA Prayer of David.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

1 ^wWhen morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^xtook counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and ^yled him away and ^zdelivered him over to ^aPilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

3 Then when ^bJudas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus¹ was condemned, ^che changed his mind and brought back ^dthe thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^eSee to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^fhe departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^gthe treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore ^hthat field has been called the Field of Blood ⁱto this day. 9 ^jThen was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^k“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

11 ^lNow Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^mthe King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ⁿ“You have said so.” 12 ^oBut when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, ^p“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

15 ^qNow at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^rJesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out ^sof envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on ^tthe judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^uthat righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^vin a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^wask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^xThey all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? ^yWhat evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^za riot was beginning, he took water and ^awashed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^bthis man’s blood;^{2 c}see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, ^d“His blood be on us and ^eon our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^fscourged³ Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

27 ^gThen the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^hgovernor’s headquarters,⁴ and they gathered the whole ⁱbattalion⁵ before him. 28 And they stripped him and put ^ja scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^kmocked him, saying, “Hail, ^lKing of the Jews!” 30 And ^mthey spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ⁿled him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

32 ^opAs they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^ocarry his cross. 33 ^qAnd when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 ^rthey offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^sgall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, ^tthey divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and ^ukept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^vthe King of the Jews.” 38 Then two ^wrobbers were crucified with him, ^xone on the right and one on the left. 39 And ^ythose who passed by ^zderided him, ^awagging their heads 40 and saying, ^b“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^cIf you are ^dthe Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 ^e“He saved others; ^fhe cannot save himself. ^gHe is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 ^hHe trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 ⁱAnd the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

45 Now from the sixth hour⁶ there was darkness over all the land⁷ until the ninth hour.⁸ 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus ^jcried out with a loud voice, saying, ^k“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^lsour wine, and put it on a reed and ^mgave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus ⁿcried out again with a loud voice and ^oyielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, ^pthe curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^qthe earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^rthe saints ^swho had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^tthe holy city and appeared to many. 54 ^uWhen the centurion and those who were with him, ^vkeeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^w“Truly this was the Son⁹ of God!”

55 There were also ^xmany women there, looking on ^yfrom a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^zministering to him, 56 among whom were ^zMary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^athe mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

57 ^bWhen it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and ^claid it in his own new tomb, ^dwhich he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^ea great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and ^fthe other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of ^gPreparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how ^hthat impostor said, while he was still alive, ⁱ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^jlest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have ^ka guard¹⁰ of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by ^lsealing the stone and setting a guard.

The Resurrection

1 ^mNow after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and ⁿthe other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for ^oan angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 ^pHis appearance was like lightning, and ^qhis clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and ^rbecame like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, ^sas he said. Come, see the place where he¹¹ lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, ^the is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb ^uwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus ^vmet them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^wtook hold of his feet and ^xworshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ^ygo and tell ^zmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

11 While they were going, behold, some of ^athe guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ^b‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to ^cthe governor’s ears, we will ^dsatisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews ^eto this day.

The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples ^fwent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they ^gworshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, ^h“All authority ⁱin heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 ^jGo therefore and ^kmake disciples of ^lall nations, ^jbaptizing them ^min^{12 n}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them ^oto observe all that ^pI have commanded you. And behold, ^qI am with you always, to ^rthe end of the age.”