David Spares Saul Again

1 ^tThen the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to ^uthe wilderness of Ziph with ^vthree thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. 5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with ^wAbner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within ^xthe encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother ^yAbishai the son of Zeruiah, ^z“Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within ^xthe encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground ^aat his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, ^b“God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand ^cagainst the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, ^d“As the Lord lives, ^ethe Lord will strike him, or ^fhis day will come to die, ^gor he will go down into battle and perish. 11 ^hThe Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is ⁱat his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because ^ja deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. ^kAs the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was ^lat his head.”

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, ^m“Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, ⁿ“Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ^ofor they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in ^pthe heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek ^qa single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, ^r“I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 ^sThe Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will ^tsucceed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

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.”