2 Samuel 6–7; John 4

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2 Samuel 6–7

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

tDavid again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from uBaale-judah vto bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts wwho sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God xon a new cart and brought it yout of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,1 the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God,2 and Ahio went before the ark.

Uzzah and the Ark

And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with zsongs3 and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of aNacon, Uzzah bput out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and cGod struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah4 to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, How can the ark of the Lord come to me? 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside dto the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, eand the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

12 And it was told King David, The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God. fSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom gto the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when hthose who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, ihe sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David jdanced before the Lord with all his might. And David was kwearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

David and Michal

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it lin its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. mAnd David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, nhe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat,5 and a cake of raisins to each one. oThen all the people departed, each to his house.

20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, How the king of Israel honored himself today, puncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the qvulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! 21 And David said to Michal, It was before the Lord, rwho chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince6 over Israel, the people of the Lordand I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your7 eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor. 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

The Lord’s Covenant with David

sNow when the king lived in his house and the Lord thad given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to uNathan the prophet, See now, I dwell vin a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells win a tent. And Nathan said to the king, xGo, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord: yWould you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house zsince the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about ain a tent for my dwelling. In all places where bI have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with cany of the judges8 of Israel, whom I commanded dto shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, eI took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince9 over my people Israel. fAnd I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel gand will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place hand be disturbed no more. iAnd violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 jfrom the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And kI will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that lthe Lord will make you a house. 12 mWhen your days are fulfilled and nyou lie down with your fathers, oI will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 pHe shall build a house for my name, and qI will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 rI will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, sI will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 sbut my steadfast love will not depart from him, tas I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 uAnd your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.10 uYour throne shall be established forever. 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer of Gratitude

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, vWho am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. wYou have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? xFor you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 yTherefore you are great, O Lord God. zFor there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 aAnd who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name band doing for them11 great and awesome things by driving out before your people,12 whom cyou redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 dAnd you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel, and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and eyour words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, fand with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.


John 4

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and bbaptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed cagain for Galilee. dAnd he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field ethat Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, fwearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.1

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, fGive me a drink. (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? (gFor Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you hliving water. 11 The woman said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 iAre you greater than our father Jacob? jHe gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock. 13 Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but kwhoever drinks of the water that I will give him lwill never be thirsty again.2 The water that I will give him will become min him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. 15 The woman said to him, Sir, ngive me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.

16 Jesus said to her, Go, ocall your husband, and come here. 17 The woman answered him, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You are right in saying, I have no husband; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true. 19 The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that pyou are qa prophet. 20 rOur fathers worshiped on sthis mountain, but you say that tin Jerusalem is uthe place where people ought to worship. 21 Jesus said to her, vWoman, believe me, wthe hour is coming when xneither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 yYou worship what you do not know; zwe worship what we know, for zsalvation is afrom the Jews. 23 But bthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father cin spirit and dtruth, for the Father eis seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. 25 The woman said to him, I know that fMessiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, ghe will tell us all things. 26 Jesus said to her, hI who speak to you am he.

27 Just then ihis disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, What do you seek? or, Why are you talking with her? 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 Come, see a man jwho told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, kRabbi, eat. 32 But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. 33 So the disciples said to one another, lHas anyone brought him something to eat? 34 Jesus said to them, mMy food is nto do the will of him who sent me and oto accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that pthe fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that qsower and rreaper smay rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, tOne sows and another reaps. 38 I sent you to reap uthat for which you did not labor. Others have labored, vand you have entered into their labor.

39 Many Samaritans wfrom that town believed in him xbecause of ythe woman’s testimony, He told me all that I ever did. 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed zbecause of his word. 42 They said to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, aand we know that this is indeed bthe Savior cof the world.

43 After dthe two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified ethat a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, fhaving seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For gthey too had gone to the feast.

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

46 So he came again to hCana in Galilee, iwhere he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus jhad come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, kUnless you3 see signs and wonders you will not believe. 49 The official said to him, Sir, come down lbefore my child dies. 50 Jesus said to him, Go; your son will live. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants4 met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour5 the fever left him. 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, Your son will live. And he himself believed, mand all his household. 54 nThis was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.