The Resurrection

1 ^tWhen the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the ^ustone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is ^vgoing before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and ^wfled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]¹

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

[[9 ^xNow when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out ^yseven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would ^znot believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 ^aAfter these things he appeared ^bin another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

14 ^cAfterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and ^dproclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 ^eWhoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will ^fcast out demons; they will ^gspeak in new tongues; 18 they will ^hpick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will ⁱlay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was ^jtaken up into heaven and ^ksat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and ^lconfirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]

Bear One Another’s Burdens

1 Brothers,^{1 t}if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him ^uin a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 ^vBear one another’s burdens, ^wand so fulfill the ^xlaw of Christ. 3 ^yFor if anyone ^zthinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But ^alet each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

6 ^bLet the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for ^cwhatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And ^dlet us not grow weary ^eof doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not ^fgive up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, ^glet us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the ^hhousehold of faith.

Final Warning and Benediction

11 ⁱSee with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would ^jforce you to be circumcised, and only ^kin order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised ^ldo not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast ^mexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which² the world has been crucified to me, and ⁿI to the world. 15 ^oFor neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a ^pnew creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon ^qthe Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

The Last Words of David

1 Now these are the last words of David:

David’s Mighty Men

8 ^oThese are the names of the mighty men whom David had: ^pJosheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.⁵ He wielded his spear⁶ against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord ^qbrought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at ^rLehi,⁷ where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped ^sin the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the ^tstronghold, and the ^ugarrison of the Philistines was then at ^vBethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He ^wpoured it out to the Lord 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

18 Now ^xAbishai, the brother of ^yJoab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.⁸ And he wielded his spear against three hundred men⁹ and killed them and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty¹⁰ and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

20 And ^zBenaiah the son of ^aJehoiada was a valiant man¹¹ of ^bKabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels¹² of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. 23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

24 ^cAsahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, 27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai of Maacah, Eliam the son of ^dAhithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezro¹³ of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 ^eUriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

David’s Census

1 ^fAgain the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army,¹⁴ who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, ^gfrom Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, ^h“May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4 But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and began from ⁱAroer,¹⁵ and from the ^jcity that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to ^kJazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites;¹⁶ and they came to Dan, and from Dan¹⁷ they went around to Sidon, 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

The Lord’s Judgment of David’s Sin

10 ^lBut David’s heart ^mstruck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, ⁿ“I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^oGad, David’s ^pseer, saying, 12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer¹⁸ you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three¹⁹ years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

15 So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. 16 And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord ^qrelented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the ^rangel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

David Builds an Altar

18 ^sAnd Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the ^tthreshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up at Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded. 20 And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. 21 And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be ^uaverted from the people.” 22 Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. ^vHere are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels²⁰ of silver. 25 And David ^wbuilt there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord ^xresponded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.