David Defeats the Amalekites

30¹ It happened, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South, and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire, ² and had taken captive the women and all who were therein, both small and great. They didn’t kill any, but carried them off, and went their way. ³ When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵ David’s two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶ David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.

⁷ David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me here the ephod.”

Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ⁸ David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them?”

He answered him, “Pursue; for you shall surely overtake them, and shall without fail recover all.” ⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they couldn’t go over the brook Besor. ¹¹ They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink. ¹² They gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. ¹³ David asked him, “To whom do you belong? Where are you from?”

He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. ¹⁴ We made a raid on the South of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.” ¹⁵ David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this troop?”

He said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop.” ¹⁶ When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread around over all the ground, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. ¹⁷ David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped from there, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled. ¹⁸ David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ There was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them. David brought back all. ²⁰ David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

²¹ David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to stay at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him. When David came near to the people, he greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked men and base fellows, of those who went with David, answered and said, “Because they didn’t go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away, and depart.” ²³ Then said David, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with that which Yahweh has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand. ²⁴ Who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who tarries by the baggage: they shall share alike.” ²⁵ It was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. ²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, “Behold, a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh.” ²⁷ He sent it to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the South, and to those who were in Jattir, ²⁸ and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, ²⁹ and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, ³⁰ and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Borashan, and to those who were in Athach, ³¹ and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men used to stay.

The Death of Saul and His Sons

31¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines followed hard on Saul and on his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers. ⁴ Then said Saul to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me!” But his armor bearer would not; for he was terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword, and died with him. ⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day together. ⁷ When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ It happened on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to carry the news to the house of their idols, and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. ¹³ They took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

²³ One said to him, “Lord, are they few who are saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being thrown outside. ²⁹ They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in the Kingdom of God. ³⁰ Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.”

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem

³¹ On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.” ³² He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. ³³ Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.’ ³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused! ³⁵ Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” [1]