May 8, 2023

1 Samuel 26-27; 1 Chronicles 8; Acts 18 (NRSV)
1 Samuel 26-27; 1 Crónicas 8; Hechos 18 (RVR1960)

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1 Samuel 26-27

David Spares Saul’s Life a Second Time

26 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “David is in hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon.” ² So Saul rose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, with three thousand chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³ Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, beside the road. But David remained in the wilderness. When he learned that Saul had come after him into the wilderness, ⁴ David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed arrived. ⁵ Then David set out and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” ⁷ So David and Abishai went to the army by night; there Saul lay sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. ⁸ Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand today; now, therefore, let me pin him to the ground with one stroke of the spear; I will not strike him twice.” ⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” ¹⁰ David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him down, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. ¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed, but now take the spear that is at his head and the water jar, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear that was at Saul’s head and the water jar, and they went away. No one saw it or knew it, nor did anyone awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

¹³ Then David went over to the other side and stood on top of a hill far away, with a great distance between them. ¹⁴ David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, saying, “Abner! Will you not answer?” Then Abner replied, “Who are you who calls to the king?” ¹⁵ 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 your lord the king. ¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. See now, where is the king’s spear or the water jar that was at his head?”

¹⁷ Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” ¹⁸ And he added, “Why does my lord pursue his servant? For what have I done? What guilt 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 mortals, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out today from my share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, “I have done wrong; come back, my son David, for I will never harm you again, because my life was precious in your sight today; I have been a fool and have made a great mistake.” ²² David replied, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and get it. ²³ The Lord rewards everyone for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ As your life was precious today in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he rescue me from all tribulation.” ²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David Serves King Achish of Gath

27 David said in his heart, “I shall certainly perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” ² So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath. ³ David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his troops, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. ⁴ When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your sight, let a place be given me in one of the country towns so that I may live there, for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶ So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ The length of time that David lived in the country of the Philistines was one year and four months.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and made raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the landed settlements from Telam^[c] on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt. ⁹ David struck the land, leaving neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing and came back to Achish. ¹⁰ When Achish asked, “Against whom have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.” ¹¹ David left neither man nor woman alive to be brought back to Gath, thinking, “They might tell about us and say, ‘David has done so and so.’ ” Such was his practice all the time he lived in the country of the Philistines. ¹² Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself utterly abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”

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1 Chronicles 8

Descendants of Benjamin

8 Benjamin became the father of Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the third, ² Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. ³ And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, ⁴ Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵ Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. ⁶ These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of ancestral houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to Manahath): ⁷ Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam, who became the father of Uzza and Ahihud. ⁸ And Shaharaim had sons in the country of Moab after he had sent away his wives Hushim and Baara. ⁹ He had sons by his wife Hodesh: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, ¹⁰ Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of ancestral houses. ¹¹ He also had sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. ¹² The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns, ¹³ and Beriah and Shema (they were heads of ancestral houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon who put to flight the inhabitants of Gath), ¹⁴ and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. ¹⁵ Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶ Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah. ¹⁷ Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸ Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. ¹⁹ Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, ²⁰ Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹ Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. ²² Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³ Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, ²⁴ Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, ²⁵ Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. ²⁶ Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷ Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸ These were the heads of ancestral houses, according to their generations, chiefs. These lived in Jerusalem.

²⁹ Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. ³⁰ His firstborn son: Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, ³¹ Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, ³² and Mikloth, who became the father of Shimeah. Now these also lived opposite their kindred in Jerusalem, with their kindred. ³³ Ner became the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal; ³⁴ and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal became the father of Micah. ³⁵ The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. ³⁶ Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah; and Jehoaddah became the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; Zimri became the father of Moza. ³⁷ Moza became the father of Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ³⁸ Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; all these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹ The sons of his brother Eshek: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰ The sons of Ulam were mighty warriors, archers, having many children and grandchildren, one hundred fifty. All these were Benjaminites.

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Acts 18

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he found a Jew named Aquila from Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, ³ and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. ⁴ Every Sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

⁵ When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. ⁶ When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.” ⁷ Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household, and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. ⁹ One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ¹³ They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” ¹⁴ Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews, ¹⁵ but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” ¹⁶ And he dismissed them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ Then all of them seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.

Paul’s Return to Antioch

¹⁸ After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow. ¹⁹ When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay longer, he declined, ²¹ but on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Ministry of Apollos

²⁴ Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos from Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.

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