1 SAMUEL 22

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The Priests Slain at Nob  22:1 So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. 2 Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.
    3 And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” 4 Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 The prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
    6 Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. 7 Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8 For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” 9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 He inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
    11 Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?”
    14 Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? 15 Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair.” 16 But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” 17 And the king said to the guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the LORD to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me.” But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to attack the priests of the LORD. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he killed that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19 And he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword.
    20 But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father’s household. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”

PSALM 106

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Israel’s Rebelliousness and the LORD’S Deliverances.106:1 Praise the LORD!

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD,

Or can show forth all His praise?

3 How blessed are those who keep justice,

Who practice righteousness at all times!

4 Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people;

Visit me with Your salvation,

5 That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,

That I may glory with Your inheritance.

6 We have sinned like our fathers,

We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.

7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;

They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,

But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

8 Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,

That He might make His power known.

9 Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,

And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.

10 So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them,

And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

11 The waters covered their adversaries;

Not one of them was left.

12 Then they believed His words;

They sang His praise.

13 They quickly forgot His works;

They did not wait for His counsel,

14 But craved intensely in the wilderness,

And tempted God in the desert.

15 So He gave them their request,

But sent a wasting disease among them.

16 When they became envious of Moses in the camp,

And of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,

17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

And engulfed the company of Abiram.

18 And a fire blazed up in their company;

The flame consumed the wicked.

19 They made a calf in Horeb

And worshiped a molten image.

20 Thus they exchanged their glory

For the image of an ox that eats grass.

21 They forgot God their Savior,

Who had done great things in Egypt,

22 Wonders in the land of Ham

And awesome things by the Red Sea.

23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them,

Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him,

To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land;

They did not believe in His word,

25 But grumbled in their tents;

They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

26 Therefore He swore to them

That He would cast them down in the wilderness,

27 And that He would cast their seed among the nations

And scatter them in the lands.

28 They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,

And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,

And the plague broke out among them.

30 Then Phinehas stood up and interposed,

And so the plague was stayed.

31 And it was reckoned to him for righteousness,

To all generations forever.

32 They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah,

So that it went hard with Moses on their account;

33 Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,

He spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They did not destroy the peoples,

As the LORD commanded them,

35 But they mingled with the nations

And learned their practices,

36 And served their idols,

Which became a snare to them.

37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,

38 And shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and their daughters,

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And the land was polluted with the blood.

39 Thus they became unclean in their practices,

And played the harlot in their deeds.

40 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people

And He abhorred His inheritance.

41 Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were subdued under their power.

43 Many times He would deliver them;

They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,

And so sank down in their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless He looked upon their distress

When He heard their cry;

45 And He remembered His covenant for their sake,

And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.

46 He also made them objects of compassion

In the presence of all their captors.

47 Save us, O LORD our God,

And gather us from among the nations,

To give thanks to Your holy name

And glory in Your praise.

48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

From everlasting even to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the LORD!

PROVERBS 17

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked17:1 Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it

Than a house full of feasting with strife.

2 A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully,

And will share in the inheritance among brothers.

3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,

But the LORD tests hearts.

4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips;

A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5 He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker;

He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

6 Grandchildren are the crown of old men,

And the glory of sons is their fathers.

7 Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool,

Much less are lying lips to a prince.

8 A bribe is a charm in the sight of its owner;

Wherever he turns, he prospers.

9 He who conceals a transgression seeks love,

But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.

10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding

Than a hundred blows into a fool.

11 A rebellious man seeks only evil,

So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12 Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,

Rather than a fool in his folly.

13 He who returns evil for good,

Evil will not depart from his house.

14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,

Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

16 Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,

When he has no sense?

17 A friend loves at all times,

And a brother is born for adversity.

18 A man lacking in sense pledges

And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.

19 He who loves transgression loves strife;

He who raises his door seeks destruction.

20 He who has a crooked mind finds no good,

And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.

21 He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow,

And the father of a fool has no joy.

22 A joyful heart is good medicine,

But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

23 A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom

To pervert the ways of justice.

24 Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding,

But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son is a grief to his father

And bitterness to her who bore him.

26 It is also not good to fine the righteous,

Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27 He who restrains his words has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;

When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.