Saul Resents David

18 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, ^(A)the ^[a]soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, ^(B)and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² Saul took him that day, ^(C)and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. ³ Then Jonathan and David made a ^(D)covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

⁵ So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and ^[b]behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. ⁶ Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the ^[c]Philistine, that ^(E)the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷ So the women ^(F)sang as they danced, and said:

⁸ Then Saul was very angry, and the saying ^(H)displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but ^(I)the kingdom?” ⁹ So Saul ^[d]eyed David from that day forward.

¹⁰ And it happened on the next day that ^(J)the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, ^(K)and he prophesied inside the house. So David ^(L)played music with his hand, as at other times; ^(M)but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. ¹¹ And Saul ^(N)cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice.

¹² Now Saul was ^(O)afraid of David, because ^(P)the Lord was with him, but had ^(Q)departed from Saul. ¹³ Therefore Saul removed him from ^[e]his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and ^(R)he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and ^(S)the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶ But ^(T)all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; ^(U)I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight ^(V)the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, ^(W)“Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸ So David said to Saul, ^(X)“Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹ But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to ^(Y)Adriel the ^(Z)Meholathite as a wife.

^20 (AA)Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹ So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may ^[f]be a snare to him, and that ^(AB)the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, ^(AC)“You shall be my son-in-law today.”

²² And Saul commanded his servants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

²³ So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” ²⁴ And the servants of Saul told him, saying, ^[g]“In this manner David spoke.”

²⁵ Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any ^(AD)dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take ^(AE)vengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul ^(AF)thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now ^(AG)the days had not expired; ²⁷ therefore David arose and went, he and ^(AH)his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And ^(AI)David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.

²⁸ Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; ²⁹ and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy ^[h]continually. ³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines ^(AJ)went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David ^(AK)behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.

The Family of Levi^(A)

6 The sons of Levi were ^(B)Gershon,^[a] Kohath, and Merari. ² The sons of Kohath were Amram, ^(C)Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ³ The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were ^(D)Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁴ Eleazar begot Phinehas, and Phinehas begot Abishua; ⁵ Abishua begot Bukki, and Bukki begot Uzzi; ⁶ Uzzi begot Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begot Meraioth; ⁷ Meraioth begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; ^8 (E)Ahitub begot ^(F)Zadok, and Zadok begot Ahimaaz; ⁹ Ahimaaz begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Johanan; ¹⁰ Johanan begot Azariah (it was he ^(G)who ministered as priest in the ^(H)temple^[b] that Solomon built in Jerusalem); ^11 (I)Azariah begot ^(J)Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; ¹² Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot ^[c]Shallum; ¹³ Shallum begot Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begot Azariah; ¹⁴ Azariah begot ^(K)Seraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak. ¹⁵ Jehozadak went into captivity ^(L)when the Lord carried Judah and Jerusalem into captivity by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶ The sons of Levi were ^(M)Gershon,^[d] Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁷ These are the names of the sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. Now these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers: ²⁰ Of Gershon were Libni his son, Jahath his son, ^(N)Zimmah his son, ^21 [e]Joah his son, ^[f]Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and ^[g]Jeatherai his son. ²² The sons of Kohath were ^[h]Amminadab his son, ^(O)Korah his son, Assir his son, ²³ Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, ²⁴ Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. ²⁵ The sons of Elkanah were ^(P)Amasai and Ahimoth. ²⁶ As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were ^[i]Zophai his son, ^[j]Nahath his son, ^27 [k]Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. ²⁸ The sons of Samuel were ^[l]Joel the firstborn, and Abijah ^[m]the second. ²⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, ³⁰ Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

Musicians in the House of the Lord

³¹ Now these are ^(Q)the men whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ^(R)ark came to rest. ³² They were ministering with music before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they served in their office according to their order.

³³ And these are the ones who ^[n]ministered with their sons: Of the sons of the ^(S)Kohathites were Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, ³⁴ the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of ^[o]Eliel, the son of ^[p]Toah, ³⁵ the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, ³⁶ the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, ³⁷ the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of ^(T)Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, ³⁸ the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. ³⁹ And his brother ^(U)Asaph, who stood at his right hand, was Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea, ⁴⁰ the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, ⁴¹ the son of ^(V)Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, ⁴² the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, ⁴³ the son of Jahath, the son of Gershon, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴ Their brethren, the sons of Merari, on the left hand, were ^[q]Ethan the son of ^[r]Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, ⁴⁵ the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, ⁴⁶ the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer, ⁴⁷ the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

⁴⁸ And their brethren, the Levites, were appointed to every ^(W)kind of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

The Family of Aaron

^49 (X)But Aaron and his sons offered sacrifices ^(Y)on the altar of burnt offering and ^(Z)on the altar of incense, for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. ⁵⁰ Now these are the ^(AA)sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, ⁵¹ Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, ⁵² Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, ⁵³ Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.

Dwelling Places of the Levites^(AB)

^54 (AC)Now these are their dwelling places throughout their settlements in their territory, for they were given by lot to the sons of Aaron, of the family of the Kohathites: ^55 (AD)They gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, with its surrounding ^[s]common-lands. ^56 (AE)But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ⁵⁷ And ^(AF)to the sons of Aaron they gave one of the cities of refuge, Hebron; also Libnah with its common-lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its common-lands, ^58 [t]Hilen with its common-lands, Debir with its common-lands, ^59 [u]Ashan with its common-lands, and Beth Shemesh with its common-lands. ⁶⁰ And from the tribe of Benjamin: Geba with its common-lands, ^[v]Alemeth with its common-lands, and Anathoth with its common-lands. All their cities among their families were thirteen.

^61 (AG)To the rest of the family of the tribe of the Kohathites they gave ^(AH)by lot ten cities from half the tribe of Manasseh. ⁶² And to the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, they gave thirteen cities from the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁶³ To the sons of Merari, throughout their families, they gave ^(AI)twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun. ⁶⁴ So the children of Israel gave these cities with their ^[w]common-lands to the Levites. ⁶⁵ And they gave by lot from the tribe of the children of Judah, from the tribe of the children of Simeon, and from the tribe of the children of Benjamin these cities which are called by their names.

⁶⁶ Now ^(AJ)some of the families of the sons of Kohath were given cities as their territory from the tribe of Ephraim. ^67 (AK)And they gave them one of the cities of refuge, Shechem with its common-lands, in the mountains of Ephraim, also Gezer with its common-lands, ^68 (AL)Jokmeam with its common-lands, Beth Horon with its common-lands, ⁶⁹ Aijalon with its common-lands, and Gath Rimmon with its common-lands. ⁷⁰ And from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Aner with its common-lands and Bileam with its common-lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.

⁷¹ From the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh the sons of Gershon were given Golan in Bashan with its common-lands and ^[x]Ashtaroth with its common-lands. ⁷² And from the tribe of Issachar: ^[y]Kedesh with its common-lands, Daberath with its common-lands, ⁷³ Ramoth with its common-lands, and Anem with its common-lands. ⁷⁴ And from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its common-lands, Abdon with its common-lands, ⁷⁵ Hukok with its common-lands, and Rehob with its common-lands. ⁷⁶ And from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its common-lands, Hammon with its common-lands, and Kirjathaim with its common-lands.

⁷⁷ From the tribe of Zebulun the rest of the children of Merari were given ^[z]Rimmon with its common-lands and Tabor with its common-lands. ⁷⁸ And on the other side of the Jordan, across from Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, they were given from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its common-lands, Jahzah with its common-lands, ⁷⁹ Kedemoth with its common-lands, and Mephaath with its common-lands. ⁸⁰ And from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its common-lands, Mahanaim with its common-lands, ⁸¹ Heshbon with its common-lands, and Jazer with its common-lands.

Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)

3 In those days ^(B)John the Baptist came preaching ^(C)in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, “Repent, for ^(D)the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

⁴ Now ^(G)John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^(H)locusts and ^(I)wild honey. ^5 (J)Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ^6 (K)and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^(L)“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(M)the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, ^(N)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. ^(O)Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ^11 (P)I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. ^(Q)He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit ^[a]and fire. ^12 (R)His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will ^(S)burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John Baptizes Jesus^(T)

^13 (U)Then Jesus came ^(V)from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

^16 (W)When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and ^[b]He saw ^(X)the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ^17 (Y)And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ^(Z)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”