2 SAMUEL 21

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David Avenges the Gibeonites  21:1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?” 4 The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” 5 They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
    7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.
    10 Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 11 When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land. War with the Philistines15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
    18 After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. 21 And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

2 SAMUEL 22

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David’s Song of Deliverance  22:1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 3

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold and my refuge,

my savior; you save me from violence. 4

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.
5

“For the waves of death encompassed me,

the torrents of destruction assailed me; 6

the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.
7

“In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I called.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry came to his ears.
8

“Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations of the heavens trembled

and quaked, because he was angry. 9

Smoke went up from his nostrils,

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him. 10

He bowed the heavens and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet. 11

He rode on a cherub and flew;

he was seen on the wings of the wind. 12

He made darkness around him his canopy,

thick clouds, a gathering of water. 13

Out of the brightness before him

coals of fire flamed forth. 14

The Lord thundered from heaven,

and the Most High uttered his voice. 15

And he sent out arrows and scattered them;

lightning, and routed them. 16

Then the channels of the sea were seen;

the foundations of the world were laid bare,

at the rebuke of the Lord,

at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17

“He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters. 18

He rescued me from my strong enemy,

from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me. 19

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support. 20

He brought me out into a broad place;

he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
21

“The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. 22

For I have kept the ways of the Lord

and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23

For all his rules were before me,

and from his statutes I did not turn aside. 24

I was blameless before him,

and I kept myself from guilt. 25

And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to my cleanness in his sight.
26

“With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 27

with the purified you deal purely,

and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. 28

You save a humble people,

but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. 29

For you are my lamp, O Lord,

and my God lightens my darkness. 30

For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall. 31

This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
32

“For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God? 33

This God is my strong refuge

and has made my way blameless. 34

He made my feet like the feet of a deer

and set me secure on the heights. 35

He trains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36

You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your gentleness made me great. 37

You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip; 38

I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,

and did not turn back until they were consumed. 39

I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;

they fell under my feet. 40

For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me. 41

You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

those who hated me, and I destroyed them. 42

They looked, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them. 43

I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;

I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.
44

“You delivered me from strife with my people;

you kept me as the head of the nations;

people whom I had not known served me. 45

Foreigners came cringing to me;

as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me. 46

Foreigners lost heart

and came trembling out of their fortresses.
47

“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, 48

the God who gave me vengeance

and brought down peoples under me, 49

who brought me out from my enemies;

you exalted me above those who rose against me;

you delivered me from men of violence.
50

“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and sing praises to your name. 51

Great salvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

to David and his offspring forever.”

PROVERBS 25

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More Proverbs of Solomon  25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.
2

It is the glory of God to conceal things,

but the glory of kings is to search things out. 3

As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,

so the heart of kings is unsearchable. 4

Take away the dross from the silver,

and the smith has material for a vessel; 5

take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

and his throne will be established in righteousness. 6

Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

or stand in the place of the great,
7

for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”

than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen 8

do not hastily bring into court,

for what will you do in the end,

when your neighbor puts you to shame? 9

Argue your case with your neighbor himself,

and do not reveal another’s secret, 10

lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,

and your ill repute have no end.
11

A word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. 12

Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold

is a wise reprover to a listening ear. 13

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

is a faithful messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the soul of his masters. 14

Like clouds and wind without rain

is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
15

With patience a ruler may be persuaded,

and a soft tongue will break a bone. 16

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. 17

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you. 18

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor

is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow. 19

Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble

is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. 20

Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart

is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,

and like vinegar on soda. 21

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 22

for you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you. 23

The north wind brings forth rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. 24

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 25

Like cold water to a thirsty soul,

so is good news from a far country. 26

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain

is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. 27

It is not good to eat much honey,

nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. 28

A man without self-control

is like a city broken into and left without walls.

2 CORINTHIANS 1

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Greeting  1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
    To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
    2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. God of All Comfort3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
    8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. Paul’s Change of Plans12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.
    15 Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. 16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
    23 But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.