One Year Bible.

David Flees to Adullam and Mizpeh

¹So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. ²And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

³From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay with you until I learn what God will do for me.” ⁴So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.

⁵Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Depart and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Saul Slays the Priests of Nob

⁶Soon Saul learned that David and his men had been discovered. At that time Saul was sitting under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with his spear in hand and all his servants standing around him.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds? ⁸Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has shown concern for me or revealed to me that my son has stirred up my own servant to lie in wait against me, as is the case today.”

⁹But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul’s servants, answered: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. ¹⁰Ahimelech inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹Then the king sent messengers to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and his father’s whole family, who were priests at Nob. And all of them came to the king. ¹²“Listen now, son of Ahitub,” said Saul.

“Here I am, my lord,” he replied.

¹³And Saul asked him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God for him so that he could rise up against me to lie in wait, as he is doing today.”

¹⁴Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s son-in-law, the captain of your bodyguard and honored in your house? ¹⁵Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of my father’s household, for your servant knew nothing of this whole affair — not in part or in whole.”

¹⁶But the king replied, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!”

¹⁷Then the king ordered the guards at his side, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they did not tell me.”

But the king’s servants would not lift a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

¹⁸So the king ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!”

And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests himself. On that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹He also put to the sword Nob, the city of the priests, with its men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.

²⁰But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David. ²¹And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.

²²Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that Doeg the Edomite was there that day, and that he was sure to tell Saul. I myself am responsible for the lives of everyone in your father’s house. ²³Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks your life is seeking mine as well. You will be safe with me.”

Hear My Righteous Plea

¹A prayer of David.

Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;

listen to my cry.

Give ear to my prayer—

it comes from lips free of deceit.

²May my vindication come from Your presence;

may Your eyes see what is right.

³You have tried my heart;

You have visited me in the night.

You have tested me and found no evil;

I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

⁴As for the deeds of men —

by the word of Your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

⁵My steps have held to Your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

⁶I call on You, O God,

for You will answer me.

Incline Your ear to me;

hear my words.

⁷Show the wonders of Your loving devotion,

You who save by Your right hand

those who seek refuge from their foes.

⁸Keep me as the apple of Your eye;

hide me in the shadow of Your wings

⁹from the wicked who assail me,

from my mortal enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They have closed their callous hearts;

their mouths speak with arrogance.

¹¹They have tracked us down, and now surround us;

their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,

¹²like a lion greedy for prey,

like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³Arise, O LORD, confront them!

Bring them to their knees;

deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

¹⁴from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—

from men of the world

whose portion is in this life.

May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons,

so they leave their abundance to their children.

¹⁵As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness;

when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

Paul’s Trial before Festus

¹Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ²where the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. They urged Festus ³to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.

⁴But Festus replied, “Paul is being held in Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. ⁵So if this man has done anything wrong, let some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him there.”

⁶After spending no more than eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered that Paul be brought in. ⁷When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.

⁸Then Paul made his defense: “I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”

⁹But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?”

Paul Appeals to Caesar

¹⁰Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹²Then Festus conferred with his council and replied, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Festus Consults Agrippa

¹³After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴Since they were staying several days, Festus laid out Paul’s case before the king: “There is a certain man whom Felix left in prison. ¹⁵While I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews presented their case and requested a judgment against him. ¹⁶I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.

¹⁷So when they came here with me, I did not delay. The next day I sat on the judgment seat and ordered that the man be brought in. ¹⁸But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹They only had some contentions with him regarding their own religion and a certain Jesus who had died, but whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

²⁰Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. ²¹But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered that he be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”

“Tomorrow you will hear him,” Festus declared.

Paul before Agrippa and Bernice

²³The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium, along with the commanders and leading men of the city. And Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.

²⁴Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him, both here and in Jerusalem, crying out that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

²⁶I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this inquiry I may have something to write. ²⁷For it seems unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”

Paul’s Testimony to Agrippa

¹Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”

Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: ²“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, ³especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently.

⁴Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from my earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

⁶And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers, ⁷the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews. ⁸Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

⁹So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

¹²In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. ¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew,‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked.

‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ¹⁶‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. ¹⁷I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹⁹So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. ²⁰First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance. ²¹For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.

²²But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen: ²³that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

Festus Interrupts Paul’s Defense

²⁴At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”

²⁵But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety. ²⁶For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”

²⁹“Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them. ³¹On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”

³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”