One Year Bible.

David Spares Saul

¹After Saul had returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.” ²So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to look for David and his men in the region of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

³Soon Saul came to the sheepfolds along the road, where there was a cave, and he went in to relieve himself. And David and his men were hiding in the recesses of the cave. ⁴So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’”

Then David crept up and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵Afterward, David’s conscience was stricken because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”

⁷With these words David restrained his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.

⁸After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!”

When Saul looked behind him, David bowed facedown in reverence ⁹and said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’ ? ¹⁰Behold, this day you have seen with your own eyes that the LORD delivered you into my hand in the cave. I was told to kill you, but I spared you and said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my lord, since he is the LORD’s anointed.’

¹¹See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. Know and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

¹²May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you. ¹³As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.

¹⁴Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? ¹⁵May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”

David’s Oath to Saul

¹⁶When David had finished saying these things, Saul called back, “Is that your voice, David my son?”

Then Saul wept aloud ¹⁷and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil. ¹⁸And you have declared this day how you have treated me well, for when the LORD delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. ¹⁹When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go away unharmed? May the LORD reward you with good for what you have done for me this day.

²⁰Now I know for sure that you will be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. ²¹So now, swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s house.”

²²So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

In You My Soul Takes Refuge

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy,

for in You my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter

until the danger has passed.

²I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills His purpose for me.

³He reaches down from heaven and saves me;

He rebukes those who trample me.

Selah

God sends forth

His loving devotion and His truth.

⁴My soul is among the lions;

I lie down with ravenous beasts—

with men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

may Your glory cover all the earth.

⁶They spread a net for my feet;

my soul was despondent.

They dug a pit before me,

but they themselves have fallen into it!

Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast.

I will sing and make music.

⁸Awake, my glory!

Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

⁹I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations;

I will sing Your praises among the peoples.

¹⁰For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens,

and Your faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

may Your glory cover all the earth.

God Judges the Earth

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.

Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers?

Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?

²No, in your hearts you devise injustice;

with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

³The wicked are estranged from the womb;

the liars go astray from birth.

⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like a cobra that shuts its ears,

⁵refusing to hear the tune of the charmer

who skillfully weaves his spell.

⁶O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;

O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.

⁷May they vanish

like water that runs off;

when they draw the bow,

may their arrows be blunted.

⁸Like a slug that dissolves in its slime,

like a woman’s stillborn child,

may they never see the sun.

⁹Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—

whether green or dry—

He will sweep them away.

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice

when they see they are avenged;

they will wash their feet

in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Then men will say,

“There is surely a reward for the righteous!

There is surely a God who judges the earth!”

Zophar: Destruction Awaits the Wicked

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

²“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer,

because of the turmoil within me.

³I have heard a rebuke that insults me,

and my understanding prompts a reply.

⁴Do you not know that from antiquity,

since man was placed on the earth,

⁵the triumph of the wicked has been brief

and the joy of the godless momentary?

⁶Though his arrogance reaches the heavens,

and his head touches the clouds,

⁷he will perish forever, like his own dung;

those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’

⁸He will fly away like a dream, never to be found;

he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

⁹The eye that saw him will see him no more,

and his place will no longer behold him.

¹⁰His sons will seek the favor of the poor,

for his own hands must return his wealth.

¹¹The youthful vigor that fills his bones

will lie down with him in the dust.

¹²Though evil is sweet in his mouth

and he conceals it under his tongue,

¹³though he cannot bear to let it go

and keeps it in his mouth,

¹⁴yet in his stomach his food sours

into the venom of cobras within him.

¹⁵He swallows wealth but vomits it out;

God will force it from his stomach.

¹⁶He will suck the poison of cobras;

the fangs of a viper will kill him.

¹⁷He will not enjoy the streams,

the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

¹⁸He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;

he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.

¹⁹For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor;

he has seized houses he did not build.

²⁰Because his appetite is never satisfied,

he cannot escape with his treasure.

²¹Nothing is left for him to consume;

thus his prosperity will not endure.

²²In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed;

the full force of misery will come upon him.

²³When he has filled his stomach,

God will vent His fury upon him,

raining it down on him as he eats.

²⁴Though he flees from an iron weapon,

a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

²⁵It is drawn out of his back,

the gleaming point from his liver.

Terrors come over him.

²⁶Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.

A fire unfanned will consume him

and devour what is left in his tent.

²⁷The heavens will expose his iniquity,

and the earth will rise up against him.

²⁸The possessions of his house will be removed,

flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.

²⁹This is the wicked man’s portion from God,

the inheritance God has appointed him.”