One Year Bible.

Jonathan Befriends David

¹After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself. ²And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. ⁴And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

Saul Envies David

⁵So David marched out and prospered in everything Saul sent him to do, and Saul set him over the men of war. And this was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and of Saul’s officers as well.

⁶As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments. ⁷And as the women danced, they sang out:

“Saul has slain his thousands,

and David his tens of thousands.”

⁸And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹And from that day forward Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

¹⁰The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear, ¹¹and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

¹²So Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul. ¹³Therefore Saul sent David away and gave him command of a thousand men. David led the troops out to battle and back, ¹⁴and he continued to prosper in all his ways, because the LORD was with him.

¹⁵When Saul saw that David was very successful, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he was leading them out to battle and back.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel, that I should become the son-in-law of the king?” ¹⁹So when it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

²⁰Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David, and when this was reported to Saul, it pleased him. ²¹“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”

²²Then Saul ordered his servants, “Speak to David privately and tell him, ‘Behold, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become his son-in-law.’”

²³But when Saul’s servants relayed these words to David, he replied, “Does it seem trivial in your sight to be the son-in-law of the king? I am a poor man and lightly esteemed.”

²⁴And the servants told Saul what David had said.

²⁵Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king desires no other dowry but a hundred Philistine foreskins as revenge on his enemies.’” But Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.

²⁶When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived, ²⁷David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as payment in full to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David in marriage.

²⁸When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, ²⁹he grew even more afraid of David. So from then on Saul was David’s enemy.

³⁰Every time the Philistine commanders came out for battle, David was more successful than all of Saul’s officers, so that his name was highly esteemed.

The Descendants of Levi

¹The sons of Levi:

Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

³The children of Amram:

Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.

The sons of Aaron:

Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴Eleazar was the father of Phinehas,

Phinehas was the father of Abishua,

⁵Abishua was the father of Bukki,

Bukki was the father of Uzzi,

⁶Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah,

Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth,

⁷Meraioth was the father of Amariah,

Amariah was the father of Ahitub,

⁸Ahitub was the father of Zadok,

Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,

⁹Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah,

Azariah was the father of Johanan,

¹⁰Johanan was the father of Azariah, who served as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem,

¹¹Azariah was the father of Amariah,

Amariah was the father of Ahitub,

¹²Ahitub was the father of Zadok,

Zadok was the father of Shallum,

¹³Shallum was the father of Hilkiah,

Hilkiah was the father of Azariah,

¹⁴Azariah was the father of Seraiah,

and Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak.

¹⁵Jehozadak went into captivity when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶The sons of Levi:

Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷These are the names of the sons of Gershom:

Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers:

²⁰Of Gershom:

Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, ²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son.

²²The descendants of Kohath:

Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, ²³Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, ²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.

²⁵The descendants of Elkanah:

Amasai, Ahimoth, ²⁶Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, ²⁷Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son.

²⁸The sons of Samuel:

Joel his firstborn and Abijah his second son.

²⁹The descendants of Merari:

Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, ³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

The Temple Musicians

³¹These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. ³²They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them. ³³These are the men who served, together with their sons.

From the Kohathites:

Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, ³⁴the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, ³⁵the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, ³⁶the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, ³⁷the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, ³⁸the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.

³⁹Heman’s kinsman was Asaph, who served at his right hand:

Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea, ⁴⁰the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, ⁴¹the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, ⁴²the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, ⁴³the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴On the left were their kinsmen, the sons of Merari:

Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, ⁴⁵the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, ⁴⁶the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, ⁴⁷the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

The Descendants of Aaron

⁴⁸Their fellow Levites were assigned to every kind of service of the tabernacle, the house of God. ⁴⁹But Aaron and his sons did all the work of the Most Holy Place. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰These were the descendants of Aaron:

Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, ⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, ⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, ⁵³Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.

Territories for the Levites

⁵⁴Now these were the territories assigned to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clan for their settlements, because the first lot fell to them:

⁵⁵They were given Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands. ⁵⁶But the fields and villages around the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. ⁵⁷So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, ⁵⁸Hilen, Debir, ⁵⁹Ashan, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, together with their pasturelands.

⁶⁰And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.

⁶¹To the rest of the Kohathites, ten cities were allotted from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶²The Gershomites, according to their clans, were allotted thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh in Bashan.

⁶³The Merarites, according to their clans, were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

⁶⁴So the Israelites gave to the Levites these cities and their pasturelands. ⁶⁵They assigned by lot the cities named above from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

⁶⁶And some of the clans of the Kohathites were given cities from the tribe of Ephraim for their territory:

⁶⁷They were given Shechem (a city of refuge) with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer, ⁶⁸Jokmeam, Beth-horon, ⁶⁹Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁰And from the half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of the clans of the Kohathites were given Aner and Bileam, together with their pasturelands.

⁷¹The Gershomites received the following:

From the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan and also Ashtaroth, together with their pasturelands.

⁷²From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kedesh, Daberath, ⁷³Ramoth, and Anem, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁴From the tribe of Asher they were given Mashal, Abdon, ⁷⁵Hukok, and Rehob, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁶And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁷The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following:

From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁸From the tribe of Reuben east of the Jordan opposite Jericho they were given Bezer in the wilderness, Jahzah, ⁷⁹Kedemoth, and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands.

⁸⁰And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, ⁸¹Heshbon, and Jazer, together with their pasturelands.

The Uproar in Thessalonica

¹When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ²As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared. ⁴Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women.

⁵The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people. ⁶But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here, ⁷and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”

⁸On hearing this, the crowd and city officials were greatly disturbed. ⁹And they collected bond from Jason and the others and then released them.

The Character of the Bereans

¹⁰As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. ¹²As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds. ¹⁴The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. ¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.

¹⁸Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, where they asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”

²¹Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas.

Paul’s Address in the Areopagus

²²Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. ²⁵Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.

²⁷God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. ²⁸‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ ²⁹Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

³⁰Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

³²When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.” ³³At that, Paul left the Areopagus. ³⁴But some joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others who were with them.

Paul Ministers in Corinth

¹After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ²There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, ³and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.

⁴Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike. ⁵And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷So Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper of God. ⁸Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.

⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent. ¹⁰For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching the word of God among the Corinthians.

Paul before Gallio

¹²While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat. ¹³“This man is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law,” they said.

¹⁴But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint. ¹⁵But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.” ¹⁶And he drove them away from the judgment seat.

¹⁷At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

¹⁹When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰When they asked him to stay for a while longer, he declined. ²¹But as he left, he said, “I will come back to you if God is willing.” And he set sail from Ephesus.

²²When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch.

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey Begins

²³After Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. ²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

²⁷When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. ²⁸For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.