1 Samuel 16 Cross References - MSB

¹ Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.” ² “How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ ³ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?” ⁵ “In peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Surely here before the LORD is His anointed.” ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” ¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel told him, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” ¹² So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah. ¹⁴ After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely a spirit of distress from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord command your servants here to seek out someone who can skillfully play the harp. Whenever the spirit of distress from God is upon you, he is to play it, and you will be well.” ¹⁷ And Saul commanded his servants, “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, eloquent and handsome, and the LORD is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and one young goat, and sent them to Saul with his son David. ²¹ When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul admired him greatly, and David became his armor-bearer. ²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” ²³ And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him.

⁸ Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. ⁹ Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

¹⁷ The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David. ¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, ²⁰ Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, Nahshon was the father of Salmon, ²¹ Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed, ²² Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.

¹⁶ “At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

¹ Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

¹³ “You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”

¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.

²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”

²⁶ “I will not return with you,” Samuel replied. “For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and He has rejected you as king over Israel.”

³⁵ And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

¹⁵ Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely a spirit of distress from God is tormenting you.

²³ And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him.

¹ Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.

³ Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run. Do not delay!”

⁶ So Jehu got up and went into the house, where the young prophet poured the oil on his head and declared, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the LORD’s people Israel.

¹⁰ Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of the descendants of Judah. ¹¹ Nahshon was the father of Salmon, and Salmon was the father of Boaz. ¹² Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse. ¹³ Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third, ¹⁴ Nethanel fourth, Raddai fifth, ¹⁵ Ozem sixth, and David seventh.

⁶⁸ But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved. ⁶⁹ He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever. ⁷⁰ He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹ from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

¹⁹ You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people. ²⁰ I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

¹ Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

¹⁰ On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.

⁴ Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples.

³⁰ They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.”

¹⁶ As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you.

¹⁴ As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me in their time of disaster.

¹¹ Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. ¹² Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and famine and plague.”

¹ Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.

²¹ Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. ²² After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’

¹² And once more, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin.

¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² “Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place.

²⁹ saying, ‘Please let me go, because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That is why he did not come to the king’s table.”

⁹ But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? ¹⁰ As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. ¹¹ And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’ ¹² I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth. ¹³ Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water. ¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”

²⁶ then tell them, ‘I was presenting to the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” ²⁷ When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he relayed to them the exact words the king had commanded him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had overheard the conversation.

¹⁶ Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

³⁴ “How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

¹⁵ You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.

¹⁴ When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” ¹⁵ you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.

¹² “Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him.”

¹² So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

¹¹ Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter.

¹ Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come. ⁴ Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

¹ Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And when Ahimelech met David, he trembled and asked him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

⁹ That day David feared the LORD and asked, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”

¹³ Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied.

¹⁸ “O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”

²² When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” he replied, “as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”

¹⁷ And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.” ¹⁸ Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

⁵ Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.

¹⁰ They will walk after the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”

³⁷ Then all the people of the region of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started back.

¹⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

¹⁴ When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ “Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”

⁷ Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. ⁸ And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

⁸ The people walked around and gathered it, ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes. It tasted like pastry baked with fine oil.

⁵ Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

¹³ Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

¹⁷ Since there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD. ¹⁸ A large number of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, provide atonement for everyone ¹⁹ who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

⁵ And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

² Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind. ³ For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. ⁴ I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites. ⁵ I hate the mob of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked. ⁶ I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,

¹⁶ Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

²⁸ Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

¹⁸ Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

¹³ The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.

²² Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.

²⁶ Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David.

¹³ Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third,

¹⁸ over Judah was Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar was Omri son of Michael;

² And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people.

²³ So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

³⁹ be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—

⁹ As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

⁹ For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

⁴ Do You have eyes of flesh? Do You see as man sees?

⁹ Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.

² You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.

¹⁰ He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man. ¹¹ The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

¹¹ Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD—how much more the hearts of men!

² All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.

³⁰ Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

⁸ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

²⁰ O LORD of Hosts, who judges righteously, who examines the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

¹² O LORD of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

¹⁵ So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

²⁴ Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”

²⁴ And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen

⁷ You are looking at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that we belong to Christ just as much as he does.

¹⁰ For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.”

¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

⁴ As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,

⁴ but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

²³ Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

³ Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,

¹² Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons in the days of Saul. And Jesse was old and well along in years. ¹³ The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. ¹⁴ And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.

²⁸ Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!”

⁸ Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.

⁷ Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.

⁶ So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s care; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”

⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.

² The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:

⁶ “I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.”

¹⁰ My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.

⁷ Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.

²⁷ In fact, Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.

²⁰ At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.

¹⁷ And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

¹⁸ And the LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.

¹⁰ The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

²⁹ Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.

²⁵ And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

⁶ and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

⁶ Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.

⁹ As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all the signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰ When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.

⁶ When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.

¹⁸ One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, eloquent and handsome, and the LORD is with him.”

¹ Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. ² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. ³ And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear,

³⁴ For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”

²³ God sent a spirit of animosity between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and caused them to treat Abimelech deceitfully,

²⁰ Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

²⁹ And Samson reached out for the two central pillars supporting the temple. Bracing himself against them with his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other,

¹⁰ The 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,

¹² So Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul.

⁹ But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp, ¹⁰ Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But the spear struck the wall and David eluded him, ran away, and escaped that night.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am deeply distressed,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

²² And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’

¹¹ Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

¹² Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!

¹⁵ Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.

⁴⁶ Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

⁵ After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.

²¹ When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul admired him greatly, and David became his armor-bearer. ²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” ²³ And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him.

⁹ But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,

⁸ How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

¹⁵ But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha

² And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.

²³ The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

⁷ When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.

³² And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!” ³³ But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴ David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

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

²⁰ Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”

⁸ He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.

¹⁰ Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him.

²³ “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

²⁰ and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”

¹ Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. ³ So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?” ⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered. ⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. ⁷ The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings. ⁸ I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ Therefore, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

¹¹ And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.

³³ But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴ David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

¹⁹ So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.

⁷⁰ He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹ from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance. ⁷² So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.

⁸ to seat them with nobles, with the princes of His people.

¹ These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.

¹⁴ “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵ But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ And at once they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.

²⁷ But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.

¹⁸ Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them.

¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys

¹ When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. ² “Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

¹⁶ A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.

³⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit the land.

⁸ At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as they do to this day.

⁹ Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.

⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

³ Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.

²⁹ Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will be stationed in the presence of kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

¹⁴ After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely a spirit of distress from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord command your servants here to seek out someone who can skillfully play the harp. Whenever the spirit of distress from God is upon you, he is to play it, and you will be well.”

¹⁰ The 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, ¹¹ and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

⁴³ When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

²⁴ When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ On its return, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.”