1 Chronicles 11

DAVID’S ANOINTING AS KING
All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
2 Even previously when Saul was king, you were leading Israel out to battle and bringing us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over my people Israel.’ ”

3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the Lord’s word through Samuel.

DAVID’S CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM
4 David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus); the Jebusites who inhabited the land were there. 5 The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.

6 David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will become chief commander.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became the chief.

7 Then David took up residence in the stronghold; therefore, it was called the city of David. 8 He built up the city all the way around, from the supporting terraces to the surrounding parts, and Joab restored the rest of the city. 9 David steadily grew more powerful, and the Lord of Armies was with him.

EXPLOITS OF DAVID’S WARRIORS
10 The following were the chiefs of David’s warriors who, together with all Israel, strongly supported him in his reign to make him king according to the Lord’s word about Israel. 11 This is the list of David’s warriors:

Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief of the Thirty; 11:11 Alt Hb tradition reads ‘Three’ he wielded his spear against three hundred and killed them at one time.

12 After him, Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite was one of the three warriors. 13 He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines. 14 But Eleazar and David took their stand in the middle of the field and defended it. They killed the Philistines, and the Lord gave them a great victory.

15 Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while the Philistine army was encamped in Rephaim Valley. 16 At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 17 David was extremely thirsty and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem! ” 18 So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord. 19 David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of my God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives? ” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

20 Abishai, Joab’s brother, was the leader of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three. 21 He was more honored than the Three and became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the son of a brave man from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 23 He also killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall. Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand like a weaver’s beam, Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear. 24 These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors. 25 He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

26 The best soldiers were

Joab’s brother Asahel,
Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
27 Shammoth the Harorite,
Helez the Pelonite,
28 Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
Abiezer the Anathothite,
29 Sibbecai the Hushathite,
Ilai the Ahohite,
30 Maharai the Netophathite,
Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,
31 Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjaminites,
Benaiah the Pirathonite,
32 Hurai from the wadis of Gaash,
Abiel the Arbathite,
33 Azmaveth the Baharumite,
Eliahba the Shaalbonite,
34 The sons of Hashem the Gizonite,
Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite,
35 Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite,
Eliphal son of Ur,
36 Hepher the Mecherathite,
Ahijah the Pelonite,
37 Hezro the Carmelite,
Naarai son of Ezbai,
38 Joel the brother of Nathan,
Mibhar son of Hagri,
39 Zelek the Ammonite,
Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer for Joab son of Zeruiah,
40 Ira the Ithrite,
Gareb the Ithrite,
41 Uriah the Hethite,
Zabad son of Ahlai,
42 Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him,
43 Hanan son of Maacah,
Joshaphat the Mithnite,
44 Uzzia the Ashterathite,
Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,
45 Jediael son of Shimri and his brother Joha the Tizite,
46 Eliel the Mahavite,
Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam,
Ithmah the Moabite,
47 Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

1 Chronicles 12

DAVID’S FIRST SUPPORTERS
The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.
2 They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow. They were Saul’s relatives from Benjamin:

3 Their chief was Ahiezer son of Shemaah the Gibeathite.
Then there was his brother Joash;
Jeziel and Pelet sons of Azmaveth;
Beracah, Jehu the Anathothite;
4 Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a warrior among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty;
Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite;
5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite;
6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites;
7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.
8 Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were valiant warriors, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.

9 Ezer was the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third,
10 Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth,
11 Attai sixth, Eliel seventh,
12 Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth,
13 Jeremiah tenth, and Machbannai eleventh.
14 These Gadites were army commanders; the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest of them for a thousand. 15 These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.

16 Other Benjaminites and men from Judah also went to David at the stronghold. 17 David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”

18 Then the Spirit enveloped Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:

We are yours, David,
we are with you, son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
and peace to him who helps you,
for your God helps you.
So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

19 Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.” 20 When David went to Ziklag, some men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. 21 They helped David against the raiders, for they were all valiant warriors and commanders in the army. 22 At that time, men came day after day to help David until there was a great army, like an army of God.

DAVID’S SOLDIERS IN HEBRON
23 The numbers of the armed troops who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, according to the Lord’s word, were as follows:

24 From the Judahites: 6,800 armed troops bearing shields and spears.
25 From the Simeonites: 7,100 valiant warriors ready for war.
26 From the Levites: 4,600 27 in addition to Jehoiada, leader of the house of Aaron, with 3,700 men; 28 and Zadok, a young valiant warrior, with 22 commanders from his ancestral family.
29 From the Benjaminites, the relatives of Saul: 3,000 (up to that time the majority of the Benjaminites maintained their allegiance to the house of Saul).
30 From the Ephraimites: 20,800 valiant warriors who were famous men in their ancestral families.
31 From half the tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.
32 From the Issacharites, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command.
33 From Zebulun: 50,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, with one purpose to help David.
34 From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.
35 From the Danites: 28,600 trained for battle.
36 From Asher: 40,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle.
37 From across the Jordan ​— ​from the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: 120,000 men equipped with all the military weapons of war.
38 All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron wholeheartedly determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king. 39 They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them. 40 In addition, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen ​— ​abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, herds, and flocks. Indeed, there was joy in Israel.

Hebrews 13

FINAL EXHORTATIONS
Let brotherly love continue.
2 Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily. 4 Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 5 Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. 6 Therefore, we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by food regulations, since those who observe them have not benefited. 10 We have an altar from which those who worship at the tabernacle do not have a right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the most holy place by the high priest as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that he might sanctify the people by his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing his disgrace. 14 For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come. 15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 18 Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything. 19 And I urge you all the more to pray that I may be restored to you very soon.

BENEDICTION AND FAREWELL
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus ​— ​the great Shepherd of the sheep ​— ​through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to receive this message of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon enough, he will be with me when I see you. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who are from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with you all.

Amos 7

FIRST VISION: LOCUSTS
The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts at the time the spring crop first began to sprout ​— ​after the cutting of the king’s hay.
2 When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land, I said, “Lord God, please forgive! How will Jacob survive since he is so small? ”

3 The Lord relented concerning this. “It will not happen,” he said.

SECOND VISION: FIRE
4 The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I said, “Lord God, please stop! How will Jacob survive since he is so small? ”

6 The Lord relented concerning this. “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.

THIRD VISION: A PLUMB LINE
7 He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos? ”

I replied, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will no longer spare them:

9 Isaac’s high places will be deserted,
and Israel’s sanctuaries will be in ruins;
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam
with a sword.”
AMAZIAH’S OPPOSITION
10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words, 11 for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.’ ”

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living and give your prophecies there, 13 but don’t ever prophesy at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”

14 So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ ”

16 Now hear the word of the Lord. You say:

Do not prophesy against Israel;
do not preach against the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:

Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
and your land will be divided up
with a measuring line.
You yourself will die on pagan soil,
and Israel will certainly go into exile
from its homeland.

Psalm 89

PERPLEXITY ABOUT GOD’S PROMISES
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing about the Lord’s faithful love forever;
I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations
with my mouth.
2 For I will declare,
“Faithful love is built up forever;
you establish your faithfulness in the heavens.”
3 The Lord said,
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever
and build up your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah
5 Lord, the heavens praise your wonders —
your faithfulness also —
in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can compare with the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord?
7 God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
more awe-inspiring than all who surround him.
8 Lord God of Armies,
who is strong like you, Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule the raging sea;
when its waves surge, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
you scattered your enemies with your powerful arm.
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours.
The world and everything in it ​— ​you founded them.
12 North and south ​— ​you created them.
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
your hand is powerful;
your right hand is lifted high.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation
of your throne;
faithful love and truth go before you.
15 Happy are the people who know the joyful shout;
Lord, they walk in the light from your face.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long,
and they are exalted by your righteousness.
17 For you are their magnificent strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
18 Surely our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 You once spoke in a vision to your faithful ones
and said, “I have granted help to a warrior;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
I have anointed him with my sacred oil.
21 My hand will always be with him,
and my arm will strengthen him.
22 The enemy will not oppress him;
the wicked will not afflict him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and love will be with him,
and through my name
his horn will be exalted.
25 I will extend his power to the sea
and his right hand to the rivers.
26 He will call to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the rock of my salvation.’
27 I will also make him my firstborn,
greatest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will always preserve my faithful love for him,
and my covenant with him will endure.
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as heaven lasts.
30 If his sons abandon my instruction
and do not live by my ordinances,
31 if they dishonor my statutes
and do not keep my commands,
32 then I will call their rebellion
to account with the rod,
their iniquity with blows.
33 But I will not withdraw
my faithful love from him
or betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or change what my lips have said.
35 Once and for all
I have sworn an oath by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring will continue forever,
his throne like the sun before me,
37 like the moon, established forever,
a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
38 But you have spurned and rejected him;
you have become enraged with your anointed.
39 You have repudiated the covenant with your servant;
you have completely dishonored his crown.
40 You have broken down all his walls;
you have reduced his fortified cities to ruins.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become an object of ridicule
to his neighbors.
42 You have lifted high the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back his sharp sword
and have not let him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor cease
and have overturned his throne.
45 You have shortened the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, Lord? Will you hide forever?
Will your anger keep burning like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is.
Have you created everyone for nothing?
48 What courageous person can live and never see death?
Who can save himself from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Lord, where are the former acts of your faithful love
that you swore to David in your faithfulness?
50 Remember, Lord, the ridicule against your servants —
in my heart I carry abuse from all the peoples —
51 how your enemies have ridiculed, Lord,
how they have ridiculed every step of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord forever.
Amen and amen.

— 1 Chronicles 11-12, Hebrews 13, Amos 7, Psalm 89 (CSB)