1 Samuel 14

That same day Saul’s son Jonathan said to the attendant who carried his weapons, “Come on, let’s cross over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” However, he did not tell his father.

2 Saul was staying under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah. The troops with him numbered about six hundred. 3 Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod, was also there. He was the son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod son of Phinehas, son of Eli the Lord’s priest at Shiloh. But the troops did not know that Jonathan had left.

4 There were sharp columns of rock on both sides of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine garrison. One was named Bozez and the other Seneh; 5 one stood to the north in front of Michmash and the other to the south in front of Geba. 6 Jonathan said to the attendant who carried his weapons, “Come on, let’s cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will help us. Nothing can keep the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”

7 His armor-bearer responded, “Do what is in your heart. Go ahead! I’m completely with you.”

8 “All right,” Jonathan replied, “we’ll cross over to the men and then let them see us. 9 If they say, ‘Wait until we reach you,’ then we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come on up,’ then we’ll go up, because the Lord has handed them over to us ​— ​that will be our sign.”

11 They let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison, and the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they’ve been hiding! ” 12 The men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer. “Come on up, and we’ll teach you a lesson! ” they said.

“Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the Lord has handed them over to Israel.” 13 Jonathan climbed up using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. Jonathan cut them down, and his armor-bearer followed and finished them off. 14 In that first assault Jonathan and his armor-bearer struck down about twenty men in a half-acre field.

A DEFEAT FOR THE PHILISTINES
15 Terror spread through the Philistine camp and the open fields to all the troops. Even the garrison and the raiding parties were terrified. The earth shook, and terror spread from God. 16 When Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, they saw the panicking troops scattering in every direction. 17 So Saul said to the troops with him, “Call the roll and determine who has left us.” They called the roll and saw that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were gone.

18 Saul told Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God,” for it was with the Israelites at that time. 19 While Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistine camp increased in intensity. So Saul said to the priest, “Stop what you’re doing.”

20 Saul and all the troops with him assembled and marched to the battle, and there the Philistines were, fighting against each other in great confusion! 21 There were Hebrews from the area who had gone earlier into the camp to join the Philistines, but even they joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 When all the Israelite men who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined Saul and Jonathan in the battle. 23 So the Lord saved Israel that day.

SAUL’S RASH OATH
The battle extended beyond Beth-aven, 24 and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath: “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

25 Everyone went into the forest, and there was honey on the ground. 26 When the troops entered the forest, they saw the flow of honey, but none of them ate any of it because they feared the oath. 27 However, Jonathan had not heard his father make the troops swear the oath. He reached out with the end of the staff he was carrying and dipped it into the honeycomb. When he ate the honey, he had renewed energy. 28 Then one of the troops said, “Your father made the troops solemnly swear, ‘The man who eats food today is cursed,’ and the troops are exhausted.”

29 Jonathan replied, “My father has brought trouble to the land. Just look at how I have renewed energy because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater.”

31 The Israelites struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash all the way to Aijalon. Since the Israelites were completely exhausted, 32 they rushed to the plunder, took sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, slaughtered them on the ground, and ate meat with the blood still in it. 33 Some reported to Saul, “Look, the troops are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.”

Saul said, “You have been unfaithful. Roll a large stone over here at once.” 34 He then said, “Go among the troops and say to them, ‘Let each man bring me his ox or his sheep. Do the slaughtering here and then you can eat. Don’t sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood in it.’ ” So every one of the troops brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first time he had built an altar to the Lord.

36 Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until morning. Don’t let even one remain! ”

“Do whatever you want,” the troops replied.

But the priest said, “Let’s approach God here.”

37 So Saul inquired of God, “Should I go after the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel? ” But God did not answer him that day.

38 Saul said, “All you leaders of the troops, come here. Let’s investigate how this sin has occurred today. 39 As surely as the Lord lives who saves Israel, even if it is because of my son Jonathan, he must die! ” Not one of the troops answered him.

40 So he said to all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”

And the troops replied, “Do whatever you want.”

41 So Saul said to the Lord, “God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If the unrighteousness is in me or in my son Jonathan, Lord God of Israel, give Urim; but if the fault is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were selected, and the troops were cleared of the charge.

42 Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan,” and Jonathan was selected. 43 Saul commanded him, “Tell me what you did.”

Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of the staff I was carrying. I am ready to die! ”

44 Saul declared to him, “May God punish me and do so severely if you do not die, Jonathan! ”

45 But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? He accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel! No, as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he worked with God’s help today.” So the people redeemed Jonathan, and he did not die. 46 Then Saul gave up the pursuit of the Philistines, and the Philistines returned to their own territory.

SUMMARY OF SAUL’S KINGSHIP
47 When Saul assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies in every direction: against Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he caused havoc. 48 He fought bravely, defeated the Amalekites, and rescued Israel from those who plundered them.

49 Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab, his firstborn, and Michal, the younger. 50 The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Saul’s uncle Ner. 51 Saul’s father was Kish. Abner’s father was Ner son of Abiel.

52 The conflict with the Philistines was fierce all of Saul’s days, so whenever Saul noticed any strong or valiant man, he enlisted him.

Romans 12

A LIVING SACRIFICE
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

MANY GIFTS BUT ONE BODY
3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

CHRISTIAN ETHICS
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For in so doing

you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.

21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

Jeremiah 51

GOD’S JUDGMENT ON BABYLON
This is what the Lord says:

I am about to rouse the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon
and against the population of Leb-qamai.
2 I will send strangers to Babylon
who will scatter her and strip her land bare,
for they will come against her
from every side in the day of disaster.
3 Don’t let the archer string his bow;
don’t let him put on his armor.
Don’t spare her young men;
completely destroy her entire army!
4 Those who were slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans,
those who were pierced through, in her streets.
5 For Israel and Judah are not left widowed
by their God, the Lord of Armies,
though their land is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Leave Babylon;
save your lives, each of you!
Don’t perish because of her guilt.
For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance —
he will pay her what she deserves.
7 Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand,
making the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore, the nations go mad.
8 Suddenly Babylon fell and was shattered.
Wail for her;
get balm for her wound —
perhaps she can be healed.
9 We tried to heal Babylon,
but she could not be healed.
Abandon her!
Let each of us go to his own land,
for her judgment extends to the sky
and reaches as far as the clouds.
10 The Lord has brought about our vindication;
come, let’s tell in Zion
what the Lord our God has accomplished.
11 Sharpen the arrows!
Fill the quivers!
The Lord has roused the spirit
of the kings of the Medes
because his plan is aimed at Babylon
to destroy her,
for it is the Lord’s vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
12 Raise up a signal flag
against the walls of Babylon;
fortify the watch post;
set the watchmen in place;
prepare the ambush.
For the Lord has both planned and accomplished
what he has threatened
against those who live in Babylon.
13 You who reside by abundant water,
rich in treasures,
your end has come,
your life thread is cut.
14 The Lord of Armies has sworn by himself:

I will fill you up with men as with locusts,
and they will sing the victory song over you.
15 He made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom,
and spread out the heavens by his understanding.
16 When he thunders,
the waters in the heavens are tumultuous,
and he causes the clouds
to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.
17 Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed.
19 Jacob’s Portion is not like these
because he is the one who formed all things.
Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of Armies is his name.
20 You are my war club,
my weapons of war.
With you I will smash nations;
with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin.
21 With you I will smash the horse and its rider;
with you I will smash the chariot and its rider.
22 With you I will smash man and woman;
with you I will smash the old man and the youth;
with you I will smash the young man and the young woman.
23 With you I will smash the shepherd and his flock;
with you I will smash the farmer and his ox-team.
With you I will smash governors and officials.
24 “Before your very eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

25 Look, I am against you, devastating mountain.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
You devastate the whole earth.
I will stretch out my hand against you,
roll you down from the cliffs,
and turn you into a charred mountain.
26 No one will be able to retrieve a cornerstone
or a foundation stone from you,
because you will become desolate forever.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
27 Raise a signal flag in the land;
blow a ram’s horn among the nations;
set apart the nations against her.
Summon kingdoms against her —
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a marshal against her;
bring up horses like a swarm of locusts.
28 Set apart the nations for battle against her —
the kings of Media,
her governors and all her officials,
and all the lands they rule.
29 The earth quakes and trembles
because the Lord’s intentions against Babylon stand:
to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30 Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting;
they sit in their strongholds.
Their might is exhausted;
they have become like women.
Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze,
her gate bars are shattered.
31 Messenger races to meet messenger,
and herald to meet herald,
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his city has been captured
from end to end.
32 The fords have been seized,
the marshes set on fire,
and the fighting men are terrified.
33 For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:

Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time it is trampled.
In just a little while her harvest time will come.
34 “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me;
he has crushed me.
He has set me aside like an empty dish;
he has swallowed me like a sea monster;
he filled his belly with my delicacies;
he has vomited me out.
35 Let the violence done to me and my family be done to Babylon,”
says the inhabitant of Zion.
“Let my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
says Jerusalem.
36 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:

I am about to champion your cause
and take vengeance on your behalf;
I will dry up her sea
and make her fountain run dry.
37 Babylon will become a heap of rubble,
a jackals’ den,
a desolation and an object of scorn,
without inhabitant.
38 They will roar together like young lions;
they will growl like lion cubs.
39 While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast,
and I will make them drunk so that they celebrate.
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams together with male goats.
41 How Sheshak has been captured,
the praise of the whole earth seized.
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!
42 The sea has risen over Babylon;
she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities have become a desolation,
an arid desert,
a land where no one lives,
where no human being even passes through.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon.
I will make him vomit what he swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him;
even Babylon’s wall will fall.
45 Come out from among her, my people!
Save your lives, each of you,
from the Lord’s burning anger.
46 May you not become cowardly and fearful
when the report is proclaimed in the land,
for the report will come one year,
and then another the next year.
There will be violence in the land
with ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore, look, the days are coming
when I will punish Babylon’s carved images.
Her entire land will suffer shame,
and all her slain will lie fallen within her.
48 Heaven and earth and everything in them
will shout for joy over Babylon
because the destroyers from the north
will come against her.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
49 Babylon must fall because of the slain of Israel,
even as the slain of the whole earth fell
because of Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword,
go and do not stand still!
Remember the Lord from far away,
and let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51 We are ashamed
because we have heard insults.
Humiliation covers our faces
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the Lord’s temple.
52 Therefore, look, the days are coming —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
when I will punish her carved images,
and the wounded will groan
throughout her land.
53 Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens
and fortify her tall fortresses,
destroyers will come against her from me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
54 The sound of a cry from Babylon!
The sound of terrible destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is going to devastate Babylon;
he will silence her mighty voice.
Their waves roar like a huge torrent;
the tumult of their voice resounds,
56 for a destroyer is coming against her,
against Babylon.
Her warriors will be captured,
their bows shattered,
for the Lord is a God of retribution;
he will certainly repay.
57 I will make her princes and sages drunk,
along with her governors, officials, and warriors.
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.
This is the King’s declaration; the Lord of Armies is his name.
58 This is what the Lord of Armies says:

Babylon’s thick walls will be totally demolished,
and her high gates set ablaze.
The peoples will have labored for nothing;
the nations will weary themselves only to feed the fire.
59 This is what the prophet Jeremiah commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 60 Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.

61 Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Say, ‘Lord, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it ​— ​people or animals. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.’ 63 When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. 64 Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.’ ”

The words of Jeremiah end here.

Luke 19

JESUS VISITS ZACCHAEUS
He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.”

6 So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully. 7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.”

8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”

9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

THE PARABLE OF THE TEN MINAS
11 As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and they thought the kingdom of God was going to appear right away.

12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman traveled to a far country to receive for himself authority to be king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants, gave them ten minas, and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’

14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us.’

15 “At his return, having received the authority to be king, he summoned those servants he had given the money to, so that he could find out how much they had made in business. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten more minas.’

17 “ ‘Well done, good servant! ’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, have authority over ten towns.’

18 “The second came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’

19 “So he said to him, ‘You will be over five towns.’

20 “And another came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina. I have kept it safe in a cloth 21 because I was afraid of you since you’re a harsh man: you collect what you didn’t deposit and reap what you didn’t sow.’

22 “He told him, ‘I will condemn you by what you have said, you evil servant! If you knew I was a harsh man, collecting what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow, 23 why, then, didn’t you put my money in the bank? And when I returned, I would have collected it with interest.’ 24 So he said to those standing there, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

25 “But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’

26 “ ‘I tell you, that to everyone who has, more will be given; and from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away. 27 But bring here these enemies of mine, who did not want me to rule over them, and slaughter them in my presence.’ ”

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY
28 When he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples 30 and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it? ’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

32 So those who were sent left and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt? ”

34 “The Lord needs it,” they said. 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their clothes on the colt, they helped Jesus get on it. 36 As he was going along, they were spreading their clothes on the road. 37 Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

38 Blessed is the King who comes

in the name of the Lord.

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest heaven!

39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.”

JESUS’S LOVE FOR JERUSALEM
41 As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, 42 saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace ​— ​but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”

CLEANSING THE TEMPLE
45 He went into the temple and began to throw out those who were selling, 46 and he said, “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves! ”

47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to kill him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were captivated by what they heard.

— 1 Samuel 14, Romans 12, Jeremiah 51, Luke 19 (CSB)