Bible Reading Plan

David Destroys the Amalekites

¹ David and his men reached Ziklag^(a) on the third day. Now the Amalekites^(b) had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned^(c) it, ² and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

³ When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.^{(d) 4} So David and his men wept^(e) aloud until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵ David's two wives^(f) had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶ David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning^(g) him; each one was bitter^(h) in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength⁽ⁱ⁾ in the Lord his God.

⁷ Then David said to Abiathar^(j) the priest, the son of Ahimelek, "Bring me the ephod.^(k)" Abiathar brought it to him, ⁸ and David inquired^(l) of the Lord , "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?"

"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed^(m) in the rescue.⁽ⁿ⁾"

⁹ David and the six hundred men^(o) with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. ¹⁰ Two hundred of them were too exhausted^(p) to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.

¹¹ They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— ¹² part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived,^(q) for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.

¹³ David asked him, "Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?"

He said, "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite.^(r) My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. ¹⁴ We raided the Negev of the Kerethites,^(s) some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb.^(t) And we burned^(u) Ziklag."

¹⁵ David asked him, "Can you lead me down to this raiding party?"

He answered, "Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master,^(v) and I will take you down to them."

¹⁶ He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling^(w) because of the great amount of plunder^(x) they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. ¹⁷ David fought^(y) them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.^{(z) 18} David recovered^(aa) everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰ He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, "This is David's plunder."

²¹ Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted^(ab) to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. ²² But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, "Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go."

²³ David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. ²⁴ Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.^(ac)" ²⁵ David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

²⁶ When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, "Here is a gift^(ad) for you from the plunder of the Lord 's enemies."

²⁷ David sent it to those who were in Bethel,^(ae) Ramoth^(af) Negev and Jattir;^{(ag) 28} to those in Aroer,^(ah) Siphmoth,^(ai) Eshtemoa^{(aj) 29} and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites^(ak) and the Kenites;^{(al) 30} to those in Hormah,^(am) Bor Ashan,^(an) Athak ³¹ and Hebron;^(ao) and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.

Chapter 24

Jesus Has Risen^(a)

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared^(b) and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.^{(c) 4} While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning^(d) stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:^{(e) 7} ‘The Son of Man^(f) must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "^{(g) 8} Then they remembered his words.^(h)

⁹ When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them⁽ⁱ⁾ who told this to the apostles.^{(j) 11} But they did not believe^(k) the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹² Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves,^(l) and he went away,^(m) wondering to himself what had happened.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem.^{(n) 14} They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;^{(o) 16} but they were kept from recognizing him.^(p)

¹⁷ He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas,^(q) asked him, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

¹⁹ "What things?" he asked.

"About Jesus of Nazareth,"^(r) they replied. "He was a prophet,^(s) powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers^(t) handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.^(u) And what is more, it is the third day^(v) since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us.^(w) They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus."^(x)

²⁵ He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"^{(y) 27} And beginning with Moses^(z) and all the Prophets,^(aa) he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.^(ab)

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it^(ac) and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,^(ad) and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us^(ae) while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures^(af) to us?"

³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, "It is true! The Lord^(ag) has risen and has appeared to Simon."^{(ah) 35} Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.^(ai)