¹Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ²Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. ³Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. ⁶Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” ⁸Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹So Saul eyed David from that day forward. ¹⁰And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. ¹¹And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice. ¹²Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lᴏʀᴅ was with him, but had departed from Saul. ¹³Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lᴏʀᴅ was with him. ¹⁵Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. ¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lᴏʀᴅ’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” ¹⁸So David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife. ²⁰Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.” ²²And Saul commanded his servants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ” ²³So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” ²⁴And the servants of Saul told him, saying, “In this manner David spoke.” ²⁵Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the days had not expired; ²⁷therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. ²⁸Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lᴏʀᴅ was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; ²⁹and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually. ³⁰Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.

¹I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, ²that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also. ³Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. ⁵Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ. ⁶Greet Mary, who labored much for us. ⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. ⁸Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. ¹⁰Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹Greet Herodion, my countryman. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. ¹²Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have labored in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord. ¹³Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. ¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. ¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you. ¹⁷Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. ¹⁸For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. ¹⁹For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. ²⁰And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. ²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you. ²²I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. ²³Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother. ²⁴The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. ²⁵Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began ²⁶but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— ²⁷to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

¹I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. ²He has led me and made me walk In darkness and not in light. ³Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. ⁴He has aged my flesh and my skin, And broken my bones. ⁵He has besieged me And surrounded me with bitterness and woe. ⁶He has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago. ⁷He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy. ⁸Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer. ⁹He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. ¹⁰He has been to me a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in ambush. ¹¹He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate. ¹²He has bent His bow And set me up as a target for the arrow. ¹³He has caused the arrows of His quiver To pierce my loins. ¹⁴I have become the ridicule of all my people— Their taunting song all the day. ¹⁵He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood. ¹⁶He has also broken my teeth with gravel, And covered me with ashes. ¹⁷You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity. ¹⁸And I said, “My strength and my hope Have perished from the Lᴏʀᴅ.” ¹⁹Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. ²⁰My soul still remembers And sinks within me. ²¹This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. ²²Through the Lᴏʀᴅ’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. ²³They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ²⁴“The Lᴏʀᴅ is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” ²⁵The Lᴏʀᴅ is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. ²⁶It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²⁷It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. ²⁸Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him; ²⁹Let him put his mouth in the dust— There may yet be hope. ³⁰Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach. ³¹For the Lᴏʀᴅ will not cast off forever. ³²Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. ³³For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men. ³⁴To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth, ³⁵To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, ³⁶Or subvert a man in his cause— The Lᴏʀᴅ does not approve. ³⁷Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lᴏʀᴅ has not commanded it? ³⁸Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed? ³⁹Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins? ⁴⁰Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lᴏʀᴅ; ⁴¹Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. ⁴²We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned. ⁴³You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and not pitied. ⁴⁴You have covered Yourself with a cloud, That prayer should not pass through. ⁴⁵You have made us an offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. ⁴⁶All our enemies Have opened their mouths against us. ⁴⁷Fear and a snare have come upon us, Desolation and destruction. ⁴⁸My eyes overflow with rivers of water For the destruction of the daughter of my people. ⁴⁹My eyes flow and do not cease, Without interruption, ⁵⁰Till the Lᴏʀᴅ from heaven Looks down and sees. ⁵¹My eyes bring suffering to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city. ⁵²My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird. ⁵³They silenced my life in the pit And threw stones at me. ⁵⁴The waters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off!” ⁵⁵I called on Your name, O Lᴏʀᴅ, From the lowest pit. ⁵⁶You have heard my voice: “Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help.” ⁵⁷You drew near on the day I called on You, And said, “Do not fear!” ⁵⁸O Lᴏʀᴅ, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life. ⁵⁹O Lᴏʀᴅ, You have seen how I am wronged; Judge my case. ⁶⁰You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me. ⁶¹You have heard their reproach, O Lᴏʀᴅ, All their schemes against me, ⁶²The lips of my enemies And their whispering against me all the day. ⁶³Look at their sitting down and their rising up; I am their taunting song. ⁶⁴Repay them, O Lᴏʀᴅ, According to the work of their hands. ⁶⁵Give them a veiled heart; Your curse be upon them! ⁶⁶In Your anger, Pursue and destroy them From under the heavens of the Lᴏʀᴅ.

¹A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the Lᴏʀᴅ at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. ²My soul shall make its boast in the Lᴏʀᴅ; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. ³Oh, magnify the Lᴏʀᴅ with me, And let us exalt His name together. ⁴I sought the Lᴏʀᴅ, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. ⁵They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. ⁶This poor man cried out, and the Lᴏʀᴅ heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. ⁷The angel of the Lᴏʀᴅ encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. ⁸Oh, taste and see that the Lᴏʀᴅ is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! ⁹Oh, fear the Lᴏʀᴅ, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. ¹⁰The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lᴏʀᴅ shall not lack any good thing. ¹¹Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ¹²Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? ¹³Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. ¹⁴Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. ¹⁵The eyes of the Lᴏʀᴅ are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. ¹⁶The face of the Lᴏʀᴅ is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. ¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the Lᴏʀᴅ hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸The Lᴏʀᴅ is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lᴏʀᴅ delivers him out of them all. ²⁰He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. ²¹Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. ²²The Lᴏʀᴅ redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.