¹When David was a little past the top of the mountain, there was Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth, who met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. ²And the king said to Ziba, “What do you mean to do with these?” So Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who are faint in the wilderness to drink.” ³Then the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ ” ⁴So the king said to Ziba, “Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!” ⁵Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. ⁶And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. ⁷Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! ⁸The Lᴏʀᴅ has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lᴏʀᴅ has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!” ⁹Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!” ¹⁰But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the Lᴏʀᴅ has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ” ¹¹And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lᴏʀᴅ has ordered him. ¹²It may be that the Lᴏʀᴅ will look on my affliction, and that the Lᴏʀᴅ will repay me with good for his cursing this day.” ¹³And as David and his men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and kicked up dust. ¹⁴Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there. ¹⁵Meanwhile Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem; and Ahithophel was with him. ¹⁶And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” ¹⁷So Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, but whom the Lᴏʀᴅ and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so will I be in your presence.” ²⁰Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give counsel as to what we should do.” ²¹And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.” ²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. ²³Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

¹Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; ²for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. ³Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; ⁴lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. ⁵Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. ⁶But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ⁹As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, ¹¹while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. ¹²For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, ¹³while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, ¹⁴and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

¹The word of the Lᴏʀᴅ came again to me, saying: ²“Son of man, there were two women, The daughters of one mother. ³They committed harlotry in Egypt, They committed harlotry in their youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed. ⁴Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah ⁵“Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians, ⁶Who were clothed in purple, Captains and rulers, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen riding on horses. ⁷Thus she committed her harlotry with them, All of them choice men of Assyria; And with all for whom she lusted, With all their idols, she defiled herself. ⁸She has never given up her harlotry brought from Egypt, For in her youth they had lain with her, Pressed her virgin bosom, And poured out their immorality upon her. ⁹“Therefore I have delivered her Into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of the Assyrians, For whom she lusted. ¹⁰They uncovered her nakedness, Took away her sons and daughters, And slew her with the sword; She became a byword among women, For they had executed judgment on her. ¹¹“Now although her sister Oholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry. ¹²“She lusted for the neighboring Assyrians, Captains and rulers, Clothed most gorgeously, Horsemen riding on horses, All of them desirable young men. ¹³Then I saw that she was defiled; Both took the same way. ¹⁴But she increased her harlotry; She looked at men portrayed on the wall, Images of Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion ¹⁵Girded with belts around their waists, Flowing turbans on their heads, All of them looking like captains, In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, The land of their nativity. ¹⁶As soon as her eyes saw them, She lusted for them And sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷“Then the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, And they defiled her with their immorality; So she was defiled by them, and alienated herself from them. ¹⁸She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness. Then I alienated Myself from her, As I had alienated Myself from her sister. ¹⁹“Yet she multiplied her harlotry In calling to remembrance the days of her youth, When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt ²⁰For she lusted for her paramours, Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, And whose issue is like the issue of horses. ²¹Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, When the Egyptians pressed your bosom Because of your youthful breasts ²²“Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God: ‘Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you, From whom you have alienated yourself, And I will bring them against you from every side: ²³The Babylonians, All the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, All the Assyrians with them, All of them desirable young men, Governors and rulers, Captains and men of renown, All of them riding on horses. ²⁴And they shall come against you With chariots, wagons, and war-horses, With a horde of people. They shall array against you Buckler, shield, and helmet all around. ‘I will delegate judgment to them, And they shall judge you according to their judgments. ²⁵I will set My jealousy against you, And they shall deal furiously with you; They shall remove your nose and your ears, And your remnant shall fall by the sword; They shall take your sons and your daughters, And your remnant shall be devoured by fire. ²⁶They shall also strip you of your clothes And take away your beautiful jewelry. ²⁷‘Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry Brought from the land of Egypt, So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt anymore.’ ²⁸“For thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hand of those you hate, into the hand of those from whom you alienated yourself. ²⁹They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry. ³⁰I will do these things to you because you have gone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols. ³¹You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’ ³²“Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God: ‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup, The deep and wide one; You shall be laughed to scorn And held in derision; It contains much. ³³You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria. ³⁴You shall drink and drain it, You shall break its shards, And tear at your own breasts; For I have spoken,’ Says the Lᴏʀᴅ God. ³⁵“Therefore thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, Therefore you shall bear the penalty Of your lewdness and your harlotry.’ ” ³⁶The Lᴏʀᴅ also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations ³⁷For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. ³⁸Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths ³⁹For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house. ⁴⁰Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you washed yourself for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. ⁴¹You sat on a stately couch, with a table prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil. ⁴²The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. ⁴³Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them?’ ⁴⁴Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵But righteous men will judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands. ⁴⁶“For thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God: ‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. ⁴⁷The assembly shall stone them with stones and execute them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. ⁴⁸Thus I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. ⁴⁹They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall pay for your idolatrous sins. Then you shall know that I am the Lᴏʀᴅ God.’ ”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O Lᴏʀᴅ! ²Let them be ashamed and confounded Who seek my life; Let them be turned back and confused Who desire my hurt. ³Let them be turned back because of their shame, Who say, “Aha, aha!” ⁴Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified!” ⁵But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lᴏʀᴅ, do not delay.

¹In You, O Lᴏʀᴅ, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. ²Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me, and save me. ³Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. ⁴Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. ⁵For You are my hope, O Lᴏʀᴅ God; You are my trust from my youth. ⁶By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. ⁷I have become as a wonder to many, But You are my strong refuge. ⁸Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day. ⁹Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. ¹⁰For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, ¹¹Saying, “God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.” ¹²O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! ¹³Let them be confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt. ¹⁴But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. ¹⁵My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. ¹⁶I will go in the strength of the Lᴏʀᴅ God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. ¹⁷O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. ¹⁸Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. ¹⁹Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? ²⁰You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth. ²¹You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side. ²²Also with the lute I will praise you— And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. ²³My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed. ²⁴My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt.