June 6th

So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the sons of Israel made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah).

Thus David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? And how can I make atonement that you may bless the inheritance of Yahweh?”

Then the Gibeonites said to him, “We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

So they said to the king, “The man who consumed us and who planned to eradicate us from standing within any border of Israel,

let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Yahweh.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.

So the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth whom she had borne to Saul, and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

Then he gave them into the hand of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before Yahweh, so that the seven of them fell together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest at the beginning of barley harvest.

And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until it rained on them from the sky; and she allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.

Then it was told to David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

So David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the open square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day the Philistines struck down Saul in Gilboa.

And he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged.

Then they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the grave of Kish his father; thus they did all that the king commanded, and afterwards God was moved by the entreaty for the land.

And the Philistines were at war again with Israel, so David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

Then Ishbi-benob, who was among those born to the giants, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, was girded with a new sword, and he intended to strike down David.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and put him to death. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall not go out again with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

Now it happened afterwards that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among those born to the giants.

There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

Then there was war at Gath again, and there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born to the giants.

And he reproached Israel, so Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down.

These four were born to the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

And David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

He said,

“Now My soul has become dismayed; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sake.

Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was about to die.

The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how do You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.

But though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him,

so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,

“He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and return and I heal them.”

These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke about Him.

Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;

for they loved the glory of men rather than the glory of God.

And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.

And he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.

I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

And if anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

He who rejects Me and does not receive My words, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day.

For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.