2 Samuel 23; 2 Samuel 24; Luke 19:1-27

1 These are David's last words: This is the declaration of Jesse's son David, the declaration of a man raised high, a man anointed by the God of Jacob, a man favored by the strong one of Israel.

2 The LORD's spirit speaks through me; his word is on my tongue.

3 Israel's God has spoken, Israel's rock said to me: "Whoever rules rightly over people, whoever rules in the fear of God,

4 is like the light of sunrise on a morning with no clouds, like the bright gleam after the rain that brings grass from the ground."

5 Yes, my house is this way with God! He has made an eternal covenant with me, laid out and secure in every detail. Yes, he provides every one of my victories and brings my every desire to pass.

6 But despicable people are like thorns, all of them good for nothing, because they can't be carried by hand.

7 No one can touch them, except with iron bar or the shaft of a spear. They must be burned up with fire right on the spot!

8 These are the names of David's warriors: Jeshbaal from Hachmon was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against eight hundred, killing them on a single occasion.

9 Next in command was Eleazar, Dodo's son and Ahohi's grandson. He was among the three warriors with David when they insulted the Philistines who had gathered there for battle. The Israelites retreated,

10 but he stood his ground and fought the Philistines until his hand was weary and stuck to the sword. But the LORD accomplished a great victory that day. The troops then returned to Eleazar, but only to plunder the dead.

11 Next in command was Agee's son Shammah, who was from Harar. The Philistines had gathered at Lehi, where there was a plot of land full of lentils. The troops fled from the Philistines,

12 but Shammah took a position in the middle of the plot, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. The LORD accomplished a great victory.

13 At harvesttime, three of the thirty chiefs went down and joined David at the fortress of Adullam, while a force of Philistines were camped in the Rephaim Valley.

14 At that time, David was in the fortress, and a Philistine fort was in Bethlehem.

15 David had a craving and said, "If only someone could give me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem."

16 So the three warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it and poured it out to the LORD.

17 "The LORD forbid that I should do that," he said. "Isn't this the blood of men who risked their lives?" So he refused to drink it. These were the kinds of things the three warriors did.

18 Now Zeruiah's son Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. He raised his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and made a name for himself along with the Three.

19 He was the most famous of the Thirty. He became their commander, but he wasn't among the Three.

20 Jehoiada's son Benaiah was a hero from Kabzeel who performed great deeds. He killed the two sons of Ariel from Moab. He once went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day.

21 He also killed a giant Egyptian who had a spear in his hand. Benaiah went against him armed with a staff. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

22 These were the kinds of things Jehoiada's son Benaiah did. He made a name for himself along with the three warriors.

23 He was famous among the Thirty, but he didn't become one of the Three. David placed him in command of his own bodyguard.

24 Among the Thirty were: Asahel, Joab's brother; Elhanan, Dodo's son from Bethlehem;

25 Shammah from Harod; Elika from Harod;

26 Helez from Pelet; Ira, Ikkesh's son from Tekoa;

27 Abiezer from Anathoth; Mebunnai the Hushathite;

28 Zalmon from Ahoh; Maharai from Netophah;

29 Heleb, Baanah's son from Netophah; Ittai, Ribai's son from Gibeah in Benjamin;

30 Benaiah from Pirathon; Hiddai from the Gaash ravines;

31 Abi-albon from the desert plain; Azmaveth from Bahurim;

32 Eliahba from Shaalbon; Jashen the Gizonite; Jonathan,

33 Shammah's son from Harar; Ahiam, Sharar's son from Harar;

34 Eliphelet, Ahasbai's son from Maacah; Eliam, Ahithophel's son from Giloh;

35 Hezro from Carmel; Paarai from Erab;

36 Igal, Nathan's son from Zobah; Bani the Gadite;

37 Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai from Beeroth, and the armor-bearer for Zeruiah's son Joab;

38 Ira from Ither; Gaeb from Ither;

39 and Uriah the Hittite— thirty-seven in all.

1 The LORD burned with anger against Israel again, and he incited David against them: Go and count the people of Israel and Judah.

2 So the king said to Joab and the military commanders who were with him, "Go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people so I know how many people there are."

3 Joab said to the king, "May the LORD your God increase the number of people a hundred times while the eyes of my master the king can still see it! But why does my master the king want to do this?"

4 But the king's word overruled Joab and the military commanders. So Joab and the commanders left the king's presence to take a census of the Israelites.

5 They crossed the Jordan River and began from Aroer and from the town that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, then on to Jazer.

6 They continued to Gilead and on to Kadesh in Hittite territory. They came to Dan and went around to Sidon.

7 They went to the fortress of Tyre and to all the towns of the Hivites and the Canaanites. They went out to Beer-sheba in the arid southern plain of Judah.

8 At the end of nine months and twenty days, after going through the entire country, they came back to Jerusalem.

9 Joab reported to the king the number of the people who had been counted: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand strong men who could handle a sword; in Judah the total was five hundred thousand men.

10 But after this David felt terrible that he had counted the people. David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, LORD, please take away the guilt of your servant because I have done something very foolish."

11 When David got up the next morning, the LORD's word came to the prophet Gad, David's seer:

12 Go and tell David, This is what the LORD says: I'm offering you three punishments. Choose one of them, and that is what I will do to you.

13 So Gad went to David and said to him, "Will three years of famine come on your land? Or will you run from your enemies for three months while they chase you? Or will there be three days of plague in your land? Decide now what answer I should take back to the one who sent me."

14 "I'm in deep trouble," David said to Gad. "Let's fall into the LORD's hands because his mercy is great, but don't let me fall into human hands."

15 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that very morning until the allotted time. Seventy thousand people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba.

16 But when the divine messenger stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD regretted doing this disaster and said to the messenger who was destroying the people, "That's enough! Withdraw your hand." At that time the LORD's messenger was by the threshing floor of Araunah from Jebus.

17 When David saw the messenger who was striking down the people, he said, "I'm the one who sinned! I'm the one who has done wrong. But these sheep—what have they done wrong? Turn your hand against me and my household."

18 That same day Gad came to David and told him, "Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah from Jebus."

19 So David went up, following Gad's instructions, just as the LORD had commanded.

20 Araunah looked up and saw the king and his servants approaching him. Araunah rushed out and bowed low before the king, his nose to the ground.

21 Araunah said, "Why has my master and king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy this threshing floor from you to build an altar to the LORD, so the plague among the people may come to an end."

22 Then Araunah said to David, "Take it for yourself, and may my master the king do what he thinks is best. Here are oxen for the entirely burned offering, and here are threshing boards and oxen yokes for wood.

23 All this, Your Majesty, Araunah gives to the king." Then he added, "May the LORD your God respond favorably to you!"

24 "No," the king said to Araunah. "I will buy them from you at a fair price. I won't offer up to the LORD my God entirely burned offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 David built an altar there for the LORD and offered entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices. The LORD responded to the prayers for the land, and the plague against Israel came to an end.

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town.

2 A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich.

3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn't because of the crowd.

4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today."

6 So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus.

7 Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner."

8 Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much."

9 Jesus said to him, "Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham.

10 The Human One came to seek and save the lost."

11 As they listened to this, Jesus told them another parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought God's kingdom would appear right away.

12 He said, “A certain man who was born into royalty went to a distant land to receive his kingdom and then return.

13 He called together ten servants and gave each of them money worth four months' wages. He said, ‘Do business with this until I return.'

14 His citizens hated him, so they sent a representative after him who said, ‘We don't want this man to be our king.'

15 After receiving his kingdom, he returned and called the servants to whom he had given the money to find out how much they had earned.

16 The first servant came forward and said, ‘Your money has earned a return of one thousand percent.'

17 The king replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good servant. Because you have been faithful in a small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.'

18 “The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your money has made a return of five hundred percent.'

19 To this one, the king said, ‘You will have authority over five cities.'

20 “Another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your money. I wrapped it up in a scarf for safekeeping.

21 I was afraid of you because you are a stern man. You withdraw what you haven't deposited and you harvest what you haven't planted.'

22 The king replied, ‘I will judge you by the words of your own mouth, you worthless servant! You knew, did you, that I'm a stern man, withdrawing what I didn't deposit, and harvesting what I didn't plant?

23 Why then didn't you put my money in the bank? Then when I arrived, at least I could have gotten it back with interest.'

24 "He said to his attendants, ‘Take his money and give it to the one who has ten times as much.'

25 ‘But Master,' they said, ‘he already has ten times as much!'

26 He replied, ‘I say to you that everyone who has will be given more, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

27 As for my enemies who don't want me as their king, bring them here and slaughter them before me.'"