2 Samuel 8, 9, 2 Corinthians 2, Ezekiel 16, Psalm 58, 59

2 Samuel 8, 9,

1 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.
 
2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.
 
3 Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River.
 
4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
 
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them.
 
6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
 
7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.
 
8 From Tebah and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.
 
9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,
 
10 he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze.
 
11 King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued:
 
12 Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
 
13 And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
 
14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
 
15 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.
 
16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;
 
17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary;
 
18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David's sons were royal advisers.
 

    
1 David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
 
2 Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "Your servant," he replied.
 
3 The king asked, "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet."
 
4 "Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."
 
5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
 
6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, "Mephibosheth!" "Your servant," he replied.
 
7 "Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."
 
8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"
 
9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.
 
10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master's grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
 
11 Then Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.
 
12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba's household were servants of Mephibosheth.
 
13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet.

2 Corinthians 2,

1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.
 
2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
 
3 I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.
 
4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
 
5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent-not to put it too severely.
 
6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him.
 
7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
 
8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
 
9 The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.
 
10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven-if there was anything to forgive-I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,
 
11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
 
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,
 
13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
 
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
 
15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
 
16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
 
17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
 

Ezekiel 16,

1 The word of the LORD came to me:
 
2 "Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices
 
3 and say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
 
4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
 
5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.
 
6 " 'Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!"
 
7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare.
 
8 " 'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.
 
9 " 'I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you.
 
10 I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments.
 
11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck,
 
12 and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.
 
13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.
 
14 And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.
 
15 " 'But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his.
 
16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen, nor should they ever occur.
 
17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.
 
18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them.
 
19 Also the food I provided for you-the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat-you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign LORD.
 
20 " 'And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
 
21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.
 
22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood.
 
23 " 'Woe! Woe to you, declares the Sovereign LORD. In addition to all your other wickedness,
 
24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine in every public square.
 
25 At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, offering your body with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.
 
26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and provoked me to anger with your increasing promiscuity.
 
27 So I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your lewd conduct.
 
28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.
 
29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.
 
30 " 'How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!
 
31 When you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
 
32 " 'You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!
 
33 Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.
 
34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.
 
35 " 'Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!
 
36 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children's blood,
 
37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see all your nakedness.
 
38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring upon you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.
 
39 Then I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you naked and bare.
 
40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.
 
41 They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers.
 
42 Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.
 
43 " 'Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign LORD. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?
 
44 " 'Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter."
 
45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
 
46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom.
 
47 You not only walked in their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they.
 
48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.
 
49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
 
50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
 
51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done.
 
52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
 
53 " 'However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,
 
54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort.
 
55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.
 
56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride,
 
57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines-all those around you who despise you.
 
58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD.
 
59 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.
 
60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
 
61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you.
 
62 So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
 
63 Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign LORD.' "
 

Psalm 58, 59

1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men?
 
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
 
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.
 
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
 
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.
 
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!
 
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.
 
8 Like a slug melting away as it moves along, like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.
 
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns-whether they be green or dry-the wicked will be swept away.
 
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
 
11 Then men will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth."
 

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up against me.
 
2 Deliver me from evildoers and save me from bloodthirsty men.
 
3 See how they lie in wait for me! Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, O LORD.
 
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight!
 
5 O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors. Selah
 
6 They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.
 
7 See what they spew from their mouths-they spew out swords from their lips, and they say, "Who can hear us?"
 
8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you scoff at all those nations.
 
9 O my Strength, I watch for you; you, O God, are my fortress,
 
10 my loving God. God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me.
 
11 But do not kill them, O Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In your might make them wander about, and bring them down.
 
12 For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter,
 
13 consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
 
14 They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.
 
15 They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.
 
16 But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
 
17 O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.