May 30
23Everyone cried loudly as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness.24Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until everyone had passed out of the city.25Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. 26But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.”
27The king also told Zadok the priest, “Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River* and wait there for a report from you.” 29So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there.30David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the hill. 31When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!”
32When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, Hushai the Arkite was waiting there for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. 33But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden. 34Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice. 35Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king’s palace, 36and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on.”37So David’s friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived.
Chapter 16
1When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine.2“What are these for?” the king asked Ziba.Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”3“And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him.“He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’ ”
4“In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.”“I bow before you,” Ziba replied. “May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.”5As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. 6He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. 7“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. 8“The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”
9“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”10“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. 12And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” 13So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air.
14The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.15Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. 16When David’s friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. “Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”17“Is this the way you treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”
18“I’m here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the Lord and by all the men of Israel,” Hushai replied. 19“And anyway, why shouldn’t I serve you? Just as I was your father’s adviser, now I will be your adviser!”
20Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?”
21Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” 22So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.23Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.
John 18:25–19:22
25Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?”He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”26But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” 27Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.28Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. 29So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”
30“We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.31“Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32(This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.)33Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
35“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”36Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”37Pilate said, “So you are a king?”Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”40But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
Chapter 19
1Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. 3“Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.4Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” 5Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”
6When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”8When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9He took Jesus back into the headquarters* again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10“Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”
11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’* Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”13When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people,* “Look, here is your king!”
15“Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!”“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus away. 17Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.21Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’ ”22Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”
Psalm 119:113-128
Samekh
113 I hate those with divided loyalties,
but I love your instructions.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my source of hope.
115 Get out of my life, you evil-minded people,
for I intend to obey the commands of my God.
116 Lord, sustain me as you promised,
that I may live!
Do not let my hope be crushed.
117 Sustain me, and I will be rescued;
then I will meditate continually on your decrees.
118 But you have rejected all who stray from your decrees.
They are only fooling themselves.
119 You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum;
no wonder I love to obey your laws!
120 I tremble in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your regulations.
Ayin
121 Don’t leave me to the mercy of my enemies,
for I have done what is just and right.
122 Please guarantee a blessing for me.
Don’t let the arrogant oppress me!
123 My eyes strain to see your rescue,
to see the truth of your promise fulfilled.
124 I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love,
and teach me your decrees.
125 Give discernment to me, your servant;
then I will understand your laws.
126 Lord, it is time for you to act,
for these evil people have violated your instructions.
127 Truly, I love your commands
more than gold, even the finest gold.
128 Each of your commandments is right.
That is why I hate every false way.
Proverbs 16:10-11
10 The king speaks with divine wisdom;
he must never judge unfairly.
11 The Lord demands accurate scales and balances;
he sets the standards for fairness