Then Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, came down to meet the king. He had not washed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the time the king left Jerusalem until he returned victorious.

All of my father's family deserved to be put to death by Your Majesty, but you gave me the right to eat at your table. I have no right to ask for any more favors from Your Majesty."

But because of the sacred promise that he and Jonathan had made to each other, David spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul.

King Rehoboam consulted the older men who had served as his father Solomon's advisers. "What answer do you advise me to give these people?" he asked.

But he ignored the advice of the older men and went instead to the young men who had grown up with him and who were now his advisers.

The king forgot about the loyal service that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had given him, and he had Zechariah killed. As Zechariah was dying, he called out, "May the LORD see what you are doing and punish you!"

"But you, Israel my servant, you are the people that I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, my friend.

Do not be afraid---I am with you! I am your God---let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.

The LORD says: "What accusation did your ancestors bring against me? What made them turn away from me? They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves.

Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any.

You are like those streams to me, you see my fate and draw back in fear.

or to save me from some enemy or tyrant?

You should not have gloated over the misfortune of your relatives in Judah. You should not have been glad on the day of their ruin. You should not have laughed at them in their distress.

You should not have stood at the crossroads to catch those trying to escape. You should not have handed them over to the enemy on the day of their distress.

Friends always show their love. What are relatives for if not to share trouble?

Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.

Jesus answered, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead.

In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side.

He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.

And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?"

The next morning some Jews met together and made a plan. They took a vow that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.

Then the commander called two of his officers and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea, together with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, and be ready to leave by nine o'clock tonight.

Then the commander wrote a letter that went like this:

The Jews seized this man and were about to kill him. I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and rescued him.

I found out that he had not done a thing for which he deserved to die or be put in prison; the accusation against him had to do with questions about their own law.

The soldiers carried out their orders. They got Paul and took him that night as far as Antipatris.

They took him to Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and turned Paul over to him.

he said, "I will hear you when your accusers arrive." Then he gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the governor's headquarters.