³⁸ After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. ³⁹ And King David longed to go to Absalom,^(A) for he was consoled^(B) concerning Amnon’s death.

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Joab^(C) son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. ² So Joab sent someone to Tekoa^(D) and had a wise woman^(E) brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions.^(F) Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. ³ Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab^(G) put the words in her mouth.

⁴ When the woman from Tekoa went^[a] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

⁵ The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”

She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. ⁶ I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death^(H) for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir^(I) as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left,^(J) leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

⁸ The king said to the woman, “Go home,^(K) and I will issue an order in your behalf.”

⁹ But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon^(L) me and my family,^(M) and let the king and his throne be without guilt.^(N)”

¹⁰ The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”

¹¹ She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger^(O) of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”

“As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair^(P) of your son’s head will fall to the ground.^(Q)”

¹² Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.”

“Speak,” he replied.

¹³ The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself,^(R) for the king has not brought back his banished son?^{(S) 14} Like water^(T) spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die.^(U) But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person^(V) does not remain banished from him.

¹⁵ “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request. ¹⁶ Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’^(W)

¹⁷ “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel^(X) of God in discerning^(Y) good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’”

¹⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.”

“Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.

¹⁹ The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab^(Z) with you in all this?”

The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. ²⁰ Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom^(AA) like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.^(AB)”

²¹ The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

²² Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king.^(AC) Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”

²³ Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴ But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.

Concerning Married Life

7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”^{(A) 2} But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. ³ The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,^(B) and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. ⁵ Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time,^(C) so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan^(D) will not tempt you^(E) because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ I say this as a concession, not as a command.^{(F) 7} I wish that all of you were as I am.^(G) But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.^(H)

⁸ Now to the unmarried^[a] and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.^{(I) 9} But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry,^(J) for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰ To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.^{(K) 11} But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.^(L) And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹² To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord):^(M) If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.^(N)

¹⁵ But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.^{(O) 16} How do you know, wife, whether you will save^(P) your husband?^(Q) Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Concerning Change of Status

¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.^(R) This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.^{(S) 18} Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.^{(T) 19} Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing.^(U) Keeping God’s commands is what counts. ²⁰ Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.^(V)

²¹ Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. ²² For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person;^(W) similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.^{(X) 23} You were bought at a price;^(Y) do not become slaves of human beings. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.^(Z)

Concerning the Unmarried

²⁵ Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord,^(AA) but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy^(AB) is trustworthy. ²⁶ Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.^{(AC) 27} Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife.^{(AD) 28} But if you do marry, you have not sinned;^(AE) and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

²⁹ What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short.^(AF) From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; ³⁰ those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; ³¹ those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.^(AG)

³² I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs^(AH)—how he can please the Lord. ³³ But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— ³⁴ and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.^(AI) But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided^(AJ) devotion to the Lord.

³⁶ If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong^[b] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning.^(AK) They should get married. ³⁷ But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. ³⁸ So then, he who marries the virgin does right,^(AL) but he who does not marry her does better.^[c]

³⁹ A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.^(AM) But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.^{(AN) 40} In my judgment,^(AO) she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

²⁵ In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. ²⁶ Whenever he cut the hair of his head^(A)—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels^[a] by the royal standard.

²⁷ Three sons^(B) and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar,^(C) and she became a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. ³⁰ Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley^(D) there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹ Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?^(E)”

³² Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur?^(F) It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”^(G)

³³ So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed^(H) Absalom.

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 In the course of time,^(I) Absalom provided himself with a chariot^(J) and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. ² He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate.^(K) Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”^{(L) 4} And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land!^(M) Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”

⁵ Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶ Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts^(N) of the people of Israel.

⁷ At the end of four^[b] years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. ⁸ While your servant was living at Geshur^(O) in Aram, I made this vow:^(P) ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.^[c]’”

⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets,^(Q) then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” ¹¹ Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. ¹² While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel^(R) the Gilonite, David’s counselor,^(S) to come from Giloh,^(T) his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.^(U)

The Sign of Jonah^(A)

²⁹ As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign,^(B) but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.^{(C) 30} For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom;^(D) and now something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah;^(E) and now something greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body^(F)

³³ “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.^{(G) 34} Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,^[a] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,^[b] your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.^{(H) 38} But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.^(I)

³⁹ Then the Lord^(J) said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.^{(K) 40} You foolish people!^(L) Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,^(M) and everything will be clean for you.^(N)

⁴² “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth^(O) of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.^(P) You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.^(Q)

⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.^(R)

⁴⁴ “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves,^(S) which people walk over without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law^(T) answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.^(U)

⁴⁷ “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.^{(V) 49} Because of this, God in his wisdom^(W) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’^{(X) 50} Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel^(Y) to the blood of Zechariah,^(Z) who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.^(AA)

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”^(AB)

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.^(AC)