David Is Grief-stricken

¹⁹ Then ^(A)Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and bring the king news ^(B)that the Lord has ^[a]freed him from the hand of his enemies!” ²⁰ But Joab said to him, “You are not the man to bring news this day, but you shall bring news another day; however, you shall bring no news this day, because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran. ²² However, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said once more to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why would you run, my son, since ^(C)you will have no messenger’s reward for going?” ²³ “But whatever happens,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and passed by the Cushite.

²⁴ Now ^(D)David was sitting between the two gates; and ^(E)the watchman went to the roof of the gate by the wall, and raised his eyes and looked; and behold, a man was running by himself. ²⁵ So the watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is by himself there is good news in his mouth.” And he came nearer and nearer. ²⁶ Then the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Behold, another man is running by himself.” And the king said, “This one also is bringing good news.” ²⁷ The watchman said, “I ^[b]think the running form of the first one ^(F)is like the running form of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “^(G)This is a good man, and he is coming with good news.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “^[c]All is well.” And ^(H)he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, “^(I)Blessed is the Lord your God, who has turned over the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.” ²⁹ But the king said, “^(J)Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, and your servant, I saw a great commotion, but ^(K)I did not know what it was.” ³⁰ Then the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

³¹ Then behold, the Cushite arrived, and the Cushite said, “Let my lord the king receive good news, for ^(L)the Lord has ^[d]freed you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you.” ³² Then the king said to the Cushite, “^(M)Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “^(N)May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be like that young man!”

^33 [e]Then the king trembled and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And this is what he said as he walked: “^(O)My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! ^(P)If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”

Avoid Israel’s Mistakes

10 For ^(A)I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all ^(B)under the cloud and they all ^(C)passed through the sea; ² and they all were ^(D)baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; ³ and they all ^(E)ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all ^(F)drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was ^[a]Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were ^(G)spread out in the wilderness.

⁶ Now these things happened as ^(H)examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as ^(I)they indeed craved them. ⁷ Do not be ^(J)idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “^(K)The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to ^(L)play.” ⁸ Nor are we to commit sexual immorality, as ^(M)some of them ^[b]did, and ^(N)twenty-three thousand fell in one day. ⁹ Nor are we to put the Lord to the test, as ^(O)some of them ^[c]did, and were killed by the snakes. ¹⁰ Nor ^(P)grumble, as some of them ^[d]did, and ^(Q)were killed by the ^(R)destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an ^(S)example, and ^(T)they were written for our instruction, upon whom ^(U)the ends of the ages have come. ¹² Therefore let the one who ^(V)thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and ^(W)God is faithful, ^[e]so He will not allow you to be ^(X)tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

¹⁴ Therefore, my ^(Y)beloved, flee from ^(Z)idolatry. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise people; you then, judge what I say. ¹⁶ Is the ^(AA)cup of blessing which we bless not a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is the ^(AB)bread which we break not a sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Since there is one loaf, we ^(AC)who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. ¹⁸ Look at ^[f]the people of ^(AD)Israel; are those who ^(AE)eat the sacrifices not partners in the altar? ¹⁹ What do I mean then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or ^(AF)that an idol is ^[g]anything? ²⁰ No, but I say that things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they ^(AG)sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons. ^21 (AH)You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and ^(AI)the table of demons. ²² Or do we ^(AJ)provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not ^(AK)stronger than He, are we?

^23 (AL)All things are permitted, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted, but not all things ^[h](AM)build people up. ²⁴ No one is to ^(AN)seek his own advantage, but rather that of his ^[i]neighbor. ^25 (AO)Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions, for the sake of conscience; ^26 (AP)for the earth is the Lord’s, and ^[j]all it contains. ²⁷ If ^(AQ)one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, ^(AR)eat anything that is set before you without asking questions, for the sake of conscience. ²⁸ But ^(AS)if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of that one who informed you and for the sake of conscience; ²⁹ Now by “conscience” I do not mean your own, but the other person’s; for ^(AT)why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, ^(AU)why am I slandered about that for which I ^(AV)give thanks?

³¹ Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or ^(AW)whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God. ^32 (AX)Do not offend Jews or Greeks, or ^(AY)the church of God; ³³ just as I also ^(AZ)please everyone in all things, ^(BA)not seeking my own benefit but the benefit of the many, ^(BB)so that they may be saved.

Christian Order

11 ^(BC)Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

Joab Disapproves of David’s Mourning

19 ^[a]Then it was reported to Joab, “Behold, ^(A)the king is weeping and he mourns for Absalom.” ² So the ^[b]victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, because the people heard it said that day, “The king is in mourning over his son.” ³ And the people entered the city surreptitiously that day, just as people who are humiliated surreptitiously flee in battle. ⁴ And the king ^(B)covered his face and ^[c]cried out with a loud voice, “^(C)My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!” ⁵ Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have shamed ^[d]all your servants, who have saved your life today and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, ⁶ by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have revealed today that ^[e]commanders and servants are nothing to you; for I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then it would be right ^[f]as far as you are concerned. ⁷ Now therefore arise, go out and speak ^[g]kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, ^(D)no man will stay the night with you, and this will be worse for you than all the misfortune that has ^[h]happened to you from your youth until now!”

David Restored as King

⁸ So the king got up and sat at the gate. When they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is ^(E)sitting at the gate,” then all the people came before the king.

Now ^(F)Israel had fled, each to his tent. ⁹ And all the people were quarreling throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “^(G)The king rescued us from the ^[i]hands of our enemies and ^(H)saved us from the ^[j]hands of the Philistines, but now ^(I)he has fled out of the land from Absalom. ¹⁰ However, Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now then, why are you silent about bringing the king back?”

¹¹ Then King David sent word to ^(J)Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house? ¹² You are my brothers; ^(K)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ ¹³ And say to ^(L)Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? ^(M)May God do so to me, and more so, if you will not be ^(N)commander of the army ^[k]for me continually, ^(O)in place of Joab.’” ¹⁴ So he turned the hearts of all the men of Judah ^(P)as one man, so that they sent word to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.” ¹⁵ The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And the men of Judah came to ^(Q)Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan.

¹⁶ Then ^(R)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷ And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and ^(S)Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. ¹⁸ Then they crossed the shallow places repeatedly to bring over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan. ¹⁹ And he said to the king, “^(T)May my lord not consider me guilty, nor call to mind what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, so that the king would ^[l]take it to heart. ²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned; so behold, I have come today, ^(U)the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” ²¹ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah responded, “^(V)Should Shimei not be put to death for this, ^(W)the fact that he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” ²² David then said, “^(X)What ^[m]is there between you and me, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary to me today? ^(Y)Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?” ²³ So the king said to Shimei, “^(Z)You shall not die.” The king also swore to him.

⁵⁴ And He was also saying to the crowds, “^(A)Whenever you see a cloud rising ^[a]in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. ⁵⁵ And whenever you feel a ^[b]south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^(B)hot day,’ and it turns out that way. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! ^(C)You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?

⁵⁷ “And ^(D)why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ For ^(E)when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to ^[c]settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up ^[d]the very last ^[e](F)lepton.”

Call to Repent

13 Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood ^(G)Pilate had ^[f]mixed with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus responded and said to them, “^(H)Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate? ³ No, I tell you, but unless you ^[g]repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in ^(I)Siloam fell and killed them were worse ^[h](J)offenders than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

⁶ And He began telling this parable: “A man had ^(K)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. ⁷ And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Look! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree ^[i]without finding any. ^(L)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ ⁸ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; ⁹ and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”