Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 Now it came about after this that ^(A)Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men ^[a]to run ahead of him. ² And Absalom used to rise early and ^(B)stand beside the road to the gate; and when any man who had a lawsuit was to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call out to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “See, ^(C)your ^[b]claims are good and right, but you have no one to listen to you on the part of the king.” ⁴ Moreover, Absalom would say, “^(D)Oh that someone would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has a lawsuit or claim could come to me, and I would give him justice!” ⁵ And whenever a man approached to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and ^(E)kiss him. ⁶ Absalom dealt this way with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; ^(F)so Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

⁷ Now it came about at the end of ^[c]four years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the Lord, in ^(G)Hebron. ⁸ For your servant ^(H)made a vow while I was living in Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘^(I)If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” ⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he got up and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘^(J)Absalom is king in Hebron!’” ¹¹ Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, ^(K)who were invited and ^(L)went ^[d]innocently, for they did not know anything. ¹² And Absalom sent for ^(M)Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city ^(N)Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for ^(O)the people continually increased with Absalom.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³ Then a messenger came to David, saying, “^(P)The hearts of the people of Israel are ^[e]with Absalom.” ¹⁴ So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “^(Q)Arise and let’s flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go quickly, or he will hurry and overtake us, and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵ Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants will do whatever my lord the king chooses.” ¹⁶ So the king left, and all his household ^[f]with him; but ^(R)the king left ten concubines behind to take care of the house. ¹⁷ The king left, and all the people ^[g]with him, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸ Now all of his servants passed by beside him, and ^(S)all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^(T)six hundred men who had come ^[h]with him from Gath, passed by before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(U)Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you go with us too? Return and stay with ^[i]your king, since you are a foreigner and an exile as well; return to your own place. ²⁰ You came only yesterday, so should I make you wander with us today, while ^(V)I go wherever I go? Return and take your brothers back; ^(W)mercy and ^[j]truth be with you.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^(X)wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there assuredly shall your servant be!” ²² Then David said to Ittai, “Go and cross over the brook Kidron.” So Ittai the Gittite crossed over with all his men and all the ^[k]little ones who were with him. ²³ While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over. The king was also crossing over ^(Y)the brook Kidron, and all the people were crossing over toward ^(Z)the way of the wilderness.

²⁴ Now behold, ^(AA)Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, ^(AB)carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(AC)Abiathar came up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵ And the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the Lord, then ^(AD)He will bring me back and show me both it and ^(AE)His habitation. ²⁶ But if He says this: ‘^(AF)I have no delight in you,’ then here I am, ^(AG)let Him do to me as seems good ^[l]to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not ^(AH)a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your ^(AI)two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I am going to wait ^(AJ)at the river crossing places of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

³⁰ And David was going up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and ^(AK)his head was covered, and he was walking ^(AL)barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his own head, and they were going up, weeping as they went. ³¹ Now someone informed David, saying, “^(AM)Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “Lord, please ^(AN)make the advice of Ahithophel foolish.”

³² It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold, Hushai the ^(AO)Archite met him with his ^[m]coat torn, and ^[n]dust on his head. ³³ And David said to him, “If you go over with me, then you will become ^(AP)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city and ^(AQ)say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; even as I was your father’s servant in time past, so now I will also be your servant,’ then you can foil the advice of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ Are Zadok and Abiathar the priests not with you there? So it shall be that ^(AR)whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Behold ^(AS)their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and ^(AT)by them you shall send me everything that you hear.” ³⁷ So Hushai, ^(AU)David’s friend, came into the city, and ^(AV)Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Ziba, a False Servant

16 Now when David had gone on ^(AW)a little beyond the summit, behold, ^(AX)Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him ^(AY)with a team of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine. ² And the king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” And Ziba said, “^(AZ)The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine, ^(BA)for whoever is weary in the wilderness to drink.” ³ Then the king said, “And where is ^(BB)your master’s son?” And ^(BC)Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’” ⁴ So the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I prostrate myself; may I find favor in your sight, my lord, the king!”

David Is Cursed

⁵ When King David came to ^(BD)Bahurim, behold, a man was coming out from there from the family of the house of Saul, and ^(BE)his name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he was coming out, ^(BF)cursing as he came. ⁶ He also threw stones at David and all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left. ⁷ This is what Shimei said when he cursed: “Go away, go away, ^(BG)you man of bloodshed and worthless man! ^8 (BH)The Lord has brought back upon you all ^(BI)the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have become king; and the Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. And behold, you are caught in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

⁹ Then ^(BJ)Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should ^(BK)this dead dog ^(BL)curse my lord the king? Now let me go over and ^[o]cut off his head.” ¹⁰ But the king said, “^[p](BM)What business of mine is yours, you sons of Zeruiah? ^(BN)If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ ^(BO)then who should say, ‘Why have you done so?’” ¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, ^(BP)my son who came out of my own body seeks my life; how much more now this Benjaminite? Leave him alone and let him curse, ^(BQ)for the Lord has told him. ¹² Perhaps the Lord will look on my ^[q]misery and ^[r](BR)return good to me instead of his cursing this day.” ¹³ So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei kept going on the hillside close beside him, and as he went he cursed and threw stones and dirt at him. ¹⁴ And the king and all the people who were with him arrived exhausted, and he refreshed himself there.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

^15 (BS)Then Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ¹⁶ Now it came about, when ^(BT)Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, that ^(BU)Hushai said to Absalom, “^(BV)Long live the king! Long live the king!” ¹⁷ But Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your ^[s]loyalty to your friend? ^(BW)Why did you not go with your friend?” ¹⁸ So Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whomever the Lord, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I shall be, and with him I shall remain. ¹⁹ Besides, ^(BX)whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? Just as I have served in your father’s presence, so I shall be in your presence.”

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What should we do?” ²¹ Ahithophel said to Absalom, “^(BY)Have relations with your father’s concubines, whom he has left behind to take care of the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself repulsive to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.” ²² So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, ^(BZ)and Absalom had relations with his father’s concubines ^(CA)in the sight of all Israel. ²³ Now ^(CB)the advice of Ahithophel, which he ^[t]gave in those days, was taken as though one inquired of the word of God; ^(CC)so was all the advice of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.

Parable of Ten Virgins

25 “Then ^(A)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their ^(B)lamps and went out to meet the groom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(C)prudent. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; ⁴ but the ^(D)prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. ⁵ Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight ^[a]there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ However, the ^(E)prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ But while they were ^[b]on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ^(F)ready went in with him to ^(G)the wedding feast; and ^(H)the door was shut. ¹¹ Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘^(I)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ^13 (J)Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ “^(K)For it is just like a man ^(L)about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five ^[c](M)talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he ^(N)went on his journey. ¹⁶ The one who had received the five ^(O)talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his ^[d]master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *^(P)settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five ^(Q)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(R)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will ^(S)put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your ^[e]master.’

²² “Also the one who had received the two ^(T)talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have earned two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(U)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “Now the one who had received the one ^(V)talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You ^[f]worthless, lazy slave! Did you know that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have ^[g]put my money in the bank, and ^[h]on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore: take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “^(W)For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ And throw the worthless slave into ^(X)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Judgment

³¹ “But when ^(Y)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then ^(Z)He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² And all the nations will be ^(AA)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, ^(AB)just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep ^(AC)on His right, but the goats ^(AD)on the left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, ^(AE)inherit the kingdom prepared for you ^(AF)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(AG)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; ^(AH)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ^36 (AI)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you ^(AJ)visited Me; ^(AK)I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And ^(AL)the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, ^(AM)to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘^(AN)Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the ^(AO)eternal fire which has been prepared for ^(AP)the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^[i]take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ ⁴⁶ These will go away into ^(AQ)eternal punishment, but the righteous into ^(AR)eternal life.”