Old/New Testament
Joab Sends a Wise Woman to David
14 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that King David missed Absalom very much. 2 So Joab sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. Joab said to this wise woman, “Please pretend to be very sad. Put on sackcloth. Don’t dress up. Act like a woman who has been crying many days for someone who died. 3 Go to the king and talk to him using these words that I tell you.” Then Joab told the wise woman what to say.
4 Then the woman from Tekoa talked to the king. She bowed with her face to the ground. Then she said, “King, please help me!”
5 King David said to her, “What’s your problem?”
The woman said, “I am a widow. My husband is dead. 6 I had two sons. They were out in the field fighting. There was no one to stop them. One son killed the other son. 7 Now the whole family is against me. They said to me, ‘Bring us the son who killed his brother and we will kill him, because he killed his brother.’ My son is like the last spark of a fire. If they kill my son, that fire will burn out and be finished. He is the only son left alive to get his father’s property. So my dead husband’s property will go to someone else and his name will be removed from the land.”
8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go home. I will take care of things for you.”
9 The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “Let the blame be on me, my lord and king. You and your kingdom are innocent.”
10 King David said, “If anyone is saying bad things to you, bring them to me. They will not bother you again.”
11 The woman said, “Please, use the name of the Lord your God and swear that you will stop these people. They want to punish my son for murdering his brother. Swear that you will not let them destroy my son.”
David said, “As the Lord lives, no one will hurt your son. Not even one hair from your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
12 The woman said, “My lord and king, please let me say something else to you.”
The king said, “Speak.”
13 Then the woman said, “Why have you planned these things against the people of God? When you say these things, you show you are guilty because you have not brought back the son who you forced to leave home. 14 We will all die some day. We will be like water that is spilled on the ground. No one can gather this water back from the ground. You know God forgives people. God made plans for people who are forced to run away for safety—God does not force them to run away from him! 15 My lord and king, I came to say these words to you, because the people made me afraid. I said to myself, ‘I will talk to the king. Maybe the king will help me. 16 The king will listen to me and save me from the man who wants to kill me and my son. That man just wants to keep us from getting what God gave us.’ 17 I know that the words of my lord the king will give me rest, because you are like an angel from God. You know what is good and what is bad. And the Lord your God is with you.”
18 King David answered the woman, “You must answer the question I will ask you.”
The woman said, “My lord and king, please ask your question.”
19 The king said, “Did Joab tell you to say all these things?”
The woman answered, “As you live, my lord and king, you are right. Your officer Joab did tell me to say these things. 20 Joab did this so that you would see things differently. My lord, you are as wise as God’s angel. You know everything that happens on earth.”
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
21 The king said to Joab, “Look, I will do what I promised. Now please bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 Joab bowed with his face on the ground. He blessed King David, and said, “Today I know that you are pleased with me. I know because you have done what I asked.”
23 Then Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 But King David said, “Absalom must go back to his own house. He cannot come to see me.” So Absalom went back to his own house, but he could not go to see the king.
25 People really bragged about how good-looking Absalom was. No man in Israel was as handsome as Absalom. Every part of his body was perfect—from his head to his feet. 26 At the end of every year, Absalom cut the hair from his head and weighed it. The hair weighed about five pounds.[a] 27 Absalom had three sons and one daughter. Her name was Tamar, and she was a beautiful woman.
Absalom Forces Joab to Come See Him
28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two full years without being allowed to visit King David. 29 Absalom sent a message to Joab, asking for permission to see the king, but Joab refused to come see him. So Absalom sent a second message to Joab. Again, Joab refused to come see him.
30 Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to my field. He has barley growing in that field. Go burn the barley.”
So Absalom’s servants went and started a fire in Joab’s field. 31 Joab got up and came to Absalom’s house. He said to him, “Why did your servants burn my field?”
32 Absalom said to Joab, “I sent a message to you. I asked you to come here. I wanted to send you to the king to ask him why he asked me to come home from Geshur. I cannot see him, so it would have been better for me to stay in Geshur. Now let me see the king. If I have sinned, he can kill me!”
Absalom Visits King David
33 Then Joab came to the king and told him what Absalom said. The king called for Absalom. Absalom came to the king and bowed low on the ground before the king. The king kissed him.
Absalom Makes Many Friends
15 After this, Absalom got a chariot and horses for himself. He had 50 men run in front of him while he drove the chariot. 2 Absalom would get up early and stand near the gate.[b] He would watch for anyone with problems who was going to King David for judgment. Then Absalom would talk to them and say, “What city are you from?” They would say they were from such and such tribe in Israel. 3 Then Absalom would say, “Look, you are right, but King David will not listen to you.”
4 Absalom would also say, “Oh, I wish someone would make me a judge in this country! Then I could help everyone who comes to me with a problem. I would help them get a fair solution to their problem.”
5 And if anyone came to Absalom and started to bow down to him, Absalom would treat him like a close friend—he would reach out and touch him and kiss him. 6 Absalom did that to all the Israelites who came to King David for judgment. In this way Absalom won the hearts of all the people of Israel.
Absalom Plans to Take David’s Kingdom
7 After four years,[c] Absalom said to King David, “Please let me go to Hebron to complete a special promise that I made to the Lord. 8 I made that promise while I was still living in Geshur in Aram. I said, ‘If the Lord brings me back to Jerusalem, I will serve the Lord in a special way.’”
9 King David said, “Go in peace.”
Absalom went to Hebron. 10 But he also sent spies to all the tribes of Israel. They told the people, “When you hear the trumpet, say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron!’”
11 Absalom invited 200 men to go with him. They left Jerusalem with him, but they did not know what he was planning. 12 Ahithophel was one of David’s advisors. He was from the town of Giloh. While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he invited Ahithophel to join. Absalom’s plans were working very well and more and more people began to support him.
David Learns About Absalom’s Plans
13 A man came in to tell the news to David. The man said, “The people of Israel are beginning to follow Absalom.”
14 Then David said to all of his officers who were still in Jerusalem with him, “Come on, we cannot let him trap us here in Jerusalem. Hurry up, before he catches us. He will destroy us all, and Jerusalem will be destroyed in the battle.”
15 The king’s officers told him, “We will do whatever you tell us.”
David and His People Escape
16 King David left with everyone in his family, except ten of his slave women. He left them to take care of the house. 17 The king left with everyone in his house following him on foot. They stopped at the last house. 18 All the king’s officers passed by him. And all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and the Gittites (600 men from Gath) passed by the king.
19 The king said to Ittai from Gath, “Why are you also going with us? You are a foreigner; this is not your homeland. Go back and stay with the new king. 20 You came to join me only yesterday. You don’t need to wander from place to place with me. Take your brothers and go back. Go with my faithful, loving kindness.”
21 But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as long as you live, I will stay with you, in life or death!”
22 David said to Ittai, “Then come, let’s go cross Kidron Brook.”
So Ittai from Gath and all of his people and their children crossed over Kidron Brook. 23 All the people[d] were crying loudly. Then King David crossed over Kidron Brook, and all the people went out to the desert. 24 Zadok and all the Levites with him were carrying the Box of God’s Agreement. They set down God’s Holy Box, and Abiathar said prayers[e] until all the people had left Jerusalem.
25 King David said to Zadok, “Take God’s Holy Box back to Jerusalem. If the Lord is pleased with me, he will bring me back and let me see Jerusalem and his Temple. 26 But if he says he is not pleased with me, let him do whatever he wants to me.”
27 The king said to Zadok the priest, “You are a seer. Go back to the city in peace.[f] Take your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 I will be waiting near the places where people cross the river into the desert. I will wait there until I hear from you.”
29 So Zadok and Abiathar took God’s Holy Box back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
David’s Prayer Against Ahithophel
30 David walked up the path to the Mount of Olives. He was crying, his head was covered, and he went without sandals on his feet. All the people with David also covered their heads and were crying as they walked with him.
31 Someone told David, “Ahithophel is one who joined in Absalom’s plot against you.” Then David prayed, “Lord, I ask you to make Ahithophel give only foolish advice.” 32 When David got to the top of the mountain, he bowed down to worship God. Then David noticed Hushai the Arkite. Hushai’s coat was torn, and there was dust on his head.[g]
33 David said to Hushai, “If you go with me, you will be just one more person to care for. 34 But if you go back to Jerusalem, you can disagree with Ahithophel and make his advice useless. Tell Absalom, ‘King, I am your servant. I served your father, but now I will serve you.’ 35 The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you. You must tell them everything you hear in the king’s palace. 36 Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan will be with them. You can send them to tell me everything you hear.”
37 So David’s friend Hushai went back to the city, just as Absalom arrived in Jerusalem.
Sin and Forgiveness(A)
17 Jesus said to his followers, “Things will surely happen that will make people sin. But it will be very bad for anyone who makes this happen. 2 It will be very bad for anyone who makes one of these little children sin. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the sea. 3 So be careful!
“If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, warn them. If they are sorry for what they did, forgive them. 4 Even if they do something wrong to you seven times in one day, but they say they are sorry each time, you should forgive them.”
How Big Is Your Faith?
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”
6 The Lord said, “If your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Dig yourself up and plant yourself in the ocean!’ And the tree will obey you.
Be Good Servants
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant who has been working in the field, plowing or caring for the sheep. When he comes in from work, what would you say to him? Would you say, ‘Come in, sit down and eat’? 8 Of course not! You would say to your servant, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Then get ready and serve me. When I finish eating and drinking, then you can eat.’ 9 The servant should not get any special thanks for doing his job. He is only doing what his master told him to do. 10 It is the same with you. When you finish doing all that you are told to do, you should say, ‘We are not worthy of any special thanks. We have only done the work we should do.’”
Be Thankful
11 Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem. He went from Galilee to Samaria. 12 He came into a small town, and ten men met him there. They did not come close to him, because they all had leprosy. 13 But the men shouted, “Jesus! Master! Please help us!”
14 When Jesus saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”[a]
While the ten men were going to the priests, they were healed. 15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus. He praised God loudly. 16 He bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (He was a Samaritan.) 17 Jesus said, “Ten men were healed; where are the other nine? 18 This man is not even one of our people. Is he the only one who came back to give praise to God?” 19 Then Jesus said to the man, “Stand up! You can go. You were healed because you believed.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International