Old/New Testament
12 1 so the Lord sent Nathan to David.
Nathan’s Rebuke
Nathan[a] approached David[b] and said, “There are two men in the city. One is rich and one is poor. 2 The rich man has many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing except for one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It used to share his food and drink from his own cup. It even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 A traveler arrived to visit the rich man. Because he was unwilling to take an animal from one of his own flocks or herds to prepare for the guest who had come to visit him, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to visit him.”
5 David flew into a rage at the man and told Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He will restore the lamb four times its value, because he did this thing, and because he did it without compassion.”
7 But Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says:
“‘I anointed you king—and you became king over Israel.
“‘I delivered you from Saul’s control.
8 “‘I gave you your former[c] master’s household.
“‘I placed your former[d] master’s wives right in your arms.
“‘I gave you[e] Israel and Judah.
“‘And if this had been too little, I would have added much more than that to you!
9 “‘Why did you despise what the Lord has promised by doing what is detestable in his sight?
“‘You struck down Uriah the Hittite with a battle sword.
“‘You took his wife to be your own.[f]
“‘You killed him with the sword of the Ammonite army.
10 “‘Therefore the sword will never leave your household, because you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’[g]
11 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘Listen very carefully!
“‘I’m raising up evil against you right out of your own household.
“‘I’m going to take your wives away from you right before your eyes.
“‘Then I’ll give them to your neighbor.
“‘And then he’s going to have sex with your wives in broad daylight!
12 “‘What you did in secret I’m going to do right in front of all Israel and in broad daylight as well!’”
13 At this point, David told Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan responded to David, “There’s one other thing: the Lord has forgiven your sin.[h] You won’t die. 14 Nevertheless, because you have despised the Lord’s enemies with utter contempt,[i] the son born to you will most certainly die.” 15 Then Nathan went home.
David’s Infant Son Dies
After this, the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife had born to David, and the child[j] became very ill. 16 David begged God on behalf of the youngster. He[k] fasted, went inside, and spent the night lying on the ground. 17 His closest advisors at the palace[l] got up, remained with him, and tried to help him get up from the ground, but he would not do so. He also wouldn’t eat with them.
18 A week later, the child died, and David’s staff was afraid to tell him that the child had died. They were telling themselves, “Look, when the child was still alive, we talked to him but he wouldn’t listen to what we said. Now what kind of trouble will he bring on himself if we tell him that the child has died?”
19 But as David observed his staff whispering together, he perceived that the child had died, so he asked his staff, “Is the child dead?”
They replied, “He has died.”
20 At this, David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the Lord’s tent[m] to worship. Then he went back to his palace where, at his request, they served him food and he ate.
21 His staff asked him, “What’s this about? When the child was alive, you fasted and cried. Now that the child has died, you get up and eat!”
22 He answered, “When the child was alive, I fasted and cried. I asked myself, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will show grace to me and the child will live.’ 23 But now that he has died, what’s the point of fasting? Can I bring him back again? I’ll be going to be with him, but he won’t be returning to me.”
The Birth of Solomon
24 Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba. He went in and had sex with her, and she bore a son whom he named Solomon. The Lord loved him, 25 and sent a message written by Nathan the prophet to call his name Jedidiah,[n] for the Lord’s sake.
The Ammonites are Defeated
26 Meanwhile, Joab attacked the Ammonite city of[o] Rabbah and captured its stronghold. 27 Then Joab sent messengers to David to tell him, “I just attacked Rabbah and captured its municipal water supply, 28 so call out the rest of the army, attack the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I’ll take the city myself and name it after me.” 29 So David mustered his entire army and marched on Rabbah, attacked it, and captured it. 30 He confiscated the crown of their king[p] from his head—it weighed one talent[q] in gold and was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He confiscated a great amount of war booty that had been plundered from the city, 31 brought back the people who had lived in it, placing them under conscripted labor with saws, iron picks, and axes. He did this to every Ammonite city, and then David and his entire army[r] returned to Jerusalem.
Amnon’s Rape of Tamar
13 Sometime after this, David’s son Amnon fell in love with David’s other[s] son Absalom’s beautiful sister Tamar. 2 Amnon became so emotionally distressed that he fell sick over his half-sister Tamar. She was a virgin, and Amnon found it difficult to do anything to her.
3 Meanwhile, Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 “Why are you so depressed these past few mornings,”[t] Jonadab[u] asked Amnon, “since you’re a son of the king? Why not tell me?”
Amnon replied, “I’m in love with my brother Absalom’s sister Tamar.”
5 Jonadab advised him, “Lie down and pretend to be sick. When your father visits you, ask him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat that she prepares especially for me,[v] and after she makes dinner for me, let her feed it to me personally.’”[w]
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to visit him, Amnon asked the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make some of her bread especially for me,[x] so she can feed it to me personally.”[y]
7 So David sent for Tamar back at the palace, telling her, “Please go to your brother Amnon’s home and prepare some food for him.” 8 Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s home, where he was lying down. She brought along some dough, kneaded it, prepared some cakes especially for him,[z] baked them, 9 and emptied the baking skillet just for him, but he refused to eat.
“Send everybody out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left the room. 10 Amnon told Tamar, “Bring the food into my private bedroom, so I can eat it with you personally.”[aa] So Tamar took the cakes she had prepared and brought them into the private bedroom for her brother Amnon.
11 But as soon as she brought them near him to eat, he overpowered her and told her, “Come here and have sex with me, my sister!”
12 “No, my brother!” she kept telling him. “Don’t humiliate me like this! This just isn’t done in Israel! Don’t do this utterly foolish thing! 13 And what about me? Where will I go to escape[ab] this disgrace? And as for you, you’ll be known as one of Israel’s greatest fools! So please talk to the king, because he won’t withhold me from you!”
14 But he was unwilling to listen to what she was saying. Since he was stronger than she was, he forced her into having sex with him. 15 Afterwards, though, Amnon hated her very intensely. As a result, his hatred for her exceeded the love that he had previously for her. So Amnon told her, “Get up! Leave!”
16 Even so, she tried to tell him, “No! After all, it’s more wrong to send me away than what you just did to me!”
But he was unwilling to listen to her. 17 So he called out to a young man who was serving him, and told him: “Send this woman away from me and lock the door after her.”
18 Now she was clothed in a long sleeved, multi-colored ornamental tunic, commonly worn by the king’s virgin daughters. When Amnon’s[ac] servant threw her out and locked the door after her, 19 Tamar rubbed her head with ashes, tore her tunic that she was wearing, put her hand to her head, and ran off, crying aloud as she went away.
Absalom’s Plans Revenge
20 Later, her brother Absalom asked her, “Has Amnon, that brother of yours, raped[ad] you? Then keep quiet about your half-brother for now, my sister. Stop taking this so personally.”[ae] From that time on, Tamar lived in continuous desolation within her brother Absalom’s house. 21 When King David heard all about these developments, he flew into a rage over it. 22 But Absalom never said a word, either good or bad, to Amnon. Nevertheless, he hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar.
Absalom’s Men Kill Amnon
23 Two full years later, Absalom took some men to Baal-hazor near Ephraim to shear his sheep. He[af] also invited all of the king’s sons to come. 24 Absalom had gone to the king to ask him, “I’ve brought some men to shear the sheep. Won’t you please come and join me, along with your senior staff?”
25 But King David declined,[ag] saying to Absalom, “No, my son, we won’t all go, since that would be too much trouble for you.” Although Absalom begged David, he would not go, even though he did give his blessing.
26 So Absalom responded, “If you aren’t coming, please allow my brother Amnon to accompany us.”
The king asked, “Why should he go with you?”
27 But Absalom kept begging David[ah] until he sent Amnon and all of David’s[ai] sons to accompany Absalom.
28 Then Absalom instructed his young men, “Please keep watching Amnon until he’s drunk. Then I’ll tell you, ‘Attack Amnon!’ As soon as I do, kill him and don’t be afraid! You have your orders, so be strong and brave!” 29 So Absalom’s young men did to Amnon just as they had been[aj] ordered, but the rest of David’s sons jumped up, mounted their mules, and escaped.
30 While they were still on the road, this rumor came to David: “Absalom has struck down all of the king’s sons and none of them has survived.” 31 David arose, ripped his clothes in anguish,[ak] and collapsed to the ground while all of his staff stood by with their own clothes torn.
32 But David’s brother Shimeah’s son Jonadab reported, “Your majesty, don’t assume they’ve killed all of the young men—the king’s sons—only Amnon has died, since that was Absalom’s intention from the day Amnon raped[al] his sister Tamar. 33 Now your majesty, don’t be concerned about this rumor that all the king’s sons have died, because only Amnon is dead.”
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had run away. While the young man standing watch was looking around, all of a sudden he observed many people coming down the road behind and to the west of the mountain! So the watchman left his post and reported, “I have seen men coming from the direction of Horonaim.”[am]
35 Jonadab told the king, “Look! Here come the king’s sons. This thing has turned out just like your servant reported.” 36 Just as he finished his comments, the king’s sons arrived, crying loudly. At this, with tears overflowing, the king and his entire staff wept bitterly.
37 Absalom continued to flee, eventually going to Ammihud’s son King Talmai of Geshur, while King David continued to mourn for his son every day. 38 After fleeing to Geshur, Absalom remained there for three years. 39 Meanwhile, King David longed to visit Absalom, since he was moved to compassion over Amnon’s death.
The Parable about a Dishonest Manager
16 Now Jesus[a] was saying to the disciples, “A rich man had a servant manager who was accused of wasting his assets. 2 So he called for him and asked him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You can’t be my manager any longer. Now give me a report about your management!’
3 “Then the servant manager told himself, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my position away from me. I’m not strong enough to plow, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that people[b] will welcome me into their homes when I’m dismissed from my job.’
5 “So he called for each of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man replied, ‘A hundred jars of olive oil.’ The manager[c] told him, ‘Get your bill. Sit down quickly and write “50.”’ 7 Then he asked another debtor,[d] ‘How much do you owe?’ The man replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ The manager[e] told him, ‘Get your bill and write “80.”’ 8 The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people[f] are more clever than enlightened people[g] in dealing with their own.[h]
9 “I’m telling you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they will welcome you into eternal homes.[i] 10 Whoever is faithful with very little is also faithful with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with very little is also dishonest with a lot. 11 So if you haven’t been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 And if you haven’t been faithful with what belongs to foreigners, who will give you what is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth!”
The Law and the Kingdom of God(A)
14 Now the Pharisees, who love money, had been listening to all this and began to ridicule Jesus.[j] 15 So he told them, “You try to justify yourselves in front of people, but God knows your hearts, because what is highly valued by people is detestable to God.
16 “The Law and the Prophets were fulfilled[k] with John. Since then, the good news about the kingdom of God is being proclaimed, and everybody enters it enthusiastically.[l] 17 However, it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be dropped. 18 Any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “Once there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live in great luxury every day. 20 A beggar named Lazarus, who was covered with sores, was brought to his gate. 21 He was always trying to satisfy his hunger with what fell[m] from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs used to come and lick his sores.
22 “One day, the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In the afterlife,[n] where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side. 24 So he shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue, because I am suffering in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember that during your lifetime you received blessings,[o] while Lazarus received hardships.[p] But now he is being comforted here, while you suffer. 26 Besides all this, a wide chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot do so, nor can they cross from your side to us.’
27 “The rich man[q] said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus[r] to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t end up in this place of torture, too.’
29 “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They should listen to them!’
30 “But the rich man[s] replied, ‘No, father Abraham! But if someone from the dead went to them, they would repent.’
31 “Then Abraham[t] told him, ‘If your brothers[u] do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if someone were to rise from the dead.’”
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