Old/New Testament
David and Nathan
12 So the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came and told him this:
There were two men in a city. One was rich and one poor. 2 The rich man had a large number of flocks and herds. 3 The poor man did not own anything except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He raised it so that it grew up together with him and his children. It ate from his food and drank from his cup. It slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 When a traveler came to the rich man, the rich man was unwilling to take an animal from his flock or from his herd to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. So he took the lamb from the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him.
5 David’s anger flared up against that man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this is as good as dead. 6 In place of that lamb, he will restore four lambs, because he did this and had no pity.”
7 Nathan told David, “You are the man. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.”
The Message of Judgment Against David
I anointed you king over Israel. I rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave the house of your master to you, and I gave the wives of your master into your embrace. I gave you the house of Israel and the house of Judah. If this was too little, I would have added even more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in his eyes? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife as your own wife. You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 So now the sword will not depart from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 This is what the Lord says. Look! I am raising up disaster against you from your own house. Right in front of your eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie down with your wives in the sight of the sun. 12 Because you acted in secret, I will do this in front of all Israel in broad daylight.
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan said to David, “The Lord himself has put away your sin. You will not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have treated the Lord with utter contempt,[a] the child that is born to you shall surely die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.
The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne for David, and the child became sick. 16 David sought the Lord’s mercy for the child. David fasted and spent the night lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to pick him up off the ground, but he was not willing, and he would not eat food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. The servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, because they said, “Look! When the child was living, we spoke to David, but he did not listen to what we said. How will we speak to him now when the child is dead? He might do something harmful.”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering together, he understood that the child was dead. So David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “Yes, he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the ground, washed, put on lotion, and changed his clothes. He went to the House of the Lord and worshipped. He then went back to his house and asked for food. So they prepared a meal for him, and he ate.
21 His servants said to him, “What are you doing? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept. But when the child died, you got up and ate food.”
22 He said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept because I said, ‘Who knows? Will the Lord be gracious to me and let my child live?’ 23 Now he has died. Why should I fast? Am I able to return him to life again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24 David comforted Bathsheba, his wife. He went to her and lay down with her. She gave birth to a son. David called him Solomon. The Lord loved him, 25 and the Lord sent a message by the hand of Nathan the prophet that he should be called Jedidiah[b] because of the Lord.
The Defeat of the Ammonites
26 Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city.
27 He sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. I have also captured the city’s water supply. 28 Now gather the rest of the troops, set up camp against the city, and take it. If you do not, I might take the city, and it will be named after me.” 29 So David gathered all the troops and went to Rabbah. He fought against it and took it.
30 He removed the gold crown of their king[c] from his head. It weighed seventy-five pounds,[d] and it had a precious stone. It was placed on[e] the head of David.
He brought out large quantities of plunder from the city. 31 He also brought the people out from it and made them work with saws, with iron picks and axes, and at brickmaking. He did the same to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.
Amnon and Tamar
13 David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. Some time after this, David’s son Amnon fell in love with her. 2 Amnon was so worked up that he made himself sick because of his sister Tamar. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for Amnon to do anything with her.
3 Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was a son of David’s brother Shimeah.[f] Jonadab was a very clever man. 4 Jonadab said to Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so tired every morning? Won’t you tell me?”
Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.”
5 Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. Your father will come to see you. Then you are to say to him, ‘Please! Have my sister Tamar come and give me some food to eat. Have her prepare the food in my presence so that I can watch and eat it from her hand.’”
6 So Amnon went to bed and pretended to be sick, and the king came to see him. Amnon said to the king, “Please! Have my sister Tamar come and make special flatbread while I am watching. She should make two of them and let me eat them from her hand.”
7 So David sent a message to Tamar’s house: “Please, go to the house of your brother Amnon and make food for him.” 8 Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, where he was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made the flatbread as he was watching, and baked the loaves. 9 She took the pan and placed it before him, but he refused to eat.
Amnon said, “Send everyone away from me.” So everyone left.
10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom and let me eat from your hand.”
Tamar took the flatbread that she had made and brought it into the room to Amnon her brother. 11 She brought it to him so he could eat.
He grabbed her and said to her, “Come, lie down with me, my sister.”
12 She said to him, “No, my brother. Do not force me, for such a thing is not done in Israel. Do not do such a foolish thing. 13 And I—how will I get rid of my shame? And you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”
14 But he would not listen to her. He was stronger than she was, and he forced her to lie down with him.
15 Then Amnon’s hatred for her was even more intense than the love he had felt for her. Amnon said to her, “Get up. Get out.”
16 She said to him, “There is no excuse for that. To send me away is a greater wrong than what you already did to me.”
But he was not willing to listen to her. 17 He called the young man who was his servant and said, “Send this woman outside, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.”
18 She was wearing a special long robe that covered her arms and legs.[g] The virgin daughters of the king wore such robes. His servant put her outside and bolted the door after her. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and ripped the robe that she was wearing. She placed her hand on her head, and she went away, weeping loudly as she walked.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now my sister, do not say anything. He is your brother. Do not take this matter to heart.”
So Tamar, a devastated woman, stayed in the house of her brother Absalom. 21 King David heard about all these things, and he was very angry.[h]
22 Absalom did not speak with Amnon at all, neither anything bad nor anything good. Absalom hated Amnon because he had raped Tamar, his sister.
David and Absalom
23 Two years passed. Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim. Absalom invited all the king’s sons. 24 Absalom also came to the king and said, “Look! The sheepshearers are now at work for your servant. Will the king and his servants join your servant, please?”
25 The king said to Absalom, “No, my son. Not all of us will go. We do not want to be a burden to you.”
Absalom pressured him, but David was not willing to go, though he did give Absalom a blessing. 26 So Absalom said, “If not, can Amnon my brother join us, please?” The king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom kept pressuring him, so David sent Amnon and all the sons of the king with him.[i]
28 Absalom commanded his servants, “Pay attention to me, and when Amnon is feeling good because of the wine, I will say to you, ‘Strike Amnon.’ Then you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. I am the one who has given you the order. Be strong. Be brave.”
29 Absalom’s servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had commanded. Then all the sons of the king got up. Each of them got on his mule and fled.
30 While they were on the way, news reached David: “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons. There is not one of them left.” 31 The king got up, ripped his clothing, and lay down on the ground. All his servants who were standing nearby also ripped their clothing.
32 Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, responded, “My lord should not say they have killed all the young men who are sons of the king, for only Amnon is dead. This is what Absalom has been planning from the day Amnon raped Tamar, his sister. 33 Now my lord the king should pay no attention to the report that says, ‘All the king’s sons are dead,’ because only Amnon is dead.”
34 Absalom fled.
The young man who was serving as the watchman looked up and saw many people coming down the road west of him,[j] along the side of the mountain. ⎣The watchman came and reported to the king, “I see men on the Horonaim road, along the side of the mountain.”⎦[k]
35 Jonadab said to the king, “Look. The king’s sons have come. It is just as your servant said.”
36 When he was finished speaking, the king’s sons arrived. They raised their voices and wept loudly. The king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled. He went to Talmai son of Ammihud,[l] the king of Geshur. King David mourned every day because of his son.
38 Absalom fled and went to Geshur. He stayed there for three years. 39 King David longed to reach out to Absalom, because he was no longer mourning for his deceased son Amnon.
The Shrewd Manager
16 Jesus also said to his disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager who was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 The rich man called him in and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be manager.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking away the management position from me? I am not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from my position as manager, people will receive me into their houses.’
5 “He called each one of his master’s debtors to him. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘Six hundred gallons[a] of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write three hundred.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘Six hundred bushels[b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and write four hundred and eighty.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children[c] of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation[d] than the children of the light are. 9 I tell you, make friends for yourselves with unrighteous mammon,[e] so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings. 10 The person who is faithful with very little is also faithful with much. And the person who is unrighteous with very little is also unrighteous with much. 11 So if you have not been faithful with unrighteous mammon, who will entrust you with what is really valuable? 12 If you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something to be your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters. Indeed, either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, also heard all these things and sneered at him. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts. In fact, what is highly regarded among people is an abomination in God’s sight. 16 The Law and the Prophets were until John. Since that time the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone is trying to force his way into it.[f]
17 “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for even one part of a letter in the Law to fail. 18 Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another is committing adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced from her husband is committing adultery.
The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 20 A beggar named Lazarus had been laid at his gate. Lazarus was covered with sores and 21 longed to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Besides this, the dogs also came and licked his sores. 22 Eventually the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell,[g] where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus at his side. 24 He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in misery. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been set in place between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s home, 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “Abraham replied to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.