Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

32 By David. -- An Instruction. O the happiness of him whose transgression [is] forgiven, Whose sin is covered.

² O the happiness of a man, To whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ When I have kept silence, become old have my bones, Through my roaring all the day.

⁴ When by day and by night Thy hand is heavy upon me, My moisture hath been changed Into the droughts of summer. Selah.

⁵ My sin I cause Thee to know, And mine iniquity I have not covered. I have said, `I confess concerning My transgressions to Jehovah,' And Thou -- Thou hast taken away, The iniquity of my sin. Selah.

⁶ For this doth every saintly one pray to Thee, As the time to find. Surely at an overflowing of many waters, Unto him they come not.

⁷ Thou [art] a hiding-place for me, From distress Thou dost keep me, [With] songs of deliverance dost compass me. Selah.

⁸ I cause thee to act wisely, And direct thee in the way that thou goest, I cause mine eye to take counsel concerning thee.

⁹ Be ye not as a horse -- as a mule, Without understanding, With bridle and bit, its ornaments, to curb, Not to come near unto thee.

¹⁰ Many [are] the pains of the wicked; As to him who is trusting in Jehovah, Kindness doth compass him.

¹¹ Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous, And sing, all ye upright of heart!

²⁸ And Ahimaaz calleth and saith unto the king, `Peace;' and he boweth himself to the king, on his face, to the earth, and saith, `Blessed [is] Jehovah thy God who hath shut up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.'

²⁹ And the king saith, `Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And Ahimaaz saith, `I saw the great multitude, at the sending away of the servant of the king, even thy servant [by] Joab, and I have not known what [it is].'

³⁰ And the king saith, `Turn round, station thyself here;' and he turneth round and standeth still.

³¹ And lo, the Cushite hath come, and the Cushite saith, `Let tidings be proclaimed, my lord, O king; for Jehovah hath delivered thee to-day out of the hand of all those rising up against thee.'

³² And the king saith unto the Cushite, `Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And the Cushite saith, `Let them be -- as the youth -- the enemies of my lord the king, and all who have risen up against thee for evil.'

³³ And the king trembleth, and goeth up on the upper chamber of the gate, and weepeth, and thus he hath said in his going, `My son! Absalom my son; my son Absalom; oh that I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son.'

19 And it is declared to Joab, `Lo, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom;'

² and the salvation on that day becometh mourning to all the people, for the people hath heard on that day, saying, `The king hath been grieved for his son.'

³ And the people stealeth away, on that day, to go in to the city, as the people steal away, who are ashamed, in their fleeing in battle;

⁴ and the king hath covered his face, yea, the king crieth -- a loud voice -- `My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son.'

⁵ And Joab cometh in unto the king to the house, and saith, `Thou hast put to shame to-day the faces of all thy servants, those delivering thy life to-day, and the life of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the life of thy wives, and the life of thy concubines,

⁶ to love thine enemies, and to hate those loving thee, for thou hast declared to-day that thou hast no princes and servants, for I have known to-day that if Absalom [were] alive, and all of us to-day dead, that then it were right in thine eyes.

⁷ `And now, rise, go out and speak unto the heart of thy servants, for by Jehovah I have sworn, that -- thou art not going out -- there doth not lodge a man with thee to-night; and this [is] worse for thee than all the evil that hath come upon thee from thy youth till now.'

⁸ And the king riseth, and sitteth in the gate, and to all the people they have declared, saying, `Lo, the king is sitting in the gate;' and all the people come in before the king, and Israel hath fled, each to his tents.

¹⁷ And it came to pass, on one of the days, that he was teaching, and there were sitting by Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who were come out of every village of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was -- to heal them.

¹⁸ And lo, men bearing upon a couch a man, who hath been struck with palsy, and they were seeking to bring him in, and to place before him,

¹⁹ and not having found by what way they may bring him in because of the multitude, having gone up on the house-top, through the tiles they let him down, with the little couch, into the midst before Jesus,

²⁰ and he having seen their faith, said to him, `Man, thy sins have been forgiven thee.'

²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, `Who is this that doth speak evil words? who is able to forgive sins, except God only?'

²² And Jesus having known their reasonings, answering, said unto them, `What reason ye in your hearts?

²³ which is easier -- to say, Thy sins have been forgiven thee? or to say, Arise, and walk?

²⁴ `And that ye may know that the Son of Man hath authority upon the earth to forgive sins -- (he said to the one struck with palsy) -- I say to thee, Arise, and having taken up thy little couch, be going on to thy house.'

²⁵ And presently having risen before them, having taken up [that] on which he was lying, he went away to his house, glorifying God,

²⁶ and astonishment took all, and they were glorifying God, and were filled with fear, saying -- `We saw strange things to-day.'