Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 32[a]
The Joy of Being Forgiven
1 Of David. A maskil.[b]
[c]Blessed is the one whose offense is forgiven,
whose sin is erased.
2 Blessed is the one to whom the Lord charges no guilt
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 As long as I remained silent,[d]
my body wasted away
as the result of my groaning throughout the day.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength withered steadily
as though consumed by the summer heat.[e] Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I made no attempt to conceal my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my offenses[f] to the Lord,”
and you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is faithful pray to you
where you may be found.[g]
Even if great floods threaten,
they will never reach him.
7 You are a place of refuge for me;
you preserve me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.[h] Selah
8 I will instruct you
and guide you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you
and keep my eyes upon you.
9 Do not behave without understanding
like a horse or a mule;
if its temper is not curbed with bit and bridle,
it will not come near you.
10 The wicked has a multitude of troubles,
but the man who trusts in the Lord
is surrounded by kindness.[i]
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
shout for joy, all you upright of heart.[j]
23 Absalom’s Plot. Two years later, when Absalom had sheep-shearers at Baal-hazor, near Ephraim, he invited all of the king’s sons. 24 Absalom went to the king and said: “Your servant has summoned the sheep-shearers to work. Will your majesty and his retinue please come?” 25 The king replied: “No, my son. If we all were to go, we would prove to be a burden to you.” Absalom continued to urge him, but the king still refused to go, although he gave him his blessing.
26 Absalom then said: “If you will not come, then please allow my brother Amnon to go with us.” The king replied: “Why should he go with you?” 27 However, Absalom continued to urge him, until finally the king allowed Amnon and all the other princes to go.
28 Absalom prepared a feast fit for a king, and he instructed his servants: “Watch carefully! When Amnon is merry with wine and I say to you: ‘Strike down Amnon,’ then slay him. Do not be afraid. You will simply be obeying my command. Be courageous and act valiantly!”
29 The Death of Amnon. When the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded, then all of the king’s sons leapt to their feet, mounted their mules, and fled. 30 While they were still on the road, a report came to David that Absalom had slain all of the king’s sons and that not a single one of them had survived. 31 The king stood up, tore his garments, and threw himself on the ground. All of his servants who were standing around him also tore their garments.
32 However, Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said: “Let not my lord think that all the young princes, the sons of the king, have been killed. Amnon alone is dead, for Absalom has been determined to exact vengeance ever since the day that Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 Therefore, my lord the king should not believe the report that all of the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”
34 Meanwhile Absalom had fled. When the man on sentry duty looked up, he saw a large group of people coming down the hill from the direction of Horonaim. Immediately he hastened to the king and reported: “I have seen men coming down the hill from Horonaim.”
35 Jonadab said to the king: “Behold, the king’s sons have returned, just as I said they would.” 36 No sooner had he finished speaking than the king’s sons arrived, weeping aloud. The king and all his servants also wept bitterly.
37 Absalom, who had taken flight, went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur, 38 and he remained in Geshur for three years.
39 Efforts for Absalom’s Return. During all that time, David mourned over his son, but once he became reconciled to the death of Amnon, he yearned to be reconciled with Absalom.
Chapter 4
The Need To Control Passions.[a] 1 What is the source of these conflicts and quarrels among you? Are they not the result of your passions[b] that are at war within you? 2 You want something that you cannot have, so you commit murder. And you covet something but cannot obtain it, so you engage in quarrels and fights. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 When you ask, you do not get what you want because you do not ask for it with the proper motives, seeking rather to indulge your passions.
4 Adulterers! Do you not know that love of the world results in enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose that it is without reason that Scripture says, “He yearns jealously for the Spirit that he sent to live in us”?[c] 6 But he has bestowed an even stronger grace. Therefore, it says,
“God resists the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble.”
7 Hence, be subject to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
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