Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
It Is Better to Confess Sin
A maskil of David.
32 Happy is the person
whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
2 Happy is the person
whom the Lord does not consider guilty.
In that person there is nothing false.
3 When I kept things to myself,
I felt weak deep inside me.
I moaned all day long.
4 Day and night
you punished me.
My strength was gone
as in the summer heat. Selah
5 Then I confessed my sins to you.
I didn’t hide my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my sins to the Lord.”
And you forgave my guilt. Selah
6 For this reason, all who obey you
should pray to you while they still can.
When troubles rise like a flood,
they will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from my troubles.
You fill me with songs of salvation. Selah
8 The Lord says, “I will make you wise. I will show you where to go.
I will guide you and watch over you.
9 So don’t be like a horse or donkey.
They don’t understand.
They must be led with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.”
10 Wicked people have many troubles.
But the Lord’s love surrounds those who trust him.
11 Good people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.
All you whose hearts are right, sing.
Absalom’s Revenge
23 Two years later Absalom had some men come to Baal Hazor, near Ephraim. They were to cut the wool from his sheep. Absalom invited all the king’s sons to come also. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, “I have men coming to cut the wool. Please come with your officers and join me.”
25 King David said to Absalom, “No, my son. We won’t all go. It would be too much trouble for you.” Absalom begged David to go. David did not go, but he did give his blessing.
26 Absalom said, “If you don’t want to go, then please let my brother Amnon go with me.”
King David asked Absalom, “Why should he go with you?”
27 Absalom kept begging David. Finally, David let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with Absalom.
28 Then Absalom gave a command to his servants. He said, “Watch Amnon. When he is drunk, I will tell you, ‘Kill Amnon.’ Right then, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I have commanded you! Be strong and brave!” 29 So Absalom’s young men killed Amnon as Absalom commanded. But all of David’s other sons got on their mules and escaped.
30 While the king’s sons were on their way, the news came to David. The message was, “Absalom has killed all of the king’s sons! Not one of them is left alive!” 31 King David tore his clothes and lay on the ground to show his sadness. All his servants standing nearby tore their clothes also.
32 Jonadab was the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab said to David, “Don’t think all the young men, your sons, are killed. No, only Amnon is dead! Absalom planned this because Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My master and king, don’t think that all of the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead!”
34 In the meantime Absalom had run away.
There was a guard standing on the city wall. He saw many people coming from the other side of the hill. 35 So Jonadab said to King David, “Look, I was right! The king’s sons are coming!”
36 As soon as Jonadab had said this, the king’s sons arrived. They were crying loudly. David and all his servants began crying also. They all cried very much. 37 David cried for his son every day.
But Absalom ran away to Talmai[a] son of Ammihud. Talmai was king of Geshur. 38 After Absalom ran away to Geshur, he stayed there for three years. 39 When King David got over Amnon’s death, he missed Absalom greatly.
Give Yourselves to God
4 Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. 2 You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people. But you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You do not get what you want because you do not ask God. 3 Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things only so that you can use them for your own pleasures.
4 So, you people are not loyal to God! You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. So if a person wants to be a friend of the world, he makes himself God’s enemy. 5 Do you think the Scripture means nothing? It says, “The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone.”[a] 6 But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says,
“God is against the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble.” Proverbs 3:34
7 So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run away from you.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.