Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Davidic instruction.[a]
The Blessings of Forgiveness
32 How blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person against whom the Lord does not charge iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent about my sin,[b]
my body[c] wasted away
by my groaning all day long.
4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night;
my strength was exhausted
as in a summer drought.
5 My sin I acknowledged to you;
my iniquity I did not hide.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin!
6 Therefore every godly person should pray to you at such a time.[d]
Surely a flood of great waters will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will deliver me from trouble
and surround me with shouts of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you
concerning the path you should walk;
I will direct you with my eye.
9 Don’t be like a horse or mule,
without understanding.
They are held in check by a bit and bridle in their mouths;
otherwise they will not remain near you.
10 The wicked have many sorrows,
but gracious love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
11 Righteous ones, be glad in the Lord and rejoice!
Shout for joy, all of you who are upright in heart!
28 “Everything’s fine!”[a] Ahimaaz announced to the king. He bowed low with his face to the ground[b] before the king and said, “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has handed over the men who rebelled against your majesty the king.”
29 “Are things fine[c] with respect to the young man Absalom?” the king asked.
Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a lot of confusion about the time Joab was getting ready to send the king’s courier and me, your servant, but I’m not sure what was going on.”[d]
30 The king replied, “Stand here at attention and wait.” So he stepped to the side and stood there waiting.
31 Just then the Ethiopian arrived. He[e] reported, “Good news, your majesty the king! The Lord has delivered you from the control of everyone who rebelled against you!”
32 The king asked the Ethiopian, “Is the young man safe?”
The Ethiopian answered, “May the enemies of your majesty the king—including everyone who rebels and tries to harm you—become like that young man….”
David Mourns for Absalom
33 [f]Deeply shaken, the king went up to the chamber overlooking the city gate, weeping bitterly and crying out as he went along, “My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you, Absalom my son, my son!”
Joab Rebukes David
19 [g]Someone informed Joab, “The king is weeping bitterly, mourning for Absalom.” 2 The victory had become an occasion for the army to mourn, because on that very day the troops heard the announcement, “The king is grieving for his son!” 3 So men snuck into the city that day like men do who are ashamed after they’ve run away from a battle.
4 Meanwhile, the king veiled his face and kept on crying loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom my son, my son!”
5 Joab went up to the palace and rebuked the king: “Today you’ve humiliated your entire army who just saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and mistresses! 6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you! You’ve made it abundantly clear today that your officers and the men under them[h] mean nothing to you! I’ve learned today that you would rather have Absalom alive today and all the rest of us dead! 7 Now get up and restore the morale of[i] your army. I swear by the Lord that if you don’t get out there, you won’t have a single man left in your army[j] by nightfall! You’ll be in more trouble today than all the disasters you’ve been through from your boyhood until now!” 8 So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the army was informed, “The king is sitting in the gateway!” they all gathered together in his presence.
David is Reinstated as King
Meanwhile, the Israelis had run away back to their own homes.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man(A)
17 One day, as Jesus[a] was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law happened to be sitting nearby. The people[b] had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present to heal them.[c] 18 Some men were bringing a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to take him into the house[d] and place him in front of Jesus.[e] 19 When they couldn’t find a way to get him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on his stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the room,[f] right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus[g] saw their faith, he said, “Mister,[h] your sins are forgiven.”
21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to argue among themselves, saying, “Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Because Jesus knew that they were arguing, he asked them, “Why are you arguing about this among yourselves?[i] 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so you’ll know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” he told the paralyzed man, “I say to you: Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home!” 25 So the man[j] immediately stood up in front of them and picked up what he had been lying on. Then he went home, praising God.
26 Amazement seized all the people, and they began to praise God. They were filled with fear[k] and declared, “We have seen wonderful things today!”
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