Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

^(A)In Praise of God's Goodness^[a]

David Is Warned and Escapes

¹⁵ Then Hushai told the priests Zadok and Abiathar what advice he had given to Absalom and the Israelite leaders and what advice Ahithophel had given. ¹⁶ Hushai added, “Quick, now! Send a message to David not to spend the night at the river crossings in the wilderness, but to cross the Jordan at once, so that he and his men won't all be caught and killed.”

¹⁷ Abiathar's son Jonathan and Zadok's son Ahimaaz were waiting at the spring of Enrogel, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, because they did not dare be seen entering the city. A servant woman would regularly go and tell them what was happening, and then they would go and tell King David. ¹⁸ But one day a boy happened to see them, and he told Absalom; so they hurried off to hide in the house of a certain man in Bahurim. He had a well near his house, and they got down in it. ¹⁹ The man's wife took a covering, spread it over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it, so that no one would notice anything. ²⁰ Absalom's officials came to the house and asked the woman, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

“They crossed the river,” she answered.

The men looked for them but could not find them, and so they returned to Jerusalem. ²¹ After they left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan came up out of the well and went and reported to King David. They told him what Ahithophel had planned against him and said, “Hurry up and cross the river.” ²² So David and his men started crossing the Jordan, and by daybreak they had all gone across.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and went back to his hometown. After putting his affairs in order, he hanged himself. He was buried in the family grave.

²⁴ David had reached the town of Mahanaim by the time Absalom and the Israelites had crossed the Jordan. (²⁵ Absalom had put Amasa in command of the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the son of Jether the Ishmaelite;^[a] his mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Joab's mother Zeruiah.) ²⁶ Absalom and his men camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash, from the city of Rabbah in Ammon, and by Machir son of Ammiel, from Lodebar, and by Barzillai, from Rogelim in Gilead. ^28-29 They brought bowls, clay pots, and bedding, and also food for David and his men: wheat, barley, meal, roasted grain, beans, peas,^[b] honey, cheese, cream, and some sheep. They knew that David and his men would get hungry, thirsty, and tired in the wilderness.

Bear One Another's Burdens

6 My friends, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way. And keep an eye on yourselves, so that you will not be tempted, too. ² Help carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey^[a] the law of Christ. ³ If you think you are something when you really are nothing, you are only deceiving yourself. ⁴ You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done. ⁵ For each of you have to carry your own load.

⁶ If you are being taught the Christian message, you should share all the good things you have with your teacher.

⁷ Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant. ⁸ If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life. ⁹ So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest. ¹⁰ So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.