Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Confession and Forgiveness^[a]

²⁸ Ahimaaz called out a greeting to the king, threw himself down to the ground before him, and said, “Praise the Lord your God, who has given you victory over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty!”

²⁹ “Is the young man Absalom all right?” the king asked.

Ahimaaz answered, “Sir, when your officer Joab sent me, I saw a great commotion, but I couldn't tell what it was.”

³⁰ “Stand over there,” the king told him; and he went over and stood there.

³¹ Then the Ethiopian^[a] slave arrived and said to the king, “I have good news for Your Majesty! Today the Lord has given you victory over all who rebelled against you!”

³² “Is the young man Absalom all right?” the king asked.

The slave answered, “I wish that what has happened to him would happen to all your enemies, sir, and to all who rebel against you.”

³³ The king was overcome with grief. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he cried, “O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son! If only I had died in your place, my son! Absalom, my son!”

Joab Reprimands David

19 Joab was told that King David was weeping and mourning for Absalom. ² And so the joy of victory was turned into sadness for all of David's troops that day, because they heard that the king was mourning for his son. ³ They went back into the city quietly, like soldiers who are ashamed because they are running away from battle. ⁴ The king covered his face and cried loudly, “O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son!”

⁵ Joab went to the king's house and said to him, “Today you have humiliated your men—the men who saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and of your wives and concubines. ⁶ You oppose those who love you and support those who hate you! You have made it clear that your officers and men mean nothing to you. I can see that you would be quite happy if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. ⁷ Now go and reassure your men. I swear by the Lord's name that if you don't, not one of them will be with you by tomorrow morning. That would be the worst disaster you have suffered in all your life.” ⁸ Then the king got up, and went and sat near the city gate. His men heard that he was there, and they all gathered around him.

David Starts Back to Jerusalem

Meanwhile all the Israelites had fled to their own hometowns.

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man^(A)

¹⁷ One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting there who had come from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, and they tried to carry him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. ¹⁹ Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the group in front of Jesus. ²⁰ When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven, my friend.”

²¹ The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks such blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!”

²² Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Why do you think such things? ²³ Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!”

²⁵ At once the man got up in front of them all, took the bed he had been lying on, and went home, praising God. ²⁶ They were all completely amazed! Full of fear, they praised God, saying, “What marvelous things we have seen today!”