Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²⁶ When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. ²⁷ And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she ^(A)became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done ^(B)displeased^[a] the Lord.

Nathan’s Parable and David’s Confession

12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And ^(C)he came to him, and ^(D)said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. ³ But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

⁵ So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this ^[b]shall surely die! ⁶ And he shall restore ^(E)fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I ^(F)anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! ^9 (G)Why have you ^(H)despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? ^(I)You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, ^(J)the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

^13 (A)So David said to Nathan, ^(B)“I have sinned against the Lord.”

And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has ^(C)put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord ^(D)to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan departed to his house.

The Death of David’s Son

And the ^(E)Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.

The Joy of Forgiveness

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Contemplation.

^15 (A)We who are Jews by nature, and not ^(B)sinners of the Gentiles, ^16 (C)knowing that a man is not ^[a]justified by the works of the law but ^(D)by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not ^(E)by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

¹⁷ “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found ^(F)sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸ For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. ¹⁹ For I ^(G)through the law ^(H)died to the law that I might ^(I)live to God. ²⁰ I have been ^(J)crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh ^(K)I live by faith in the Son of God, ^(L)who loved me and gave Himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God; for ^(M)if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died ^[b]in vain.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

^36 (A)Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ^(B)“This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred ^(C)denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no ^(D)water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no ^(E)kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ^46 (F)You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ^47 (G)Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then He said to her, ^(H)“Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ^(I)“Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, ^(J)“Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Many Women Minister to Jesus

8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and ^[a]bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ² and ^(K)certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and ^[b]infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, ^(L)out of whom had come seven demons, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for ^[c]Him from their ^[d]substance.