Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

By David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech; Abimelech threw him out, so David left.

¹⁵ Then Hushai told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the leaders of Israel to do one thing, but I advised them to do something else. ¹⁶ Now send messengers quickly to tell David, ‘Don’t rest tonight in the river crossings in the desert, but make sure you cross ⌞the river⌟, or Your Majesty and all the troops with him will be wiped out.’ ”

¹⁷ Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En Rogel. They could not risk being seen coming into the city, so a servant girl was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David. ¹⁸ But a young man saw Jonathan and Ahimaaz and told Absalom. So both of them left quickly and came to the home of a man in Bahurim who had a cistern in his courtyard, and they went down into it. ¹⁹ The man’s wife took a cover, spread it over the top of the cistern, and scattered some grain over it so that no one could tell it was there.

²⁰ Absalom’s servants came to the woman at her home. “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” they asked.

The woman said, “They’ve crossed the stream.”

The servants looked for them but did not find them. So Absalom’s servants returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ After Absalom’s servants left, both men came out of the cistern and went and told King David. “Leave right away,” they told David. “Cross the river quickly because this is what Ahithophel has advised against you. …”

²² David and all the troops with him left to cross the Jordan River. When the dawn came, everyone had crossed the Jordan River.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his advice hadn’t been followed, he saddled his donkey, left, and went home to his own city. He gave instructions to his family. Then he hanged himself, died, and was buried in his father’s tomb.

²⁴ David had ⌞already⌟ come to Mahanaim by the time Absalom and all the men of Israel with him crossed the Jordan River. ²⁵ Absalom appointed Amasa to take Joab’s place as commander of the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, a descendant of Ishmael.^[a] His mother was Abigail,^[b] the daughter of Nahash and sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.) ²⁶ The Israelites and Absalom camped in the region of Gilead.

²⁷ When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi, son of Nahash from Rabbah in Ammon, and Machir, son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai from Rogelim in Gilead ²⁸ brought ⌞supplies⌟ and food for David and his troops: bedding, bowls, pots, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,^{[c] 29} honey, buttermilk, sheep, and calves. They brought these things because they thought, “The troops in the desert are hungry, exhausted, and thirsty.”

Help Carry Each Other’s Burdens

6 Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted. ² Help carry each other’s burdens. In this way you will follow Christ’s teachings. ³ So if any one of you thinks you’re important when you’re really not, you’re only fooling yourself. ⁴ Each of you must examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others. ⁵ Assume your own responsibility.

We Will Harvest What We Plant

⁶ The person who is taught God’s word should share all good things with his teacher. ⁷ Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest. ⁸ If you plant in ⌞the soil of⌟ your corrupt nature, you will harvest destruction. But if you plant in ⌞the soil of⌟ your spiritual nature, you will harvest everlasting life. ⁹ We can’t allow ourselves to get tired of living the right way. Certainly, each of us will receive ⌞everlasting life⌟ at the proper time, if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ Whenever we have the opportunity, we have to do what is good for everyone, especially for the family of believers.