Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Joy of Being Forgiven

32 How happy he is whose wrong-doing is forgiven, and whose sin is covered! ² How happy is the man whose sin the Lord does not hold against him, and in whose spirit there is nothing false.

³ When I kept quiet about my sin, my bones wasted away from crying all day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as in the hot summer. ⁵ I told my sin to You. I did not hide my wrong-doing. I said, “I will tell my sins to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin. ⁶ So let all who are God-like pray to You while You may be found, because in the floods of much water, they will not touch him. ⁷ You are my hiding place. You keep me safe from trouble. All around me are your songs of being made free.

⁸ I will show you and teach you in the way you should go. I will tell you what to do with My eye upon you. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the donkey which have no understanding. They must be made to work by using bits and leather ropes or they will not come to you. ¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the sinful. But loving-kindness will be all around the man who trusts in the Lord. ¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and be full of joy, you who are right with God! Sing for joy all you who are pure in heart!

Absalom Kills Amnon

²³ After two full years, Absalom had men cut the wool from the sheep in Baal-hazor, near Ephraim. And Absalom asked all the king’s sons to come. ²⁴ He came to the king and said, “See, your servant has men to cut the wool from the sheep. Let the king and his men go with your servant.” ²⁵ But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son. We should not all go, or we will be trouble for you.” Absalom tried to talk him into going. The king prayed that good would come to him, but he would not go with him. ²⁶ Then Absalom said, “If you will not go, let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” ²⁷ But when Absalom kept asking him, he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.

²⁸ Then Absalom told his servants, “Watch when Amnon’s heart is happy with wine. When I say to you, ‘Kill Amnon,’ then put him to death. Do not be afraid. Have not I myself told you to do it? Have strength of heart.” ²⁹ So Absalom’s servants did to Amnon just as Absalom had told them. Then all the king’s sons got up on their horses and left in a hurry.

³⁰ While they were on their way, the news came to David, saying, “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons. Not one of them is left.” ³¹ The king got up and tore his clothes, and lay on the ground. And all his servants standing beside him tore their clothes. ³² But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, “Do not let my lord think they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons. Only Amnon is dead. Absalom has wanted to kill him since the day he put his sister Tamar to shame. ³³ So do not let my lord the king take this to heart and think that all the king’s sons are dead, for only Amnon is dead.”

Absalom Goes to Geshur

³⁴ Now Absalom had run away. And the young man who kept watch looked up and saw many people coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain. ³⁵ Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come. What your servant said is true.” ³⁶ As soon as he had finished speaking, the king’s sons came and cried in a loud voice. The king and all his servants cried also.

³⁷ Absalom ran away and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. And David was filled with sorrow for his son every day. ³⁸ So Absalom had run away to Geshur, and was there three years. ³⁹ The spirit of King David wanted very much to go out to Absalom. For he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead.

4 What starts wars and fights among you? Is it not because you want many things and are fighting to have them? ² You want something you do not have, so you kill. You want something but cannot get it, so you fight for it. You do not get things because you do not ask for them. ³ Or if you do ask, you do not receive because your reasons for asking are wrong. You want these things only to please yourselves.

⁴ You are as wives and husbands who are not faithful in marriage and do sex sins. Do you not know that to love the sinful things of the world and to be a friend to them is to be against God? Yes, I say it again, if you are a friend of the world, you are against God. ⁵ Do you think the Holy Writings mean nothing when they said, “The Holy Spirit Whom God has given to live in us has a strong desire for us to be faithful to Him”?

⁶ But He gives us more loving-favor. For the Holy Writings say, “God works against the proud but gives loving-favor to those who have no pride.” ^{(A) 7} So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil and he will run away from you.