Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

David’s Adultery

11 One spring day, during the time of year when kings go off to war, David sent out Joab, along with his personal staff^[a] and all of Israel’s army. They utterly destroyed the Ammonites and then attacked Rabbah while David remained in Jerusalem. ² Late one afternoon about dusk,^[b] David got up from his couch and was walking around on the roof of the royal palace. From there^[c] he watched a woman taking a bath, and she^[d] was very beautiful to look at.

³ David sent word^[e] to inquire about her,^[f] and someone told him, “This is Eliam’s daughter Bathsheba,^[g] the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn’t it?” ⁴ So David sent some messengers, took her from her home,^[h] and she went to him, and he had sex with her. (She had been consecrating herself following her menstrual separation.)^[i] Then she returned to her home.

⁵ The woman conceived, and she sent this message^[j] to David: “I’m pregnant.”

⁶ So David summoned Joab, and told him,^[k] “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah arrived, David inquired about how Joab was doing, how the army was^[l] doing, and how the war was progressing.

⁸ Then David told Uriah, “Go on down to your house and relax a while.”^[m] So Uriah left the king’s palace, and the king sent a gift along after him. ⁹ But Uriah spent the night sleeping in the alcove of the king’s palace in the company of all his master’s staff members. He refused to go down to his own home.

¹⁰ When David was told that Uriah hadn’t gone home the previous night,^[n] he quizzed him,^[o] “You just arrived from a long journey, so why didn’t you go down to your own house?”

¹¹ Uriah replied, “The ark, along with Israel and Judah, are encamped in tents, while my commanding officer Joab and my master’s staff members are camping out in the open fields. Should I go home, eat, drink, and have sex with my wife? Not on your life!^[p] I won’t do something like this, will I?”

¹² Then David invited Uriah, “Stay here today, and tomorrow I’ll send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem all that day and the next. ¹³ Then at David’s invitation, he and Uriah dined and drank wine together, and David got him drunk. Later that evening, Uriah went out to lie on a couch in the company of his lord’s servants, and he did not go down to his house.

David Orders Uriah Killed

¹⁴ The next morning, David sent a message to Joab that Uriah took with him in his hand. ¹⁵ In the message, he wrote: “Assign Uriah to the most difficult fighting at the battle front, and then withdraw from him so that he will be struck down and killed.”

To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.

The Fool and God’s Response

To Know the Messiah’s Love

¹⁴ This is the reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,^{[a] 15} from whom every family^[b] in heaven and on earth receives its name. ¹⁶ I pray^[c] that he would give you, according to his glorious riches, strength in your inner being and power through his Spirit, ¹⁷ and that the Messiah^[d] would make his home in your hearts through faith. Then, having been rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ you will be able to understand, along with all the saints, what is wide, long, high, and deep— ¹⁹ that is, you will know the love of the Messiah^[e]— which transcends knowledge, and will be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among^[f] us— ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in the Messiah^[g] Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Jesus Feeds More than Five Thousand^(A)

6 After this, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, to Tiberias). ² A large crowd kept following him because they had seen the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. ³ But Jesus went up on a hillside and sat down there with his disciples.

⁴ Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. ⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ Jesus^[a] said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[b] worth of bread isn’t enough for each of them to have a little.”

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, ⁹ “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are these among so many people?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was plenty of grass in that area, so they sat down, numbering about 5,000 men.

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He also distributed^[c] as much fish as they wanted. ¹² When they were completely satisfied, Jesus^[d] told his disciples, “Collect the pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted.” ¹³ So they collected and filled twelve baskets full of pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ When the people saw the sign^[e] that he had done, they kept saying, “Truly this is the Prophet who was to come into the world!” ¹⁵ Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew^[f] again to the hillside by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(B)

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. Darkness had already fallen, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing, and the sea was getting rough. ¹⁹ After they had rowed about 25 or 30 stadia,^[g] they saw Jesus walking on the sea toward their boat. They became terrified. ²⁰ But he told them, “It is I. Stop being afraid!” ²¹ So they were glad to take him on board, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.