Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁶ ¶ But unto the wicked God saith, What part hast thou to declare my statutes or that thou should take my covenant in thy mouth?

¹⁷ Seeing thou dost hate chastening and dost cast my words behind thee.

¹⁸ When thou didst see a thief, then thou didst consent with him and hast been partaker with adulterers.

¹⁹ Thou didst give thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frames deceit.

²⁰ Thou didst sit and speak against thy brother; thou didst slander thine own mother’s son.

²¹ These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou didst think that I was altogether such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes.

²² Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I take you away, and there be none to deliver.

²³ Whosoever sacrifices praise glorifies me; and to him that orders his ways aright I will show the salvation of God.

13 ¶ And it came to pass after this that Absalom, the son of David, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar, and Amnon, the son of David, loved her.

² And Amnon was so distressed that he fell sick for his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and Amnon thought it difficult for him to do any thing to her.

³ But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, and Jonadab was a very astute man.

⁴ And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, becoming thinner from day to day? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.

⁵ And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed and pretend to be sick; and when thy father comes to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come and give me food and make the food in my sight that I may see it and eat it at her hand.

⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick, and when the king came to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar, my sister, come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat at her hand.

⁷ Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house and make him something to eat.

⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying down. And she took flour and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes.

⁹ Then she took a pan and poured them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Send everyone out from me. And they all went out from him.

¹⁰ Then Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber that I may eat from thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon, her brother.

¹¹ And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.

¹² And she answered him, No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Do not commit this folly.

¹³ And I, where shall I go with my reproach? And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now, therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king, for he will not withhold me from thee.

¹⁴ Howbeit, he would not hearken unto her voice, but, being stronger than she, forced her and lay with her.

¹⁵ Then Amnon hated her exceedingly so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.

¹⁶ And she said unto him, There is no cause; this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.

¹⁷ Then he called his servant that ministered unto him and said, Put now this woman out from me and bolt the door after her.

¹⁸ And she had a garment of different colours upon her, for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out and bolted the door after her.

¹⁹ And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment of different colours that was on her and laid her hand on her head and went on crying.

²⁷ ¶ Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.

²⁸ And God did set certain ones in the congregation: {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that faculties, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

²⁹ Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? do all have faculties?

³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

³¹ But earnestly pursue the best gifts, and yet I show unto you a more excellent way.