Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁶ But unto the rasha, Elohim saith, What right hast thou to declare My chukkot, or that thou shouldest take My Brit in thy mouth?

¹⁷ Seeing thou hatest musar (correction), and casteth My devarim behind thee.

¹⁸ When thou sawest a ganav (thief), then thou consentedst with him, and hast taken thy chelek (lot) with mena’afim (adulterers).

¹⁹ Thou lettest loose thy mouth to ra’ah, and thy leshon frameth mirmah (deceit).

²⁰ Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own ben immecha.

²¹ These things hast thou done, and I kept silent; thou thoughtest that I was altogether like thee; but I will reprove thee, and set the charge before thine eyes.

²² Now consider this, ye that forget Elo’ah (G-d), lest I tear you to pieces, and there be none to rescue.

²³ Whoso offereth todah glorifieth Me; and to him that ordereth his derech aright will I show the Salvation of Elohim.

13 And it came to pass after this, that Avshalom Ben Dovid had an achot yafeh (beautiful sister), whose shem was Tamar; and Amnon Ben Dovid loved her.

² And Amnon was so distressed, that he fell ill for his achot Tamar; for she was betulah; but Amnon thought it impossible for him to do anything to her.

³ But Amnon had a re’a, shmo Yonadav Ben Shime’ah Achi Dovid; and Yonadav was an ish chacham (shrewd man).

⁴ And he said unto him, Why art thou, being Ben HaMelech, becoming dal (weak, wretched) from day to day? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, Ani ohev (I love) Tamar achot Avshalom achi.

⁵ And Yonadav said unto him, Lay thee down on thy mishkav, and make thyself sick; and when avicha cometh to see thee, say unto him, now, let my achot Tamar come, and cause me to eat lechem, and prepare the briyah (food) in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her yad.

⁶ So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick; and when HaMelech was come to see him, Amnon said unto HaMelech, Now, let Tamar my achot come, and make me a couple of [heart-shaped] cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her yad.

⁷ Then Dovid sent to Tamar to the palace, saying, Go now to the bais of thy brother Amnon, and prepare for him briyah (food).

⁸ So Tamar went to the bais of her brother Amnon; and he was lying down. And she took batzek (dough), and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the [heartshaped] cakes.

⁹ And she took a masret (pan), and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have kol ish go out from me. And they went out kol ish from him.

¹⁰ And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the briyah into the cheder ([bed] room), that I may eat from thine yad. And Tamar took the [heart-shaped] cakes which she had prepared, and brought them into the bedroom 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 achot.

¹² And she answered him, No, achi, do not violate me; for no such thing ought to be done in Yisroel; do not thou this nevalah (foul deed, shameful thing).

¹³ And I, to where shall I cause my cherpah (shame, disgrace) to go? And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the nevalim (wicked fools) in Yisroel. Now therefore, speak unto HaMelech; for he will not withhold me from thee.

¹⁴ Howbeit he would not pay heed unto her voice; but, being stronger than she, violated her and raped her, and lay with her.

¹⁵ Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the sinah (hatred) wherewith he hated her was gedolah me’od than the ahavah wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Get up, get out.

¹⁶ And she said unto him, No, do not this ra’ah in sending me away which is gedolah than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not pay heed unto her.

¹⁷ Then he called his na’ar that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this outside from me, and bolt the delet after her.

¹⁸ She had a kesones of various colors upon her; for with such were the banot HaMelech that were betulot apparelled. Then his mesharet (servant) brought her outside, and bolted the delet after her.

¹⁹ And Tamar put efer (ash) on her rosh (head) and made the kri’ah (tearing, rending) on her kesones of various colors that was on her, and laid her yad on her rosh, and went on weeping as she went.

²⁷ Now you are Moshiach’s body (BERESHIS 47:18-19) and individually evarim of it.

²⁸ Now Hashem placed some in the Adat HaMoshiach (community of Moshiach), in the Kehillah, rishon (first): shlichim, second, nevi’im, third, morim (teachers), then those of cholel nifla’aot (“accomplishing miracles—Ex 4:21), then matanot harippuy (gifts of healing), then matanot of helps, then manhigut ruchanit (spiritual leadership, administration), kinds of leshonot.

²⁹ Surely not all are shlichim? Surely not all are nevi’im? Surely not all are rabbinical morim? Surely not all are those cholel nifa’ot (accomplishing miracles”)?

³⁰ Surely not all have matanot harippuy (gifts of healing)? Surely not all speak in leshonot (cf 1C 14:23, 26)? Surely not all have the pitron (interpretation) of leshonot?

³¹ But earnestly desire the greater matanot (gifts) [of the Ruach Hakodesh]….And yet now I show you a more feste derech. T.N. Rav Sha’ul now turns to the need for balance. Not that he is trying to terminate the miraculous in Moshiach’s Kehillah [a futile endeavor!], but that he is showing the need for the fruit of the Ruach Hakodesh to balance His gifts, especially in an environment where pride and carnality have quenched ahavah, which is the Yn 3:16 center of Moshiach’s saving histalkus (passing, the death of Moshiach in midst of his Redemptive mission on the analogy of Moses dying before he crosses into the Promised Land.)