Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁶ But God says to evil men: Recite my laws no longer and stop claiming my promises, ¹⁷ for you have refused my discipline, disregarding my laws. ¹⁸ You see a thief and help him, and spend your time with evil and immoral men. ¹⁹ You curse and lie, and vile language streams from your mouths. ²⁰ You slander your own brother. ²¹ I remained silent—you thought I didn’t care—but now your time of punishment has come, and I list all the above charges against you. ²² This is the last chance for all of you who have forgotten God, before I tear you apart—and no one can help you then.

²³ But true praise is a worthy sacrifice; this really honors me. Those who walk my paths will receive salvation from the Lord.

13 Prince Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Prince Amnon (her half brother) fell desperately in love with her. ² Amnon became so tormented by his love for her that he became ill. He had no way of talking to her, for the girls and young men were kept strictly apart.^{[a] 3} But Amnon had a very crafty friend—his cousin Jonadab (the son of David’s brother Shimeah).

⁴ One day Jonadab said to Amnon, “What’s the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so haggard morning after morning?”

So Amnon told him, “I am in love with Tamar, my half sister.”

⁵ “Well,” Jonadab said, “I’ll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are sick; when your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you’ll feel better if she feeds you.”

⁶ So Amnon did. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him for this favor—that his sister Tamar be permitted to come and cook a little something for him to eat. ⁷ David agreed and sent word to Tamar to go to Amnon’s quarters and prepare some food for him. ⁸ So she did and went into his bedroom so that he could watch her mix some dough; then she baked some special bread for him. ⁹ But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat!

“Everyone get out of here,” he told his servants; so they all left the apartment.

¹⁰ Then he said to Tamar, “Now bring me the food again here in my bedroom and feed it to me.” So Tamar took it to him. ¹¹ But as she was standing there before him, he grabbed her and demanded, “Come to bed with me, my darling.”

¹² “Oh, Amnon,” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! You know what a serious crime it is in Israel.^{[b] 13} Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, for he will let you marry me.”

¹⁴ But he wouldn’t listen to her; and since he was stronger than she, he forced her. ¹⁵ Then suddenly his love turned to hate, and now he hated her more than he had loved her.

“Get out of here!” he snarled at her.

¹⁶ “No, no!” she cried. “To reject me now is a greater crime than the other you did to me.”

But he wouldn’t listen to her. ^17-18 He shouted for his valet and demanded, “Throw this woman out and lock the door behind her.”

So he put her out. She was wearing a long robe with sleeves, as was the custom in those days for virgin daughters of the king. ¹⁹ Now she tore the robe and put ashes on her head and with her head in her hands went away crying.

²⁷ Now here is what I am trying to say: All of you together are the one body of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it. ²⁸ Here is a list of some of the parts he has placed in his Church, which is his body:

²⁹ Is everyone an apostle? Of course not. Is everyone a preacher? No. Are all teachers? Does everyone have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Can everyone heal the sick? Of course not. Does God give all of us the ability to speak in languages we’ve never learned? Can just anyone understand and translate what those are saying who have that gift of foreign speech? ³¹ No, but try your best to have the more important of these gifts.

First, however, let me tell you about something else that is better than any of them!