Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 (A)Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you (B)consented[a] with him,
And have been a (C)partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And (D)your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
(E)You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And (F)set them in order before your eyes.
20 And Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this thing to heart.” So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.
21 But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. 22 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon (A)neither good nor bad. For Absalom (B)hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Murders Amnon
23 And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom (C)had sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim; so Absalom invited all the king’s sons. 24 Then Absalom came to the king and said, “Kindly note, your servant has sheepshearers; please, let the king and his servants go with your servant.”
25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be a burden to you.” Then he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him.
26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.”
And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom urged him; so he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.
28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s (D)heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and [a]valiant.” 29 So the servants of Absalom (E)did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each one got on (F)his mule and fled.
30 And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left!” 31 So the king arose and (G)tore his garments and (H)lay on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. 32 Then (I)Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, answered and said, “Let not my lord suppose they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for only Amnon is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. 33 Now therefore, (J)let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead. For only Amnon is dead.”
Absalom Flees to Geshur
34 (K)Then Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted his eyes and looked, and there, many people were coming from the road on the hillside behind [b]him. 35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the king’s sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.” 36 So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king’s sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly.
Feeding the Four Thousand(A)
8 In those days, (B)the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have (C)compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”
4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”
5 (D)He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven.”
6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and (E)having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10 (F)immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.