Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁶ And to the wicked hath God said: What to thee -- to recount My statutes? That thou liftest up My covenant on thy mouth?

¹⁷ Yea, thou hast hated instruction, And dost cast My words behind thee.

¹⁸ If thou hast seen a thief, Then thou art pleased with him, And with adulterers [is] thy portion.

¹⁹ Thy mouth thou hast sent forth with evil, And thy tongue joineth deceit together,

²⁰ Thou sittest, against thy brother thou speakest, Against a son of thy mother givest slander.

²¹ These thou didst, and I kept silent, Thou hast thought that I am like thee, I reprove thee, and set in array before thine eyes.

²² Understand this, I pray you, Ye who are forgetting God, Lest I tear, and there is no deliverer.

²³ He who is sacrificing praise honoureth Me, As to him who maketh a way, I cause him to look on the salvation of God!

²⁰ and Absalom her brother saith unto her, `Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? and now, my sister, keep silent, he [is] thy brother; set not thy heart to this thing;' and Tamar dwelleth -- but desolate -- in the house of Absalom her brother.

²¹ And king David hath heard all these things, and it is very displeasing to him;

²² and Absalom hath not spoken with Amnon either evil or good, for Absalom is hating Amnon, because that he humbled Tamar his sister.

²³ And it cometh to pass, after two years of days, that Absalom hath shearers in Baal-Hazor, which [is] with Ephraim, and Absalom calleth for all the sons of the king.

²⁴ And Absalom cometh unto the king, and saith, `Lo, I pray thee, thy servant hath shearers, let the king go, I pray thee, and his servants, with thy servant.'

²⁵ And the king saith unto Absalom, `Nay, my son, let us not all go, I pray thee, and we are not too heavy on thee;' and he presseth on him, and he hath not been willing to go, and he blesseth him.

²⁶ And Absalom saith, `If not -- let, I pray thee, Amnon my brother go with us;' and the king saith to him, `Why doth he go with thee?'

²⁷ and Absalom urgeth on him, and he sendeth with him Amnon, and all the sons of the king.

²⁸ And Absalom commandeth his young men, saying, `See, I pray thee, when the heart of Amnon [is] glad with wine, and I have said unto you, Smite Amnon, that ye have put him to death; fear not; is it not because I have commanded you? be strong, yea, become sons of valour.'

²⁹ And the young men of Absalom do to Amnon as Absalom commanded, and rise do all the sons of the king, and they ride, each on his mule, and flee.

³⁰ And it cometh to pass -- they [are] in the way -- and the report hath come unto David, saying, `Absalom hath smitten all the sons of the king, and there is not left of them one;'

³¹ and the king riseth, and rendeth his garments, and lieth on the earth, and all his servants are standing by [with] rent garments.

³² And Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, answereth and saith, `Let not my lord say, The whole of the young men, the sons of the king, they have put to death; for Amnon alone [is] dead, for by the command of Absalom it hath been appointed from the day of his humbling Tamar his sister;

³³ and now, let not my lord the king lay unto his heart the word, saying, All the sons of the king have died, for Amnon alone [is] dead.'

³⁴ And Absalom fleeth, and the young man who is watching lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, much people are coming by the way behind him, on the side of the hill.

³⁵ And Jonadab saith unto the king, `Lo, the sons of the king have come; as the word of thy servant, so it hath been.'

³⁶ And it cometh to pass at his finishing to speak, that lo, the sons of the king have come, and they lift up their voice, and weep, and also the king and all his servants have wept -- a very great weeping.

8 In those days the multitude being very great, and not having what they may eat, Jesus having called near his disciples, saith to them,

² `I have compassion upon the multitude, because now three days they do continue with me, and they have not what they may eat;

³ and if I shall let them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way, for certain of them are come from far.'

⁴ And his disciples answered him, `Whence shall any one be able these here to feed with bread in a wilderness?'

⁵ And he was questioning them, `How many loaves have ye?' and they said, `Seven.'

⁶ And he commanded the multitude to sit down upon the ground, and having taken the seven loaves, having given thanks, he brake, and was giving to his disciples that they may set before [them]; and they did set before the multitude.

⁷ And they had a few small fishes, and having blessed, he said to set them also before [them];

⁸ and they did eat and were filled, and they took up that which was over of broken pieces -- seven baskets;

⁹ and those eating were about four thousand. And he let them away,

¹⁰ and immediately having entered into the boat with his disciples, he came to the parts of Dalmanutha,