Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁵ He gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom.” And all the troops heard David give this command to his officers.

⁶ David's army went out into the countryside and fought the Israelites in Ephraim Forest. ⁷ The Israelites were defeated by David's men; it was a terrible defeat, with twenty thousand men killed that day. ⁸ The fighting spread over the countryside, and more men died in the forest than were killed in battle.

⁹ Suddenly Absalom met some of David's men. Absalom was riding a mule, and as it went under a large oak tree, Absalom's head got caught in the branches. The mule ran on and Absalom was left hanging in midair.

¹⁵ Then ten of Joab's soldiers closed in on Absalom and finished killing him.

³¹ Then the Ethiopian^[a] slave arrived and said to the king, “I have good news for Your Majesty! Today the Lord has given you victory over all who rebelled against you!”

³² “Is the young man Absalom all right?” the king asked.

The slave answered, “I wish that what has happened to him would happen to all your enemies, sir, and to all who rebel against you.”

³³ The king was overcome with grief. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he cried, “O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son! If only I had died in your place, my son! Absalom, my son!”

A Prayer for Help

^25 (A)No more lying, then! Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ. ^26 (B)If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. ²⁷ Don't give the Devil a chance. ²⁸ If you used to rob, you must stop robbing and start working, in order to earn an honest living for yourself and to be able to help the poor. ²⁹ Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. ³⁰ And do not make God's Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God's mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. ^32 (C)Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.

Living in the Light

5 Since you are God's dear children, you must try to be like him. ^2 (D)Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.

³⁵ “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.

⁴¹ The people started grumbling about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² So they said, “This man is Jesus son of Joseph, isn't he? We know his father and mother. How, then, does he now say he came down from heaven?”

⁴³ Jesus answered, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. ⁴⁴ People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me; and I will raise them to life on the last day. ^45 (A)The prophets wrote, ‘Everyone will be taught by God.’ Anyone who hears the Father and learns from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ This does not mean that anyone has seen the Father; he who is from God is the only one who has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ I am telling you the truth: he who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. ⁵⁰ But the bread that comes down from heaven is of such a kind that whoever eats it will not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”