Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

^4-6 David said, “All right, if you think I should.”

Then in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, “Joab! Abishai! Ittai! For my sake, be sure that Absalom comes back unharmed.”

David stood beside the town gate as his army marched past in groups of 100 and in groups of 1,000.

Joab Kills Absalom

The war with Israel took place in Ephraim Forest. ^7-8 Battles were being fought all over the forest, and David's soldiers were winning. Twenty thousand soldiers were killed^[a] that day, and more of them died from the dangers of the forest than from the fighting itself.

⁹ Absalom was riding his mule under a huge tree when his head^[b] caught in the branches. The mule ran off and left Absalom hanging in midair. Some of David's soldiers happened by,

¹⁵ Ten of Joab's bodyguards came over and finished him off.

³¹ The Ethiopian came and said, “Your Majesty, today I have good news! The Lord has rescued you from all your enemies!”

³² “Is my son Absalom all right?” David asked.

The Ethiopian replied, “I wish that all Your Majesty's enemies and everyone who tries to harm you would end up like him!”

David Cries for Absalom

³³ David started trembling. Then he went up to the room above the city gate to cry. As he went, he kept saying, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I could have died instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!”^[a]

(A song for worship.)

Trusting the Lord in Times of Trouble

Rules for the New Life

^25 (A) We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. ^26 (B) Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry ²⁷ and don't give the devil a chance.

²⁸ If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.

²⁹ Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.

³⁰ Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.

³¹ Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. ^32 (C) Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

5 Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. ^2 (D) Let love be your guide. Christ loved us^[a] and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.

³⁵ Jesus replied:

I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty.

⁴¹ The people started grumbling because Jesus had said he was the bread that had come down from heaven. ⁴² They were asking each other, “Isn't he Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don't we know his father and mother? How can he say that he has come down from heaven?”

⁴³ Jesus told them:

Stop grumbling! ⁴⁴ No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me makes them want to come. But if they do come, I will raise them to life on the last day. ^45 (A) One of the prophets wrote, “God will teach all of them.” And so everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him will come to me.

⁴⁶ The only one who has seen the Father is the one who has come from him. No one else has ever seen the Father. ⁴⁷ I tell you for certain that everyone who has faith in me has eternal life.

⁴⁸ I am the bread that gives life! ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate manna^[a] in the desert, and later they died. ⁵⁰ But the bread from heaven has come down, so that no one who eats it will ever die. ⁵¹ I am that bread from heaven! Everyone who eats it will live forever. My flesh is the life-giving bread I give to the people of this world.