Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him.[a] 27 When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace.[b] She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord.[c]
Nathan the Prophet Confronts David
12 So the Lord sent Nathan[d] to David. When he came to David,[e] Nathan[f] said,[g] “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children.[h] It used to[i] eat his food,[j] drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms.[k] It was just like a daughter to him.
4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home,[l] he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed[m] the traveler who had come to visit him.[n] Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked[o] it for the man who had come to visit him.”
5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die![p] 6 Because he committed this cold-hearted crime, he must pay for the lamb four times over!”[q]
7 Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘I chose[r] you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your arms.[s] I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well! 9 Why have you shown contempt for the Lord’s decrees[t] by doing evil in my[u] sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife to be your own wife! You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!’ 11 This is what the Lord has said: ‘I am about to bring disaster on you[v] from inside your own household![w] Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion.[x] He will go to bed with[y] your wives in broad daylight![z] 12 Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’”[aa]
13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven[ab] your sin. You are not going to die.
Psalm 51[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.[b]
51 Have mercy on me, O God, because of[c] your loyal love.
Because of[d] your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts.[e]
2 Wash away my wrongdoing.[f]
Cleanse me of my sin.[g]
3 For I am aware of[h] my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin.[i]
4 Against you—you above all[j]—I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So[k] you are just when you confront me;[l]
you are right when you condemn me.[m]
5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,
a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.[n]
6 Look,[o] you desire[p] integrity in the inner man;[q]
you want me to possess wisdom.[r]
7 Cleanse me[s] with hyssop[t] and I will be pure;[u]
wash me[v] and I will be whiter than snow.[w]
8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven.[x]
May the bones[y] you crushed rejoice.[z]
9 Hide your face[aa] from my sins.
Wipe away[ab] all my guilt.
10 Create for me a pure heart, O God.[ac]
Renew a resolute spirit within me.[ad]
11 Do not reject me.[ae]
Do not take your holy Spirit[af] away from me.[ag]
12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance.
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey.[ah]
Live in Unity
4 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord,[a] urge you to live[b] worthily of the calling with which you have been called,[c] 2 with all humility and gentleness,[d] with patience, putting up with[e] one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured[f] captives; he gave gifts to men.”[g] 9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended[h] to the lower regions,[i] namely, the earth?[j] 10 He, the very one[k] who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 11 And he himself[l] gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,[m] 12 to equip[n] the saints for the work of ministry, that is,[o] to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to[p] the measure of Christ’s full stature.[q] 14 So[r] we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.[s] 15 But practicing the truth in love,[t] we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together[u] through every supporting ligament.[v] As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love.
24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats[a] and came to Capernaum[b] looking for Jesus.
Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake,[c] they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”[d] 26 Jesus replied,[e] “I tell you the solemn truth,[f] you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted.[g] 27 Do not work for the food that disappears,[h] but for the food that remains to eternal life—the food[i] which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”[j]
28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds[k] God requires?”[l] 29 Jesus replied,[m] “This is the deed[n] God requires[o]—to believe in the one whom he[p] sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors[q] ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”[r]
32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth,[s] it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the one who[t] comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir,[u] give us this bread all the time!”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.[v]
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