Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
26 When Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, heard the news of his death, she went into mourning for seven days. 27 When her appointed time of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his household. He made her his wife, and in time she bore him a son.
But the Eternal One was displeased with what David had done.
At first glance, David seems no different than many people who are given power and who use it without regard for what is right or what is fair. In this affair, David looks like the rich and powerful leaders the Hebrew prophets elsewhere in the Old Testament are constantly condemning. He has a moral and ethical failure as most of the kings who follow him also have. He exploits a loyal servant and wreaks havoc on his house.
12 The Eternal One sent the prophet Nathan to visit David. Nathan came to him and told him a story.
Nathan: Two men lived in the same city. One was quite rich and the other quite poor; 2 the rich man’s wealth included livestock with many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man owned only one little ewe lamb. He bought it and raised it in his family, with his children, like a pet. It used to eat what little food he had, drink from his meager cup, and snuggle against him. It was like a daughter to him.
4 Now a traveler came to the city to visit the rich man. To offer a proper welcome, the rich man knew he needed to fix a meal, but he did not want to take one of the animals from his flocks and herds. So instead he stole the poor man’s ewe lamb and had it killed and cooked for his guest.
Nathan stood back, waiting for the king’s verdict. 5 David grew very angry at the rich man. It was his royal duty to protect the poor and establish justice.
David: As the Eternal One lives, the rich man who did this deserves to die. 6 At the least, he will restore that lamb four times over because he acted without pity.
Nathan: 7 You are that man!
This is the message of the Eternal God of Israel: “I was the One who anointed you to rule over Israel, and I was the One who rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8 It was I who gave you Saul’s house, Saul’s wives, and dominion over both Israel and Judah; and if that were not enough, I would have given you as much again.
9 “So why have you despised the word of the Eternal and chosen to do evil in His sight? It was you who killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and stole his wife, even though you used the Ammonites to do the dirty work. 10 Now because he was killed with the sword, the sword will be your constant companion. It will hang over your household, bringing death and violence to your family, since you have despised Me by showing no regard for My law, and you have taken Bathsheba, the lawful wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.”
11 This is the message of the Eternal: “I will bring trouble on you in your own household—right under your nose. I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will flaunt that he sleeps with them in the light of day. 12 You did your evil in secret, but I will do this out in the open, in front of all Israel.”
David (confessing to Nathan): 13 I have sinned against the Eternal One.
Nathan: Because the Eternal has put away your sin, it will not be your death.
Psalm 51
For the worship leader. A song of David after Nathan the prophet accused him of infidelity with Bathsheba.
One of the most difficult episodes in King David’s life was his affair with Bathsheba and all that resulted from it. Psalm 51 reflects the emotions he felt after Nathan confronted him with stealing Bathsheba and murdering her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11–12).
At one time or another, all people experience the painful consequences of sin. Psalm 51 has been a comfort and a help to millions who have prayed these words as their own. It invites all who are broken to come before God and lean upon His compassion. It teaches that we need not only to be forgiven for the wrong we have done, but we also need to be cleansed of its effects on us. Ultimately, it helps us recognize that if we are to be healed, it is the work of God to create in us a heart that is clean and a spirit that is strong.
1 Look on me with a heart of mercy, O God,
according to Your generous love.
According to Your great compassion,
wipe out every consequence of my shameful crimes.
2 Thoroughly wash me, inside and out, of all my crooked deeds.
Cleanse me from my sins.
3 For I am fully aware of all I have done wrong,
and my guilt is there, staring me in the face.
4 It was against You, only You, that I sinned,
for I have done what You say is wrong, right before Your eyes.
So when You speak, You are in the right.
When You judge, Your judgments are pure and true.[a]
5 For I was guilty from the day I was born,
a sinner from the time my mother became pregnant with me.
6 But still, You long to enthrone truth throughout my being;
in unseen places deep within me, You show me wisdom.
7 Cleanse me of my wickedness with hyssop, and I will be clean.
If You wash me, I will be whiter than snow.
8 Help me hear joy and happiness as my accompaniment,
so my bones, which You have broken, will dance in delight instead.
9 Cover Your face so You will not see my sins,
and erase my guilt from the record.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;
restore within me a sense of being brand new.
11 Do not throw me far away from Your presence,
and do not remove Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Give back to me the deep delight of being saved by You;
let Your willing Spirit sustain me.
4 As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you. 2 Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Tolerate one another in an atmosphere thick with love. 3 Make every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit has already created, with peace binding you together.
Now that Paul has described the new world as God would have it, he urges believers to live out their callings with humility, patience, and love: to walk as Jesus walked. These are the ways of Jesus. Paul encourages them to do whatever it takes to hold onto the unity that binds people together in peace. He does not ask them to create that unity; this has already been accomplished through the work of the Rescuer and His Spirit. Rather, he calls believers to guard that unity—a more modest but no less significant task—because that unity is founded on God’s oneness and work in the world.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all called to pursue one hope. 5 There is one Lord Jesus, one living faith, one ceremonial washing through baptism,[a] and 6 one God—the Father over all who is above all, through all, and in all. 7 This God has given to each of us grace in full measure according to the Anointed’s gift 8 as the Scripture says,
When He ascended to the heights,
He put captivity in chains;
And in His triumph, He gave gifts to the people.[b]
9 (Well, when it says “He ascended,” then that must mean that He had descended earlier to the lower levels, that is, to the earth. 10 The One who descended is the same One who rose from the dead to ascend far above all the heavens so that He could fill all things.)
11 It was the risen One who handed down to us such gifted leaders—some emissaries,[c] some prophets, some evangelists, as well as some pastor-teachers— 12 so that God’s people would be thoroughly equipped to minister and build up the body of the Anointed One. 13 These ministries will continue until we are unified in faith and filled with the knowledge of the Son of God, until we stand mature in His teachings and fully formed in the likeness of the Anointed, our Liberating King. 14 Then we will no longer be like children, tossed around here and there upon ocean waves, picked up by every gust of religious teaching spoken by liars or swindlers or deceivers. 15 Instead, by truth spoken in love, we are to grow in every way into Him—the Anointed One, the head. 16 He joins and holds together the whole body with its ligaments providing the support needed so each part works to its proper design to form a healthy, growing, and mature body that builds itself up in love.
24 When this crowd could not find Him or His disciples, they boarded their small boats and crossed the sea to Capernaum looking for Him. 25 When they found Jesus across the sea, they questioned Him.
Crowd: Teacher, when did You arrive at Capernaum?
Jesus: 26 I tell you the truth—you are tracking Me down because I fed you, not because you saw signs from God. 27 Don’t spend your life chasing food that spoils and rots. Instead, seek the food that lasts into all the ages and comes from the Son of Man, the One on whom God the Father has placed His seal.
Crowd: 28 What do we have to do to accomplish the Father’s works?
Jesus: 29 If you want to do God’s work, then believe in the One He sent.
Crowd: 30 Can You show us a miraculous sign? Something spectacular? If we see something like that, it will help us to believe. 31 Our fathers ate manna when they wandered in the desert. The Hebrew Scriptures say, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”[a]
Jesus: 32 I tell you the truth: Moses did not give you bread from heaven; it is My Father who offers you true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God comes down out of heaven and breathes life into the cosmos.
Crowd: 34 Master, we want a boundless supply of this bread.
Jesus: 35 I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.