Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁶ But to the sinful, God says: “What right do you have to tell of My Laws, and take My agreement in your mouth? ¹⁷ For you hate to be told what to do, and you throw My words behind you. ¹⁸ When you see a robber, you are pleased with him. And you join those who do sex sins. ¹⁹ You say bad things with your mouth, and you lie with your tongue. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother. You talk against your own mother’s son. ²¹ You have done these things, and I have kept quiet. You thought that I was just like you. But I will speak sharp words to you, and tell you who is guilty to your face.

²² “Now think about this, you who forget God, or I will tear you in pieces and there will be no one to save you. ²³ He who gives a gift of thanks honors Me. And to him who makes his way right, I will show him the saving power of God.”

¹⁵ Then Nathan went home.

David’s Son Dies

The Lord sent trouble upon the child of Uriah’s wife and David, so that he was very sick. ¹⁶ David begged God to make the child well. He went without food and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ The leaders of his family stood beside him to lift him up from the ground. But David was not willing. He would not eat food with them. ¹⁸ The child died on the seventh day. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “See, we spoke to him while the child was still alive, and he did not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He might hurt himself.” ¹⁹ But when David saw his servants speaking together in secret, he understood that the child was dead. He asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ So David got up from the ground, washed, poured oil on himself, and changed his clothes. Then he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He returned to his own house and asked for food. So they set food in front of him, and he ate. ²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While the child was alive, you went without food and cried. But when the child died, you got up and ate food.” ²² David said, “I went without food and cried while the child was still alive, for I said, ‘Who knows? The Lord might be kind to me and let the child live.’ ²³ But now he has died. Why should I go without food? Can I bring him to life again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Solomon Is Born

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went in and lay with her, and she gave birth to a son. He gave him the name Solomon. The Lord loved him, ²⁵ and sent word through Nathan who spoke for God. And Nathan gave him the name Jedidiah because of the Lord.

The Old and the New Life

¹⁷ I tell you this in the name of the Lord: You must not live any longer like the people of the world who do not know God. Their thoughts are foolish. ¹⁸ Their minds are in darkness. They are strangers to the life of God. This is because they have closed their minds to Him and have turned their hearts away from Him. ¹⁹ They do not care anymore about what is right or wrong. They have turned themselves over to the sinful ways of the world and are always wanting to do every kind of sinful act they can think of.

²⁰ But you did not learn anything like this from Christ. ²¹ If you have heard of Him and have learned from Him, ²² put away the old person you used to be. Have nothing to do with your old sinful life. It was sinful because of being fooled into following bad desires. ²³ Let your minds and hearts be made new. ²⁴ You must become a new person and be God-like. Then you will be made right with God and have a true holy life.