Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
16 But God says to the wicked,
“Stop quoting my laws!
Stop talking about my agreement!
17 You hate for me to tell you what to do.
You ignore what I say.
18 You see a thief and run to join him.
You jump into bed with those who commit adultery.
19 You say evil things and tell lies.
20 You sit around talking about people,
finding fault with your own brothers.
21 When you did these things, I said nothing.
So you thought that I[a] was just like you.
But I will not be quiet any longer.
I will correct you and make clear what I have against you.
22 You people who have forgotten God,
understand what I am telling you,
or I will tear you apart,
and no one will be able to save you!
23 Whoever gives a thank offering shows me honor.
And whoever decides to live right will see my power to save.”
20 Then Tamar’s brother Absalom said to her, “Have you been with your brother Amnon? Did he hurt you? Now, calm down sister. Amnon is your brother, so we will take care of this. Don’t let it upset you too much.” So Tamar did not say anything. She quietly went to live at Absalom’s house.[a]
21 King David heard the news and became very angry, but he did not want to say anything to upset Amnon, because he loved him since he was his firstborn son.[b] 22 Absalom began to hate Amnon. Absalom did not say one word, good or bad, to Amnon, but he hated him because Amnon had raped his sister Tamar.
Absalom’s Revenge
23 Two years later, Absalom had some men come to Baal Hazor to cut the wool from his sheep. He invited all the king’s sons to come and watch. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, “I have some men coming to cut the wool from my sheep. Please come with your servants and watch.”
25 King David said to Absalom, “No, son. We will not all go. It will be too much trouble for you.”
Absalom begged David to go. David did not go, but he did give his blessing.
26 Absalom said, “If you don’t want to go, please let my brother Amnon go with me.”
King David asked Absalom, “Why should he go with you?”
27 Absalom kept begging David. Finally, David let Amnon and all the king’s other sons go with Absalom.
Amnon Is Murdered
28 Then Absalom gave this command to his servants, “Watch Amnon. When he is drunk and feeling good from the wine, I will give you the command. You must attack Amnon and kill him. Don’t be afraid of being punished. After all, you will only be obeying my command. Now, be strong and brave.”
29 So Absalom’s young soldiers did what he said. They killed Amnon. But all of David’s other sons escaped. Each son got on his mule and escaped.
David Hears About Amnon’s Death
30 The king’s sons were still on their way into town. But King David got a message about what happened. But the message was, “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons! Not one of the sons was left alive.”
31 King David tore his clothes and lay on the ground.[c] All of David’s officers standing near him also tore their clothes.
32 But then Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, “Don’t think that all the king’s sons were killed! Only Amnon is dead. Absalom has been planning this from the day that Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord and king, don’t think that all of your sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”
34 Absalom ran away.
There was a guard standing on the city wall. He saw many people coming from the other side of the hill, and went to tell the king. 35 So Jonadab said to King David, “Look, I was right! The king’s sons are coming.”
36 The king’s sons came in just after Jonadab said that. They were crying loudly. David and all of his officers began crying. They all cried very hard.
Jesus Feeds More Than 4000(A)
8 Another time there were many people with Jesus. The people had nothing to eat. So he called his followers to him and said, 2 “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. 3 I should not send them home hungry. If they leave without eating, they will faint on the way home. Some of them live a long way from here.”
4 Jesus’ followers answered, “But we are far away from any towns. Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people?”
5 Then Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “We have seven loaves of bread.”
6 Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread into pieces and gave them to his followers. He told them to give the bread to the people, and they did as he said. 7 The followers also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for the fish and told them to give the fish to the people.
8 They all ate until they were full. Then the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were left. 9 There were about 4000 men who ate. After they ate, Jesus told them to go home. 10 Then he went in a boat with his followers to the area of Dalmanutha.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International