Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁵ The king gave a command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai. He said, “Do this for me: Be gentle with young Absalom!” Everyone heard the king’s orders about Absalom to the captains.

David’s Army Defeats Absalom’s Army

⁶ David’s army went out into the field against Absalom’s Israelites. They fought in the forest of Ephraim. ⁷ David’s army defeated the Israelites. It was a great defeat because 20,000 men were killed that day. ⁸ The battle spread throughout the country, but more men died in the forest than by the sword.

⁹ It so happened that David’s officers found Absalom. Absalom jumped on his mule and tried to escape, but the mule went under the branches of a large oak tree. The branches were thick, and Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. His mule ran out from under him, so Absalom was left hanging above the ground.^[a]

¹⁵ Ten of Joab’s young helpers gathered around Absalom and killed him.

³¹ The Ethiopian arrived and said, “News for my lord and king. Today the Lord has punished all those who were against you!”

³² The king asked the Ethiopian, “Is young Absalom all right?”

The Ethiopian answered, “May your enemies, or whoever tries to hurt you, suffer the same as this young man did.”

³³ So the king knew Absalom was dead and he became very upset. He went upstairs to the room over the gate, crying, “O my son Absalom! My son Absalom, I wish I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son!”

A song for going up to the Temple.

²⁵ So you must stop telling lies. “You must always speak the truth to each other,”^[a] because we all belong to each other in the same body. ²⁶ “When you are angry, don’t let that anger make you sin,”^[b] and don’t stay angry all day. ²⁷ Don’t give the devil a way to defeat you. ²⁸ Whoever has been stealing must stop it and start working. They must use their hands for doing something good. Then they will have something to share with those who are poor.

²⁹ When you talk, don’t say anything bad. But say the good things that people need—whatever will help them grow stronger. Then what you say will be a blessing to those who hear you. ³⁰ And don’t make the Holy Spirit sad. God gave you his Spirit as proof that you belong to him and that he will keep you safe until the day he makes you free. ³¹ Never be bitter, angry, or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. ³² Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other the same as God forgave you through Christ.

5 You are God’s dear children, so try to be like him. ² Live a life of love. Love others just as Christ loved us. He gave himself for us—a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

³⁵ Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty.

⁴¹ Some Jews began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “This is Jesus. We know his father and mother. He is only Joseph’s son. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

⁴³ But Jesus said, “Stop complaining to each other. ⁴⁴ The Father is the one who sent me, and he is the one who brings people to me. I will raise them up on the last day. Anyone the Father does not bring to me cannot come to me. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets: ‘God will teach them all.’^[a] People listen to the Father and learn from him. They are the ones who come to me. ⁴⁶ I don’t mean that there is anyone who has seen the Father. The only one who has ever seen the Father is the one who came from God. He has seen the Father.

⁴⁷ “I can assure you that anyone who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread that gives life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna God gave them in the desert, but it didn’t keep them from dying. ⁵⁰ Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will never die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my body. I will give my body so that the people in the world can have life.”