Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁵ And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” ^(A)And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

⁶ So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the ^(B)forest of Ephraim. ⁷ And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

⁹ And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak,^{[a] (C)}and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.

¹⁵ And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

David's Grief

³¹ And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For ^(A)the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” ³² The king said to the Cushite, ^(B)“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, ^(C)“May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” ^33 [a] And the king was deeply moved and went up ^(D)to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, ^(E)“O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you ^(A)speak the truth with his neighbor, for ^(B)we are members one of another. ^26 (C)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and ^(D)give no opportunity to the devil. ²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather ^(E)let him labor, ^(F)doing honest work with his own hands, so ^(G)that he may have something to share with anyone in need. ^29 (H)Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give ^(I)grace to those who hear. ³⁰ And ^(J)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^(K)by whom you were sealed for the day of ^(L)redemption. ^31 (M)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ^32 (N)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ^(O)forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Walk in Love

5 ^(P)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And ^(Q)walk in love, ^(R)as Christ loved us and ^(S)gave himself up for us, a ^(T)fragrant ^(U)offering and sacrifice to God.

³⁵ Jesus said to them, ^(A)“I am the bread of life; ^(B)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ^(A)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, ^(B)“Is not this Jesus, ^(C)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(D)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(E)draws him. And ^(F)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ^(G)‘And they will all be ^(H)taught by God.’ ^(I)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ^46 (J)not that anyone has seen the Father except ^(K)he who is from God; he ^(L)has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(M)whoever believes has eternal life. ^48 (N)I am the bread of life. ^49 (O)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and ^(P)they died. ^50 (Q)This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it ^(R)and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(S)that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ^(T)for the life of the world is ^(U)my flesh.”