Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
26 When ·Bathsheba [L the wife of Uriah] heard that her husband was dead, she ·cried [mourned] for him. 27 After she finished her time of ·sadness [mourning], David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became David’s wife and gave birth to his son, but the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
David’s Son Dies
12 The Lord sent Nathan [C a prophet who was in the king’s court; 7:2–17] to David. When he came to David, he said, “There were two men in a city. One was rich, but the other was poor. 2 The rich man had many ·sheep [flocks] and ·cattle [herds]. 3 But the poor man had nothing except one little ·female [ewe] lamb he had bought. The poor man fed the lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It ·shared his food [L ate from his plate] and drank from his cup and slept in his ·arms [L bosom]. The lamb was like a daughter to him.
4 “Then a traveler stopped to visit the rich man. The rich man wanted to feed the traveler, but he ·didn’t want [was unwilling/loath] to take one ·of his own sheep or cattle [from his own flock or herd]. Instead, he took the lamb from the poor man and ·cooked [L prepared] it for his visitor.”
5 David ·became very angry at [L burned with anger against] the rich man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this ·should [deserves to] die! 6 He must ·pay for the lamb four times [repay four lambs] for doing such a thing [Ex. 22:1]. He had no ·mercy [pity; compassion]!”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are ·the [that] man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I ·appointed [anointed] you king of Israel and [L I] ·saved [rescued; delivered] you from [L the hand of] Saul. 8 I gave you ·his kingdom [L your master’s house] and his wives [L into your arms/bosom]. And I ·made you king [L gave you the house] of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you ·even [much] more. 9 So why did you ·ignore the Lord’s command [L despise the word of the Lord]? Why did you do what ·he says is wrong [L is evil in his sight/eyes]? You ·killed [L struck down] Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and took his wife to be your wife! 10 ·Now [Therefore] ·there will always be people in your family who will die by a sword [L the sword will never depart from your house], because you ·did not respect [L have despised] me; you took the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself!’
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am ·bringing trouble to [L raising up evil against] you from your own ·family [L house]. ·While you watch [L Before your eyes], I will take your wives from you and give them to ·someone who is very close to you [L your neighbor]. He will ·have sexual relations [L lie] with your wives, ·and everyone will know it [in broad daylight]. 12 You ·had sexual relations with Bathsheba [L did it] in secret, but I will do this ·so all the people of Israel can see it [L before all Israel in broad daylight; 16:21–22].’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered, “The Lord has ·taken away [forgiven] your sin. You will not die [Ps. 51].
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after ·David’s sin with Bathsheba [he committed adultery with/L had gone to Bathsheba; 2 Sam. 11:1—12:25].
51 God, be ·merciful [gracious] to me
·because you are loving [according to your love/loyalty].
·Because you are always ready to be merciful [According to your abundant compassion],
·wipe [blot] out all my ·wrongs [transgressions].
2 Wash ·away [L me thoroughly from] all my guilt
and make me clean ·again [L from my sin].
3 I know about my ·wrongs [transgressions],
and ·I can’t forget my sin [L my sin is continually before me].
4 You ·are the only one [alone] I have sinned against;
I have done ·what you say is wrong [L evil in your eyes].
You are ·right [vindicated] when you speak
and ·fair [pure; blameless] when you judge.
5 I was ·brought into this world [born] in ·sin [guilt].
In sin my mother ·gave birth to [conceived] me [Rom. 3:9–20; 7:18].
6 You ·want me to be completely truthful [L desire truth/faithfulness in my inward parts],
·so teach me wisdom [L and secretly you make me know wisdom].
7 ·Take away my sin [L Remove my sin with hyssop; Ex. 12:22; C a plant used in purification rituals; Lev. 14:4, 6, 49–51; Num. 19:18], and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow [Is. 1:18].
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness;
let the bones you crushed ·be happy [rejoice] again.
9 ·Turn [L Hide] your face from my sins
and ·wipe [blot] out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a ·pure [clean] heart, God,
and ·make my spirit right again [L renew a right/steadfast spirit in me].
11 Do not send me away from you
or take your ·Holy Spirit [or holy spirit] away from me.
12 ·Give me back [Restore to me] the joy of your ·salvation [rescue].
·Keep me strong by giving [Sustain in] me a willing spirit.
The Unity of the Body
4 [L Therefore,] As a prisoner [3:1] ·for [because I belong to; or in] the Lord, I urge you to ·live [walk] in a manner worthy of the calling ·you have received [L to which you were called]. 2 ·Always be [or Be completely] humble, gentle, and patient, ·accepting [putting up/bearing with] each other in love. 3 Make every effort to preserve the unity ·of [provided by; available through] the Spirit ·in [through] the ·peace that joins us together [L bond of peace]. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, and God called you to ·have one hope [L one hope of your calling]. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6 There is one God and Father of everything. ·He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything [L …who is over all and through all and in all].
7 Each one of us has been given the ·special gift of grace [L grace; or gift], ·showing how generous Christ is [or in proportion to Christ’s gift; L according to the measure of Christ’s gift]. 8 That is why it says in the Scriptures,
“When he ·went up [ascended] to the heights,
he ·led a parade of captives [or took captives into captivity],
and he gave gifts to people [Ps. 68:18].”
9 When it says, “He ·went up [ascended],” what does it mean? ·It means [L …except] that he first ·came down [descended] to the ·earth [or lower regions, namely the earth; or the depths of the earth; C probably refers to (1) the Incarnation, though possibly (2) Christ’s descent to Hades after his death (1 Pet. 3:19–20), or (3) Christ’s descent through the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2)]. 10 So the one who ·came down [descended] is the same one who ·went up [ascended] above all the heavens. ·Christ did that [L …in order] to fill ·everything with his presence [L all things]. 11 And ·Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people [L he himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds, and teachers]. 12 ·Christ gave those gifts to prepare [L …to equip] God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we ·are all joined together in the same faith [or all reach unity in the faith] and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like ·a mature person [or the perfect Man; C Christ], ·growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection [L to the measure of the stature of Christ’s fullness].
14 Then we will no longer be ·babies [children]. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be ·influenced by every new teaching [L carried along by every wind of (false) teaching] we hear from people who are trying to ·fool [trick] us. They ·make plans [scheme] and try any kind of trick to fool people into following ·the wrong path [error; false teaching]. 15 ·No! [Instead; Rather] ·Speaking [or Living out; Practicing] the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head. 16 ·The whole body depends on Christ, and [L …through/by whom] all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each ·part [supporting joint/ligament] ·does its own work [performs its function] to make the whole body grow and ·be strong with [to build itself up in] love.
24 When the ·people [L crowd] saw that Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] were not there now, they got into boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.
Jesus, the Bread of Life
25 When ·the people [L they] found Jesus on the ·other [opposite] side of the ·lake [sea], they asked him, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], when did you come here?”
26 Jesus answered, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], you aren’t looking for me because you saw ·me do miracles [L signs]. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were ·satisfied [filled]. 27 Don’t work for the food that ·spoils [perishes]. Work for the food that ·stays good always and gives eternal life [L endures/remains/abides for eternal life]. The Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] will give you this food, because on him God the Father has ·put his power [L set his seal; C a seal impression signifies ownership and authority; 3:33].”
28 The people asked Jesus, “What ·are the things God wants us to do [L should we do to work the works of God]?”
29 Jesus answered, “·The work God wants you to do is this [L This is the work of God]: Believe the One he sent.”
30 So ·the people [L they] asked, “What ·miracle will you do? If we see a miracle, we will believe you [L sign will you do that we might see and believe you?]. What ·will you do [work will you perform]? 31 Our ·ancestors [forefathers; L fathers] ate the manna [C a flaky breadlike food that God provided the Israelites in the wilderness; Ex. 16:13–36] in the ·desert [wilderness]. ·This is written in the Scriptures [L As it is written]: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat [compare Ex. 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 78:24].’
32 [L Therefore; So; Then] Jesus said to them, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 [L For] God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 [L Therefore] ·the people [L they] said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Then Jesus said to them, “I am the ·bread that gives life [T bread of life]. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
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