Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁶ But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant into thy mouth,

¹⁷ Seeing thou hast hated correction and hast cast my words behind thee?

¹⁸ When thou sawest a thief, thou didst take pleasure in him, and thy portion was with adulterers;

¹⁹ Thou lettest thy mouth loose to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit;

²⁰ Thou sittest [and] speakest against thy brother, thou revilest thine own mother's son:

²¹ These [things] hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether as thyself: [but] I will reprove thee, and set [them] in order before thine eyes.

²² Now consider this, ye that forget +God, lest I tear in pieces, and there be no deliverer.

²³ Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me; and to him that ordereth [his] way will I shew the salvation of God.

13 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David having a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar, Amnon the son of David loved her.

² And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and it seemed difficult for Amnon to do the least thing to her.

³ And Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother; and Jonadab was a very shrewd man.

⁴ And he said to him, Why dost thou, the king's son, get thinner from morning to morning? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

⁵ And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed and feign thyself sick; and when thy father comes to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand.

⁶ So Amnon lay down and feigned himself sick; and the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.

⁷ And David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go, I pray thee, to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him food.

⁸ And Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he had lain down. And she took flour and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

⁹ And she took the pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Put every man out from me. And they went out every man from him.

¹⁰ And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the dish into the chamber, that I may eat of thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes that she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

¹¹ And she presented them to him to eat; and he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister.

¹² And she said to him, No, my brother, do not humble me; for no such thing is done in Israel: do not this infamy.

¹³ And I, whither shall I carry my reproach? and thou wouldest be as one of the infamous in Israel. And now, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

¹⁴ But he would not hearken to her voice, and was stronger than she, and humbled her and lay with her.

¹⁵ And Amnon hated her with an exceeding great hatred, for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone.

¹⁶ And she said to him, There is no cause for this evil in sending me away, [which] is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her.

¹⁷ Then he called his young man that attended upon him, and said, Put now this [woman] out from me, and bolt the door after her.

¹⁸ Now she had a vest of many colours upon her; for so were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. And his attendant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.

¹⁹ And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her vest of many colours which was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went away, crying out as she went.

²⁷ Now *ye* are Christ's body, and members in particular.

²⁸ And God has set certain in the assembly: first, apostles; secondly, prophets; thirdly, teachers; then miraculous powers; then gifts of healings; helps; governments; kinds of tongues.

²⁹ [Are] all apostles? [are] all prophets? [are] all teachers? [are] all [in possession of] miraculous powers?

³⁰ have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

³¹ But desire earnestly the greater gifts, and yet shew I unto you a way of more surpassing excellence.