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The Gospel of Mark (Part Seven)

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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch11" data-usfm="2SA.11">
 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">David and Bathsheba</div><div class="p"> 1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king&#8217;s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.</div><div class="p"> 2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, &#8220;She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.&#8221; 4Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, &#8220;I am pregnant.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So David sent this word to Joab: &#8220;Send me Uriah the Hittite.&#8221; And Joab sent him to David. 7When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8Then David said to Uriah, &#8220;Go down to your house and wash your feet.&#8221; So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master&#8217;s servants and did not go down to his house.</div><div class="p"> 10David was told, &#8220;Uriah did not go home.&#8221; So he asked Uriah, &#8220;Haven&#8217;t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn&#8217;t you go home?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Uriah said to David, &#8220;The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,#11:11 Or staying at Sukkoth and my commander Joab and my lord&#8217;s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then David said to him, &#8220;Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.&#8221; So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13At David&#8217;s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master&#8217;s servants; he did not go home.</div><div class="p"> 14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15In it he wrote, &#8220;Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David&#8217;s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.</div><div class="p"> 18Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19He instructed the messenger: &#8220;When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20the king&#8217;s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, &#8216;Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn&#8217;t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth#11:21 Also known as Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon)? Didn&#8217;t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?&#8217; If he asks you this, then say to him, &#8216;Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23The messenger said to David, &#8220;The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king&#8217;s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25David told the messenger, &#8220;Say this to Joab: &#8216;Don&#8217;t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.&#8217; Say this to encourage Joab.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 26When Uriah&#8217;s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="2SA.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">Nathan Rebukes David</div><div class="p"> 1The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, &#8220;There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Then Nathan said to David, &#8220;You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: &#8216;I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I gave your master&#8217;s house to you, and your master&#8217;s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Then David said to Nathan, &#8220;I have sinned against the Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Nathan replied, &#8220;The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for#12:14 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text for the enemies of the Lord, the son born to you will die.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah&#8217;s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth#12:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have in sackcloth. on the ground. 17The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.</div><div class="p"> 18On the seventh day the child died. David&#8217;s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, &#8220;While the child was still living, he wouldn&#8217;t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. &#8220;Is the child dead?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes,&#8221; they replied, &#8220;he is dead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.</div><div class="p"> 21His attendants asked him, &#8220;Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22He answered, &#8220;While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, &#8216;Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.&#8217; 23But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.#12:25 Jedidiah means loved by the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 26Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, &#8220;I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30David took the crown from their king&#8217;s#12:30 Or from Milkom&#8217;s (that is, Molek&#8217;s) head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent#12:30 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.#12:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="2SA.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Amnon and Tamar</div><div class="p"> 1In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.</div><div class="p"> 2Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.</div><div class="p"> 3Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David&#8217;s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4He asked Amnon, &#8220;Why do you, the king&#8217;s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won&#8217;t you tell me?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Amnon said to him, &#8220;I&#8217;m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom&#8217;s sister.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;Go to bed and pretend to be ill,&#8221; Jonadab said. &#8220;When your father comes to see you, say to him, &#8216;I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, &#8220;I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7David sent word to Tamar at the palace: &#8220;Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.&#8221; 8So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Send everyone out of here,&#8221; Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10Then Amnon said to Tamar, &#8220;Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.&#8221; And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, &#8220;Come to bed with me, my sister.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;No, my brother!&#8221; she said to him. &#8220;Don&#8217;t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don&#8217;t do this wicked thing. 13What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.&#8221; 14But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.</div><div class="p"> 15Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, &#8220;Get up and get out!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;No!&#8221; she said to him. &#8220;Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But he refused to listen to her. 17He called his personal servant and said, &#8220;Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.&#8221; 18So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate#13:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 19. robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.</div><div class="p"> 20Her brother Absalom said to her, &#8220;Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don&#8217;t take this thing to heart.&#8221; And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom&#8217;s house, a desolate woman.</div><div class="p"> 21When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.</div><div class="s1">Absalom Kills Amnon</div><div class="p"> 23Two years later, when Absalom&#8217;s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king&#8217;s sons to come there. 24Absalom went to the king and said, &#8220;Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;No, my son,&#8221; the king replied. &#8220;All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.&#8221; Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.</div><div class="p"> 26Then Absalom said, &#8220;If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king asked him, &#8220;Why should he go with you?&#8221; 27But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king&#8217;s sons.</div><div class="p"> 28Absalom ordered his men, &#8220;Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, &#8216;Strike Amnon down,&#8217; then kill him. Don&#8217;t be afraid. Haven&#8217;t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.&#8221; 29So Absalom&#8217;s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king&#8217;s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.</div><div class="p"> 30While they were on their way, the report came to David: &#8220;Absalom has struck down all the king&#8217;s sons; not one of them is left.&#8221; 31The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.</div><div class="p"> 32But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David&#8217;s brother, said, &#8220;My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom&#8217;s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king&#8217;s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.</div><div class="p">Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, &#8220;I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.&#8221;#13:34 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have this sentence.</div><div class="p"> 35Jonadab said to the king, &#8220;See, the king&#8217;s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36As he finished speaking, the king&#8217;s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.</div><div class="p"> 37Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.</div><div class="p"> 38After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon&#8217;s death.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch14" data-usfm="2SA.14">
 <div class="label">14</div><div class="s1">Absalom Returns to Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 1Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king&#8217;s heart longed for Absalom. 2So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, &#8220;Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don&#8217;t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3Then go to the king and speak these words to him.&#8221; And Joab put the words in her mouth.</div><div class="p"> 4When the woman from Tekoa went#14:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts spoke to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, &#8220;Help me, Your Majesty!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5The king asked her, &#8220;What is troubling you?&#8221;</div><div class="p">She said, &#8220;I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, &#8216;Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.&#8217; They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8The king said to the woman, &#8220;Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9But the woman from Tekoa said to him, &#8220;Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10The king replied, &#8220;If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11She said, &#8220;Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;As surely as the Lord lives,&#8221; he said, &#8220;not one hair of your son&#8217;s head will fall to the ground.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then the woman said, &#8220;Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Speak,&#8221; he replied.</div><div class="p"> 13The woman said, &#8220;Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, &#8216;I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant&#8217;s request. 16Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God&#8217;s inheritance.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;And now your servant says, &#8216;May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Then the king said to the woman, &#8220;Don&#8217;t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Let my lord the king speak,&#8221; the woman said.</div><div class="p"> 19The king asked, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t the hand of Joab with you in all this?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The woman answered, &#8220;As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God&#8212;he knows everything that happens in the land.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21The king said to Joab, &#8220;Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, &#8220;Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant&#8217;s request.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24But the king said, &#8220;He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.&#8221; So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.</div><div class="p"> 25In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26Whenever he cut the hair of his head&#8212;he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him&#8212;he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels#14:26 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms by the royal standard.</div><div class="p"> 27Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter&#8217;s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman.</div><div class="p"> 28Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king&#8217;s face. 29Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30Then he said to his servants, &#8220;Look, Joab&#8217;s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.&#8221; So Absalom&#8217;s servants set the field on fire.</div><div class="p"> 31Then Joab did go to Absalom&#8217;s house, and he said to him, &#8220;Why have your servants set my field on fire?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Absalom said to Joab, &#8220;Look, I sent word to you and said, &#8216;Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, &#8220;Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!&#8221;&#8198;&#8217; Now then, I want to see the king&#8217;s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch15" data-usfm="2SA.15">
 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">Absalom&#8217;s Conspiracy</div><div class="p"> 1In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, &#8220;What town are you from?&#8221; He would answer, &#8220;Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.&#8221; 3Then Absalom would say to him, &#8220;Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.&#8221; 4And Absalom would add, &#8220;If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 7At the end of four#15:7 Some Septuagint manuscripts, Syriac and Josephus; Hebrew forty years, Absalom said to the king, &#8220;Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. 8While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: &#8216;If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.#15:8 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew does not have in Hebron.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9The king said to him, &#8220;Go in peace.&#8221; So he went to Hebron.</div><div class="p"> 10Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, &#8220;As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, &#8216;Absalom is king in Hebron.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 11Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David&#8217;s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom&#8217;s following kept on increasing.</div><div class="s1">David Flees</div><div class="p"> 13A messenger came and told David, &#8220;The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, &#8220;Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15The king&#8217;s officials answered him, &#8220;Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.</div><div class="p"> 19The king said to Ittai the Gittite, &#8220;Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.&#8221;#15:20 Septuagint; Hebrew May kindness and faithfulness be with you</div><div class="p"> 21But Ittai replied to the king, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22David said to Ittai, &#8220;Go ahead, march on.&#8221; So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.</div><div class="p"> 23The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.</div><div class="p"> 24Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.</div><div class="p"> 25Then the king said to Zadok, &#8220;Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord&#8217;s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26But if he says, &#8216;I am not pleased with you,&#8217; then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27The king also said to Zadok the priest, &#8220;Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar&#8217;s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.&#8221; 29So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.</div><div class="p"> 30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31Now David had been told, &#8220;Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.&#8221; So David prayed, &#8220;Lord, turn Ahithophel&#8217;s counsel into foolishness.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33David said to him, &#8220;If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, &#8216;Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father&#8217;s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,&#8217; then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel&#8217;s advice. 35Won&#8217;t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king&#8217;s palace. 36Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37So Hushai, David&#8217;s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.</div>
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 <div class="label">51</div><div class="cl">Psalm 51#In Hebrew texts 51:1-19 is numbered 51:3-21.</div><div class="d">For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.</div><div class="q1"> 1Have mercy on me, O God,</div><div class="q2">according to your unfailing love;</div><div class="q1">according to your great compassion</div><div class="q2">blot out my transgressions.</div><div class="q1"> 2Wash away all my iniquity</div><div class="q2">and cleanse me from my sin.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3For I know my transgressions,</div><div class="q2">and my sin is always before me.</div><div class="q1"> 4Against you, you only, have I sinned</div><div class="q2">and done what is evil in your sight;</div><div class="q1">so you are right in your verdict</div><div class="q2">and justified when you judge.</div><div class="q1"> 5Surely I was sinful at birth,</div><div class="q2">sinful from the time my mother conceived me.</div><div class="q1"> 6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;</div><div class="q2">you taught me wisdom in that secret place.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;</div><div class="q2">wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.</div><div class="q1"> 8Let me hear joy and gladness;</div><div class="q2">let the bones you have crushed rejoice.</div><div class="q1"> 9Hide your face from my sins</div><div class="q2">and blot out all my iniquity.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10Create in me a pure heart, O God,</div><div class="q2">and renew a steadfast spirit within me.</div><div class="q1"> 11Do not cast me from your presence</div><div class="q2">or take your Holy Spirit from me.</div><div class="q1"> 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation</div><div class="q2">and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways,</div><div class="q2">so that sinners will turn back to you.</div><div class="q1"> 14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,</div><div class="q2">you who are God my Savior,</div><div class="q2">and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.</div><div class="q1"> 15Open my lips, Lord,</div><div class="q2">and my mouth will declare your praise.</div><div class="q1"> 16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;</div><div class="q2">you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.</div><div class="q1"> 17My sacrifice, O God, is#51:17 Or The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;</div><div class="q2">a broken and contrite heart</div><div class="q2">you, God, will not despise.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 18May it please you to prosper Zion,</div><div class="q2">to build up the walls of Jerusalem.</div><div class="q1"> 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,</div><div class="q2">in burnt offerings offered whole;</div><div class="q2">then bulls will be offered on your altar.</div>
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