Nathan Confronts David

12 So the Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan came to him and said, “There were two men in a certain city. One was rich, and the other was poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cows, ³ but the poor man had only one little female lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up in his home with his children. She would eat his food and drink from his cup. She rested in his arms and was like a daughter.

⁴ “Now, a visitor came to the rich man. The rich man thought it would be a pity to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler. So he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared her for the traveler.”

⁵ David burned with anger against the man. “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this certainly deserves to die! ⁶ And he must pay back four times the price of the lamb because he did this and had no pity.”

⁷ “You are the man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and rescued you from Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master Saul’s house and his wives. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if this weren’t enough, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise my word by doing what I considered evil? You had Uriah the Hittite killed in battle. You took his wife as your wife. You used the Ammonites to kill him. ¹⁰ So warfare will never leave your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: I will stir up trouble against you within your own household, and before your own eyes I will take your wives and give them to someone close to you. He will go to bed with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² You did this secretly, but I will make this happen in broad daylight in front of all Israel.”

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die. ¹⁴ But since you have shown total contempt for the Lord by this affair, the son that is born to you must die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went home.

The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had given birth to for David so that the child became sick. ¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the child; he fasted and lay on the ground all night. ¹⁷ The older leaders in his palace stood beside him to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling. And he wouldn’t eat with them.

¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. But David’s officials were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. They thought, “While the child was alive, we talked to him, and he wouldn’t listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may harm ⌞himself⌟.”

¹⁹ But when David saw that his officials were whispering to one another, he realized that the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” David asked them.

“⌞Yes,⌟ he is dead,” they answered.

²⁰ So David got up from the ground, bathed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the Lord’s house and worshiped. Then he went home and asked for food. They placed food in front of him, and he ate.

²¹ His officials asked him, “Why are you acting this way? You fasted and cried over the child when he was alive. But as soon as the child died, you got up and ate.”

²² David answered, “As long as the child was alive, I fasted and cried. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ ²³ But why should I fast now that he’s dead? Can I bring him back? ⌞Someday⌟ I’ll go to him, but he won’t come back to me.”

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to bed with her, and she later gave birth to a son. David named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child ²⁵ and sent a message through the prophet Nathan to name the baby Jedidiah [The Lord’s Beloved].

David Defeats the Ammonites^(A)

²⁶ Meanwhile, Joab fought against the Ammonite city of Rabbah and captured its royal fortress. ²⁷ So he sent messengers to tell David, “I fought against Rabbah and captured the fortress guarding its water supply. ²⁸ Gather the rest of the troops, surround the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I will capture the city, and it will be named after me.”

²⁹ So David gathered all the troops and went to Rabbah. He fought against the city and captured it. ³⁰ He took the gold crown from the head of Rabbah’s king and put it on his own head. (The crown weighed 75 pounds and contained a precious stone.) David also took a lot of goods from the city. ³¹ He brought out the troops who were there and put them to work with saws, hoes, and axes. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.

The Rape of Tamar

13 After this, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David’s son Absalom. ² Amnon was so obsessed with his half sister Tamar that he made himself sick. It seemed impossible for him to be alone with her because she was a virgin.

³ Amnon had a friend by the name of Jonadab, a son of David’s brother Shimea. Jonadab was a very clever man. ⁴ He asked Amnon, “Why are you, the king’s son, so worn out morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”

“I’m in love with Absalom’s sister Tamar,” he answered.

⁵ Then Jonadab told him, “Lie down on your bed. Act sick, and when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come to feed me. She can prepare a meal in front of me as I watch her, and she can feed me.’ ”

⁶ So Amnon lay down and acted sick, and the king came to see him. Amnon asked the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make some bread in front of me, and she can feed me.”

⁷ David sent for Tamar at the palace. “Please go to your brother Amnon’s home,” he said, “and prepare some food for him.”

⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s home. He was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made flat bread in front of him, and cooked it. ⁹ Then she took the pan and served him ⌞the bread⌟. But he refused to eat.

“Have everyone leave me,” he said. So everyone left him.

¹⁰ Amnon told Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom so that you can feed me.”

Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in the bedroom. ¹¹ When she handed it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, Tamar!”

¹² “No,” she told him, “don’t rape me! That shouldn’t be done in Israel. Don’t do this godless act! ¹³ Where could I go in my disgrace? And you will be considered one of the godless fools in Israel! Speak to the king. He won’t refuse your request to marry me.”

¹⁴ But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her. He grabbed his sister and raped her.

¹⁵ Now, Amnon developed an intense hatred for her. His hatred for her was greater than the lust he had felt for her. “Get out of here,” he told her.

¹⁶ She said to him, “No, sending me away is a greater wrong than the other thing you did to me!” But he wouldn’t listen to her.

¹⁷ Then he called his personal servant and said, “Get rid of her. Put her out, and bolt the door behind her.” ¹⁸ (She was wearing a long-sleeved gown. The king’s virgin daughters wore this kind of robe.) So his servant took her out and bolted the door behind her. ¹⁹ Tamar put ashes on her head, tore the long-sleeved gown she had on, put her hands on her head, and went away crying.

²⁰ Her brother Absalom asked her, “Has your brother Amnon been with you? Sister, be quiet for now. He’s your brother. Don’t dwell on this matter.” So Tamar stayed there at the home of her brother Absalom and was depressed.

²¹ When King David heard about this, he became very angry. But David didn’t punish his son Amnon. He favored Amnon because he was his firstborn son.^{[a] 22} Absalom wouldn’t speak at all to Amnon. He hated Amnon for raping his sister Tamar.

The Murder of Amnon

²³ Two years later Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal Hazor near Ephraim. He invited all the king’s sons.^{[b] 24} Absalom went to the king and said, “Since I have sheepshearers, Your Majesty and your officials are invited ⌞to feast⌟ with me.”

²⁵ “No, Son,” the king answered Absalom. “If we all go, we’ll be a burden to you.” Even when Absalom continued to urge ^[c] him, David did not want to go, though he did give Absalom his blessing.

²⁶ So Absalom said, “If you won’t go, then please let my brother Amnon go with us.”

“Why should he go with you?” the king asked him. ²⁷ But when Absalom urged him, he let Amnon and all ⌞the rest of⌟ the king’s sons go with him.

²⁸ Then Absalom gave an order to his servants. “Watch now,” he said. “When Amnon begins to feel good from drinking ⌞too much⌟ wine, I’ll tell you, ‘Attack Amnon.’ Then kill him. Don’t be afraid. I’ve given you the order, haven’t I? Be strong and courageous.”

²⁹ Absalom’s servants did to Amnon as Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules, and fled. ³⁰ While they were on their way, David heard this rumor: “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons, and not a single one is left.” ³¹ The king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground. All his servants were standing beside him with their clothes torn ⌞to show their grief⌟.

³² Then Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimea, said, “Sir, don’t think that all the young men, all the king’s sons, have been killed. Only Amnon is dead. Absalom decided to do this the day his half brother raped his sister Tamar. ³³ You shouldn’t burden your heart with the idea that all the king’s sons are dead, Your Majesty. Only Amnon is dead. ³⁴ Absalom has fled.”

When the servant who kept watch looked up, he saw many people coming down the road beside the mountain west of him. ³⁵ Then Jonadab told the king, “The king’s sons have come. It’s just as I said.” ³⁶ When he finished speaking, the king’s sons arrived and cried loudly. The king and all his men also cried very bitterly.

³⁷ Absalom, however, fled to Geshur’s King Talmai, Ammihud’s son. But the king mourned for his son Amnon every day. ³⁸ Absalom, having fled to Geshur, stayed there three years. ³⁹ King David began to long for Absalom once people had consoled him over Amnon’s death.

Jesus Speaks about Dishonesty

16 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a business manager. The manager was accused of wasting the rich man’s property. ² So the rich man called for his manager and said to him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Let me examine your books. It’s obvious that you can’t manage my property any longer.’

³ “The manager thought, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I’ve lost my job.’

⁵ “So the manager called for each one of his master’s debtors. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “The debtor replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’

“The manager told him, ‘Take my master’s ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write “four hundred!” ’

⁷ “Then he asked another debtor, ‘How much do you owe?’

“The debtor replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’

“The manager told him, ‘Take the ledger, and write “eight hundred!” ’

⁸ “The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others.”

⁹ ⌞Jesus continued,⌟ “I’m telling you that although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves. When life is over, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹ Therefore, if you can’t be trusted with wealth that is often used dishonestly, who will trust you with wealth that is real? ¹² If you can’t be trusted with someone else’s wealth, who will give you your own?

¹³ “A servant cannot serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who love money, heard all this and were making sarcastic remarks about him. ¹⁵ So Jesus said to them, “You try to justify your actions in front of people. But God knows what’s in your hearts. What is important to humans is disgusting to God.

¹⁶ “Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets were ⌞in force⌟ until the time of John. Since that time, people have been telling the Good News about God’s kingdom, and everyone is trying to force their way into it. ¹⁷ It is easier for the earth and the heavens to disappear than to drop a comma from the Scriptures.

¹⁸ “Any man who divorces his wife to marry another woman is committing adultery. The man who marries a woman divorced in this way is committing adultery.

A Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who wore expensive clothes. Every day was like a party to him. ²⁰ There was also a beggar named Lazarus who was regularly brought to the gate of the rich man’s house. ²¹ Lazarus would have eaten any scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus was covered with sores,^[a] and dogs would lick them.

²² “One day the beggar died, and the angels carried him to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus. ²⁴ He yelled, ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue. I am suffering in this fire.’

²⁵ “Abraham replied, ‘Remember, my child, that you had a life filled with good times, while Lazarus’ life was filled with misery. Now he has peace here, while you suffer. ²⁶ Besides, a wide area separates us. People couldn’t cross it in either direction even if they wanted to.’

²⁷ “The rich man responded, ‘Then I ask you, Father, to send Lazarus back to my father’s home. ²⁸ I have five brothers. He can warn them so that they won’t end up in this place of torture.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses’ ⌞Teachings⌟ and the Prophets. Your brothers should listen to them!’

³⁰ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! If someone comes back to them from the dead, they will turn to God and change the way they think and act.’

³¹ “Abraham answered him, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses’ ⌞Teachings⌟ and the Prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone comes back to life.’ ”