Daily Reading Plan With Christian Mael (December)

I Choose Gratitude: A 5-Day Plan on Being Grateful When Life Is Tough

Pathways to Intimacy

Advent Guide: You Belong

From Humbug to Hallelujah: A 5-Day Christmas Transformation

Moving Toward Each Other in the Middle of a Divisive World

Vote With Vision: Praying God’s Will Over Elections

A Glimpse of Infinity (Thankfulness in Living Color) - 7 Days of Photography & Prayers

5 Spiritual Practices for Healing and Transformation

Number Our Days

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<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>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<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>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

The Life of DavidSample

Scripture

About this Plan

Related Plans