Bible Reading Plan

2 Samuel 13

Chapter 13

Amnon and Tamar

¹ Now it was after this that ^(C1)Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was ^(C2)Tamar, and ^(C3)Amnon the son of David was in love with her.² But Amnon was so frustrated on account of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill, for she was a virgin, and it ^(F1)seemed too difficult to Amnon to do anything to her.³ But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of ^(F1)(C1)Shimeah, David's brother; and Jonadab was a very clever man.⁴ And he said to him, "Why are you, the king's son, so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?" So Amnon said to him, "I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom."⁵ Jonadab then said to him, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill; when your father comes to see you, say to him, 'Please have my sister Tamar come and give me food to eat, and have her prepare the ^(F1)food in my sight, so that I may see it and eat from her hand.'"⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please have my sister Tamar come and ^(C1)make me a couple of pastries in my sight, so that I may eat from her hand."

⁷ Then David sent a messenger to the house for Tamar, saying, "Go now to your brother Amnon's house, and prepare ^(F1)food for him."⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, and he was lying in bed. And she took dough, kneaded it, made pastries in his sight, and baked the pastries.⁹ Then she took the tray and served them to him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, "^(C1)Have everyone leave me." So everyone left him.¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into the ^(F1)bedroom, so that I may eat from your hand." So Tamar took the pastries which she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon.¹¹ When she brought them to him to eat, he ^(C1)took hold of her and said to her, "Come, sleep with me, my sister."¹² But she said to him, "No, my brother, do not violate me, for ^(C1)such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this ^(C2)disgraceful sin!¹³ "As for me, where could I ^(F1)get rid of my shame? And as for you, you will be like one of the ^(F2)fools in Israel. Now then, please speak to the king, for ^(C1)he will not ^(F3)withhold me from you."¹⁴ However, he would not listen to ^(F1)her; since he was stronger than she, he ^(C1)violated her and slept with her.

¹⁵ Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; indeed, the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, "Get up, go away!"¹⁶ But she said to him, "No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me!" Yet he would not listen to her.¹⁷ Then he called his young man who attended him and said, "Now throw this woman out of my presence, and lock the door behind her!"¹⁸ Now she had on ^(C1)a ^(F1)long-sleeved garment; for this is how the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her.^19 (C1)Tamar took ashes and put them on her head, and ^(C2)tore her ^(F1)long-sleeved garment which was on her; and ^(C3)she put her hand on her head and went on her way, crying out as she went.

²⁰ Then Absalom her brother said to her, "Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep silent, my sister, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart." So Tamar remained and was isolated in her brother Absalom's house.²¹ Now when King David heard about all these matters, he became very angry.²² But Absalom did not speak with Amnon ^(C1)either good or bad; for ^(C2)Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar.

²³ Now it came about after two full years that Absalom ^(C1)had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons to celebrate.

Absalom Avenges Tamar

²⁸ Then Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "See now, ^(C1)when Amnon's heart is cheerful with wine, and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon,' then put him to death. Do not fear; have I not commanded you myself? Be courageous and be ^(F1)valiant."²⁹ And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon just as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons got up and each mounted ^(C1)his mule and fled.

³⁰ Now it was while they were on the way that the report came to David, saying, "Absalom has struck and killed all the king's sons, and not one of them is left."³¹ Then the king stood up, ^(C1)tore his clothes, and ^(C2)lay on the ground; and all his servants were standing by with clothes torn.^32 (C1)And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, ^(F1)responded, "Let my lord not ^(F2)assume that they have put to death all the young men, the king's sons, for only Amnon is dead; because this has been set up by the ^(F3)intent of Absalom since the day that he violated his sister Tamar.³³ "So now, may my lord the king not ^(C1)take the report to ^(F1)heart, ^(F2)claiming, 'all the king's sons are dead'; but only Amnon is dead."

³⁴ Now ^(C1)Absalom had fled. And ^(C2)the young man who was the watchman raised his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain.³⁵ And Jonadab said to the king, "Behold, the king's sons have come; so it has happened according to your servant's word."³⁶ As soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king's sons came and raised their voices and wept; and the king and all his servants also wept ^(F1)very profusely.

³⁷ Now ^(C1)Absalom had fled and gone to ^(C2)Talmai the son of Ammihud, the king of ^(C3)Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.^38 (C1)So Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur, and was there for three years.³⁹ And the heart of King David longed to go out to Absalom; for ^(C1)he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.

Daniel 7

Chapter 7

Vision of the Four Beasts

¹ In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a ^(C1)dream and visions ^(F1)in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he ^(C2)wrote the dream down and told the ^(F2)following summary of ^(F3)it.² Daniel ^(F1)said, "I was ^(C1)looking in my vision by night, and behold, the ^(C2)four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.³ "And four great ^(C1)beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.⁴ "The first was ^(C1)like a lion but had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and set up on two feet like a man; a human ^(F1)mind also was given to it.⁵ "And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and they said this to it: 'Arise, devour much meat!'⁶ "After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, ^(C1)like a leopard, which had on its ^(F1)back four wings of a bird; the beast also had ^(C2)four heads, and dominion was given to it.⁷ "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a ^(C1)fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ^(C2)ten horns.⁸ "While I was thinking about the horns, behold, ^(C1)another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the previous horns were plucked out before it; and behold, ^(F1)this horn possessed eyes like human eyes, and ^(C2)a mouth uttering great boasts.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ "I kept looking
Until ^(C1)thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His ^(C2)garment was white as snow,
And the ^(C3)hair of His head like pure wool.
His ^(C4)throne was ^(F1)ablaze with flames,
Its ^(C5)wheels were a burning fire.

¹⁰ "A river of ^(C1)fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
^(C2)Thousands upon thousands were serving Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The ^(C3)court ^(F1)convened,
And ^(C4)the books were opened.

The Son of Man Presented

¹³ "I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a son of man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.

¹⁴ "And to Him was given ^(C1)dominion,
Honor, and ^(F1)(C2)a kingdom,
^(C3)So that all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^(F2)languages
Might serve Him.
^(C4)His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
^(C5)And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.

The Vision Interpreted

¹⁵ "As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within ^(F1)me, and the ^(C1)visions ^(F2)in my mind kept ^(C2)alarming me.¹⁶ "I approached one of those who were ^(C1)standing by and began requesting of him the ^(F1)exact meaning of all this. So he ^(C2)told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:¹⁷ 'These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.¹⁸ 'But the ^(F1)(C1)saints of the Highest One will ^(C2)receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, ^(F2)for all ages to come.'

¹⁹ "Then I desired to know the ^(F1)exact meaning of the ^(C1)fourth beast, which was different from all ^(F2)the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet,²⁰ and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of the horns fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and ^(F1)which was larger in appearance than its associates.²¹ "I kept looking, and that horn was ^(C1)waging war with the ^(F1)saints and prevailing against them,²² until the Ancient of Days came and ^(C1)judgment was ^(F1)passed in favor of the ^(F2)saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the ^(F2)saints took possession of the kingdom.

²³ "This is what he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth and trample it down and crush it.²⁴ 'As for the ^(C1)ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will ^(F1)humble three kings.²⁵ 'And he will ^(F1)(C1)speak against the ^(C2)Most High and ^(C3)wear down the ^(F2)saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make ^(C4)alterations in times and in law; and ^(F3)they will be handed over to him for a ^(F4)(C5)time, ^(F4)times, and half a ^(F4)time.²⁶ 'But the court will ^(F1)convene for judgment, and his dominion will be ^(C1)taken away, ^(F2)annihilated and destroyed ^(F3)forever.²⁷ 'Then the ^(F1)(C1)sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the ^(F2)saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an ^(C2)everlasting kingdom, and all the empires will ^(C3)serve and obey Him.'

²⁸ "^(F1)At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were ^(C1)greatly alarming me and my ^(F2)face became pale, but I ^(C2)kept the matter ^(F3)to myself."

Mark 5:1-20