The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday June 2, 2023 (NIV)

¹¹ King David sent word to the priests Zadok and Abiathar:^(A) “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace? The talk of all Israel has reached the king at his house. ¹² You are my brothers, my flesh and blood.^[a](B) So why should you be the last to restore the king?’ ¹³ And tell Amasa,^(C) ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood?^[b] May God punish me and do so severely if you don’t become commander of my army from now on instead of Joab!’”

¹⁴ So he won over^[c] all the men of Judah, and they unanimously sent word to the king: “Come back, you and all your servants.” ¹⁵ Then the king returned. When he arrived at the Jordan, Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and escort him across the Jordan.

¹⁶ Shimei son of Gera,^(D) the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷ There were a thousand men from Benjamin with him. Ziba, an attendant from the house of Saul,^(E) with his fifteen sons and twenty servants also rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king. ¹⁸ They forded the Jordan to bring the king’s household across and do whatever the king desired.^[d]

When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell facedown before the king ¹⁹ and said to him, “My lord, don’t hold me guilty, and don’t remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem.^(F) May the king not take it to heart. ²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned. But look! Today I am the first one of the entire house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”

²¹ Abishai son of Zeruiah asked, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” ^(G)

²² David answered, “Sons of Zeruiah, do we agree on anything?^(H) Have you become my adversary today? Should any man be killed in Israel today? Am I not aware that today I’m king over Israel?” ²³ So the king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” Then the king gave him his oath.^(I)

²⁴ Mephibosheth,^(J) Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. ²⁵ When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Mephibosheth, why didn’t you come with me?”

²⁶ “My lord the king,” he replied, “my servant Ziba betrayed me. Actually your servant said, ‘I’ll saddle the donkey for myself^[e] so that I may ride it and go with the king’—for your servant is lame.^{(K) 27} Ziba slandered your servant to my lord the king.^(L) But my lord the king is like the angel of God,^(M) so do whatever you think best.^{[f] 28} For my grandfather’s entire family deserves death from my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table.^(N) So what further right do I have to keep on making appeals to the king?”

²⁹ The king said to him, “Why keep on speaking about these matters of yours? I hereby declare: you and Ziba are to divide the land.”^(O)

³⁰ Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has come to his palace safely, let Ziba take it all!”

³¹ Barzillai the Gileadite^(P) had come down from Rogelim and accompanied the king to the Jordan River to see him off at the Jordan. ³² Barzillai was a very old man—eighty years old—and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the needs of the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.^(Q)

³³ The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I’ll provide for you^[g] at my side in Jerusalem.”

³⁴ Barzillai replied to the king, “How many years of my life are left that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king? ³⁵ I’m now eighty years old.^(R) Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of male and female singers? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?^{(S) 36} Since your servant is only going with the king a little way across the Jordan, why should the king repay me with such a reward? ³⁷ Please let your servant return so that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham;^(T) let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him what seems good to you.”^[h]

³⁸ The king replied, “Chimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you, and whatever you desire from me I will do for you.” ³⁹ So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned to his home.

⁴⁰ The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went with him. All the troops of Judah and half of Israel’s escorted the king. ⁴¹ Suddenly, all the men of Israel came to the king. They asked him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and transport the king and his household across the Jordan, along with all of David’s men?”

⁴² All the men of Judah responded to the men of Israel, “Because the king is our relative. Why does this make you angry? Have we ever eaten anything of the king’s or been honored at all?” ^[i]

⁴³ The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king,^(U) so we have a greater claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Weren’t we the first to speak of restoring our king?” ^(V) But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than those of the men of Israel.

Sheba’s Revolt

20 Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram’s horn and shouted:

² So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bichri, but the men of Judah from the Jordan all the way to Jerusalem remained loyal to their king.^(W)

³ When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard.^(X) He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

⁴ The king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to me within three days and be here yourself.” ⁵ Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him. ⁶ So David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bichri will do more harm to us than Absalom. Take your lord’s soldiers and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”^[k]

⁷ So Joab’s men, the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors marched out under Abishai’s command;^[l] they left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bichri. ⁸ They were at the great stone in Gibeon when Amasa joined them. Joab was wearing his uniform and over it was a belt around his waist with a sword in its sheath. As he approached, the sword fell out. ⁹ Joab asked Amasa, “Are you well, my brother?” Then with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.^{(Y) 10} Amasa was not on guard against the sword in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it and spilled his intestines out on the ground. Joab did not stab him again, and Amasa died.^(Z)

Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri. ¹¹ One of Joab’s young men had stood over Amasa saying, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!” ¹² Now Amasa had been writhing in his blood in the middle of the highway, and the man had seen that all the troops stopped. So he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him because he realized that all those who encountered Amasa were stopping.^{(AA) 13} When he was removed from the highway, all the men passed by and followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

Jesus’s Third Appearance to the Disciples

21 After this, Jesus revealed^(A) himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.^[a](B) He revealed himself in this way:

² Simon Peter,^(C) Thomas^(D) (called “Twin”^[b]), Nathanael^(E) from Cana of Galilee,^(F) Zebedee’s^(G) sons, and two others of his disciples were together.

³ “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them.

“We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.^(H)

⁴ When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus.^{(I) 5} “Friends,”^[c] Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶ “Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” he told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did,^[d] and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. ⁷ The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” ^(J)

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer clothing around him (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea. ⁸ Since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards^[e](K) away), the other disciples came in the boat,^(L) dragging the net full of fish.

⁹ When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. ¹⁰ “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.^(M)

¹² “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time^(N) Jesus appeared^[f](O) to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus’s Threefold Restoration of Peter

¹⁵ When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John,^[g] do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Feed my lambs,” he told him. ¹⁶ A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love^(P) me?”^(Q)

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Shepherd^(R) my sheep,”^(S) he told him.

¹⁷ He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love^(T) me?”

Peter was grieved^(U) that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything;^(V) you know that I love you.”

“Feed^(W) my sheep,” Jesus said. ¹⁸ “Truly I tell you,^(X) when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” ¹⁹ He said this to indicate by what kind of death^(Y) Peter would glorify God.^(Z) After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”^(AA)

Correcting a False Report

²⁰ So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved^(AB) following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?” ^{(AC) 21} When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

²² “If I want him to remain until I come,”^(AD) Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

²³ So this rumor^[h] spread to the brothers and sisters^(AE) that this disciple would not die.^(AF) Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

Epilogue

²⁴ This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

²⁵ And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books^[i] that would be written.^(AG)

Psalm 120

A Cry for Truth and Peace

A song of ascents.