2 Samuel 13 : 1 (NLT)
Now David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her.
2 Samuel 13 : 2 (NLT)
Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her.
2 Samuel 13 : 3 (NLT)
But Amnon had a very crafty friend-- his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David's brother Shimea.
2 Samuel 13 : 4 (NLT)
One day Jonadab said to Amnon, "What's the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?" So Amnon told him, "I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
2 Samuel 13 : 5 (NLT)
"Well," Jonadab said, "I'll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you'll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands."
2 Samuel 13 : 6 (NLT)
So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, "Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands."
2 Samuel 13 : 7 (NLT)
So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon's house to prepare some food for him.
2 Samuel 13 : 8 (NLT)
When Tamar arrived at Amnon's house, she went to the place where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked his favorite dish for him.
2 Samuel 13 : 9 (NLT)
But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat. "Everyone get out of here," Amnon told his servants. So they all left.
2 Samuel 13 : 10 (NLT)
Then he said to Tamar, "Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here." So Tamar took his favorite dish to him.
2 Samuel 13 : 11 (NLT)
But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, "Come to bed with me, my darling sister."
2 Samuel 13 : 12 (NLT)
"No, my brother!" she cried. "Don't be foolish! Don't do this to me! Such wicked things aren't done in Israel.
2 Samuel 13 : 13 (NLT)
Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me."
2 Samuel 13 : 14 (NLT)
But Amnon wouldn't listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her.
2 Samuel 13 : 15 (NLT)
Then suddenly Amnon's love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. "Get out of here!" he snarled at her.
2 Samuel 13 : 16 (NLT)
"No, no!" Tamar cried. "Sending me away now is worse than what you've already done to me." But Amnon wouldn't listen to her.
2 Samuel 13 : 17 (NLT)
He shouted for his servant and demanded, "Throw this woman out, and lock the door behind her!"
2 Samuel 13 : 18 (NLT)
So the servant put her out and locked the door behind her. She was wearing a long, beautiful robe, as was the custom in those days for the king's virgin daughters.
2 Samuel 13 : 19 (NLT)
But now Tamar tore her robe and put ashes on her head. And then, with her face in her hands, she went away crying.
2 Samuel 13 : 20 (NLT)
Her brother Absalom saw her and asked, "Is it true that Amnon has been with you? Well, my sister, keep quiet for now, since he's your brother. Don't you worry about it." So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in her brother Absalom's house.
2 Samuel 13 : 21 (NLT)
When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry.
2 Samuel 13 : 22 (NLT)
And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this, he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister.
2 Samuel 13 : 23 (NLT)
Two years later, when Absalom's sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king's sons to come to a feast.
2 Samuel 13 : 24 (NLT)
He went to the king and said, "My sheep-shearers are now at work. Would the king and his servants please come to celebrate the occasion with me?"
2 Samuel 13 : 25 (NLT)
The king replied, "No, my son. If we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you." Absalom pressed him, but the king would not come, though he gave Absalom his blessing.
2 Samuel 13 : 26 (NLT)
"Well, then," Absalom said, "if you can't come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?" "Why Amnon?" the king asked.
2 Samuel 13 : 27 (NLT)
But Absalom kept on pressing the king until he finally agreed to let all his sons attend, including Amnon. So Absalom prepared a feast fit for a king.
2 Samuel 13 : 28 (NLT)
Absalom told his men, "Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don't be afraid. I'm the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!"
2 Samuel 13 : 29 (NLT)
So at Absalom's signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.
2 Samuel 13 : 30 (NLT)
As they were on the way back to Jerusalem, this report reached David: "Absalom has killed all the king's sons; not one is left alive!"
2 Samuel 13 : 31 (NLT)
The king got up, tore his robe, and threw himself on the ground. His advisers also tore their clothes in horror and sorrow.
2 Samuel 13 : 32 (NLT)
But just then Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimea, arrived and said, "No, don't believe that all the king's sons have been killed! It was only Amnon! Absalom has been plotting this ever since Amnon raped his sister Tamar.
2 Samuel 13 : 33 (NLT)
No, my lord the king, your sons aren't all dead! It was only Amnon."
2 Samuel 13 : 34 (NLT)
Meanwhile Absalom escaped.Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming toward the city from the west. He ran to tell the king, "I see a crowd of people coming from the Horonaim road along the side of the hill."
2 Samuel 13 : 35 (NLT)
"Look!" Jonadab told the king. "There they are now! The king's sons are coming, just as I said."
2 Samuel 13 : 36 (NLT)
They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and all his servants wept bitterly with them.
2 Samuel 13 : 37 (NLT)
And David mourned many days for his son Amnon.Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur.
2 Samuel 13 : 38 (NLT)
He stayed there in Geshur for three years.
2 Samuel 13 : 39 (NLT)
And King David, now reconciled to Amnon's death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom.
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