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The Blue Letter Bible

2 Samuel 13 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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The Rape of Tamar

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:1

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:1 - Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:2

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:2 - Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:3

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:3 - But Amnon had a very crafty friend—his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimea.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:4

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:4 - 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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:5

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:5 - “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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:6

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:6 - 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[fn] as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:7

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:7 - So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon’s house to prepare some food for him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:8

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:8 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:9

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:9 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:10

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:10 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:11

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:11 - But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, “Come to bed with me, my darling sister.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:12

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:12 - “No, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! Such wicked things aren’t done in Israel.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:13

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:13 - 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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:14

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:14 - But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:15

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:15 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:16

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:16 - “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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:17

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:17 - He shouted for his servant and demanded, “Throw this woman out, and lock the door behind her!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:18

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:18 - So the servant put her out and locked the door behind her. She was wearing a long, beautiful robe,[fn] as was the custom in those days for the king’s virgin daughters.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:19

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:19 - But now Tamar tore her robe and put ashes on her head. And then, with her face in her hands, she went away crying.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:20

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:20 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:21

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:21 - When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:22

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:22 - And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this, he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister.
Absalom’s Revenge on Amnon

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:23

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:23 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:24

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:24 - 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?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:25

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:25 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:26

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:26 - “Well, then,” Absalom said, “if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?”
“Why Amnon?” the king asked.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:27

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:27 - 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.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:28

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:28 - 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!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:29

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:29 - So at Absalom’s signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:30

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:30 - 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!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:31

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:31 - The king got up, tore his robe, and threw himself on the ground. His advisers also tore their clothes in horror and sorrow.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:32

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:32 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:33

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:33 - No, my lord the king, your sons aren’t all dead! It was only Amnon.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:34

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:34 - Meanwhile Absalom escaped.
Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming down the hill on the road 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.”[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:35

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:35 - “Look!” Jonadab told the king. “There they are now! The king’s sons are coming, just as I said.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:36

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:36 - They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and all his servants wept bitterly with them.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:37

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:37 - And David mourned many days for his son Amnon.
Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:38

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:38 - He stayed there in Geshur for three years.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 13:39

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 13:39 - And King David,[fn] now reconciled to Amnon’s death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom.[fn]
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew Shimeah (also in 13:32), a variant spelling of Shimea; compare 1 Chr 2:13.
Or a couple of cakes; also in 13:8, 10.
Or a robe with sleeves, or an ornamented robe. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version add But he did not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn.
As in Greek and Latin versions (compare also Dead Sea Scrolls); the Hebrew text lacks this sentence.
As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks this sentence.
Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read And the spirit of the king.
Or no longer felt a need to go out after Absalom.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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2 Samuel Chapter 13 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras