1. David had a son named Absalom. Absalom had a very beautiful sister named Tamar. Another one of David’s sons, Amnon, was in love with Tamar.
2. She was a virgin. Amnon wanted her very much, but he did not think it was possible for him to have her. He thought about her so much that he made himself sick.
3. Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah. (Shimeah was David’s brother.) Jonadab was a very clever man.
4. He said to Amnon, “You are the king’s son. So why do you always look so sad? Tell me what the trouble is!” Amnon told Jonadab, “I love Tamar. But she is the sister of my half-brother Absalom.”
5. Jonadab said to Amnon, “Go to bed. Pretend you are sick. Then your father will come to see you. Tell him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in and give me food to eat. Let her make the food in front of me. Then I will see it and eat it from her hand.’”
6. So Amnon lay down in bed and pretended to be sick. King David came in to see Amnon. He said to King David, “Please let my sister Tamar come in. Let her make two cakes for me while I watch. Then I can eat from her hands.”
7. David sent messengers to Tamar’s house. They told her, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and make some food for him.”
8. So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon. He was in bed. Tamar took some dough, pressed it together with her hands, and cooked the cakes. She did this while he watched.
9. Then Tamar took the cakes out of the pan and set them out for him. But he refused to eat. He said to his servants, “Get out of here. Leave me alone!” So all of his servants left the room.
10. Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom and feed me by hand.” So Tamar took the cakes she had made and went into her brother’s bedroom.
11. She started to feed Amnon, but he grabbed her hand. He said to her, “Sister, come and sleep with me.”
12. Tamar said to Amnon, “No, brother! Don’t force me to do this. Don’t do this shameful thing! Terrible things like this should never be done in Israel!
13. I would never get rid of my shame, and people would think that you are just a common criminal. Please, talk with the king. He will let you marry me.”