2 Samuel 13:1–22

Amnon Assaults His Sister Tamar

13It happened afterwards that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her. ²And Amnon was so frustrated that he felt ill^a because of Tamar his sister, because she was a virgin, and it was too difficult in Amnon’s eyes to do anything with her. ³Now Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David. (Now Jonadab was a very crafty man.) ⁴And he said to him, “Why are you so sullen every morning,^b O son of the king? Will you not tell me?” And Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.” ⁵Then Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and appear ill. If your father comes to see you, you shall say to him, ‘Please let Tamar my sister come and give me food to eat, and let her prepare the food before my eyes, in order that I may see it and eat from her hand.’ ” ⁶So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill, and the king came to see him. Amnon said to the king, “Please let Tamar my sister come, and let her bake two cakes before my eyes that I may eat from her hand.” ⁷So David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, “Please go to the house of Amnon your brother and prepare food for him.” ⁸Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother. Now he was lying down, and she took the dough and kneaded it and made cakes before his eyes, and she baked the cakes. ⁹Then she took the pan and poured it out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, “Let all the men go out from me.” So all the men went out from him. ¹⁰Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food to the private room that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them to Amnon her brother in^c the private room. ¹¹When she brought them near to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister!” ¹²Then Tamar said to him, “No, my brother! Do not force me, for such a thing has not been done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! ¹³As for me, where should I take my disgrace? You will be as one of the fools in Israel. So please, speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” ¹⁴But he was not willing to listen to her voice. He was stronger than she, and he forced her and lay with her.

¹⁵Then Amnon hated her very deeply,^d for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. So Amnon said to her, “Get up and go.” ¹⁶She said to him, “No, because this evil in sending me away is greater than the other you have done to me.” But he was not willing to listen to her. ¹⁷Then he called his young man who was serving him and said, “Please send this woman from me to the outside, and bolt the door behind her!” ¹⁸Now there was a long-sleeved robe on her, for so they clothed the daughters of the king who were virgins, in robes. His servant put her outside, and he bolted the door behind her. ¹⁹Tamar put ashes on her head, and she tore the long-sleeved robe which was on her. She put her hand on her head, and she went away, crying out as she went.^{e 20}Absalom her brother said to her, “Was Amnon your brother with you? But now, my sister, be quiet; he is your brother. Do not take this matter to heart.”^f So Tamar remained a desolate woman in the house of Absalom her brother.

Absalom Kills Amnon

²¹Now King David heard all these things, and he became very angry.^{g 22}Absalom did not speak with Amnon either bad or good,^h for Absalom hated Amnon over the matter whenⁱ he raped Tamar his sister.