13 Some time afterwards, David’s son Amnon fell in love with his beautiful half-sister Tamar (Abshalom’s sister), 2 and he made himself frustrated, always thinking about her because she was a virgin. However, he couldn’t do anything with her. 3 But Amnon had a very shrewd friend called Yonadab (son of David’s brother Shimeah) 4 and Yonadab asked him, “Hey, you’re a son of the king, so tell me why you’re always so unhappy?”

“I’m in love with my brother Abshalom’s sister Tamar,” Amnon replied.

5 “Go to bed and pretend to be sick,” Yonadab suggested. “Then when your father comes to see you, ask him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come to look after my food. She can cook it here and serve it to me.’ ” 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 make a couple of bread rolls while I’m watching, and then she can serve them to me.”

7 So David sent a message to Tamar to ask her to go to her brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him. 8 So Tamar went to her half-brother Amnon’s house where he was lying down. She took some dough and kneaded it into breadrolls and baked them. 9 Then she took the tray over to him, but he refused to eat, saying, “Send everyone else out of here,” so they all left. 10 Then Amnon told Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom so that you can serve it to me.” So Tamar took the breadrolls that she’d made, and took them to Amnon in the bedroom. 11 But when she got close enough to him, he grabbed her and insisted, “Come and lie down with me, my sister.”

12 “No, my brother,” she told him, “don’t humiliate me because we Israelis don’t do that. Don’t do this disgraceful thing. 13 Where could I hide my shame? And you—you’d be considered a godless fool in Israel. Just speak to the king because he’d give me to you to marry.” 14 But he didn’t want her advice, and being stronger than her, he humiliated her by forcing her down and raping her.

15 Instantly, Amnon hated her with terrible hatred—a much greater hatred than the love with which he’d loved her, and he told her to get up and get out.

16 “No, no.” she responded. “Sending me away would be even worse than what you just did to me.”

But he refused to listen to her 17 and called his personal servant. He told him to take the woman away and send her outside and then lock the door behind her. 18 (She was wearing the kind of long robe that the virgin daughters of the king wore as an outer garment.)

So the servant pushed her outside and locked the door behind her. 19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and wailed as she walked home.[fn] 20 Her brother Abshalom asked her, “Did your half-brother Amnon mess with you? But now, my sister, don’t tell anyone since he’s your brother and don’t let it upset you.” So Tamar lived in a state of desolation in her brother Abshalom’s house.

21 When King David heard about all that, he got very angry. 22 Also, Abshalom said nothing to Amnon (either good or bad) because he hated him for humiliating his sister Tamar.