1And it happened after the death of Saul that David returned from beating Amalek, and David stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 And it happened on the third day, and look, a man came from the camp from Saul’s people. His clothing was torn and there was dirt on his head. And it happened when he came in to David and he fell on the earth and bowed to him. 3 And David said to him, “From where have you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 And David said to him, “What is this message? Tell me!” And he said that the people fled from the battle and many from the people have fallen and died. Even Saul had died and Jonathan, his son, had died. 5 And David said to the servant reporting to him, “How do you know that they have died, Saul and Jonathan his son?” 6 And the servant reporting to him said, “By chance, I encountered him on Mount Gilboa, and look, Saul was leaning on his spear and look, the chariots and the horse captains were drawing close to him. 7 And he gazed closely at those behind him. He saw and called to me and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I said, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 And he said to me, ‘Stand, now, over me and kill me because a dreadful darkness has seized me because all my life is before me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him because I knew that he would not live after his fall. I took the crown on his head and the armlet on his arm and have brought them to my lord here.” 11 And David grabbed his clothing and tore them and all the men with him tore their clothing. 12 And they mourned and fasted and wept until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of Judah and for the house of Israel because they were wounded by the sword. 13 And David said to the servant who reported to him, “Where are you from?” And he said, “I am a son of a foreign man. I am an Amalekite.” 14 And David said to him, “Why were you not afraid to lay your hand upon the anointed one of the Lord to destroy him?” 15 And David called one of his servants and said, “Come, strike him down.” And he struck him down and he died. 16 And David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head because your mouth has spoken against you, saying, ‘I killed the anointed one of the Lord.’” 17 And David sang this lament about Saul and about Jonathan his son, 18 and he said to teach the sons of Judah the song; look, it is written in the Document of the Righteous. 19 Set up a monument, O Israel, On behalf of those who have died on your high places for the slain. How the mighty have fallen! 20 Do not speak it in Gath and do not proclaim it in the gates of Ashkelon. Otherwise the daughters of the foreigners would celebrate. Otherwise the daughters of the uncircumcised would rejoice exceedingly. 21 O mountains in Gilboa, do not let the dew come down, and may there be no rain upon you or fields of first fruits because there the shield of the mighty was treated contemptuously. The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil. [1] 22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not return empty to his back and the sword of Saul did not come back empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan were beloved and beautiful; they were not separated; Pleasant in their life and they were not separated in their death. More than eagles, they were swift and more than a lion, they were strong. 24 Daughters of Israel, you must weep over Saul; wail, you who are clothed in scarlet with your ornaments, who brought gold ornaments for your garments. 25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of battle! O Jonathan, the wounded ones on your high places! 26 I am grieving over you, my brother Jonathan; you were very beautiful to me; your affection was more admirable to me than the love of women.
2How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war destroyed! David Moves to Hebron 2 And this is what happened after these events. David inquired with the Lord saying, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” And David said, “Where should I go?” And he said, “To Hebron.” 2 And David went up there to Hebron along with both his wives, Ahinoam the Israelite and Abigail the wife of Nabal from Carmel, 3 and the men with him, each one and his house, and they settled in the city of Hebron. David Anointed King over Judah at Hebron 4 And the men of Judah came and there they anointed David to be king over the house of Judah. And they reported to David, telling him that the men of Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul. 5 And David sent messengers to the leaders of Jabesh Gilead and he said to them, “Blessed are you to the Lord because you have done God’s compassionate act for your lord, Saul, and buried him. 6 And now may the Lord show you compassion and truth, and I, indeed, will do this good thing for you because you did this. 7 And now strengthen your hands and become strong sons because your lord Saul has died and indeed the house of Judah has anointed me as king over him.” Ishbosheth over Israel 8 And Abner, son of Ner, Saul’s commander, took Ishbosheth, Saul’s son and he brought him from the camp to Mahanaim. 9 And he crowned him over Gilead and over Ashurites and over Israel and over Ephraim and over Benjamin and over all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth, son of Saul, was forty years old when he was crowned king over Israel and he ruled two years except for the house of Judah, which was following David. 11 And the days that David ruled in Hebron over the house of Judah were seven years and six months. War between Judah and Israel 12 And Abner, son of Ner, and the child, Ishbosheth son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out from Hebron and met them at the spring of Gibeon, at the same place. And these men stayed at the spring of Gibeon on this side and these other men at the spring on the other side. 14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men rise now and have a contest before us.” And Joab said, “Let them rise.” 15 So they rose and came forward in number for the servants of Benjamin, twelve of Ishbosheth son of Saul and twelve from the servants of David. 16 And each of them held with his hand the head of his opponent and his sword was against the side of his opponent. And they fell together. The name of that place was called “Portion of the Plot,” which was in Gibeon. 17 And the battle was so very difficult during that day. Abner was defeated along with the men of Israel by the servants of David. 18 And there were three sons of Zeruiah. They were Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was swift on his feet like a gazelle in the field. 19 And Asahel chased closely after Abner and did not turn to the right or the left in following Abner. 20 And Abner looked over to his behind and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he said, “I am.” 21 And Abner said to him, “You should turn to the side and seize for yourself one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel did not want to turn around from chasing him. 22 And Abner said again to Asahel, “Get away from me so that I will not have to strike you to the earth. How could I carry my face to Joab? 23 And how will this end? Return to Joab, your brother.” But he did not want to move so Abner struck him down with the tip of his spear in his stomach. The spear went through behind him, and he fell there and died beneath it. And everyone who was going came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died and they did not move. 24 But Joab and Abishai chased closely after Abner. And the sun set and they went as far as the hill of Ammon, which is at the face of Ai, the wilderness road of Gibeon. 25 And so the sons of Benjamin who followed Abner assembled and at the meeting they joined together and they stayed on top of one hill. 26 And Abner called Joab and said, “Won’t the sword devour until victory or don’t you know that it will be bitter to the end? How long will you not tell the people to return from pursuing our brothers?” 27 And Joab said, “As the Lord lives, if you had not spoken, from early morning the people would still be chasing his brother.” 28 So Joab sounded the trumpet and all the people withdrew and did not pursue after Israel and they did not continue the fight. 29 And Abner and his men marched away to the west that whole night, and they crossed the Jordan and they traveled the entire stretch and they went to the camp. 30 And Joab returned from chasing Abner, and he assembled all the people and they noticed that among the servants of David, nineteen men 31 and Asahel had been killed. And the servants of David had struck down three hundred sixty men from the sons of Benjamin, of the men of Abner. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father in Bethlehem. And Joab and the men with him traveled the whole night. And morning came to them at Hebron.
3And the war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. And the house of David was going and was strengthened and the house of Saul was going and was growing weaker. 2 And these were the sons born to David in Hebron. His first born was Amnon from Ahinoam the Israelite, 3 and his second was Chileab of Abigail from Carmel, and the third was Absalom son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, 4 and the fourth was Adonijah son of Haggith, and the fifth was Shephatiah of Abital, 5 and the sixth was Ithream of Eglah the wife of David. These were born to David in Hebron. 6 And it happened there was fighting between the house of Saul and between the house of David. And Abner was growing more powerful in the house of Saul. 7 And Saul had a concubine, Rizpah, daughter of Aiah. And Mephibosheth son of Saul said to Abner, “Why is it that you have come to the concubine of my father.” 8 And Abner became very wrathful by the statement of Mephibosheth and Abner said to him, “Am I the head of a dog? I acted compassionately today with the house of Saul your father and for his brothers and friends and did not rebel to the house of David. And yet, you question me over the injustice of a woman today? 9 This, may God do to Abner and this, may he add to him that just as the Lord has sworn to David that likewise I will do for him in this day: 10 to remove the kingdom from the house of Saul and to erect the throne of David for Israel and for Judah from Dan to Beersheba.” 11 And Mephibosheth did not speak another word to Abner ever again because he feared him. 12 And Abner sent messengers to David to Thailam where he was immediately saying, “Establish your covenant with me, and look, my hand is with you to return to you the entire house of Israel.” 13 And David said, “Excellent, I will establish a covenant with you, except one matter, I request from you, saying, ‘You will not see my face if you do not bring Michal daughter of Saul to be beside me to see my face.’” 14 And David sent messengers to Mephibosheth, son of Saul, saying, “Restore to me my wife Michal whom I received for a hundred foreskins of the foreigners.” 15 And Mephibosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel son of Laish. 16 And her husband went with her, weeping after her as far as Bahurim. And Abner said to him, “Go; return home.” And he returned home. 17 And Abner said to the elders of Israel, saying, “Yesterday and the third day you sought David to be king over you. 18 And now you must act because the Lord has spoken concerning David, saying, ‘By the hand of my servant David, I will deliver Israel from the hand of the foreigners and from the hand of all his enemies.’” 19 And Abner spoke into Benjamin’s ear and Abner went to speak into the ear of David at Hebron everything that was pleasing in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of the entire house of Benjamin. 20 And Abner went to David in Hebron and with him were twenty men and David made a banquet for Abner and the men with him. 21 And Abner said to David, “I will rise, now, and go and assemble for my lord the king of all Israel, and I will establish with him a covenant. And you will be king over all that your soul desires.” And David sent Abner and he was sent away in peace. 22 And look, the servants of David and Joab arrived from a raid and they brought a great plunder with them. And Abner was not with David in Hebron because he had sent away him and he had left in peace. 23 And Joab and all his army came and it was reported to Joab, saying, “Abner son of Ner came to David and he sent him away and he left in peace.” 24 And Joab entered to the king and said, “What is this you have done? Look! Abner came to you and why have you sent him away? And now he departs in peace? 25 Or don’t you know the evil of Abner son of Ner that he is here to deceive you and to determine your comings and your goings and to determine everything that you do.” 26 And Joab turned back from David and sent messengers after Abner and they returned him from the cistern of Sirah. And David did not know. 27 And Abner returned to Hebron and Joab turned around him from the side of the gate to speak to him, ambushing him. And there he struck him in the loins and he died for the blood of Asahel the brother of Joab. 28 And David heard after this and he said, “I am innocent and my kingdom before the Lord and until eternity for the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May it come down on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house and may someone with gonorrhea and someone with scabby skin and someone who holds a crutch and someone who falls on the sword and someone who lacks food always be ina the house of Joab.” 30 But Joab and Abishai his brother lay in wait for Abner because he killed Asahel their brother in Gibeon in the battle. 31 And David said to Joab and to all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner.” And King David went back to his bedchamber. 32 And they buried Abner in Hebron and the king raised his voice and wept on his tomb and all the people wept for Abner. 33 And the king lamented for Abner and said, “For the death of Nabal did Abner die? 34 Your hands were not bound; your feet were not in fetters; he did not come near as Nabal; before the son of injustice, you fell.” And all the people gathered to weep for him. 35 And all the people came to invite David to the funeral meal while it was still day and David swore, saying, “This, God should do to me and this, he should add, because until the sun sets, I will not taste bread or anything.” 36 And all the people knew and it was pleasing before them, everything that the king did before the people. 37 And all the people knew as well as all of Israel in that day that it was not because of the king that Abner son of Ner was killed. 38 And the king said to his servants, “Don’t you know that a great leader has fallen on this day in Israel 39 and that I am, today, a kinsman and appointed by a king? But these men, sons of Zeruiah, are too stubborn for me. May the Lord recompense those who do evil according to their evil.”
4And Mephibosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron and his hands grew weak and all the men of Israel grew faint. 2 And there were two men, leaders of the company Mephibosheth son of Saul. One’s name was Baanah and the second’s name was Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon of Beeroth from the sons of Benjamin, because Beeroth was considered to belong to the sons of Benjamin. 3 And the Beerothite had fled to Gittaim and they are there inhabiting the land until this day. 4 And Jonathan son of Saul had a son who had injured feet, he was a son of five years when the news about Saul and Jonathan his son came from Israel. And his nurse picked him up and fled. And it happened in his hurrying and leaving that he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. 5 And the sons of Rimmon of the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went and they entered, during the heat of the day, into the house Mephibosheth. And he was lying down in bed for the afternoon. 6 And look, the door keeper of the house was cleaning wheat, and he was sleeping in bed. And Rechab and Baanah the brothers avoided notice. 7 So they went into the house and Mephibosheth was lying down on his bed in his bedchamber and they beat him and killed him and removed his head. And they took his head and went away toward the west the whole night. 8 And they brought the head of Mephibosheth to David in Hebron, and they said to the king, “Here is the head of Mephibosheth son of Saul, your enemy who was seeking your life. And the Lord has given to the lord the king vengeance against his enemies as this day from Saul your enemy and from his seed.” 9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon of the Beerothite, and said to them, “The Lord lives who redeemed my life from all distress, 10 because the one who reported to me that Saul had died and he was as one who announced it before me and I seized him and killed him in Ziklag for which he expected me in giving good news. 11 And now evil men have murdered a righteous man in his own house on his own bed! And now I seek his blood from your hand and I will cut you off from the earth!”
5And all the tribes of Israel gathered to David in Hebron and said to him, “Look, we are your bone and your flesh. 2 And yesterday and the third day, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel, and the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel and you will be one who leads over Israel.’” 3 And all the elders of Israel came to the king in Hebron and King David established a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord and they anointed David as king over all of Israel. 4 David was a son of thirty years when he became king and he ruled forty years. 5 Seven years and six months he ruled in Hebron over Judah and thirty-three years he ruled over all Israel and Judah in Jerusalem. David Captures Jerusalem 6 And David and his men went to Jerusalem to the Jebusites who dwell in the land. And it was said to David, “You will not enter here, for even the blind and the lame could hold you back, saying, ‘David will not come in here.’” 7 But David captured the stronghold of Zion. (This is the city of David.) 8 And David said on that day, “Anyone who beats the Jebusites, let him strike with a dagger both the lame and the blind and those who hate the soul of David.” Because of this they will say, “The blind and the lame will not come into the house of the Lord.” 9 And David stayed in the stronghold and this was called the city of David. And he built this city around from the citadel and his house. 10 And David continued going on and becoming greater and the Lord Almighty was with him. 11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David and cedar wood and craftsman of wood and craftsman of stone and they built a house for David. 12 And David recognized that the Lord had prepared him to be king over Israel and that his kingdom was raised up for his people Israel. 13 And David took even more wives and concubines at Jerusalem after his coming to Hebron and there were for David still more sons and daughters. 14 And these are the names of the ones born to him in Jerusalem. There is Shammua and Shobab and Nathan and Solomon 15 and Ibhar and Elishua and Nepheg and Japhia 16 and Elishama and Eliada and Eliphelet, Samae, Jessibath, Nathan, Galamaan, Jebaar, Theesous, Elphalat, Naged, Nepheg, Janatha, Leasamus, Baalimath, Eliphelet. David Defeats the Philistines 17 And the foreigners heard that David had been anointed king over Israel. And all the foreigners went up to seek David. And David heard and went down to the stronghold. 18 And the foriegners gathered and met in the Valley of the Rephaim 19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Should I go up to the foreigners and will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, because when I hand over, I will hand the foreigners over into your hand.” 20 And David came from the upper divide and slaughtered the foreigners there. And David said, “The Lord cut through the enemies, the foreigners before me as one cuts through water.” Because of this, the name of that place was called “Upper Divide.” 21 And there they abandoned their gods, and David and the men with him took them. 22 And the foreigners still continued to go up and meet in the Valley of the Rephaim. 23 So David inquired of the Lord and the Lord said, “You must not go up to meet them. Instead you should turn back from them and you will come to them beside the Place of Weeping.” 24 And it will be when you hear the sound of the confinementa from the grove of the Place of Weeping, then you will go down to them because then the Lord will go out before you to slaughter in the battle with the foreigners. 25 And David did just as the Lord commanded to him and he struck down the foreigners from Gibeon to the land of Gezer.
6And David again gathered all the young men from Israel— about seventy thousand. 2 And David and all the people with him rose and went from the rulers of Judah in the ascent to bring up from there the Ark of God on which the name of the Lord Almighty who is seated before the cherubim is invoked on it. 3 And he loaded the Ark of the Lord onto a new wagon and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And Uzzah and his brothers, the sons of Abinadab, led the wagon 4 with the ark. And his brothers were going in front of the ark. 5 And David and the sons of Israel were dancing before the Lord with tuned instruments with strength and with songs and with lyres and with stringed instruments and with tambourines and with cymbals and with flutes. 6 And they came to the threshing floor of Nacon and Uzzah reached his hand to the Ark of God to hold it still and he grabbed it to stabilize it because the calf diverted it. [2] 7 And the Lord became wrathful by Uzzah and God struck him down right there. And he died there beside the Ark of the Lord before God. 8 And David was angry at how the Lord gashed a gash in Uzzah; and that place has been called “Uzzah’s Gash” until this day. 9 And David was terrified of the Lord in that day, saying, “How will the Ark of the Lord come in to me?” 10 And David did not want to take the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with him into the city of David. So David turned it aside to the house of ObedEdom the Gittite. 11 And the Ark of the Lord stayed in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed the whole house of Obed-Edom and every one of those with him. 12 And it was reported to King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all those with him because of the Ark of God.” So David went and brought up the Ark of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David in celebration. 13 And there were with them who were bringing the Ark, seven choirs and a sacrifice of a calf and a lamb. 14 And David was playing on tuned instruments before the Lord and David was wearing a distinguished robe. [3] 15 And David and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 And it happened as the ark was coming to the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out through the window and saw King David dancing and playing before the Lord and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place in the middle of the tent that David pitched for it and brought for it a burnt offering before the Lord as well as a peace offering. 18 And David finished offering up the burnt offerings and the peace offerings and he blessed the people in the name of the Lord, the Mighty One. 19 And he distributed to all the people in all the host of Israel from Dan to Beersheba from man to woman, to each was given a roll of bread and something baked and a thin cake from the frying pan. And all the people departed each to his own home. 20 And David returned to bless his house. Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and blessed him and said, “How the king of Israel has been honored today, who was revealed today in the eyes of the children of his own servants just like one of the dancers is revealed when being revealed!” 21 And David said to Michal, “I will dance before the Lord to honor the Lord who chose me over your father and over his entire house to appoint me as the leader over his people, over Israel. And I will play music and dance before the Lord. 22 And I will uncover myself again in this way and I will be useless in your eyes, and with the servants of whom you speak to me, I will be honored.” 23 And for Michal daughter of Saul, there was no child even until the day of her death.
7And it happened, when the king settled in his house, that the Lord had given an inheritance to him from all his enemies around him. 2 And the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, now, I am dwelling in a cedar house and the Ark of God is sitting in the middle of a tent.” 3 And Nathan said to the king, “Everything that is in your heart, go and do it because the Lord is with you.” 4 And it happened during that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and say to my servant, David, this is what the Lord says, ‘You will not build for me a house for me to dwell in. [4] 6 For I have not lived in a house from that day I brought the sons of Israel up from Egypt until this day, and I am living in a temporary home and in a tent. 7 In all places where I have come, in all Israel, in speaking, have I spoken to even one tribe of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying that you have not built for me a cedar house?’ 8 And now this, you will say to my servant David, ‘This the Lord Almighty says, “I took you from the fold for the sheep so that you would be as a leader over my people, over Israel. 9 And I was with you everywhere you went and I removed all your enemies from your face and I made you famous like the name of those who are great throughout the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and I will plant him and he will live by himself, and will not be anxious any longer, and a son of injustice will not add any more to their humiliation as from beginning, 11 from the days when I appointed judges over my people, Israel. And I will let you rest from all your enemies. The Lord announces to you that a house you will build for him. 12 And it will happen, if your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, that I will raise your seed from you who will be from your belly and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He will build a house for me for my name and I will establish his throne until for eternity. 14 I will be like a father to him and he will be like a son to me. And if he should demonstrate injustice, then I will disgrace him with the rod of man and with the infections from the sons of mortals. 15 But I will not withdraw my compassion from him as I withdrew it from those whom I withdrew from my face. [5] 16 And his house as well as his kingdom will be made steadfast before me for eternity. And his throne will be established for eternity.” ’” 17 According to all these words and according to this entire vision, so Nathan spoke to David. David’s Prayer 18 And King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, Lord, my Lord, and what is my house that you have loved me as much as this? 19 And I was very small before you, my Lord. And you spoke over the house of your servant for a while, but this is the law for humans, my Lord, O Lord. 20 And what will David add still to say to you? And now you know your servant, Lord. 21 By your servant you have done and according to your heart you did all this majesty to reveal to your servant. 22 For the sake of making you great, Lord, my Lord. For there is no one like you and no one is God except you in all that we have heard in our ears. 23 And who is another nation in the earth like your people, Israel? How God led it to redeem a people for himself, to make a name for you, to produce majesty and presence, for you to drive out nations and homes from the face of your people, whom you have redeemed from Egypt for yourself. [6] 24 And you prepared your people Israel for yourself as a people until eternity. And you, Lord, are God to them. 25 And now my Lord, the words that you spoke concerning your servant and his house, confirm them until eternity, Lord Almighty, God of Israel. And now just as you have spoken, 26 may your name be made great until eternity.a 27 Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed to the ear of your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you. Because of this your servant found his own heart to pray to you this prayer. 28 And now Lord, my Lord, you are God and your words will be true and you have spoken before your servant these good things. 29 And now, may it come to be, and may the house of your servant be blessed for eternity before you, because you are the Lord, my Lord. You have spoken and with blessings, the house of your servant will be blessed for eternity.’” David’s Military Victories
8And it happened after this that David struck the foreigners and he made them flee. David took what had been marked off from the hand of the foreigners. 2 And David struck Moab and he measured them off with ropes, making them sleep on the earth. And two groups were executed and two groups were taken captive and Moab became slaves for David, bringing tribute. 3 And David struck Hadadezer, son of Rahob, king of Zobah, when he was going to establish his ruling hand over the river Euphrates. 4 And David seized from him one thousand chariots and seven thousand cavalry and twenty thousand foot soldiers. And David disbanded all the chariots and left enough remaining for one hundred chariots for himself. 5 And Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, but David struck down twenty-two thousand men from the Arameans. 6 And David established a garrison in Aram by Damascus. And the Arameans became slaves who brought tribute for David. And the Lord delivered David everywhere he went. 7 And David took the gold ornaments that he made for the servants of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, and he brought them to Jerusalem. And Shishak king of Egypt took them when he went up to Jerusalem during the days Jeroboam son of Solomon. 8 And from Betah, King David took, from the choice cities of Hadadezer, a very large amount of copper. With it, Solomon built the bronze sea and the pillars and the basins and all the vessels. 9 And Toi the king of Hamath heard that David had struck down all the army of Hadadezer. 10 And Toi sent Joram his son to King David to greet him in peace and to honor him because of how he struck Hadadezer. And he struck him, for he was placed at Hadadezer. And in his hands there were silver vessels and gold vessels and bronze vessels. 11 And these the king consecrated to the Lord with the silver and with the gold that he had consecrated from all the cities that he had conquered, 12 from Edom and from the land of Moab and from the sons of Ammon and from the foreigners and from Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rahob, king of Zobah. 13 And David made a name for himself. And when he returned, he struck down the Edomites at Gebelem, as many as eighteen thousand. 14 And he established in Edom garrisons throughout Edom. And all the Edomites became slaves to the king. And the Lord delivered David everywhere he went. 15 And David reigned over Israel. And he demonstrated justice and righteousness over all his people. 16 And Joab, son of Zeruiah, was over the army, and Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was over the archives, 17 and Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests, and Seraiah was the scribe, 18 and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was the advisor and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, the sons of David, were the chiefs of the court.
9And David said, “Is there still anyone remaining from the house of Saul? I want to show mercy for him for the sake of Jonathan.” 2 And from the house of Saul, there was a servant and his name was Ziba. And they called him before David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there anyone still remaining from the house of Saul? I want to show for him God’s mercy.” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son from Jonathan who is crippled in the feet.” 4 And the king said, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Look, he is in Machir’s house, son of Ammiel from Lo-debar.” 5 And King David sent and took him from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel from Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to King David and fell on his face and bowed to him and David said to him, “Mephibosheth!” And he said, “Look, your servant.” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear! For by my actions, I will show mercy toward you because of Jonathan your father. And I will restore to you all the fields of Saul, your father’s father and you will eat bread at my table through all time.” 8 And Mephibosheth bowed and said, “Who am I, your servant that you look at a dog that is dead like myself?” 9 And the king called Ziba the servant of Saul and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and his whole house I have given to the son of your master. 10 And you and your sons and your servants will work for him the land and you will bring for the son of your master food and he will eat the food. And Mephibosheth, the son of your master, will always eat bread at my table.” And Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 And Ziba said to the king, “According to everything that you have commanded, my lord, the king, to his servant, in the same way, your servant will do.” And Mephibosheth ate at the table of David, just like one of his sons of the king. 12 And Mephibosheth had a small son and his name was Mica. And everyone in the household of Ziba became servants to Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem since he always ate at the table of the king. And he was lame in both his feet.
10And it happened after this that the king of the sons of Ammon died and Hanun, his son, reigned in his place. 2 And David said, “I will show compassion for Hanun son of Nahash, the way his father showed compassion to me.” And David sent to console them by the hand of his slaves for his father. And the servants of David came to the land of the sons of Ammon. 3 And the rulers of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “It was not from your father honoring David before you that he sent you messengers for consolation. Rather was it not so that he could search the city and examine it closely and to spy on you, that David sent his servants to you?” 4 And Hanun took David’s servants and shaved their beards and cut their cloaks in half at their hips and sent them away. 5 And they reported to David about the men and he sent to meet them because the men were very dishonored, and the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beard grows back and then return.” 6 And the sons of Ammon saw that the people of David had been shamed. So the sons of Ammon sent and they hired twenty thousand footmen from the Arameans and Rehob and King Amalek with a thousand men and Eistob with twelve thousand men. 7 And David found out and sent Joab and the entire army, the mighty ones. 8 And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle beside the door of the gate and the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and Eistob and Amalek were alone in the field. 9 And Joab saw that the front of the battle was toward him from the part at face in front, and from the back. So he chose some from all the young men of Israel and lined up for battle opposite the Arameans. 10 And those who remained of the people he put in the hand of Abishai his brother and they lined up for battle opposite of the sons of Ammon. 11 And he said, “If the Arameans should become too strong for me, then you will be here to save me. And if the sons of Ammon should become too strong before you, then we will be here to deliver you. 12 Be a man and be strong before our people and for the battle of our God and the Lord will do what is good in his eyes.” 13 And so Joab approached and his people were with him to fight against the Arameans and they fled from his face. 14 And the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled and they fled from the face of Abishai and went into the city. And Joab returned from the sons of Ammon and arrived in Jerusalem. 15 And the Arameans saw that they had been defeated before Israel. So they gathered together. 16 And Hadadezer sent and gathered Arameans from beyond the Chalamak River. They arrived at Elam and Shobach the commander of the army for Hadadezer was in front of them. 17 And it was reported to David and he gathered all Israel and he crossed the Jordan and arrived at Elam. And David was lined up for battle against Aram and they fought with him. 18 And the Arameans fled from the face of Israel and David destroyed from the Arameans seven hundred chariots and forty thousand cavalry. And he struck down Shobach the ruler of his army, and he died there. 19 And all the kings, the servants of Hadadezer, saw that they were defeated before Israel and they deserted to join Israel and served them. And the Arameans were afraid to deliver again the sons of Ammon.
11And it happened in the turn of the year, in the time that the king would go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all of Israel. And they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. And David stayed in Jerusalem. 2 And it happened toward evening that David rose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the house of the king. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing. And the woman was very beautiful in her appearance. 3 And David sent and sought the woman and he said, “Is this not Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 And David sent a messenger and he took her. And he went in to her, and he slept with her. And she had been purifying herself from her period. And she returned to her home. 5 And the woman conceived in the womb and sending a message, she told David and said, “I am pregnant.”a 6 And David sent a message to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 And Uriah arrived and went in to him. And David inquired with regard to the welfare of Joab and to the welfare of the people and to the welfare of the battle. 8 And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah went out from the house of the king and a gift from the king went out after him. 9 But Uriah slept beside the door of the king with the servants of his master and he did not go down to his house. 10 And they reported to David, telling him that Uriah had not gone down to his house. So David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from your journey? Why is it that you did not go down to your house?” 11 And Uriah said to David, “The Ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents and my lord, Joab, and servants of my lord are camping on the face of a field. So how can I go into my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? How could your soul live, if I were to do such a thing?” 12 And David said to Uriah, “Stay here and indeed today and then tomorrow, I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem during that day and the next day. 13 And David called him and he ate before him and drank and he got him drunk. And he went out in the evening to sleep on his bed with the servants of his master but he did not go into his house. 14 And it happened that in the morning David wrote a document to Joab and sent it by Uriah’s hand. 15 And he wrote in document, saying, “Lead Uriah before the strongest fighting then return from behind him and he will be struck down and die.” 16 And it happened that while Joab was keeping watch over the city he put Uriah in the place where he knew that there were strong enemy soldiers. 17 And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab and some fell from the people from the servants of David and, indeed, Uriah the Hittite died as well. 18 And Joab sent and it was reported to King David all the news of the battle, in order to tell it tothe king. 19 And he ordered the messenger, saying, “When you have finished reporting all the news of the battle to the king, 20 and it will be that if the wrath of the king should rise and he says to you, ‘Why is it that you approached so close to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the top of the wall? 21 Who struck down Abimelech son of Jeroboam son of Ner? Was it not a woman who threw a piece of millstone on him from above the wall and he died at Thebez? Why did you go near to the wall?’ Then you should say, ‘Also, indeed, your servant Uriah the Hittite died.’” 22 And Joab’s messengers went to the king in Jerusalem and he arrived and reported to David everything that Joab told him, all the news of the battle. And David became wrathful against Joab and said to the messenger, “Why did you go near to the city? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who struck of Abimelech son of Jeroboam? Was it not a woman who threw a piece of millstone on him from the wall and he died in Thebez? Why did you go near to the wall?” [7] 23 And the messenger said to David, “Because the men grew strong over us and came out against us in the field and we were over them as far as the door of the gate. 24 And the archers shot at your servants from the top of the wall and some died from the servants of the king, also, indeed, your servant Uriah the Hittite died.” 25 And David said to the messenger, “This you will say to Joab: This matter should not be evil in your eyes, because sometimes in this way and other times in that way, the sword devours. Strengthen your fight against the city and pull it down. And you must strengthen him.” 26 And the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband had died. And she mourned for her husband. 27 And the time of grief passed and David sent and brought her into his house and she became for him as his wife and she gave birth to a son for him. But what David had done was viewed as evil in the eyes of the Lord.
12And the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David and he went to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, one wealthy and one poor. 2 And the rich man had flocks and very many cattle. 3 But to the poor man, there was nothing but one small lamb that he acquired. And he kept it and raised it and it grew with him and with his sons among them. It ate from his bread, and it drank from his cup, and it slept close to his chest. It was to him like a daughter. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man and he was held back from taking from his own flock or from his own cattle to prepare a meal for the traveling stranger who was visiting him. So he took the lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the person who was visiting him.” 5 And David was very provoked to anger against the man. David said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this is a son of death! 6 And for the lamb he will repay sevenfold because of this thing he did. And for what he did not hold back from doing.” 7 And Nathan said to David, “You are the man who did this. For this is what the Lord the God of Israel says, ‘I am the one who anoints you as king over Israel, and I was the one who rescued you from the hand of Saul, 8 and I gave you the house of your master and the wives of your master into your embrace, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if it is too little, I will increase it for you according to these. 9 Why have you disparaged the word of the Lord by doing evil in his eyes? Uriah the Hittite, you struck him down with the sword and you took his wife for yourself to be your own wife. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 And now the sword will not be withdrawn from your house until eternity because of what you have rejected, and because you took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be for you as a wife.’ 11 This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, I will awaken trouble against you from your house and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor and he will sleep with your wives before this sun. 12 Because you acted secretly, I will act before all Israel under this sun!’” 13 And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “And the Lord has put aside your sin. You will not die. 14 However, in provoking, you have provoked the enemies of the Lord by this act. And indeed, your son born to you will die by death.” 15 And Nathan went away to his house and the Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had given birth to for David and he became sick. 16 And David sought God for the child and David fasted a fast and went in and spent the night on the earth. 17 And the elders of the house stood over him to lift him from the earth and he did not want to and he did not eat bread with them. 18 And it happened on the seventh day that the child died and David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child had died because they said, “Look, when the child still lived we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice so what should we say to him now that the child has died? He will do harm.” 19 And David noticed that his servants were whispering and David realized that the child had died, and David said to his servants, “Has the child died? And they said, “He has died.” 20 So David rose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and he changed his clothing and went into the house of God and bowed before him. Then he went into his house and asked for bread to eat and they served him bread and he ate. 21 And his servants said to him, “Why have you acted like this because of the child? While he was still living, you fasted and wept and stayed awake and when the child died, you rose and ate bread and drank.” 22 And David said, “When the child still lived, I fasted and wept because I said, ‘Who knows? Perhaps the Lord will show mercy to me and the child will live.’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? I cannot bring him back again, can I? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Solomon is Born 24 And David consoled Bathsheba his wife and he went in to her and slept with her and she conceived and gave birth to a son and called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him. 25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet and he called his name Jedidiaha because of the Lord. Rabbah is Captured 26 And Joab fought at Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and he captured the capital city.b 27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought in Rabbah and I have captured the City of the Waters. 28 And now gather the rest of the people and camp against the city and capture it so that I might not capture the city myself and my name be placed over it.” 29 So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah and made war against it and captured it. 30 And he took the crown of Melchol,c their king, from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold and precious stones. It sat on David’s head and they carried out very many spoils from the city. 31 And the people who were in it, he led out and put them in the saw mill and in threshing machine for iron and brought them through to the brickworks. And that is what he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David also brought back all the people to Jerusalem.
13And it happened after this, that Absalom—David’s son— had a sister who was very beautiful in appearance. And her name was Tamar. And Amnon, David’s son, loved her. 2 And Amnon was afflicted such that he became sick because of Tamar, his sister, because she was a virgin. And it seemed wrong in Amnon’s eyes to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend and his name was Jonadab, son of Shimeah, the brother of David. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “Why are you sick in this way, son of the king, morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” And Amnon said to him, “It is Tamar, the sister of Absalom my brother, I love her.” 5 And Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick and your father will come to see you and you will say to him, ‘Let Tamar my sister come now and feed me and make food before my eyes so that I might see and eat from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon got in bed and became sick and the king came to see him. And Amnon said to the king, “Let Tamar my sister come now to me and bake before my eyes two loaves and I will eat from her hand.” 7 And David sent for Tamar in the house, saying, “Go now to the house of your brother and make him food.” 8 So Tamar went into the house of Amnon, her brother, and he was in bed and she took the dough and kneaded it and baked before his eyes and baked the loaves. 9 And she took the pan and emptied it before him. But he did not want to eat. And Amnon said, “Send all the people away from me.” And they led all the people out away from him. 10 And Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the inner chamber and I will eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes that she had made and brought them to Amnon, her brother, in the bed chamber. 11 And she brought them near him to eat and he grabbed her and said to her, “Over here, come to bed with me, my sister.” 12 And she said to him, “No, my brother, please do not humiliate me because it should not be done like this in Israel! Do not do this foolishness! 13 And I, how could I carry my shame? And you, you will be as one of the fools in Israel. So now please speak to the king, because he will not keep me from you.” 14 And Amnon did not want to listen to her voice and he forced himself on her and humiliated her and slept with her. 15 And Amnon hated her with very great hatred, for so great was the hatred with which he hated her, greater wickedness than was at the first and far more than the love with which he loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” 16 And Tamar said to him about this great wickedness, “Sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me.” And Amnon did not want to listen to her voice. 17 And he called his servant who was in charge of the house and said to him, “Send away now this woman from me outside and shut the door behind her.” 18 And she was wearing a long sleeved tunic because this is the way the daughters of the king, who were virgins, were clothed in their outer garment. And his servant led her out and he shut the door behind her. 19 And Tamar took ashes and put the ashes on her head and as for the long-sleeved tunic on her, she tore it and put her hands on her head and went out, going and crying. 20 And Absalom her brother said to her, “Amnon your brother has not been with you, has he? Now, my sister, stay quiet because he is your brother; do not set your heart to speak to this matter.” So Tamar stayed as a widow in the house of Absalom her brother. 21 And King David heard all these things and he was very wrathful, but he did not punish the spirit of Amnon his son because he loved him because he was his first born. 22 And Absalom did not speak with Amnon— whether evil or good—because Absalom hated Amnon on account of how he had humiliated his sister Tamar. 23 And it happened during a period of two years of days. And there were sheepshearers for Absalom in Baal-hazor, which he had in Ephraim. And Absalom called all the sons of the king. 24 And Absalom came to the king and said, “Look now, they are shearing sheep for your slave. Let the king go now, and his servants with your slave.” 25 And the king said to Absalom. “No indeed, my son, not all of us should go. We will not be a burden for you.” And he urged him, and he did not want to go, and he blessed him. 26 And Absalom said, “Then if not, let Amnon my brother come now with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 And Absalom urged him and he sent him with Absalom and all the sons of the king. And Absalom made a banquet matching a king’s banquet. 28 And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “Watch for when the heart of Amnon should become merry with wine and I should say to you, ‘Strike down Amnon and kill him.’ Don’t be afraid, for am I not the one who commands you? Act like a man and be as a son of might.” 29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon just as Absalom commanded them. And all the sons of the king rose and mounted, each man on his mule, and fled. 30 And it happened while they were on the road and the message came to David, saying, “Absalom has struck down all the sons of the king and he has not left behind even one from them. 31 And the king rose and tore his robes and lay down on the earth and all his servants who stood around him tore their robes. 32 And Jonadab son of Shimeah David’s brother answered and said, “Do not say, my lord the king that all the young men, the sons of the king are dead, because Amnon alone is dead, because upon the mouth of Absalom, it was determined from the day when he humiliated Tamar his sister. 33 And now, do not let my lord the king set his heart on the matter, saying, ‘All the sons of the king died,’ because Amnon alone died.” 34 And Absalom fled and the young man who was the watchman raised his eyes and saw, and look, a great people coming on the road behind him from beside the mountain in the descent; and the watchman arrived and reported to the king and said, “I saw men from the road of Horonain from the side of the mountain.” 35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the son of the king is coming according to the word of your servant.” This is how it has happened. 36 And it happened when he finished speaking. And look, the sons of the king came and raised their voice and wept and indeed, the king and all his servants wept with great weeping. 37 And Absalom fled and went to Talmai, son of Ammihur, king of Geshur in Machad. And King David mourned for his son all the days. 38 And Absalom ran away and went to Geshur and he was there for three years. 39 And King David ceased his going out to Absalom because he was consoled over Amnon because he had died.
14And Joab, son of Zeruiah, knew that the heart of the king was on Absalom. 2 So Joab sent a message to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there and said to her, “Be a mourner now and put on a robe for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil and act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead here many days. 3 And you must go to the king and speak to him on this matter.” And Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 And the woman of Tekoa came in to the king and she fell on her face to the earth and honored him and said, “Deliver me, O King, deliver me!” 5 And the king said to her, “What is your problem? But she said, “And certainly I am a widow woman and my husband has died. 6 And certainly your servant had two sons and they fought each other in the field and there was no one to put space between them and one of them struck his brother and killed him. 7 And look, the whole family rose against your servant and said, ‘Give us the one who struck his brother and we will kill him on behalf of the soul of his brother whom he killed and also remove your heir.’ And they will quench my hot coal that remains so that there will not be an established remnant and name on the face of the earth for my husband.” 8 And the king said, “In health, go to your home and I will give orders for you.” 9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “On me, Lord, my king, be the guilt and on the house of my father and may the king and his throne be innocent.” 10 And the king said, “Who was it who was speaking to you? You will bring him to me and he will not continue still to touch him.” 11 And she said, “Let the king remember now the Lord, his God, that a close relative of blood succeeded in destroying and they might not remove my son.” And he said, “The Lord lives, if anything should fall on the ground from the hair of your son.” 12 And she said, “Let your servant now speak a word to my lord king.” And he said, “Speak.” 13 And the woman said, “Why have you determined such a thing as this against the people of God? Truly from the mouth of the king, this word is like a mistake that the king has not brought back the son banished from him. 14 Because we will die by death and be like the water wasted on the earth, that will not be gathered up. And God will take a soul, even determining to cast out the outcast from him. 15 And now, what I have come to say to the king, my lord, is this message, for the people will see me and your people will say, ‘Let someone speak now to the king if only the king will act on the word of his servant.’ 16 For the king will hear. Let him rescue his slave from the hand of the man who seeks to remove me and my son from God’s inheritance.” 17 And the woman said, “May the word of my Lord the king be now as a sacrifice because he is like an angel of God, in the same way is my lord the king in his understanding of what is good and what is evil. So the Lord your God will be with you.” 18 And the king responded and said to the woman, “Now you must not hide from me the answer that I am inquiring of you.” And the woman said, “Now, let my Lord the king speak.” 19 And the king said, “Isn’t the hand of Joab in all this with you?” And the woman said to the king, “Your life lives, my lord, the king. If there is anything to the right or to the left that my lord the king spoke, for your servant Joab, he commanded me and he put all these words in your servant’s mouth. 20 In order to get around the face of this matter, your servant Joab created this deceit. And my lord is wise with the wisdom of an angel of God, knowing all things in the earth.” 21 And the king said to Joab, “Look, now, I have done this for you according to your word. Bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 And Joab fell on his face on the earth and showed reverence and honor to the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant realized that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because my lord the king has acted on the word of his servant.” 23 So Joab rose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 And the king said, “Let him return to his home, but he must not see my face. And Absalom returned to his home, but he did not see the face of the king. David Forgives Absalom 25 And there was no man like Absalom in all of Israel, so very praiseworthy. From the sole of his foot even to the top of his head, there was no flaw in him. 26 And when he sheared his head—and it happened from the beginning of the days into days when he would shear it, because it grew heavy on him— and after shearing it, he weighed his hair from his head. It was two hundred shekels according to the king’s shekel. 27 And three sons and one daughter were born to Absalom. And her name was Tamar. She was a very beautiful woman. And she became the wife of Rehoboam, son of Solomon and gave birth to Abijah for him. 28 And Absalom stayed in Jerusalem two years of days, but he did not see the face of the king. 29 And Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but he did not want to come to him. So he sent out a second time for him, but Joab did not want to come. 30 So Absalom said to his servants, “Look, the inheritance of Joab is in the field next to mine, and his barley is there. Go and light it on fire.” So, the servants of Absalom burned it, that portion. And the servants of Joab came to him with their robes torn and said. “The servants of Absalom have set your inheritance on fire.” 31 And Joab rose and went to Absalom to his house and said to him, “Why did your servants set my inheritance on fire? 32 And Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here and I will send you to the king saying, “Why have I come from Geshur? It was good for me to be there. And now, look, I have not seen the king’s face. If there is injustice in me, then execute me.” ’” 33 And Joab went to the king and reported to him. And he called for Absalom and he came in before the king and honored him and he bowed down on his face on the earth and before the face of the king and the king kissed Absalom.
15And it happened after this that Absalom made a chariot and horse for himself and had fifty men run in front of him. 2 And Absalom would get up early and stand at hand at the road of the gate. And it happened that anyone who sought judgment came to the king for his judgment. Absalom would call to him and consistently said to him, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the clans in Israel.” 3 And Absalom would say to him, “Look, your words are good and acceptable, but there is no one from the king to listen to you.” 4 And Absalom would say, “If only someone would appoint me as judge in the land and all the men who have lawsuits or judgments will come to me and I would set it right for them.” 5 And it happened when a man approached to bow to him, and he would stretch out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6 And Absalom acted this way before any Israelite who came to the king for judgment. And Absalom won over the heart of the men of Israel. 7 And it happened after the completion of forty years and Absalom said to his father, “I will go now and pay my vow that I prayed to the Lord in Hebron. 8 For your servant made a vow during my living in Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If returning, the Lord will return me to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” 9 And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” And getting up, he went to Hebron. 10 And Absalom sent spies among all the tribes of Israel, saying, “When you hear the sound of the horn, then you will say, ‘King Absalom has been crowned in Hebron!’” 11 And with Absalom went two hundred invited men from Jerusalem, going in their ignorance and they did not know anything. 12 And Absalom sent a message to Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s advisor in his city to Giloh when he sacrificed. And there was a great divide and the people were coming and there were many with Absalom. 13 And a messenger arrived to David, saying, “The heart of the men of Israel is following Absalom.” 14 And David said to all his servants with him in Jerusalem, “Get up! We must flee because there is no deliverance for us from Absalom’s face. Hurry to go so that he might not be quick and capture us and thrust evil upon us and strike the city by the edge of the sword.” 15 And the servants of the king said to the king, “By everything that our lord the king wants, here are your servants.” 16 And the king went out as well as his entire household on their feet and the king left ten women from his concubines to take care of the house. 17 And the king went out as well as all his servants on foot and they stayed in the country house. 18 And all his subjects at his hand passed by and all the Hittites and all the Pelethites, and they stood at the olive tree in the wilderness. And all the people passed nearby him and all those around him, all the chiefs and all the warriors, totaling six hundred men. And they were present with him. And all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the Gathites, the six hundred men who had come on their feet to Gath, and they came before the king’s face. 19 And the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why have come you also with us? Go back and live with the king because you are a foreigner and because you have been residing away from your home. 20 If you had arrived yesterday, should I then bring you with us today? And indeed, you left your home. Yesterday was your going out so today why should I have you going with us? I will go wherever I go. Go back and take your brothers with you and the Lord will show you mercy and truth.” 21 But Ittai answered the king and said, “The Lord lives and my lord the king lives that in the place where my lord might be and whether in death or in life. For that is where your servant will be.” 22 So the king said to Ittai, “Come over here and cross over with me.” And Ittai the Gittite came beside him along with all his servants and the entire crowd with him. 23 And all the land wept with a great voice and all the people traveled in the Wadi Kidron and the king crossed the Wadi Kidron and all the people and the king traveled on the face of the road through the wilderness. 24 And look, and indeed, Zadok and all the Levites with him, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Bethar and they set down the Ark of God and Abiathar went up as all the people had finishing leaving the city. 25 And the king said to Zadok, “Return the Ark of God to the city. If I might find favor in the Lord’s eyes then he will bring me back and show it to me and its beauty. 26 And if he says thus, ‘I have no want for you.’ Look, here I am. Do to me what is the good in his eyes.” 27 And the king said to Zadok the priest, “Look, you should return to the city in peace and Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you. 28 Look, I am preparing for war at Araboth in the wilderness until word comes from you to report to me.” 29 And Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark to Jerusalem and it stayed there. 30 And David regularly went up on the ascent of the olive trees and with his head covered and he would go barefoot and all the people with him. Each man covered up his head and they would go up ascending and weeping. 31 And it was reported to David, saying, “Also Ahithophel is in the conspiracy with Absalom.” And David said, “Scatter the counsel of Ahithophel, O Lord, my God.” 32 And David was going to Roos where he bowed before God there. And look, Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, coming for a meeting with him, having torn his tunic, and earth on his head. 33 And David said to him, “If you come over with me then you will be a burden on me. 34 But if you return to the city then you can say to Absalom, ‘Your brothers have passed through and the king after me, your father has passed through. And now I am your servant. O king, allow me to live. I was your father’s servant both then and recently, but now I am your servant.’ And by doing that, you can scatter for me the counsel of Ahithophel. 35 And look, with you there will be Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. And it will be that every word that you hear from the king’s house, you can then report to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. 36 Look, there with them are their two sons, Ahimaaz, son of Zadok and Jonathan, son of Abiathar. And you will send in their hand to me every word that you might hear.” 37 And Hushai the friend of David entered into the city and Absalom was entering into Jerusalem.
16And David had gone only little farther, from Roos. And look, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth coming to meet him, and a yoke of donkeys loaded up, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread and a hundred raisins and a hundred dates and a nebel of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why are these with you?” And Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the members of the king’s household to ride and the bread and the dates are for food for the servants and the wine is to drink for those who are weary in the wilderness.” 3 And the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Look, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the House of Israel will return to me my father’s kingdom.’” 4 And the king said to Ziba, “Look everything is yours, as much as Mephibosheth had.” And Ziba said with reverence, “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, the king.” 5 And King David came to Bahurim and look, from there a man came out from the family of the house of Saul and his name was Shimei, son of Gera; he came out and cursed as he went. 6 And he stoned David with stones, as well as all the servants of King David. And all the people were there. And all the warriors were on the right of him and on the left of the king. 7 And this is how Shimei spoke when he was cursing him, “Get out! Get out! Man of blood and lawless man! 8 The Lord has turned back upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, because you became king instead of him. And the Lord has put the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. And look, you are in your own evil because you are a man of blood.” 9 And Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? I will go over now and remove his head.” 10 And the king said, “What to me and to you, sons of Zeruiah? Leave him and so may he curse me because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David.’ And who can say, ‘How have you acted like this?’” 11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Look, my son who came out from my belly is seeking my life. And how much more now should the son of the Benjaminite! Leave him to curse because the Lord told to him to. 12 If somehow the Lord should look on my humiliation then he can return to me with good instead of his curse on this day.” 13 So David and his men continued along the road and Shimei went from the edge of the cliff beside him, going along and cursing and throwing stones from beside him and scattering the dust. 14 And the king came and all his people were exhausted and they recovered there. The Counsel of Ahithophel 15 And Absalom and every man in Israel came into Jerusalem and Ahithophel was with him. 16 And it happened when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom. And Hushai said to Absalom, “The king lives!” 17 And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this the mercy you have for your friend? Why did you not leave Jerusalem with your friend?” 18 And Hushai said to Absalom: “No, instead, from now on, the one whom the Lord has chosen and this people and every man in Israel, I will be for him and with him I will remain. 19 And secondly, whom should I serve? Should it not be before his son? Just as I served before your father, likewise I will be before you.” 20 And Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Bring counsel among you. What should we do?” 21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go to your father’s concubines whom he left behind to take care of the house and all of Israel will hear that you have disgraced your father and so the hands of everyone with you will grow stronger.” 22 And they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof and Absalom went to his father’s concubines before the eyes of all Israel. 23 And the plan of Ahithophel, that he planned in the earlier days, the way one might inquire by the word of God; so was all the plan of Ahithophel, both for David and, indeed, also for Absalom.
17And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I will choose now for myself twelve thousand men and I will set out and closely pursue after David during the night. 2 And I will come upon him and he will be weary and weak in his hands. And I will catch him off guard and all the people with him will flee and I will strike down the king alone. 3 And I will return all the people to you the way a bride returns to her husband. Only the life of the one man you are seeking and then there will be peace for all the people.” 4 And the advice was good in the eyes of Absalom and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel. 5 And Absalom said, “Call now also Hushai the Archite and we will hear what is in his mouth and hear also from him.” 6 And Hushai came to Absalom and Absalom said to him, “Tell me what you think about the word that Ahithophel spoke. Should we act according to his advice? If not, you must speak.” 7 And Hushai said to Absalom, “It is not good, this plan that Ahithophel has planned this one time.” 8 And Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are very strong and very sharp in their spirit, like a bear robbed of her cubs in a field or as a wild boar in the plain. Your father is a man, a warrior and would not dismiss the people. 9 For look, he has hidden now in one of the hills or in some places and it will be when he falls on them in the beginning and he who is listening will hear and say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people following Absalom!’ 10 And even the strongest son himself, who has a heart like a lion’s heart, when melting, his heart will melt because all Israel knows that your father is powerful and the greatest soldiers are with him. 11 For when I am advising, so I will advise. And all Israel, when being gathered, will be gathered to you from Dan as far as Beersheba, like the sand on the sea shore as a multitude, and your face going in the midst of them. 12 And we will come to him in a place where we might find him. And we will camp against him like the dew falls on the earth and we will not leave any remaining with him or the men with him not even a single one. 13 And if he should withdraw into the city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city and we will drag it as far as to the wadi, so that not even a stone will be left behind there. 14 And Absalom and every man in Israel said, “Good is the counsel of Hushai the Archite, more so than the good counsel of Ahithophel.” And the Lord had already determined to disrupt the counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring upon Absalom all evil. 15 And Hushai of the Archite said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “In this way and in this manner, Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel and in this way and in this manner I advised them. 16 And now quickly send a message and report to David, saying, ‘You must not stay the night in Araboth in the wilderness and indeed in crossing over, you must hurry. Otherwise he might persuade the king and all the people with him.’” 17 And Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been standing at the spring of En-rogel and the servant girl went and reported to them. And they went and reported to King David that they could not be seen coming into the city. 18 And a servant saw them and they reported to Absalom. So the two went quickly and entered into the house of a man in Bahurim. And he had a well in the courtyard and they went down in there. 19 And the woman took and spread out a covering over the face of the well and began drying grain on it. And nobody knew a thing. 20 And the servants of Absalom came to the woman in the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They passed by a small way away from the water.” And they looked for them and could not find them so they returned to Jerusalem. 21 Now it happened after their departure that they came up from the well and continued on and reported to King David and said to David, “Set out and cross over the water quickly because this is how Ahithophel plotted against you.” 22 And David arose and all the people with him and they crossed the Jordan until the light of morning, until no one was left who had not crossed the Jordan. 23 And Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not heeded. So he loaded his donkey and rose and departed for his house in his city and he set his house in order and hung himself. And he died and was buried in his father’s tomb. 24 And David passed through to Mahanaim and Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and every man in Israel with him. 25 And Absalom appointed Amasa instead of Joab over the army and Amasa was the son of a man and his name was Ithra the Israelite.a He is the one who went in to Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, the brother of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26 And all Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead. 27 And it happened when David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash, from Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and Machir, son of Ammiel from Lo-debar and Barzillai, the Gileadite from Rogelim 28 brought ten beds and rugs and ten caldrons and jars of clay and wheat and barley and meal and grain and beans and lentils 29 and honey and butter and sheep and saphphothb from cows. And they brought all of this to David and the people with him to eat because he said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”
18And David gave instructions to the people who were with him and he appointed over them commanders of a thousand and leaders of a hundred. 2 And David sent out the people, a third in the hand of Joab and a third in the hand of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, and a third in the hand of Ittai, the Gittite. And David said to the people, “When going out, I will go out, and indeed I am with you.” 3 And they said, “You must not go out because if we flee in flight, they will not set their heart on us and if we should die, even the half of us, they will not set their heart on us. For you are as important as ten thousand of us and now it would be better that you help us in the city.” 4 And the king said to them, “Whatever is best, if it will be pleasing in your eyes, do it.” And the king stood by the entrance of the gate and all the people went out in hundreds and in thousands. 5 And the king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Spare the young man Absalom, for my sake.” And all the people heard about the king’s order to all the rulers about Absalom. 6 And all the people went out to the forest across from Israel and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 And the people of Israel were defeated there before the servants of David. And there was a great slaughter on that day of twenty thousand men. 8 And the battle there was scattered over the face of all the earth. But the forest did more to devour from the people compared to those the sword devoured among the people on that day. 9 And Absalom clashed with the servants of David. And Absalom went riding on his mule and the mule went under the thicket of a great oak and his head hung in the oak and it hung suspended between the heavens and the earth. And the mule under him continued on. 10 And one man saw and reported to Joab and said, “Look, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11 And Joab said to the man who was reporting, “And look, you saw him! Why is it that you did not strike him to the earth? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and one belt.” 12 But the man said to Joab, “Even if I am weighing a thousand shekels of silver on my hands, I would not put my hand upon the son of the king. For in our ears, the king ordered you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Take care of the young man, Absalom, for me. 13 Do not inflict justice on his life.’ And not a single word from the king was missed. And yet you will stand opposed to that?” 14 And Joab said, “I will begin this. I will not stay before you like this.” And Joab took three arrows in his hand and planted them in the heart of Absalom, while he was still alive in the heart of the oak grove. 15 And ten young men carrying Joab’s equipment surrounded and struck down Absalom and killed him. 16 And Joab sounded with the horn and the people returned without pursuing after Israel because Joab had restrained the people. 17 And he took Absalom and threw him into a large chasm in the forest, into a deep pit and erected a marker over him, a very large heap of stones and all Israel fled, each man toward his own home. 18 Now when Absalom was still living, he erected for himself a pillar which he had received, and he erected it, having taken the pillar in the Valley of the King because he said, “There is no son for him to remind people of his name.” And the stone is called “Absalom’s Hand” until this day. David Hears of Absalom’s Death 19 And Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and I will bring the good news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him from his enemies’ hand.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You are not the man to bring good news on this day. You will proclaim good news on another day but on this day you must not proclaim this news because the son of the king is dead.” 21 And Joab said to Hushai, “Go report to the king as much as you saw. And Hushai bowed to Joab and went out. 22 And still Ahimaaz son of Zadok continued and said to Joab, “And let it be that I might run and indeed I will follow after Hushai.” And Joab said, “Why should you run, my son? Come now, there is no good news for you to profit from going.” 23 And he said, “So what if I will run?” And Joab said to him, “Run.” And Ahimaaz ran along the road of Kechar and he passed by Hushai. 24 And David was sitting between the two gates and the watchman went to the roof of the gate to the wall and he raised his eyes and saw, and look, there was a man running alone before him. 25 And the watchman shouted and reported to the king and the king said, “If he is alone, there is good news in his mouth.” And he continued to travel, coming and approaching. 26 And the watchman saw another man running and the watchman called to the gate and said, “Look, another man is running alone and the king said, “And indeed, this is someone who has good news.” 27 And the watchman said, “I see the gait of the first is like the gait of Ahimaaz, son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man and indeed he will come with good news.” 28 And Ahimaaz called and said to the king, “Peace.” And he bowed to the king on his face upon the earth and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God who has shut up the men who hated with their hand against my lord the king.” 29 And the king said, “Is it well for the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz said, “I saw a large crowd so that Joab sent a servant of the king and your servant, but I did not know what was there.” 30 And the king said, “Turn aside; stand here.” And he turned and stood there. 31 And look, Hushai arrived and said to the king, “Let my lord the king receive good news that the Lord has vindicated you today from the hand of all those who rise up against you. 32 And the king asked Hushai whether there was peace for the young man Absalom. And Hushai said, “May they become as the young man, the enemies of my lord the king and everyone, as many as rise against him to do evil.” 33 a And the king grew distressed and he went up to the roof over the gate and wept. And this is how he spoke in his going, “My son, my son, Absalom! What would I give for my death instead of yours; I instead of you? O Absalom, my son, my son!”
19And it was reported to Joab, saying, “Look, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” 2 And the victory turned to grief for all the people on that day because the people heard on that day that the king is grieving for his son. 3 And the people stole away in that day entering into the city like dishonored people sneak in when they flee in a battle. 4 And the king hid his face and the king cried with a great voice, saying, “My son, Absalom, Absalom, my son.” 5 And Joab came to the king, into the house, and said, “You disgraced, today, the face of all your servants who saved you today and the spirit of your sons and your daughters and the spirit of your wives and your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. And you have announced today that your commanders are nothing and neither are your servants. For I know today that if Absalom was living, all of us today would be dead. Is that what would be right in your eyes? 7 So now stand up and go out and speak to your servants’ heart because, by the Lord, I swore that you must go out today, if any man is going to stay through the night. And you must witness it for yourself. And this is evil for you beyond all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.” 8 And the king stood and stayed at the gate and all the people announced, saying, “Look, the king is staying at the gate.” And all the people entered before the king’s face. And Israel had fled, each man to his home. 9 And all the people were arguing among all the tribes of Israel, saying, “King David rescued us out of the hand of all our enemies and he took us from the hand of the foreigners and now he has fled from the land, from his kingdom, and from Absalom, 10 whom we anointed over us, died in the battle. Now why is it we keep quiet to return to the king? And this word from all Israel came to the king. 11 And King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to return to the king, to his house? The talk of all Israel has come to the king. 12 O brothers, you are to me my bones and you are my flesh. Why are you the last to return the king to his house?’ 13 And you will say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? And now thus may God do to me and thus may he add this unless you be the ruler of the army before me all the days instead of Joab.’” 14 And he turned the heart of every man in Judah until they were of one mind. And so they sent for the king, saying, “You must return and all your servants.” 15 And the king returned and came to the Jordan and the men of Judah came to Gilgal to come to meet the king, to bring the king across the Jordan. 16 And Shimei son of Gera son of the Benjaminite hurried from Bahurim. And he went down with a man from Judah to meet King David, 17 And there were a thousand men with him from Benjamin as well as Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul and fifteen of his sons with him and twenty of his servants with him. And they went straight to the Jordan before the king, 18 And they administered the ministry, to bring the king across. And he crossed over the passage to restore the house of the king and to do what was right to his eyes. And Shimei, son of Gera, fell on his face before the king as he was crossing the Jordan. 19 And he said to the king, “Let my lord not consider my guilt and may you forget how much your servant did wrong on the day that my lord left from Jerusalem so that the king should keep it in his heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned, and look, I come today before the entire house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord, the king.” 21 And Abishai, son of Zeruiah, answered and said, “Because of this, should not Shimei be put to death because he cursed the Lord’s Anointed One?” 22 And David said, “What is it to me and you, sons of Zeruiah, that you are plotting against me today? Today no man will be put to death from Israel. For I do not know whether I am king today over Israel.” 23 Then the king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” And the king made an oath to him. 24 And Mephibosheth son of Saul’s son came down to meet the king. And he had not attended to his feet or cut his nails or trimmed his mustache and his robes he had not washed away from the day that the king had departed until the day that he had come back in peace. 25 And it happened that when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why is it that you did go not with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 And Mephibosheth said to him, “My lord, king, your servant deceived me. For your servant said to him, ‘Saddle the donkey for me and I will ride on it and go with the king because your servant is lame.’ 27 And your servant played a trick on my lord, to the king. And my lord, the king does what is good as a messenger of God. So do what is good in your eyes. 28 For my father’s entire house was nothing, rather they are dead men to my lord the king. But you put your servant among those who eat at your table. What justification is there for me still, that I might appeal even now to the king?” 29 And the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I say that you and Ziba will divide the field.” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “And indeed, let him take everything, now that my lord the king has arrived in peace to his house.” 31 And Barzillai, the Gileadite, had come down from Rogelim and crossed over the Jordan with the king to send him out from the Jordan. 32 And Barzillai was a very elderly man, a son of eighty years. And he had provided for the king when he was living in Mahanaim because he was a very wealthy man. 33 And the king said to Barzillai, “You will cross over with me and I will provide for you in your old age in Jerusalem. 34 And Barzillai said to the king, “How many days of my life are there left that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am a son of eighty years today. Can I, indeed, discern between good and bad for evil? Will your servant still be able to taste what I eat or drink or still hear the sound of singing men and women? Why should your servant continue to be a burden upon my lord, the king? 36 In just a little time, your servant will cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with this reward? 37 Let your servant stay here and I will die in my own town beside the grave of my father and mother. And look, your servant, Chimham, will cross over with my lord the king. And you can do for him what is good in your eyes.” 38 And the king said, “Chimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your eyes and everything that you want me to do, I will do for you.” 39 And all the people crossed the Jordan and the king crossed over. And Barzillai kissed the king and blessed him and then he returned to his home. 40 And the king crossed over the river to Gilgal. And Chimham crossed over with him. All the people of Judah crossed over with the king, indeed, even half the people of Israel. 41 And look, every man of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why is it that our brothers, the men of Judah, have stolen you and have brought the king and his house across the Jordan and all David’s men with him?” 42 And every man of Judah answered to the men of Israel and said, “Because the king is close family to us. Why did you become wrathful in this way on this matter? We did not eat food from the king. Or did he give a gift or carry a burden for us?” 43 And a man of Israel answered the man of Judah and said, “I have ten hands in the king and I am firstborn rather than you. And indeed, in David, I am over you. So why do you insult me? And why was my word not recognized as first to me before Judah to bring back my king?” And the words of the men of Judah were harder than the words of the men of Israel.
20And there was a man, known as a wicked person, and his name was Sheba, son of Bichri. He was a Benjaminite man and he sounded the horn and said, “There is no inheritance for us in David nor is there an inheritance for us in the son of Jesse. Each man to your home, O Israel.” 2 And all of Israel left from behind David to follow Sheba, son of Bichri, and each man of Judah stuck close to their king from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem. 3 And David went in to his house in Jerusalem and the king took the ten wives, his concubines whom he left to watch over the house and put them in a house with a guard and he provided for them, but he did not come in to them. And they were confined until the day of their death. They lived as widows. 4 And the king said to Amasa, “Call for me every man of Judah within three days. But you yourself must stay.” 5 And Amasa went to call Judah and he was delayed from the time that was appointed for him. 6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba, son of Bichri will do more harm to us than Absalom. So now you must take with you the servants of your lord and closely pursue him. Otherwise, he will find a fortified city for himself and will overshadow us.” 7 And Abishai and the men of Joab went out after him as well as the Cherethites and the Phelethites and all the warriors. And they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba, son of Bichri 8 And they were beside a large stone in Gibeon and Amasa came before them, and Joab was wearing a wool cloak for his garment, and he was wearing a sword harnessed around his waist in its sheath and he took the sword out and he took it out and fell. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, “Are you well, brother?” And the right hand of Joab grabbed the beard of Amasa to kiss him. 10 And Amasa did not notice the sword in Joab’s hand. And Joab struck him with it in his stomach and his belly poured out onto the earth. And Joab did not need to strike twice. And he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother chased after Sheba son of Bichri 11 And a man stood over him from the servants of Joab and said, “Whoever wants Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!” 12 And Amasa was soaked with blood in the middle of the path and a man saw that all the people had stood and returned Amasa from the path to a field, and he threw over him a robe because he had seen everyone who went out standing over him. 13 But when he proceeded from the path, every man of Israel continued on after Joab to chase Sheba son of Bichri 14 And he passed through among all the tribes of Israel to Abel and to Bethmaacah. And everyone from the Berites also assembled and went following him. 15 And they arrived and lay siege against him in Abel Beth-maacah. And they built a raised mound against the city and it stood against the outer fortifications, and all the people with Joab intended to bring down the wall. [8] 16 And a wise woman called from the wall and said, “Listen, listen! Say now to Joab, ‘Come near to here.’ And I will speak to him.” 17 And he approached her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He said, “I am.” So, she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And Joab said, “I am listening.” 18 Then she said, saying, “In former times they spoke a word, saying, ‘Being asked, in Abel and in Dan, it was asked if the things that the faithful of Israel affirmed had come to an end;’ those who desire will inquire of one person in Abel also in this way, if they have come to an end.” 18 Then she said, saying, “Being asked, in Abel and in Dan it was asked if the faithful of Israel had forsaken the things they had affirmed; those who desire will inquire of one person in Abel also in this way, if they have forsaken them. 19 I am a peaceful person among the supporters of Israel. But you seek to destroy the city, even a mother city in Israel! Why are you destroying the inheritance of the Lord?” 20 And Joab answered and said, “Be merciful to me! Be merciful to me whether I should drown or whether I should destroy. 21 This is not the reason! For there is a man from the hill country of Ephraim; Sheba son of Bichri is his name. And he has raised his hand against King David. Give him to me alone and I will depart from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Look, his head will be thrown to you through the wall.” 22 And the woman went to all the people and spoke to the entire city with her wisdom. Then she removed the head of Sheba son of Bichri and took it away and threw it to Joab. And he sounded the horn and they dispersed from the city, away from him, each man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. 23 And Joab was over all the army of Israel and Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Phelethites 24 and Adoram was over the taxes and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the record keeper 25 and Shiya was the scribe and Zadok and Abiathar were priests, 26 and also, Ira the Jairite was a priest for David.
21And there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. So, David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “Upon Saul and upon his house, there is guilt by the death of blood because he destroyed the Gibeonites.” 2 So King David called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. And the Gibeonites were not sons of Israel. Rather they were from the blood of the Amorites and the sons of Israel had sworn to protect them. But Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the sons of Israel and of Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How should I make atonement? Then you can bless the inheritance of the Lord.” 4 And the Gibeonites said to him, “There is nothing for us in silver and gold with Saul and with his house and it does not help to execute a man in Israel.” So, he said, “What are you saying? And I will do it for you.” 5 And they said to the king, “The man brought the end upon us and pursued us, he who devised to cut us off, let us remove him so he does not stand in any boundary of Israel. 6 Let seven men be given to us from among his sons and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeon, from Saul the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.” 7 And the king showed restraint on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul because of the oath of the Lord between him, David, and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 So the king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah who gave birth for Saul to Armoni and Mephibosheth and the five sons of Michal daughter of Saul who gave birth to Serei the Moholathite son of Barzillai. 9 And he put them in the hand of the Gibeonites and they hung them on the mountain before the Lord. And the seven fell together. And also, they were executed on the harvest day in the first in the beginning of the harvest of barley. 10 And Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and fastened it for herself to the rock on the beginning of the harvest of barley until water dripped on it from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the heavens to rest on it during the day and the wild animals of the field during the night. 11 And it was reported to David everything that Rizpah daughter of Aiah, concubine of Saul, had done. And they were released, and Dan, son of Joah who was from the descendants of the giants, took them down. 12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men, the sons of Jabesh of Gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan because the foreigners had set them there in the day that the foreigners struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13 And he brought the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there and gathered the bones of those who were hanging in the sun. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son and those who had been hanging in the land of Benjamin inside in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did it all, as much as the king had commanded. And God listened to the land after this. Battles with the Philistines Recounted 15 And battle took place again between the foreigners and Israel. And David went down and his servants with him. And he fought with the foreigners. And David went out. 16 And there was a man called Ishbi-benob who was among the offspring of the Raphah, and the weight of his spear was three hundred shekels fitted with bronze, and he was carrying a mace, and he intended to strike down David. 17 And Abishai son of Zeruiah rescued him and struck down the foreigner and killed him. Then the men of David made an oath, saying, “You must not go out again with us into battle. You cannot quench the lamp of Israel.” 18 And after this still another battle happened in Gob with the foreigners; there Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph who was among the offspring of the Raphah. 19 And there was a battle in Gob with the foreigners and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite struck down Goliath the Gittite and the wood of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. [9] 20 And there was still another battle in Gath and there was a man of Madona and the fingers on his hand and the toes on his feet were six and six, twenty-four in total and indeed he was born from the Raphah. 21 And he taunted Israel, and Jonathan son of Shimei brother of David struck him down. 22 And these four were born as descendants of the giants in Gath, the Raphah, a household. And they fell by David’s hand and by his servant’s hand.
22And David sang to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he sang: Lord, you are my rock and my stronghold and my deliverer for me, 3 my God will be my guard; I will rely on him; my protector and the horn of my deliverance, my protector and my refuge for my deliverance from wrongdoing, you will save me. 4 I will invoke the praiseworthy Lord and from my enemies, I will be delivered. 5 For the affliction of death engulfed me; the wadi of wickedness terrified me; 6 the pains of death encircled me; the hardness of death came upon me. 7 In my affliction, I will invoke the Lord, and to my God I will shout. And he will hear my voice from his temple, my outcry in his ears. 8 And the earth stirred and shook and the foundations of the heavens were in disarray and torn because the Lord was wrathful at them. 9 Smoke went up in his anger and fire from his mouth will devour; burning coals flamed from him. [10] 10 And he bent the heavens and came down and darkness was under his feet. 11 And he mounted upon the cherubim and flew and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. 12 And he set darkness for his hiding-place in a circle around him; his tent was the darkness of the waters; he thickened in the clouds of air. 13 From the splendor before him, burning coals were kindled. 14 The Lord thundered from the heavens and the Most High put forth his voice. 15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning and stunned them. 16 And the grooves below the sea were seen and the foundations of the world were uncovered by the rebuke of the Lord from blast of breath of his wrath. 17 He dispatched from the heights and took me; he drew me from many waters. 18 He rescued me from my strong enemies from those who hated me because they were too strong for me. 19 The days of my distress came upon me and the Lord was my support. 20 And he led me out into a spacious place and rescued me because he delighted in me. 21 And the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the purity of my hand, he rewarded me. 22 For I kept the ways of the Lord and did not depart wickedly from my God. 23 For all his judgments were before me and his duties, I did not withdraw from them. 24 And I will be blameless to him and I will guard myself from my wickedness. 25 And the Lord will restore me according to my righteousness and according to the purity of my hand before his eyes. 26 With devotion, you will be declared devout and with a complete man, you will be complete; 27 And with the chosen, you will be chosen and with the crooked, you will be perverted. 28 And you will deliver the poor and you will lower your eyes upon the proud. 29 For you are my lamp, O Lord, and the Lord will brighten for me my darkness. 30 For in you, I will run lightly armed and in my God, I will leap over the wall. 31 The Mighty one, blameless is his way; the word of the Lord is strong, since it is tried by fire; he is the protector to all those who rely on him. 32 Who is strong, except the Lord? And who is the Creator, except our God. 33 The Mighty one is my strength in strength and shook out blameless my path. 34 He set my feet like a deer and upon the heights he set me, 35 Training my hands in battle and bending a bronze bow in my arm. 36 And you gave me a shield for my deliverance, and your answer expanded for me 37 open ground for my steps beneath me and my legs did not tremble. 38 I will pursue my enemies and destroy them and will not turn back until I finish them. 39 And I will crush them, and they not will stand; they will fall under my feet. 40 And you will strengthen me with strength for battle; you will cause to bow those who rise against me beneath me. 41 And you gave my enemies to me behind those who hate me and you destroyed them. 42 They will cry out, and there is no help from the Lord and he did not listen to them. 43 And I ground them like dust of the earth; like clay coming out, I pulverized them. 44 And you rescued me from battle with people; you will keep me to be the head of nations; a people whom I did not know was subject to me. 45 Foreign sons lied to me; they listened to me in the hearing of an ear. 46 Foreign sons will be cast away and they will stumble from their strongholds. 47 The Lord lives! And blessed is my guard and exalted is my God, the guard of my deliverance. 48 Strong is the Lord who gives vengeance to me, disciplining people under me, 49 And who brought me out from my enemies and from those who rise up against me, you will raise me up; from the man of crime, you will rescue me. 50 Because of this, I will acknowledge you, Lord, among the nations and in your name, I will make music, 51 Making great the deliverances of his king and acting with mercy to his anointed, David, and his seed for eternity.
23And these are the last words of David, faithful David, son of Jesse and a faithful man whom the Lord raised up as the Anointed One of the God of Jacob and the maker of harmonious psalms for Israel. 2 The spirit of the Lord spoke in me and his word is on my tongue. [11] 3 The God of Israel is speaking; the Guard from Israel speaks to me, say the proverb: Among humanity, how might you strengthen the fear of the anointed? 4 And by God, at the light of dawn, the sun will rise; which the Lord will not pass in the morning from splendor and like from rain on the grass from the earth. 5 For is this not my house with the strong one? For he established an eternal covenant with me, ready in every season, protected, because my entire deliverance and every desire is that the wicked would not sprout. 6 As a thorn, these are all rejected because they cannot be picked by hand, 7 And a man will not grow weary among them and full of iron and wood is the spear and in burning fire, and they shall be set in their disgrace. David’s Mighty Men 8 These are the names of the mighty men of David. Josheb-basshebeth the Tachemonite was the ruler of the three. There was Adino the Eznite; he drew his sword against eight hundred soldiers at once. 9 And after him was Eleazar, son of his uncle, son of the Ahohite, of those among the three mighty ones with David. And when he scorned the foreigners, they gathered there for battle and they called out, each man of Israel. 10 But he stood and struck the foreigners until his hand grew tired and his hand stuck to the sword and the Lord performed a great deliverance in that day and the people stayed behind him only to strip the dead. 11 And after him was Shamma son of Agee the Hararite. And the foreigners were gathering in Theria and there was a part of the field full of lentils and the people fled from the face of the foreigners. 12 And he stood in the middle of the portion and rescued them and he struck down the foreigners and the Lord performed a great deliverance. 13 And the three went down from the thirty and went down to Kadon to David in the cave of Adullam and a division of the foreigners and they had camped in the valley of Rephaim. 14 And David was then in the stronghold and the military support for the foreigners was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David had a desire and said, “Who will fetch for me water from the well in Bethlehem at the gate?” However, the garrison of the foreigners was then in Bethlehem. 16 And the three warriors broke through in the camp of the foreigners and drew water from the well in Bethlehem at the gate and took it and came to David. And he did not want to drink it and he poured it out to the Lord. 17 And he said, “Be merciful to me, Lord, for doing this, if the blood of the men went with their lives, how can I drink?” And he did not want to drink it. This is what the three warriors had done. 18 And there was Abishai brother of Joab son of Zeruiah. He was the commander among the three and he raised up his spear against three hundred, each one became a corpse and he had a name among the three. 19 From the three, he was honored and he became for them as a commander but he did not come to the level of the three. 20 And Benaiah son of Jehoiada, he was a man of many deeds from Kabzeel, and he struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down and struck down a lion in the middle of a pit during a day of snow. 21 He struck down the Egyptian man, who was quite a man to be seen. In the hand of the Egyptian was a spear like a wooden ladder and he went down to him with the spear and snatched away the spear from the hand of the Egyptian and killed him with his own spear. 22 That is what Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and he had a name among the three warriors. 23 From the three, he was honored, but to the level of the three, he did not come. And David appointed him for his reports. And these were the names of the mighty men of King David: 24 Asahel brother of Joab, he was among the thirty, Elhanan son of Dodo his uncle in Bethlehem, 25 Shammah the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira son Ikkesh the Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the Anathothite from the sons of the Anathonites, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 29 Ittai son Ribai from Gibeah son of Benjamin, the Ephrathite. 30 There was also Hiddai from the brooks and 31a Asboth the Bardiamite, 31b Gadabiel son of the Arabothitite. 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen: Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Herarite, 34 Eliphelet son of the Ahasbai, son of the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezro the Carmelite, the son of Paarai, the Arbite. 36 Igaal son of Nathan from the mighty son of the Gadite. 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite who carried the armor of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, and 39 Uriah the Hittite. They totaled thirty and seven.
24And the Lord increased his anger burning against Israel. And he stirred up David among them, saying, “Go, count Israel and Judah.” 2 And the king said to Joab, the ruler of the army with him, “Go now through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and count the people. And I will know the number of the people.” 3 And Joab said to the king, “And may the Lord God add to the people just as they are and as they are a hundredfold and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. And my lord the king, why do you want to do this?” 4 But the word of the king was firm to Joab and to the rulers of the army. So, Joab and the rulers of the army went out before the king to count the people of Israel. 5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer from the right side of the city in the middle of the ravine of Gad and Eliezer. 6 And they came to Gilead and to Thabason, which was Hodshi and they arrived in Dan-jaan and Oudan and circled around to Sidon. 7 And they came to Mapsar of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites and they went by south of Judah to Beersheba. 8 And they went all around through all the land and arrived in Jerusalem after nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave the number of the census of the people to the king. And Israel had eight hundred thousand men who could draw a sword and the men of Judah had five hundred thousand fighting men. 10 And David’s heart struck him after the census of the people, and David said to the Lord, “I have sinned very much by what I did. Now Lord, put aside now the wickedness of your servant because I was very foolish.” 11 And David rose in the morning and the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says, “Three things, I am taking up against you, and you must choose one from them for yourself and I will do it to you.” ’” 13 And Gad came to David and announced to him and said to him, “Choose for yourself what is to happen, whether three years of famine should come to you in your land or three months of fleeing before your enemies with them pursuing you or three days of death in your land. Now therefore, decide and see. What word will I answer to the one who sent me?” 14 And David said to Gad, “It is very narrow for me on every side. I will now fall in the Lord’s hand because his compassion is very great, but I must not fall into a human’s hands.” 15 So David chose for himself the death. And it was the days of the harvest of wheat and the Lord allowed death in Israel from early morning until lunch time and the slaughter began among the people. And they died from Dan to Beer-sheba, a total seventy thousand men. [12] 16 And the angel of God reached his hand into Jerusalem to destroy it and the Lord relented from the wickedness and said to the angel who was destroying, “Among the people it is enough now. Release your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was before the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. [13] 17 And David spoke to Lord, when he saw the angel beating down the people, and said, “Look, it is I! I have done wrong and these, they are the sheep! What have they done? Let your hand now be against me and against my father’s house.” 18 And Gad came to David in that day and said to him, “Go up and build for the Lord an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 And David went up according to the word of Gad, according to the way the Lord had commanded him. 20 And Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming by over to him, and Araunah came out and bowed to the king on his face on the earth. 21 And Araunah said, “Why is it that my lord the king has come to his servant?” And David said, “To purchase from you the threshing floor to build an altar to the Lord because the slaughter was stopped here for the people.” 22 And Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer to the Lord what is good in his eyes. Look, oxen for the burnt offering and wheels and yokes of oxen for the wood.” 23 Everything, Araunah gave it to the king, and Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God bless you.” 24 And the king said to Araunah, “No, because instead, in acquiring it I must purchase it from you at the price and I will not offer to my Lord, my God a burnt offering that was freely given.” So, David purchased the threshing floor and the cattle with fifty silver shekels. 25 And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And Solomon added more on the altar in the end because it was small at first. And the Lord listened to the land and the slaughter ceased in Israel.