Chapter One

1:1  After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.

1:2  And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and bowed [showing obeisance].

1:3  David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

1:4  And David said to him, How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

1:5  Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

1:6  And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the leaders of the horsemen were close upon him.

1:7  And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’

1:8  And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

1:9  And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and finish me off, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’

1:10 So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

1:11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.

1:12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

1:13 And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.”

1:14 David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed?”

1:15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died.

1:16 And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD’S anointed.’”

1:17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son,

1:18 and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; “The Bow.” Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.

1:19 “Your beauty, O Israel, lies slain on your high places!

How the mighty have fallen!

1:20 Tell it not in Gath,

publish [as news] it not in the streets of Ashkelon,

lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,

lest the daughters of the uncircumcised celebrate.

1:21 “O mountains of Gilboa,

let there be no dew or rain upon you,

nor fields of offerings!

  For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,

the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

1:22 “From the blood of the slain,

from the fat of the mighty,

the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,

and the sword of Saul did not return empty.

1:23 “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and loved!

In life and in death they were not divided;

they were swifter than eagles;

they were stronger than lions.

1:24 “You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,

who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,

who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

1:25 “How the mighty have fallen

in the midst of the battle!

“Jonathan lies slain on your high places.

1:26 I am grieved over you, my brother Jonathan;

You were very dear to me. 

Your love was more special to me than the love of women.

1:27 “How the mighty have fallen,

and the weapons of war perished!”

Chapter 2

2:1  After this David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.”

2:2  So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

2:3  David also brought along the men who were with him, each with his household and they lived in the cities of Hebron.

2:4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. 

 When they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,”

2:5  David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this lovingkindness to Saul your lord and buried him.

2:6  Now may the LORD show lovingkindness and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.

2:7  Now then let your hands be strong, and be sons of valor, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

2:8  But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,

2:9  and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.

2:10 Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

2:11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

2:12  Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

2:13  And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down together, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

2:14  And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

2:15  Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

2:16  And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.

2:17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

2:18 And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a gazelle in the field. 

2:19 And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

2:20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.”

2:21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

2:22 And Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?”

2:23 But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And it happened that all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still [in respect]. 

2:24 But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

2:25 And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a certain hill.

2:26 Then Abner called to Joab and said,  “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that this will turn bitter in the end. When will you tell the people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?”

2:27 Joab replied, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said this, surely then the people would have not given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.”

2:28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.

2:29  And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim.

2:30 Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel.

2:31 But the servants of David had struck down men of Benjamin from Abner’s men—360 men had died.

2:32  And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and all his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.

Chapter 3

3:1  There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

3:2  And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

3:3  and his second, Kileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

3:4 and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

3:5 and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

3:6  While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.

3:7  Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And he [Ish-bosheth] said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”

3:8  Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I a head of a dog which belongs to Judah? To this day I keep showing lovingkindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman.

3:9  God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him,

3:10 namely, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah,from Dan to Beersheba.”

3:11 And he [Ish-bosheth] could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

3:12 And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you.”

3:13 And he [David] said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I ask of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.”

3:14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself with a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”

3:15 And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish.

3:16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned.

3:17 And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you.

3:18  Act now! For the LORD has said to David, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the Philistines and from all their enemies.’”

3:19 Then Abner spoke privately with the Benjaminites. Abner also went to Hebron to inform David privately

all which was good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.”

3:20 When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.

3:21 And Abner said to David, “I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

3:22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much plunder with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.

3:23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab that Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.”

3:24 Then Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away. Now he is gone?

3:25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to learn your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”

3:26 Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah. (But David was not aware of it.)

3:27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

3:28 And afterward when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

3:29 “May the blood whirl over the head of Joab and on all his father’s house! May the house of Joab never be without [from the men] one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who takes hold of a spindle or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”

3:30 So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in Gibeon during the battle.

Chapter 4                                                     

4:1  When the son of Saul heard that Abner had died at Hebron, he lost courage and all Israel was afraid. 

4:2  Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, who was a Benjaminite. (Beeroth is regarded as belonging to Benjamin,

4:3  the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day).

4:4  Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

4:5  Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest.

4:6  And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

4:7  When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and killed him then cut off his head. They took his head and went by the way of the Arabah all night,

4:8  and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they said to the king, “Behold the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.”

4:9  But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,

4:10 when someone told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag which I rewarded to him for the news!

4:11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed— should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth?”

4:12 So David gave an order to his young men, and they killed them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

Chapter Five

5:1  Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh.

5:2  In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be leader over Israel.’”

5:3  So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.

5:4  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

5:5  At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

5:6  And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, who lived in the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will turn you back—saying, “David cannot come in here.”

5:7  Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.

5:8  And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, then he must reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s very being [nephesh]” through the water tunnel.”  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.”

5:9  And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around it from the Millo inward.

5:10 And David became greater and greater and the LORD God of armies was with him.

5:11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and stonemasons: and they built David a house.

5:12 David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

5:13 And David took for himself more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

5:14 And these are the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,

5:15 Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,

5:16 And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.

5:17 But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to search for David. When David heard of it, he went down to the stronghold.

5:18 The Philistines also had come and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

5:19 And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”

5:20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like breaking flood waters.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim [Lord of breaking through].

5:21 And the Philistines abandoned their idols there and David and his men carried them away.

5:22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

5:23 And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees.

5:24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”

5:25 And David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba till you go to Gezer.

Chapter 6

6:1  Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

6:2  David and all the men who were with him arose and went [to and back ] from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of armies who sits enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.

6:3  And they loaded the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart.

6:4  They brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab on the hill. Ahio was walking in front of the ark,

6:5  while David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with various musical instruments [lit. with all woods of fir] and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

6:6  And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen stumbled.

6:7  And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah

and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.

6:8  And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day.

6:9   And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?”

6:10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

6:11 And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

6:12 And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing.

6:13 And when those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.

Chapter Seven

7:1 Now when the king lived in his house and [the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,]

7:2  the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in the middle of a curtain of a tent. ”

7:3  And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

7:4  But it came about that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan,

7:5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Are you to build me a house to dwell in?

7:6   For I have not lived in a house from the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt to this day,  but I have been moving about in a tent as a dwelling.

7:7  In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying,“Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

7:8  Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of armies I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

7:9  And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them and live there and be disturbed no more. Violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,

7:11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel, I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you. 

7:12 When your days are full and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

7:13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

7:14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the wounds of the sons of men,

7:15 but my lovingkindness will not depart from him as I turned it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

7:16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

7:17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

7:18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far?

7:19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD!

7:20 “Again what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD!

7:21 Because of your word, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it.

7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

7:23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things for your land before your people whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, nations and their gods. 

7:24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O LORD, became their God.

7:25 “Now therefore, O LORD God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as you have spoken,

7:26 and your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of the armies is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.

7:27 For you, O LORD of the armies, the God of Israel, have uncovered the ear (revealed), saying, “I will build for you a house.’  Therefore your servant has found his heart (courage) to pray this prayer to you.

7:28 And now, O Lord GOD, you are the God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.

7:29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

Chapter Eight

8:1 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

8:2  And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute. 

8:3  Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his rule at the Euphrates River.

8:4  David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for 100 chariots.

8:5  When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 men from the Arameans. 

8:6  Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the LORD delivered David wherever he went.

8:7  David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

8:8  From Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

8:9 Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer,

8:10 Toi sent Joram his son to King David to ask him concerning his peace and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. He [Joram] brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.

8:11 King David also dedicated these to the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued:

8:12  from Aram and Moab and the sons of Ammon and the Philistines and Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 

8:13 So David made a name for himself when he returned from defeating 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

8:14 He put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the LORD delivered David wherever he went.

8:15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David was doing what was just and righteous for all his people.

8:16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder.

8:17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary.

8:18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.

Chapter Nine

9:1  Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

9:2  Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”

9:3  The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.”

9:4  So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.”

9:5  Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.

9:6  And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and bowed down. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Behold, your servant!”

9:7  David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan, your father. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul and you shall always eat bread at my table.

9:8  Again he bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”

9:9  Then the king called Ziba, servant of Saul and said to him,

“All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.

9:10 “You and your sons and your servants shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food; But Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall always eat bread my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

9:11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at my [David’s] table as one of the king’s sons.

9:12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

9:13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; Now he was lame in both feet.

Chapter Ten 

10:1  After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place.

10:2  And David said, “I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me.” So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites.

10:3  But the officials of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?”

10:4  So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

10:5  When it was told David, he sent messengers meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown and then come back.”

10:6  When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob, and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of  Tob, 12,000 men.

10:7  And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.

10:8  And the Ammonites came out and deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, and the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

10:9  When Joab saw that the battle was set against him from the front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and deployed them against the Arameans.

10:10 The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he deployed them against the Ammonites.

10:11 And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me,then you shall rescue me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and rescue you.

10:12 Be strong and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and the LORD will do what is good in his eyes. 

10:13 So Joab and the men who were with him closed in for the battle with the Arameans but they fled before them. 

10:14 And when the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. Joab withdrew from fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.

10:15 When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they consolidated their forces.

10:16 And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates river. They came to Helam and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head leading them.

10:17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Arameans deployed their forces against David and fought with him.

10:18 And the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans 700 charioteers, and 40,000 horsemen [soldiers], and struck down Shobach the commander of his army, so that he died there.

10:19 And when all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore.

Chapter Eleven

11:1  In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to war, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

11:2  It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his bed and was walking on the roof of the king’s house [palace], that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. 

11:3  And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

11:4  So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.

11:5  And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

11:6  So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.

11:7  When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going.

11:8  Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and  a present from the king was sent after him. 

11:9  But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord, and he did not go down to his house.

11:10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a military campaign ? Why did you not go down to your house?”

11:11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in tents, and my lord Joab and the soldiers of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As surely as you are alive, I will not do this thing.”

11:12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

11:13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

11:14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

11:15  In the letter he wrote saying,  “Set Uriah in the forefront of the fiercest fighting, and then withdraw from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”

11:16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were the strongest enemy warriors. 

11:17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and from the people, from the soldiers of David they fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.

11:18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news of the fighting.

11:19  And he commanded the messenger, “When you have finished all the report of the battle to the king,

11:20 then, if the king becomes angry, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?

11:21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ Then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

11:22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell.

11:23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.

11:24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s soldiers died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

11:25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter upset you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and destroy it and encourage him.”

11:26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned over her husband.

11:27  And when the mourning was over, David sent and had her brought to his palace and she became his wife and bore him a son. But this thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD. 

Chapter Twelve 

12:1  And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.

12:2  The rich man had very many flocks and herds,

12:3  but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.

12:4  Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

12:5  David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man doing this is a son of death [deserves to die].

12:6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man!  Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,  ‘I anointed you king over Israel,   and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

12:8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.

12:9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

12:11 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

12:12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’”

12:13David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has passed over your sin; you shall not die.

12:14 Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the LORD by this deed, the child who is born to you shall die.”

12:15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.

12:16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.

12:17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

12:18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do something bad.”

12:19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David realized that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”

12:20 Then David arose from the ground and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.

12:21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”

12:22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’

12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

12:24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him

12:25 and sent by hand of Nathan the prophet that his name be called Jedidiah, for the sake of the LORD.

12:26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city.

12:27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters.

12:28 Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.”

12:29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it.

12:30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount.

12:31 And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter Thirteen 

13:1  Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her.

13:2  And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her.

13:3  But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very wise man.

13:4  And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

13:5  Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’”

13:6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”

13:7  Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him.”

13:8  So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes.

13:9  And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him.

13:10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the bedroom to Amnon her brother.

13:11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”

13:12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful thing.

13:13 As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the renown fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

13:14  But he would not listen to her voice, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

13:15 Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!”

13:16 But she said to him, “No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her.

13:17 He called the young servant who served him and said, “Get this woman away from me—outside and bolt the door after her.”

13:18 Now she was wearing a long robe, for this is what the virgin daughters of the king used to wear. So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her.

13:19 And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.

13:20 And her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this to heart.” So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house.

13:21 When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry.

13:22 But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.

13:23  After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

13:24 And Absalom came to the king and said, “Behold, your servant has sheepshearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant.”

13:25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” Although he urged him, he would not go but blessed him.

13:26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”

13:27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent Amnon with him  and all of the king’s sons.

13:28 Then Absalom commanded his servants, “Look when Amnon is drunk with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Do not fear; have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. 

13:29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each mounted his mule and fled.

13:30 While they were on the way, news came to David, “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left.”

13:31 Then the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the ground. And all his servants who were standing by tore their garments.

13:32 But Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “Let not my lord think that they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the talk of Absalom this has been his intention from the day he violated his sister Tamar.

13:33 Now therefore let not my lord the king so take it to heart a report saying all the sons of the king are dead, for Amnon alone is dead.”

13:34 But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road west by the side of the mountain.

13:35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Behold, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.

13:36  And as soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king’s sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.

13:37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son day after day.

13:38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years.

13:39  King David had finished going out to Absalom; 

for he had since been consoled over the death of Amnon.

Chapter Fourteen

14:1  Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart was upon Absalom.

14:2  And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.

14:3  Go to the king and speak thus to him.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.

14:4  When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and bowed and said, “Save me, O king.”

14:5  And the king said to her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “I am a widow; my husband is dead.

14:6 And your servant had two sons, and they fought with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

14:7  And now the whole clan has risen against your servant, and they say, ‘Give up the man who struck his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.’ And so they would destroy the heir also. Thus they would quench my coal that is left and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”

14:8  Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.”

14:9  And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father’s house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.”

14:10 The king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never bother you again.”

14:11 Then she said, “Please let the king invoke the LORD your God, that the avenger of blood kill no more, and my son be not destroyed.” He said, “As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”

14:12 Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” He said, “Speak.”

14:13 And the woman said, “Why then have you devised such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished.

14:14 “For we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life but he devises plans for the one banished from him not to be banished.”

14:15 “Now the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your maidservant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his maidservant.

14:16 ‘For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy both me and my son from the inheritance of God.’

14:17 “Then your maidservant said, ‘Please let the word of my lord the king be comforting, for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with you.’”

14:18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king please speak.”

14:19 So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman replied, “As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who commanded me, and it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant;

14:20 in order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is in the earth.”

14:21 Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

14:22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground and bowed  and blessed the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant  knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the  king, in that the king has granted the request of his  servant.”

14:23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

14:24 And the king said, “Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.

14:25 Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

14:26 When he would shave his head—at the end of every year he used to shave his head, (for it was heavy upon him, he cut it) he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.

14:27 There were born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.

14:28 So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence.

14:29 Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he [Joab] would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but he would not come.

14:30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

14:31 Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”

14:32 Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’”

14:33 Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.

Chapter Fifteen

15:1 After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

15:2  And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,”

15:3  Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.”

15:4  Then Absalom would say, “Who would make me judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.”

15:5  And whenever a man came near to bow to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.

15:6  Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

15:7  And at the end of four years Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the LORD, in Hebron.

15:8  For your servant vowed a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the LORD will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship tothe LORD.’”

15:9  The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

15:10 But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron!’”

15:11 With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited and they went in their innocence not knowing all the situation. 

15:12  And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.

15:13 And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.”

15:14 Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

15:15 And the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.”

15:16 So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ten concubines to keep the house.

15:17 And the king went out, and all the people on foot. And they halted at the last house.

15:18 And all his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king.

15:19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home.

15:20 “You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander with us, while I go where I will? Return and take back your brothers; mercy and truth be with you.”

15:21 But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.”

15:22 Therefore David said to Ittai, “Come and cross over.” So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.

15:23 While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people passed over. The king also passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness.

15:24 Now behold, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished passing from the city.

15:25 The king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the LORD, then he will bring me back again and show me both it and his dwelling place.

15:26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”

15:27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

15:28 See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”

15:29 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

15:30 As David was going up the Mount of Olives, he was weeping as he went; his head was covered and his feet were bare. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.

15:31 And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

15:32 While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head.

15:33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me.

15:34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.

15:35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

15:36 Behold, their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, and by them you shall send to me everything you hear.”

15:37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as    Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

Chapter Sixteen

16:1  When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

16:2  And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

16:3 And the king said, “And where is your master’s grandson?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my grandfather.’”

16:4  Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” “Behold, I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”

16:5  When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, coming out and cursing.”

16:6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the special guard  were on his right hand and on his left.

16:7 And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man!

16:8 The LORD has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

16:9  Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.”

16:10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’”

16:11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.

16:12 It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today.”

16:13 So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dirt.

16:14 And the king, and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at their destination. And there he refreshed himself.

16:15 Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

16:16 And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

16:17 And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”

16:18 And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, for whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.

16:19 And again, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? “Just as I served before your father, so I will be before you.”

16:20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?”

16:21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”

16:22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

16:23 Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; “So was all the advice of Ahithophel, also to David, also to Absalom.”

Chapter Seventeen

17:1  Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight.

17:2  And I will come upon him while he is exhausted and worn out and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king,

17:3  and I will bring all the people back to you like the return of everyone depends upon the man you seek; then all the people will be at peace. 

17:4  So the plan was pleasing in the sight of Absalom and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel. 

17:5  Then Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.”

17:6  When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has spoken this advice. Should we follow his advice? If not, you speak. 

17:7  So Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the advice that Ahithophel has advised is not good.”

17:8  Moreover, Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men and they are fierce, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is an expert in warfare, and will not spend the night with the people.

17:9  “Look, he has now hidden himself in one of the caves or in another place; As soon as some of the troops fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’

17:10 “And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely melt away;  for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are brave men.

17:11 “But I advise that all Israel be surely gathered to you, from Dan even to Beersheba in number like the sand by the sea be gathered to you and you personally go into battle. 

17:12   “So we shall come against him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will descend on him as the dew falls on the ground; Neither he nor any of   his men will be left alive.    

17:13 “If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the valley until not even a small stone is found there.”

17:14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring calamity on Absalom.

17:15 Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “This is what Ahithophel counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have counseled.

17:16 “Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure you cross over, or else the king and all the people who are with him will be destroyed.’”

17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En- rogel, and a maidservant would go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David, for they could not be seen entering the city.

17:18 But a young man saw  them and told  Absalom; so the two of them departed quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down there. 

17:19 And the woman took a covering and spread it over the well’s opening and scattered grain on it, so that nothing was known.

17:20  Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have crossed the stream of water.” And when they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

17:21 It came about after they had departed that they came up out of the well and went and told King David; and they said to David, “Arise and cross over the water quickly for thus Ahithophel has counseled against you.”

17:22 Then David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed the [Jordan] river. By the light of morning, not one was left who had not crossed  the Jordan.

17:23 Now when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and arose and went to his home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; thus he died and was buried in the grave of his father.

17:24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

17:25 Absalom set Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.

17:26 And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

17:27 Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,

17:28 brought beds, basins, vessels of pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, roasted seeds,

17:29 honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

Chapter Eighteen

18:1  Then David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

18:2  And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will surely march out with you.”

18:3  But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us support from the city.”

18:4  The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

18:5 And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

18:6 So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.

18:7 The army of Israel was defeated there by David’s men and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.

18:8 The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people than the sword devoured that day.

18:9 Then Absalom happened to come across David’s men.

Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the branches of a great oak, and his head got caught in the oak and he was suspended between the sky and ground while the mule that was under him went on.

18:10 And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”

18:11 Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a special belt.”

18:12  But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king’s son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’

18:13 On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.”

18:14 Joab replied, “I will not wait around like this for you!”

And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the middle of the oak.

18:15  And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

18:16 Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the people.

18:17 And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and piled over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled every one to his own home.

18:18  Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s monument to this day.

18:19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run and carry news to the king that the LORD has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies.”

18:20 But Joab said to him, “You are not the man to carry news this day, but you shall carry news another day; however, you shall carry no news today, because the king’s son is dead.”

18:21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran.

18:22 Now Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said once more to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why would you run, my son, since you will have no reward for going?”

18:23 “But whatever happens,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and passed up the Cushite.

18:24 Now David was sitting between the two gates; and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man running by himself.

18:25 The watchman called and told the king. And the king said, “If he is by himself there is good news in his mouth.” And he came closer and closer.

18:26 Then the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Behold, another man running by himself.” And the king said, “This one also is bringing news.”

18:27 The watchman said, “I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “This is a good man and comes with good news.”

18:28 Ahimaaz called and said to the king, “Greetings.” And he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, “Blessed is the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”

18:29 The king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a great deal of confusion when Joab was sending the king’s servant and your servant, but I don’t know what it was all about.”

18:30 Then the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood. 

18:31 Behold, the Cushite arrived, and the Cushite said, “Let my lord the king receive good news, for the LORD has vindicated you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you.”

18:32 Then the king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “Let the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be as that young man!”

18:33 The king was deeply shaken and went up to the room over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Chapter Nineteen

19:1  It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.”

19:2  So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved over his son.”

19:3  And the people went quietly into the city that day as people quietly move who are humiliated when they flee in battle.

19:4  The king covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

19:5  Then Joab came into the house to the king and said,

“Today you have humiliated the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines,

19:6  by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then it would be right in your eyes. 

19:7  “Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, surely not a man will spend the night with you, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”

19:8  So the king arose and sat in the gate. When they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate,” then all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled, each to his home.

19:9  All the people were quarreling throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.

19:10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now then, why are you silent about bringing the king back?”

19:11 Then King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his palace, since the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his palace?

19:12 ‘You are my brothers; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’

19:13 “Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.’”

19:14 Thus he persuaded the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.”

19:15 So the king came back to the Jordan River, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan River.

19:16 And Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David.

19:17 And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king,

19:18 Then they kept crossing the ford to bring over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan River.

19:19 So he said to the king, “Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart.

19:20 “For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”

19:21 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’S anointed?”

19:22 David then said, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an adversary to me?

Should any man be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?”

19:23 The king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” Thus the king swore to him.

19:24  Then Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

19:25 It was when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”

19:26 So he answered, “O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ because your servant is lame.

19:27 “Moreover, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight.

19:28 “For all my father’s household was nothing but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right do I have yet that I should complain anymore to the king?”

19:29 So the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have decided, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’”

19:30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come safely to his own house.”

19:31 Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; and he went on to the Jordan with the king to send him on his way from there. 

19:32 Now Barzillai was very old, being eighty years old; and he had provided food for the king while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.

19:33 The king said to Barzillai, “You cross over with me and I will sustain you in Jerusalem with me.”

19:34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How many are days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

19:35 I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear anymore the voice of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

19:36 “Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward?

19:37 “Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. However, here is your servant Chimham, let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.”

19:38 The king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight; and whatever you desire of me, I will do for you.”

19:39 All the people crossed over the Jordan and the king crossed too. The king then kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place.

19:40  Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel crossed over with him. 

19:41 Then all the men of Israel began coming to the king. They asked the king, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, sneak you away, and brought the king and his household and all David’s men with him over the Jordan?”

19:42  Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is a close relative to us. Why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense, or anything taken for us?

19:43 But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “We have ten parts in the king, therefore we also have more claim on David than you.Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not our advice first to bring back our king?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.

Chapter Twenty

20:1  Now a worthless man happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!”

20:2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah remained steadfast to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

20:3 Then David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were under restriction up until the day of their death, living as widows.

20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call out the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.”

20:5  So Amasa went to call out the men of Judah, but he delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

20:6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; You take your lord’s servants and pursue him, so that he does not find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight.”

20:7 So Joab’s men went out after him, along with the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men; and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

20:8  When they were at the big rock  which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was dressed in his military attire, and over it was a belt with a dagger in its sheath fastened at his waist; and as he went forward, it fell out.

20:9  Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

20:10 But Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab’s hand so he struck him in the belly with it and poured out his inward parts on the ground, and did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.

20:11  Now there stood by him one of Joab’s young men, and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.”

20:12 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the 

road. And when this man saw that all the soldiers stopped, he removed Amasa from the road into the field and threw a garment over him when he saw that everyone who came by him stopped.

20:13 As soon as he was removed from the road, all the men passed on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

20:14 Now he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel Beth-Maacah, and all the Berites; and they were gathered together and also followed him.

20:15  They came and besieged him in Abel Beth-Maacah, and they built up a siege ramp against the city, and it stood by the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab were wreaking destruction in order to topple the wall.

20:16 Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen up, listen up ! Please tell Joab, ‘Come here that I may speak to you.’”

20:17 So he approached her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.”

20:18 She said, “In the past they would always say, ‘Let them ask in Abel,’ and that is how they settled things.

20:19 “I am of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You are seeking to destroy a city, even a mother city in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?”

20:20 Joab replied, “Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy it !

20:21 “Such is not the case. But a man from the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against King David. Only hand him over, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”

20:22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab.  So he  blew the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each going to his own home. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

20:23 Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites;

20:24 and Adoram was over the forced labor, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 

20:25 and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

20:26 and Ira the Jairite was also a priest to David.

Chapter Twenty-One

21:1  Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is for Saul and his house of bloodshed, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

21:2  So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel; they were the remainder of the Amorites, and the sons of Israel swore a promise to them but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah).

21:3  Thus David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? And how can I make amends that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”

21:4 Then the Gibeonites said to him, “We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

21:5 So they said to the king, “The man who destroyed us and who planned to exterminate us from remaining within any border of Israel,

21:6 let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will execute them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

21:7  But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the LORD which was between them, between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.

21:8  So the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth whom she had borne to Saul, and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

21:9  Then he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they executed them in the mountain before the LORD, so that the seven of them fell together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest at the beginning of barley harvest.

21:10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the sky; and she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.

21:11 When it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done,

21:12 then David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the open square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day the Philistines struck down Saul in Gilboa.

21:13 He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been executed.

21:14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the grave of Kish his father; thus they did all that the king commanded, and after that God was moved by prayer for the land.

21:15 Now when the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became exhausted. 

21:16 Then Ishbi-benob, who was among the descendants of the Rapha, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundredbronze shekels and he was armed with a new sword. He had said that he would kill David.

21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall not go out again with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

21:18 Now it came about after this that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among the descendants of the Rapha.

21:19 There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

21:20 There was war at Gath again, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born to the Rapha.

21:21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down.

21:22 These four were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they fell by the hand of David and his servants

Chapter Twenty-Two

22:1  And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

22:2  He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

22:3  My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold my refuge, my savior, you save me from violence.

22:4  “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, 

    And I am saved from my enemies.

22:5  “For the waves of death encompassed me; 

    The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;

22:6  The cords of Sheol surrounded me; 

    The snares of death confronted me.

22:7  “In my distress I called upon the LORD, 

          I called out to my God.

    He heard from his temple, my voice;

    And my cry for help came into his ears.

22:8  “Then the earth shook and quaked, 

The foundations of heaven were trembling 

And were shaken, because He was angry.

22:9  Smoke went up out of his nostrils,

    and fire from his mouth devoured; 

    Coals burned from it.

22:10 He bowed the heavens and came down 

and thick darkness was under his feet.

22:11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;

and he glided on the wings of the wind. 

22:12 He made darkness his hiding place around him, his  covering,

darkness of water, thick clouds. 

22:13 Out of the brightness before him

coals of fire flamed

22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven,

    and the Most High uttered his voice.

22:15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;

 lightning, and routed them.

22:16 Then the channels of water were seen;

  and the foundations of the world were uncovered

  at the rebuke of the LORD,

at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

22:17 “He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

22:18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,

    from those who hated me,

    for they were too mighty for me.

22:19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

    but the LORD was my support.

22:20 He brought me to an open place,

    he delivered me because he delighted in me.

22:21 “The LORD dealt with me according to my   righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded    me.

22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD

    and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22:23 For all his laws were before me,

    and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

22:24 I was blameless before him,

    and I kept myself from guilt.

22:25 And the LORD has rewarded me according to my  righteousness,

    according to my cleanness in his sight.

22:26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

22:27 with the purified you deal purely,

    and with the crooked you make yourself shrewd.

22:28 You save a humble people,

but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

22:29 For you are my lamp, O LORD,

    and my God lightens my darkness.

22:30 For by you I can run [advance quickly against]

      a troop [of soldiers];

    and by my God I can scale over a wall. 

22:31 This God—his way is perfect;

    the word of the LORD proves true;

    he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

22:32 “For who is God, but the LORD?

    And who is a rock, except our God?

22:33 This God is my strong refuge

    and has made my way blameless.

22:34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer

    and set me secure on the heights.

22:35 He trains my hands for war,

    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

22:36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,

    and your answer made me great.

22:37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

    and my feet did not slip;

22:38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,

    and did not turn back until they were consumed.

22:39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that       they did not rise;

    they fell under my feet.

22:40 For you armed me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

22:41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

those who hated me, and I destroyed them.

22:42 They looked, but there was none to save;

they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

22:43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;

    I crushed them and stamped them down like the      mire of the streets.

22:44 “You delivered me from strife with my people;

you kept me as the head of the nations;

people whom I had not known served me.

22:45 Foreigners came cringing to me;

    as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

22:46 Foreigners lost heart

 and came trembling out of their fortresses.

22:47 “The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

22:48 the God who gave me vengeance

and brought down peoples under me,

22:49 who brought me out from my enemies;

you exalted me above those who rose against me;

you delivered me from men of violence.

22:50 For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,

    and sing praises to your name.

22:51 Great salvation he brings to his king,

    and shows lovingkindness to his anointed,

    to David and his offspring forever.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

23:1  Now these are the last words of David:      

The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man who was raised on high,

the anointed of the God of Jacob,

the sweet psalmist of Israel:

23:2 “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me;

  his word is on my tongue.

23:3  The God of Israel has spoken;              

  the Rock of Israel has said to me:        

    When one rules justly over men,            

  ruling in the fear of God,        

23:4  he is like the light of morning at sunrise

  on a cloudless morning

    like the brightness after rain

  that brings grass from the earth.’

23:5  “For does not my house stand so with God?   

    For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

  ordered in all things and secure.

    For will he not cause to grow

all my salvation and my desire?

23:6  But worthless men are all like thorns         

      that are thrown away,

    for they cannot be taken with the hand;

23:7  The one who touches them 

  must use an iron instrument 

    or the wooden shaft of a spear 

  and they are completely consumed with fire.”

23:8  These are the names of  David’s warriors: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was head of the officers. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

23:9  After him was Eleazar son of Dodo, the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew, 

23:10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand seemed stuck to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the bodies.

23:11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines.

23:12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD worked a great victory.

23:13 At the time of the harvest three of the thirty leaders  went down to David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim

23:14 David was then in the stronghold, and a garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.

23:15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!”

23:16 Then the three elite warriors broke through the lines of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD

23:17 and said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three elite warriors did.

23:18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was head of the three. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name among the three.

23:19 Was he not held in greater honor than the three?  He became their officer, even though he did not attain to the three. 

23:20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, and did great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on snowy day.

23:21 And he struck down an Egyptian, an impressive man. 

The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.

23:22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and to him a name was given beside the three elite warriors.

23:23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

23:24 Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty;

Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

23:25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod,

23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa,

23:27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah,

23:29 Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin,

23:30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,

23:31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim,

23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, [sons of] Jashen, Jonathan,

23:33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,

23:34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

23:35 Hezroof Carmel, Paarai the Arbite,

23:36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah,

23:38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

23:39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

Chapter Twenty-Four

24:1  Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

24:2  So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

24:3  But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”

24:4  But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel.

24:5 They crossed the Jordan and began from Aroer, and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer.

24:6  Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi, coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon.

24:7  Then they went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba.

24:8  They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem.

24:9  And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 able-bodied men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

24:10 But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

24:11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

24:12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’”

24:13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your enemies while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.”

24:14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

24:15  So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men.

24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

24:17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

24:18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

24:19 So David went up at Gad’s word, as the LORD commanded.

24:20 And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.

24:21 And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be removed from the people.”

24:22 Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Look, here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.

24:23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

24:24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer to the LORD my God 

burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

24:25 And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded on behalf of the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.