Now it
came
to pass
after the death
of Saul,
when David
was returned
from the slaughter
of the Amalekites,
and David
had abode two days
in Ziklag;
It came even
to pass
on the third day,
that,
behold,
a man
came
out of the camp
from Saul
with his clothes rent,
and earth
upon his head:
and so
it was,
when he
came
to David,
that he
fell
to the earth,
and did obeisance.
And David
said unto him,
From whence comest thou?
And
he said unto him,
Out of
the camp
of Israel
am I escaped.
And David
said unto him,
How went the matter?
I pray thee,
tell me.
And he answered,
That the people
are fled
from the battle,
and many
of the people
also are fallen
and dead;
and Saul
and Jonathan
his son
are dead also.
And David
said
unto the young man
that told him,
How knowest
thou that Saul
and Jonathan
his son be dead?
And the young man
that told him said,
As I
happened
by chance
upon mount Gilboa,
behold,
Saul
leaned
upon his spear;
and,
lo,
the chariots
and horsemen
followed hard
after him.
And
when
he looked behind him,
he saw me,
and
called unto me.
And I answered,
Here am I.
And
he said unto me,
Who art thou?
And
I answered him,
I am an Amalekite.
He said
unto me again,
Stand,
I pray thee,
upon me,
and slay me:
for anguish
is come upon me,
because
my life
is yet whole in me.
So I
stood upon him,
and slew him,
because
I was sure
that he
could not live
after that
he was fallen:
and
I took
the crown
that was upon his head,
and the bracelet
that was on his arm,
and have brought them hither
unto my lord.
Then David
took
hold on
his clothes,
and rent them;
and likewise
all the men that
were with him:
And they mourned,
and wept,
and fasted
until even,
for Saul,
and
for Jonathan his son,
and
for the people
of the LORD,
and for the house
of Israel;
because
they were fallen
by the sword.
And David
said
unto the young man
that told him,
Whence art thou?
And he answered,
I am the son
of a stranger,
an Amalekite.
And David
said unto him,
How wast
thou not afraid
to stretch
forth thine hand
to destroy
the LORD's anointed?
And David
called one
of the young men,
and said,
Go near,
and
fall upon him.
And he
smote him
that he died.
And David
said unto him,
Thy blood
be upon thy head;
for thy
mouth
hath testified
against thee,
saying,
I have slain
the LORD's anointed.
And David
lamented
with this lamentation
over Saul
and over Jonathan
his son:
(Also
he bade them
teach
the children
of Judah
the use
of the bow:
behold,
it is written
in the book
of Jasher.)
The beauty
of Israel
is slain
upon thy high places:
how are
the mighty fallen!
Tell it
not in Gath,
publish it
not in the streets
of Askelon;
lest
the daughters
of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters
of the uncircumcised triumph.
Ye mountains
of Gilboa,
let there be
no dew,
neither let
there be rain,
upon you,
nor fields
of offerings:
for there
the shield
of the mighty
is vilely cast away,
the shield
of Saul,
as though
he had not been anointed
with oil.
From the blood
of the slain,
from the fat
of the mighty,
the bow
of Jonathan turned
not back,
and
the sword
of Saul returned
not empty.
Saul
and Jonathan
were lovely
and pleasant
in their lives,
and
in their death
they were not divided:
they were swifter
than eagles,
they were stronger
than lions.
Ye daughters
of Israel,
weep over Saul,
who clothed you
in scarlet,
with other delights,
who put on
ornaments of gold
upon your apparel.
How are
the mighty fallen
in the midst
of the battle!
O Jonathan,
thou wast slain
in thine high places.
I am distressed
for thee,
my brother Jonathan:
very pleasant
hast
thou
been unto me:
thy love to me
was wonderful,
passing the love
of women.
How are
the mighty fallen,
and the weapons
of war perished!
And it
came
to pass
after this,
that David
enquired
of the LORD,
saying,
Shall I
go up
into any of the cities
of Judah?
And the LORD
said unto him,
Go up.
And David said,
Whither
shall I go up?
And he said,
Unto Hebron.
So David
went up thither,
and his two wives also,
Ahinoam
the Jezreelitess,
and Abigail Nabal's wife
the Carmelite.
And his men that
were with him did
David bring up,
every man
with his household:
and
they dwelt
in the cities
of Hebron.
And the men
of Judah came,
and there
they anointed David king
over the house
of Judah.
And
they told David,
saying,
That the men
of Jabeshgilead
were
they
that buried Saul.
And David
sent messengers
unto the men
of Jabeshgilead,
and
said unto them,
Blessed
be
ye of the LORD,
that ye
have shewed
this kindness
unto your lord,
even unto Saul,
and have buried him.
And now
the LORD
shew kindness
and truth
unto you:
and
I also will requite
you this kindness,
because
ye have done
this thing.
Therefore now let
your hands
be strengthened,
and be
ye valiant:
for your master Saul
is dead,
and
also the house
of Judah
have anointed me king
over them.
But Abner
the son
of Ner,
captain
of Saul's host,
took Ishbosheth
the son
of Saul,
and brought
him over
to Mahanaim;
And made him king
over Gilead,
and
over the Ashurites,
and over Jezreel,
and over Ephraim,
and
over Benjamin,
and
over all Israel.
Ishbosheth Saul's son
was forty years old
when
he began
to reign
over Israel,
and reigned two years.
But the house
of Judah followed David.
And the time
that David
was king
in Hebron
over the house
of Judah
was seven years
and six months.
And Abner
the son
of Ner,
and the servants
of Ishbosheth
the son of Saul,
went out
from Mahanaim
to Gibeon.
And Joab
the son
of Zeruiah,
and the servants
of David,
went out,
and met together
by the pool
of Gibeon:
and
they sat down,
the one
on the one side
of the pool,
and the other
on the other side
of the pool.
And Abner
said
to Joab,
Let the young men
now arise,
and play
before us.
And Joab said,
Let them arise.
Then there arose
and went over
by number twelve
of Benjamin,
which pertained
to Ishbosheth
the son of Saul,
and twelve
of the servants
of David.
And
they caught every one
his fellow
by the head,
and thrust
his sword
in his fellow's side;
so they
fell down together:
wherefore
that place
was called
Helkathhazzurim,
which is in Gibeon.
And there was
a very sore
battle that day;
and Abner
was beaten,
and the men
of Israel,
before the servants
of David.
And there were three sons
of Zeruiah there,
Joab,
and Abishai,
and Asahel:
and Asahel
was
as light
of foot
as a wild roe.
And Asahel
pursued
after Abner;
and in going
he turned not
to the right hand nor
to the left
from following Abner.
Then Abner
looked behind him,
and said,
Art thou Asahel?
And he answered,
I am.
And Abner
said
to him,
Turn
thee aside to thy
right hand
or
to thy left,
and lay thee
hold on one
of the young men,
and take thee
his armour.
But Asahel
would not turn aside
from following of him.
And Abner
said again
to Asahel,
Turn thee aside
from following me:
wherefore should
I smite thee
to the ground?
how then
should
I hold up
my face
to Joab thy brother?
Howbeit
he refused
to turn aside:
wherefore
Abner
with the hinder end
of the spear
smote him
under the fifth rib,
that the spear
came out behind him;
and
he fell down there,
and died
in the same place:
and it
came
to pass,
that as many
as came
to the place
where Asahel
fell down
and died
stood still.
Joab
also and Abishai
pursued
after Abner:
and the sun
went down
when
they were come
to the hill
of Ammah,
that lieth
before Giah
by the way
of the wilderness
of Gibeon.
And the children
of Benjamin
gathered themselves
together
after Abner,
and became one troop,
and stood
on the top
of an hill.
Then Abner
called
to Joab,
and said,
Shall the sword
devour
for ever?
knowest
thou
not
that it
will be bitterness
in the latter end?
how long
shall
it be then,
ere
thou bid
the people return
from following their brethren?
And Joab said,
As God liveth,
unless thou
hadst spoken,
surely
then
in the morning
the people
had gone
up every one
from following
his brother.
So Joab
blew a trumpet,
and all
the people
stood still,
and pursued
after Israel no more,
neither fought
they any more.
And Abner
and his men
walked all
that night
through the plain,
and passed
over Jordan,
and went through all Bithron,
and they
came
to Mahanaim.
And Joab
returned
from following Abner:
and
when
he had gathered all
the people
together,
there lacked
of David's servants nineteen men
and Asahel.
But the servants
of David
had smitten
of Benjamin,
and
of Abner's men,
so that three hundred
and threescore men died.
And
they took up
Asahel,
and buried him
in the sepulchre
of his father,
which was in Bethlehem.
And Joab
and his men
went all night,
and they
came
to Hebron
at break
of day.
Now there was long war
between the house
of Saul
and the house
of David:
but David
waxed
stronger
and stronger,
and the house
of Saul waxed weaker
and weaker.
And unto David
were
sons born
in Hebron:
and his firstborn
was Amnon,
of Ahinoam
the Jezreelitess;
And his second,
Chileab,
of Abigail the wife
of Nabal the Carmelite;
and the third,
Absalom the son
of Maacah the daughter
of Talmai king
of Geshur;
And the fourth,
Adonijah the son
of Haggith;
and the fifth,
Shephatiah the son
of Abital;
And the sixth,
Ithream,
by Eglah David's wife.
These were born to David
in Hebron.
And it
came
to pass,
while there was
war between the house
of Saul
and the house
of David,
that Abner
made himself strong
for the house
of Saul.
And Saul
had a concubine,
whose name
was Rizpah,
the daughter
of Aiah:
and Ishbosheth
said
to Abner,
Wherefore hast thou
gone in
unto my father's concubine?
Then was Abner very wroth
for the words
of Ishbosheth,
and said,
Am I
a dog's head,
which against Judah
do shew kindness
this day
unto the house
of Saul
thy father,
to his brethren,
and
to his friends,
and have not delivered thee
into the hand
of David,
that thou
chargest me
to day
with a fault
concerning this woman?
So do God
to Abner,
and more also,
except,
as the LORD
hath sworn
to David,
even so
I do to him;
To translate the kingdom
from the house
of Saul,
and to set up
the throne
of David
over Israel
and over Judah,
from Dan
even to Beersheba.
And
he could not answer
Abner a word again,
because he feared him.
And Abner
sent messengers
to David
on his behalf,
saying,
Whose is the land?
saying also,
Make thy league
with me,
and,
behold,
my hand
shall be
with thee,
to bring
about all Israel
unto thee.
And he said,
Well;
I will make a league
with thee:
but one thing
I require
of thee,
that is,
Thou
shalt not see
my face,
except thou
first bring
Michal Saul's daughter,
when
thou comest to see
my face.
And David
sent messengers
to Ishbosheth Saul's son,
saying,
Deliver me
my wife Michal,
which I
espoused to me
for an hundred foreskins
of the Philistines.
And Ishbosheth sent,
and took her
from her husband,
even from Phaltiel
the son
of Laish.
And her husband
went with her
along weeping
behind her
to Bahurim.
Then said Abner
unto him, Go,
return.
And he returned.
And Abner
had communication
with the elders
of Israel,
saying,
Ye sought
for David
in times past
to be king
over you:
Now then
do it:
for the LORD
hath spoken
of David,
saying,
By the hand
of my servant
David I
will save
my people Israel
out of the hand
of the Philistines,
and
out of the hand
of all their enemies.
And Abner
also spake in the ears
of Benjamin:
and Abner
went also
to speak
in the ears
of David
in Hebron all
that seemed good
to Israel,
and that
seemed good
to the whole house
of Benjamin.
So Abner
came to David
to Hebron,
and twenty men
with him.
And David
made Abner
and the men that
were with him a feast.
And Abner
said
unto David,
I will arise
and go,
and will gather all Israel
unto my lord the king,
that they
may make
a league
with thee,
and
that thou
mayest reign
over all
that thine heart desireth.
And David
sent Abner away;
and
he went in peace.
And,
behold,
the servants
of David and
Joab
came
from pursuing a troop,
and brought in
a great
spoil with them:
but Abner
was not with David
in Hebron;
for he
had sent him away,
and
he was gone in peace.
When Joab
and all
the host
that was with him
were come,
they told Joab,
saying,
Abner
the son
of Ner
came to the king,
and
he hath sent him away,
and
he is gone in peace.
Then Joab
came
to the king,
and said,
What
hast
thou done?
behold,
Abner
came
unto thee;
why is it
that thou
hast sent him away,
and
he is quite gone?
Thou knowest Abner
the son
of Ner,
that he
came
to deceive thee,
and to know
thy going out
and thy coming in,
and to know all
that thou doest.
And
when Joab
was come out
from David,
he sent messengers
after Abner,
which brought him again
from the well of Sirah:
but David
knew it not.
And
when Abner
was returned
to Hebron,
Joab took him aside
in the gate
to speak
with him quietly,
and smote him there
under the fifth rib,
that he died,
for the blood
of Asahel his brother.
And afterward
when David
heard it,
he said,
I and my kingdom
are guiltless
before the LORD
for ever from the blood
of Abner
the son
of Ner:
Let it
rest
on the head
of Joab,
and
on all his father's house;
and let
there not fail
from the house
of Joab one
that hath
an issue,
or that is
a leper,
or that
leaneth on a staff,
or that
falleth on the sword,
or that
lacketh bread.
So Joab,
and Abishai
his brother
slew Abner,
because
he had slain
their brother Asahel
at Gibeon
in the battle.
And David
said
to Joab,
and
to all the people
that were with him,
Rend your clothes,
and gird you
with sackcloth,
and mourn
before Abner.
And king David himself
followed the bier.
And
they buried Abner
in Hebron:
and the king
lifted
up his voice,
and wept
at the grave
of Abner;
and all
the people wept.
And the king
lamented
over Abner,
and said,
Died Abner
as a fool dieth?
Thy hands
were not bound,
nor thy feet
put
into fetters:
as a man
falleth before wicked men,
so fellest thou.
And all
the people
wept again over him.
And
when all
the people
came to cause
David to eat meat
while it
was yet day,
David sware,
saying,
So do God to me,
and more also,
if I
taste bread,
or ought else,
till the sun
be down.
And all
the people
took notice of it,
and it
pleased them:
as whatsoever
the king
did pleased all
the people.
For all the people
and all Israel
understood
that day that it
was not
of the king
to slay
Abner the son
of Ner.
And the king
said
unto his servants,
Know
ye not
that there is
a prince and a great man
fallen
this day
in Israel?
And
I am this day weak,
though anointed king;
and these men
the sons
of Zeruiah
be too hard
for me:
the LORD
shall reward the doer
of evil
according to his wickedness.
And
when Saul's son
heard
that Abner
was dead
in Hebron,
his hands
were feeble,
and all
the Israelites
were troubled.
And Saul's son
had two men
that were captains
of bands:
the name
of the one
was Baanah,
and the name
of the other Rechab,
the sons
of Rimmon a Beerothite,
of the children
of Benjamin:
(for Beeroth
also was reckoned
to Benjamin.
And the Beerothites
fled to Gittaim,
and were sojourners
there until this day.)
And Jonathan,
Saul's son,
had a son
that was lame
of his feet.
He was
five years old
when the tidings
came
of Saul
and Jonathan
out of Jezreel,
and his nurse
took him up,
and fled:
and it
came
to pass,
as she
made haste
to flee,
that he fell,
and became lame.
And his name
was Mephibosheth.
And the sons
of Rimmon the Beerothite,
Rechab
and Baanah,
went,
and came
about the heat
of the day
to the house
of Ishbosheth,
who lay
on a bed
at noon.
And
they came thither
into the midst
of the house,
as though
they would have fetched wheat;
and
they smote him
under the fifth rib:
and Rechab
and Baanah
his brother escaped.
For when
they came
into the house,
he lay
on his bed
in his bedchamber,
and
they smote him,
and slew him,
and beheaded him,
and took his head,
and gat them
away through the plain all night.
And they
brought
the head
of Ishbosheth
unto David
to Hebron,
and said
to the king,
Behold the head
of Ishbosheth the son
of Saul
thine enemy,
which sought thy life;
and the LORD
hath avenged
my lord the king
this day
of Saul,
and
of his seed.
And David
answered Rechab
and Baanah
his brother,
the sons
of Rimmon the Beerothite,
and
said unto them,
As the LORD liveth,
who hath redeemed
my soul
out of all adversity,
When one
told me,
saying,
Behold,
Saul is dead,
thinking to have brought
good tidings,
I took
hold of him,
and slew him
in Ziklag,
who thought
that I
would have given him
a reward
for his tidings:
How much more,
when wicked men
have slain
a righteous person
in his own house
upon his bed?
shall
I not therefore now require
his blood
of your hand,
and take you
away from the earth?
And David
commanded
his young men,
and
they slew 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 sepulchre
of Abner
in Hebron.
Then came all
the tribes
of Israel
to David
unto Hebron,
and spake,
saying,
Behold,
we are thy bone
and thy flesh.
Also in
time past,
when Saul
was king
over us,
thou wast
he that
leddest out
and broughtest in Israel:
and the LORD
said
to thee,
Thou
shalt feed
my people Israel,
and thou
shalt be
a captain
over Israel.
So all the elders
of Israel
came to the king
to Hebron;
and king David
made
a league
with them
in Hebron
before the LORD:
and
they anointed David king
over Israel.
David
was
thirty years old
when
he began
to reign,
and
he reigned forty years.
In Hebron
he reigned
over Judah seven years
and six months:
and in Jerusalem
he reigned thirty
and three years
over all Israel
and Judah.
And the king
and his men
went to Jerusalem
unto the Jebusites,
the inhabitants
of the land:
which spake unto David,
saying,
Except thou
take away the blind
and the lame,
thou shalt not come in hither:
thinking,
David cannot come in hither.
Nevertheless
David
took
the strong hold
of Zion:
the same
is the city
of David.
And David
said
on that day,
Whosoever getteth up to
the gutter,
and smiteth the Jebusites,
and the lame
and the blind
that are hated
of David's soul,
he shall be chief
and captain.
Wherefore
they said,
The blind
and the lame
shall not come
into the house.
So David
dwelt
in the fort,
and called it
the city
of David.
And David
built round about
from Millo and inward.
And David went on,
and grew great,
and the LORD God
of hosts
was with him.
And
Hiram king
of Tyre
sent messengers
to David,
and cedar trees,
and carpenters,
and masons:
and
they built David
an house.
And David
perceived
that the LORD
had established him king
over Israel,
and that
he had exalted
his kingdom
for his people Israel's sake.
And David
took him more concubines
and wives
out of Jerusalem,
after he was come
from Hebron:
and there were yet sons
and daughters
born
to David.
And these
be the names
of those
that were born
unto him
in Jerusalem;
Shammuah,
and Shobab,
and Nathan,
and Solomon,
Ibhar also,
and Elishua,
and Nepheg,
and Japhia,
And Elishama,
and Eliada,
and Eliphalet.
But
when the Philistines
heard that
they had anointed David king
over Israel,
all the Philistines
came up to
seek David;
and David
heard of it,
and went down
to the hold.
The Philistines also came
and spread themselves
in the valley
of Rephaim.
And David
enquired
of the LORD,
saying,
Shall I
go up to the Philistines?
wilt thou
deliver them
into mine hand?
And the LORD
said
unto David,
Go up:
for I
will doubtless
deliver the Philistines
into thine hand.
And David
came
to Baalperazim,
and David
smote them there,
and said,
The LORD
hath broken forth
upon mine enemies
before me,
as the breach
of waters.
Therefore he
called
the name
of that place Baalperazim.
And
there
they left
their images,
and David
and his men
burned them.
And the Philistines
came
up yet again,
and spread themselves
in the valley
of Rephaim.
And
when David
enquired
of the LORD,
he said,
Thou
shalt not go up;
but fetch
a compass
behind them,
and come upon
them over
against the mulberry trees.
And let
it be,
when
thou
hearest the sound of a
going in
the tops
of the mulberry trees,
that then
thou shalt bestir thyself:
for then
shall the LORD go out
before thee,
to smite the host
of the Philistines.
And David
did so,
as the LORD
had commanded him;
and smote
the Philistines
from Geba
until thou
come to Gazer.
Again,
David gathered
together all the chosen men
of Israel,
thirty thousand.
And David arose,
and went with all
the people
that were with him
from Baale
of Judah,
to bring up
from thence
the ark of God,
whose name
is called
by the name
of the LORD
of hosts
that dwelleth between the cherubims.
And they set
the ark
of God
upon a new cart,
and brought it
out of the house
of Abinadab
that was in Gibeah:
and Uzzah
and Ahio,
the sons
of Abinadab,
drave the new cart.
And
they brought it
out of the house
of Abinadab
which was at Gibeah,
accompanying the ark
of God:
and Ahio
went before the ark.
And David
and all
the house
of Israel
played
before the LORD
on all manner
of instruments
made of fir wood,
even on harps,
and
on psalteries,
and on timbrels,
and on cornets,
and
on cymbals.
And
when they
came
to Nachon's threshingfloor,
Uzzah
put forth
his hand
to the ark
of God,
and took
hold of it;
for the oxen
shook it.
And
the anger
of the LORD
was kindled
against Uzzah;
and God
smote him there
for his error;
and
there
he died
by the ark
of God.
And David
was displeased,
because
the LORD
had made
a breach
upon Uzzah:
and he
called
the name
of the place Perezuzzah
to this day.
And David
was afraid
of the LORD
that day,
and said,
How shall
the ark
of the LORD come to me?
So David
would not remove
the ark
of the LORD
unto him
into the city
of David:
but David
carried it aside
into the house
of Obededom the Gittite.
And
the ark
of the LORD
continued
in the house
of Obededom
the Gittite three months:
and the LORD
blessed Obededom,
and all
his household.
And it
was told king David,
saying,
The LORD
hath blessed the house
of Obededom,
and all
that pertaineth unto him,
because
of the ark
of God.
So David
went
and brought
up the ark
of God
from the house
of Obededom
into the city
of David
with gladness.
And it
was so,
that when
they that bare
the ark
of the LORD
had gone
six paces,
he sacrificed oxen
and fatlings.
And David
danced
before the LORD
with all
his might;
and David
was girded
with a linen ephod.
So David and all
the house
of Israel
brought
up the ark
of the LORD
with shouting,
and
with the sound
of the trumpet.
And as the ark
of the LORD
came
into the city
of David,
Michal Saul's daughter
looked
through a window,
and saw king David
leaping and dancing
before the LORD;
and
she despised him
in her heart.
And
they brought in
the ark
of the LORD,
and set it
in his place,
in the midst
of the tabernacle
that David
had pitched
for it:
and David
offered
burnt offerings
and peace offerings
before the LORD.
And
as soon as David
had made an end
of offering
burnt offerings
and peace offerings,
he blessed the people
in the name
of the LORD
of hosts.
And he
dealt
among all
the people,
even among the whole multitude
of Israel,
as well to the women
as men,
to every one
a cake of bread,
and a good piece
of flesh,
and a flagon
of wine.
So all
the people
departed every one
to his house.
Then David
returned
to bless his household.
And Michal
the daughter
of Saul
came out
to meet David,
and said,
How glorious
was the king
of Israel to day,
who uncovered himself
to day
in the eyes
of the handmaids
of his servants,
as one
of the vain fellows
shamelessly uncovereth himself!
And David
said
unto Michal,
It was before the LORD,
which chose me
before thy father,
and
before all his house,
to appoint me ruler
over the people
of the LORD,
over Israel:
therefore will
I play
before the LORD.
And
I will yet be more vile
than thus,
and will be
base in mine own sight:
and
of the maidservants which
thou
hast spoken of,
of them shall
I be had
in honour.
Therefore Michal
the daughter
of Saul
had no child
unto the day
of her death.
And it
came
to pass,
when the king
sat
in his house,
and the LORD
had given him
rest round
about from all his enemies;
That the king
said
unto Nathan the prophet,
See now,
I dwell
in an house
of cedar,
but
the ark
of God
dwelleth within curtains.
And Nathan
said
to the king,
Go,
do all that is
in thine heart;
for the LORD
is with thee.
And it
came to pass
that night,
that the word
of the LORD
came unto Nathan,
saying,
Go and tell
my servant David,
Thus saith the LORD,
Shalt
thou build me
an house
for me
to dwell in?
Whereas
I have not
dwelt
in any house
since the time that
I brought
up the children
of Israel
out of Egypt,
even to this day,
but have walked
in a tent
and in a tabernacle.
In all the places
wherein I
have walked
with all the children
of Israel
spake
I a word
with any of the tribes
of Israel,
whom
I commanded
to feed
my people Israel,
saying,
Why build
ye not
me an house
of cedar?
Now therefore so
shalt
thou say
unto my servant David,
Thus saith
the LORD
of hosts,
I took thee
from the sheepcote,
from following the sheep,
to be ruler
over my people,
over Israel:
And
I was with thee
whithersoever
thou wentest,
and have cut off all
thine enemies
out of thy sight,
and have made
thee a great name,
like
unto the name
of the great men
that are in the earth.
Moreover I
will appoint
a place
for my people Israel,
and will plant them,
that they
may dwell in a place
of their own,
and move no more;
neither shall
the children
of wickedness
afflict them
any more,
as beforetime,
And as since
the time that
I commanded
judges to be
over my people Israel,
and have caused thee
to rest
from all thine enemies.
Also the LORD
telleth
thee
that he
will make
thee an house.
And
when thy days
be fulfilled,
and
thou shalt sleep
with thy fathers,
I will set up
thy seed
after thee,
which shall proceed
out of thy bowels,
and
I will establish
his kingdom.
He shall build an house
for my name,
and
I will stablish
the throne
of his kingdom
for ever.
I will be
his father,
and
he shall be
my son.
If he
commit iniquity,
I will chasten him
with the rod
of men,
and
with the stripes
of the children
of men:
But my mercy
shall not depart away from him,
as I took it
from Saul,
whom
I put away
before thee.
And thine
house
and thy kingdom
shall be established for
ever before thee:
thy throne
shall be established
for ever.
According to all
these words,
and
according to all this vision,
so did
Nathan
speak
unto David.
Then went king David in,
and sat
before the LORD,
and he said,
Who am I,
O Lord GOD?
and
what is my house,
that thou
hast brought me hitherto?
And this
was yet
a small thing
in thy sight,
O Lord GOD;
but
thou hast spoken also
of thy servant's house
for a great
while to come.
And is this
the manner
of man,
O Lord GOD?
And what
can
David say more
unto thee?
for thou,
Lord GOD,
knowest thy servant.
For thy word's sake,
and
according to
thine own heart,
hast
thou done all
these great things,
to make
thy servant
know them.
Wherefore
thou art great,
O LORD God:
for there is none like thee,
neither is there any
God beside thee,
according to all
that
we have heard
with our ears.
And
what
one nation
in the earth
is like
thy people,
even like Israel,
whom God
went
to redeem
for a people
to himself,
and to make him
a name,
and
to do
for you great things
and terrible,
for thy land,
before thy people,
which thou redeemedst
to thee
from Egypt,
from the nations
and their gods?
For thou
hast confirmed
to thyself
thy people Israel
to be a people
unto thee
for ever:
and thou,
LORD,
art become
their God.
And now,
O LORD God,
the word
that thou
hast spoken concerning
thy servant,
and concerning his house,
establish it
for ever,
and do as thou
hast said.
And let
thy name
be magnified
for ever,
saying,
The LORD of hosts
is the God
over Israel:
and let
the house
of thy servant David
be established
before thee.
For thou,
O LORD of hosts,
God of Israel,
hast revealed
to thy servant,
saying,
I will build
thee an house:
therefore hath
thy servant found
in his heart
to pray this prayer
unto thee.
And now,
O Lord GOD,
thou art that God,
and thy
words
be true,
and
thou hast promised
this goodness
unto thy servant:
Therefore now let
it please
thee to bless
the house
of thy servant,
that it
may continue for
ever before thee:
for thou,
O Lord GOD,
hast spoken it:
and with thy
blessing
let the house
of thy servant
be blessed
for ever.
And after this
it came to pass
that David
smote the Philistines,
and subdued them:
and David
took Methegammah
out of the hand
of the Philistines.
And
he smote Moab,
and measured them
with a line,
casting them down
to the ground;
even with two lines
measured
he to put
to death,
and
with one full line
to keep alive.
And so
the Moabites
became David's servants,
and brought gifts.
David
smote also Hadadezer,
the son of Rehob,
king of Zobah,
as he
went to recover
his border
at the river Euphrates.
And David
took from him a thousand chariots,
and seven hundred horsemen,
and twenty thousand footmen:
and David houghed all
the chariot horses,
but reserved
of them
for an hundred chariots.
And
when the Syrians
of Damascus
came
to succour Hadadezer king
of Zobah,
David slew of the Syrians two
and twenty thousand men.
Then David put garrisons
in Syria
of Damascus:
and the Syrians
became servants
to David,
and brought gifts.
And the LORD
preserved David
whithersoever
he went.
And David
took the shields
of gold
that were on the servants
of Hadadezer,
and brought them
to Jerusalem.
And from Betah,
and
from Berothai,
cities
of Hadadezer,
king David
took exceeding much brass.
When Toi king
of Hamath
heard
that David
had smitten all
the host
of Hadadezer,
Then Toi
sent Joram
his son
unto king David,
to salute him,
and to bless him,
because
he had fought
against Hadadezer,
and smitten him:
for Hadadezer
had wars
with Toi.
And Joram
brought
with him vessels
of silver,
and vessels
of gold,
and vessels
of brass:
Which also king David
did dedicate
unto the LORD,
with the silver
and gold
that
he had dedicated
of all nations
which he subdued;
Of Syria,
and of Moab,
and of the children
of Ammon,
and
of the Philistines,
and of Amalek,
and of the spoil
of Hadadezer,
son of Rehob,
king of Zobah.
And David gat
him a name
when he
returned
from smiting
of the Syrians
in the valley
of salt,
being eighteen thousand men.
And
he put garrisons
in Edom;
throughout all Edom put
he garrisons,
and all
they of Edom
became David's servants.
And the LORD
preserved David
whithersoever
he went.
And David
reigned
over all Israel;
and David
executed judgment
and justice
unto all his people.
And Joab
the son
of Zeruiah
was over the host;
and Jehoshaphat
the son
of Ahilud
was recorder;
And Zadok
the son
of Ahitub,
and Ahimelech
the son
of Abiathar,
were the priests;
and Seraiah
was the scribe;
And Benaiah
the son
of Jehoiada
was over both
the Cherethites
and the Pelethites;
and David's sons
were chief rulers.
And David said,
Is there yet
any that is left
of the house
of Saul,
that I
may shew him kindness
for Jonathan's sake?
And there was
of the house
of Saul
a servant
whose name was Ziba.
And
when
they had called him
unto David,
the king
said unto him,
Art thou Ziba?
And he said,
Thy servant
is he.
And the king said,
Is there not yet
any of the house
of Saul,
that I
may shew
the kindness
of God unto him?
And Ziba
said
unto the king,
Jonathan
hath yet a son,
which is lame
on his feet.
And the king
said unto him,
Where is he?
And Ziba
said
unto the king,
Behold,
he is in the house
of Machir,
the son
of Ammiel,
in Lodebar.
Then
king David sent,
and fetched him
out of the house
of Machir,
the son
of Ammiel,
from Lodebar.
Now
when Mephibosheth,
the son
of Jonathan,
the son of Saul,
was come
unto David,
he fell
on his face,
and did reverence.
And David said,
Mephibosheth.
And he answered,
Behold thy servant!
And David
said unto him,
Fear not:
for I
will surely shew thee kindness
for Jonathan
thy father's sake,
and will restore
thee all the land
of Saul
thy father;
and
thou shalt eat bread
at my table continually.
And
he bowed himself,
and said,
What is thy servant,
that thou
shouldest look
upon such
a dead dog as I am?
Then the king
called
to Ziba,
Saul's servant,
and
said unto him,
I have given
unto thy
master's son all
that pertained
to Saul
and to all his house.
Thou therefore,
and thy sons,
and thy servants,
shall till the land
for him,
and
thou shalt bring in
the fruits,
that thy master's son
may have
food to eat:
but Mephibosheth
thy master's son
shall eat bread
alway at my table.
Now Ziba
had fifteen sons
and twenty servants.
Then said Ziba
unto the king,
According to all
that my lord
the king
hath commanded
his servant,
so shall thy servant do.
As for Mephibosheth,
said the king,
he shall eat
at my table,
as one
of the king's sons.
And Mephibosheth
had a young son,
whose name was Micha.
And all
that dwelt
in the house
of Ziba
were servants
unto Mephibosheth.
So Mephibosheth
dwelt
in Jerusalem:
for he
did eat continually
at the king's table;
and was lame
on both his feet.
And it
came
to pass
after this,
that the king
of the children
of Ammon died,
and Hanun
his son
reigned
in his stead.
Then said David,
I will shew kindness
unto Hanun
the son
of Nahash,
as his father shewed kindness
unto me.
And David
sent
to comfort him
by the hand
of his servants
for his father.
And David's servants
came
into the land
of the children
of Ammon.
And the princes
of the children
of Ammon
said
unto Hanun
their lord,
Thinkest
thou that David
doth honour
thy father,
that he
hath sent comforters
unto thee?
hath not David
rather sent
his servants
unto thee,
to search the city,
and to spy it out,
and to overthrow it?
Wherefore
Hanun took David's servants,
and shaved
off the one half
of their beards,
and cut off
their garments
in the middle,
even to their buttocks,
and sent them away.
When they
told it
unto David,
he sent
to meet them,
because
the men
were greatly ashamed:
and the king said,
Tarry at Jericho
until your beards
be grown,
and then return.
And
when the children
of Ammon
saw
that they
stank
before David,
the children
of Ammon
sent
and hired
the Syrians
of Bethrehob
and the Syrians
of Zoba,
twenty thousand footmen,
and
of king Maacah
a thousand men,
and
of Ishtob twelve thousand men.
And
when David
heard of it,
he sent Joab,
and all
the host
of the mighty men.
And the children
of Ammon
came out,
and put
the battle
in array
at the entering in
of the gate:
and the Syrians
of Zoba,
and of Rehob,
and Ishtob,
and Maacah,
were by themselves
in the field.
When Joab
saw that
the front
of the battle
was against him before and behind,
he chose
of all the choice men
of Israel,
and put them
in array
against the Syrians:
And the rest
of the people
he delivered
into the hand
of Abishai his brother,
that he
might put them
in array
against the children
of Ammon.
And he said,
If the Syrians
be too strong
for me,
then
thou shalt help me:
but
if the children
of Ammon
be too strong
for thee,
then I
will come
and help thee.
Be of good courage,
and let us
play the men
for our people,
and
for the cities
of our God:
and the LORD
do that
which seemeth
him good.
And Joab
drew nigh,
and the people
that were with him,
unto the battle
against the Syrians:
and they
fled
before him.
And
when the children
of Ammon
saw
that the Syrians
were fled,
then fled
they
also before Abishai,
and entered
into the city.
So Joab
returned
from the children
of Ammon,
and came
to Jerusalem.
And
when the Syrians
saw
that they
were smitten
before Israel,
they gathered themselves together.
And Hadarezer sent,
and brought
out the Syrians
that were beyond the river:
and they
came
to Helam;
and Shobach
the captain
of the host
of Hadarezer
went
before them.
And
when it
was told David,
he gathered all Israel
together,
and passed
over Jordan,
and came
to Helam.
And the Syrians
set themselves
in array
against David,
and
fought with him.
And the Syrians
fled
before Israel;
and David
slew
the men
of seven hundred chariots
of the Syrians,
and forty thousand horsemen,
and smote Shobach
the captain
of their host,
who died there.
And
when all
the kings
that were
servants
to Hadarezer
saw
that they
were smitten
before Israel,
they made peace
with Israel,
and served them.
So the Syrians
feared
to help the children
of Ammon any more.
And it
came
to pass,
after the year
was expired,
at the time
when kings
go forth
to battle,
that David
sent Joab,
and his servants
with him,
and all Israel;
and
they destroyed
the children
of Ammon,
and besieged
Rabbah.
But David
tarried still
at Jerusalem.
And it
came
to pass
in an eveningtide,
that David
arose from
off his bed,
and walked
upon the roof
of the king's house:
and from the roof
he saw
a woman
washing herself;
and the woman
was very beautiful
to look upon.
And David
sent
and enquired
after the woman.
And one said,
Is not
this Bathsheba,
the daughter
of Eliam,
the wife
of Uriah the Hittite?
And David
sent messengers,
and took her;
and
she
came in unto him,
and he
lay
with her;
for she
was purified
from her uncleanness:
and she
returned
unto her house.
And the woman conceived,
and sent
and told David,
and said,
I am with child.
And David
sent
to Joab,
saying,
Send me Uriah the Hittite.
And Joab
sent Uriah
to David.
And
when Uriah
was come unto him,
David
demanded
of him how Joab did,
and
how the people did,
and
how the war prospered.
And David
said
to Uriah,
Go down
to thy house,
and wash
thy feet.
And Uriah
departed
out of the king's house,
and there followed him
a mess
of meat
from the king.
But Uriah
slept
at the door
of the king's house
with all
the servants
of his lord,
and went not down
to his house.
And
when
they had told David,
saying,
Uriah went not down
unto his house,
David
said
unto Uriah,
Camest
thou not from thy journey?
why then
didst thou
not go down
unto thine house?
And Uriah
said
unto David,
The ark,
and Israel,
and Judah,
abide in tents;
and my lord Joab,
and the servants
of my lord,
are encamped
in the open fields;
shall I
then go
into mine house,
to eat and
to drink,
and to lie
with my wife?
as thou livest,
and as thy soul liveth,
I will not do
this thing.
And David
said
to Uriah,
Tarry here
to day also,
and to morrow
I will let
thee depart.
So Uriah abode
in Jerusalem
that day,
and the morrow.
And
when David
had called him,
he did eat
and drink
before him;
and
he made him drunk:
and at even
he went out
to lie
on his bed
with the servants
of his lord,
but went not down
to his house.
And it
came
to pass
in the morning,
that David
wrote a letter
to Joab,
and sent it
by the hand
of Uriah.
And
he wrote in the letter,
saying,
Set
ye Uriah
in the forefront
of the hottest battle,
and retire
ye from him,
that
he may be smitten,
and die.
And it
came
to pass,
when Joab
observed the city,
that he
assigned Uriah
unto a place
where he
knew
that valiant men were.
And the men
of the city went out,
and fought
with Joab:
and there fell
some of the people
of the servants
of David;
and Uriah
the Hittite died also.
Then Joab
sent and told David all
the things
concerning the war;
And charged
the messenger,
saying,
When
thou hast made
an end
of telling
the matters
of the war
unto the king,
And
if so
be that
the king's wrath arise,
and
he say unto thee,
Wherefore
approached
ye so nigh
unto the city
when
ye did fight?
knew
ye not
that they
would shoot
from the wall?
Who smote Abimelech
the son
of Jerubbesheth?
did not a woman
cast a piece
of a millstone
upon him
from the wall,
that he
died
in Thebez?
why went
ye nigh the wall?
then say thou,
Thy servant Uriah
the Hittite
is dead also.
So the messenger went,
and came
and shewed
David all that Joab
had sent him for.
And the messenger
said
unto David,
Surely the men
prevailed against us,
and came out
unto us
into the field,
and
we were upon them
even unto the entering
of the gate.
And the shooters
shot from
off the wall
upon thy servants;
and some of the king's servants
be dead,
and thy
servant Uriah the Hittite
is dead also.
Then David
said
unto the messenger,
Thus shalt thou
say unto Joab,
Let not
this thing
displease thee,
for the sword
devoureth one
as well as another:
make
thy battle more strong
against the city,
and overthrow it:
and encourage
thou him.
And
when the wife
of Uriah
heard
that Uriah her husband
was dead,
she mourned
for her husband.
And
when the mourning
was past,
David
sent
and fetched her
to his house,
and she
became
his wife,
and bare him a son.
But the thing
that David
had done
displeased
the LORD.
And the LORD
sent Nathan
unto David.
And
he came unto him,
and
said unto him,
There were two men
in one city;
the one rich,
and the other poor.
The rich man
had
exceeding many
flocks
and herds:
But the poor man
had nothing,
save one little ewe lamb,
which he
had bought
and nourished up:
and it
grew up together with him,
and with his children;
it did eat
of his own meat,
and drank of his own cup,
and lay
in his bosom,
and was unto him
as a daughter.
And there came
a traveller
unto the rich man,
and
he spared
to take
of his own flock
and of his own herd,
to dress
for the wayfaring man
that was come unto him;
but took the poor man's lamb,
and dressed
it for the man
that was come
to him.
And David's anger
was greatly kindled
against the man;
and he
said
to Nathan,
As the LORD liveth,
the man that
hath done this thing
shall surely die:
And
he shall restore
the lamb fourfold,
because
he did this thing,
and because
he
had no pity.
And Nathan
said
to David,
Thou art the man.
Thus
saith
the LORD God
of Israel,
I anointed thee king
over Israel,
and
I delivered thee
out of the hand
of Saul;
And I
gave thee
thy master's house,
and thy master's wives
into thy bosom,
and gave
thee the house
of Israel
and of Judah;
and
if that
had been too little,
I would moreover have given
unto thee such
and such things.
Wherefore hast
thou despised
the commandment
of the LORD,
to do evil
in his sight?
thou hast killed
Uriah the Hittite
with the sword,
and hast taken
his wife
to be thy wife,
and hast slain him
with the sword
of the children
of Ammon.
Now therefore
the sword
shall never depart
from thine house;
because
thou hast despised me,
and hast taken
the wife
of Uriah the Hittite
to be thy wife.
Thus saith the LORD, Behold,
I will raise
up evil
against thee
out of thine own house,
and I
will take
thy wives
before thine eyes,
and give them
unto thy neighbour,
and he
shall lie
with thy wives
in the sight
of this sun.
For thou
didst it secretly:
but I
will do
this thing
before all Israel,
and
before the sun.
And David
said
unto Nathan,
I have sinned
against the LORD.
And Nathan
said
unto David,
The LORD
also hath put away
thy sin;
thou shalt not die.
Howbeit,
because by this deed
thou hast given great occasion
to the enemies
of the LORD
to blaspheme,
the child
also that is born
unto thee
shall surely die.
And Nathan
departed
unto his house.
And the LORD
struck
the child
that Uriah's wife
bare
unto David,
and it
was very sick.
David therefore besought God
for the child;
and David fasted,
and went in,
and lay all night
upon the earth.
And the elders
of his house arose,
and went to him,
to raise him up
from the earth:
but he
would not,
neither did
he eat bread
with them.
And it
came
to pass
on the seventh day,
that the child died.
And the servants
of David feared
to tell him
that the child
was dead:
for they said,
Behold,
while the child
was yet alive,
we spake unto him,
and
he would not hearken
unto our voice:
how will he
then vex himself,
if we
tell him
that the child
is dead?
But
when David
saw
that his servants whispered,
David
perceived
that the child
was dead:
therefore David
said
unto his servants,
Is the child dead?
And they said,
He is dead.
Then David
arose
from the earth,
and washed,
and anointed himself,
and changed
his apparel,
and came
into the house
of the LORD,
and worshipped:
then he
came
to his own house;
and
when he required,
they set bread
before him,
and he did eat.
Then said
his servants
unto him,
What thing
is this
that thou
hast done?
thou didst fast
and weep
for the child,
while it
was alive;
but
when the child
was dead,
thou didst rise
and eat bread.
And he said,
While the child
was yet alive,
I fasted
and wept:
for I said,
Who can tell
whether GOD
will be gracious to me,
that the child
may live?
But now
he is dead,
wherefore should
I fast?
can
I bring him
back again?
I shall go
to him,
but
he shall not return to me.
And David
comforted Bathsheba
his wife,
and went in
unto her,
and lay with her:
and
she bare a son,
and
he called
his name Solomon:
and the LORD
loved him.
And he
sent
by the hand
of Nathan
the prophet;
and
he called
his name Jedidiah,
because
of the LORD.
And Joab
fought
against Rabbah
of the children
of Ammon,
and took the royal city.
And Joab
sent messengers
to David,
and said,
I have fought
against Rabbah,
and have taken
the city
of waters.
Now therefore gather the rest
of the people
together,
and encamp
against the city,
and take it:
lest
I take the city,
and it
be called
after my name.
And David
gathered all
the people
together,
and went to Rabbah,
and fought
against it,
and took it.
And he
took
their king's crown from
off his head,
the weight
whereof was a talent
of gold
with the precious stones:
and it
was set
on David's head.
And
he brought forth
the spoil
of the city
in great abundance.
And
he brought forth
the people
that were
therein,
and put them
under saws,
and under harrows of iron,
and under axes of iron,
and made them
pass
through the brick-kiln:
and thus
did
he unto all
the cities
of the children
of Ammon.
So David
and all
the people
returned
unto Jerusalem.
And it
came
to pass
after this,
that Absalom
the son
of David
had a fair sister,
whose name
was Tamar;
and Amnon
the son
of David loved her.
And Amnon
was so vexed,
that he fell sick
for his sister Tamar;
for she
was a virgin;
and Amnon
thought it hard
for him
to do anything
to her.
But Amnon
had a friend,
whose name
was Jonadab,
the son
of Shimeah David's brother:
and Jonadab
was a very subtil man.
And
he said unto him,
Why art thou,
being the king's son,
lean from day
to day?
wilt
thou not tell me?
And Amnon
said unto him,
I love Tamar,
my brother Absalom's sister.
And Jonadab
said unto him,
Lay thee
down on thy bed,
and make thyself sick:
and
when thy
father
cometh to see thee,
say unto him,
I pray thee,
let my sister Tamar come,
and give me meat,
and dress
the meat
in my sight,
that I
may see it,
and eat it
at her hand.
So Amnon lay down,
and made himself sick:
and when the king
was come
to see him,
Amnon
said
unto the king,
I pray thee,
let Tamar
my sister come,
and make me
a couple
of cakes
in my sight,
that I
may eat
at her hand.
Then David
sent
home to Tamar,
saying,
Go now to thy brother
Amnon's house,
and dress him meat.
So Tamar
went to her brother Amnon's house;
and
he was laid down.
And
she took flour,
and kneaded it,
and made cakes
in his sight,
and did bake
the cakes.
And
she took a pan,
and poured
them out
before him;
but
he refused
to eat.
And Amnon said,
Have
out all men
from me.
And
they went out every man
from him.
And Amnon
said
unto Tamar,
Bring the meat
into the chamber,
that I
may eat
of thine hand.
And Tamar
took
the cakes
which she
had made,
and brought them
into the chamber
to Amnon her brother.
And
when
she had brought them
unto him to eat,
he took
hold of her,
and said
unto her,
Come lie with me,
my sister.
And
she answered him,
Nay,
my brother,
do not force me;
for no such thing
ought to be done
in Israel:
do not
thou this folly.
And I,
whither shall
I cause
my shame
to go?
and as for thee,
thou shalt be
as one
of the fools
in Israel.
Now therefore,
I pray thee,
speak
unto the king;
for he
will not withhold me
from thee.
Howbeit
he would not hearken
unto her voice:
but,
being stronger
than she,
forced her,
and lay
with her.
Then Amnon
hated
her exceedingly;
so that the hatred
wherewith
he hated
her was greater than the love
wherewith
he had loved her.
And Amnon
said
unto her,
Arise,
be gone.
And
she
said unto him,
There
is
no cause:
this evil
in sending me
away is greater than the other
that thou
didst unto me.
But
he would not hearken
unto her.
Then
he called
his servant
that ministered unto him,
and said,
Put
now this woman
out from me,
and bolt
the door
after her.
And she
had
a garment
of divers colours
upon her:
for with such robes
were the king's daughters
that were virgins apparelled.
Then his servant
brought
her out,
and bolted
the door
after her.
And Tamar put ashes
on her head,
and rent
her garment
of divers
colours
that
was on her,
and laid
her hand
on her head,
and went on crying.
And Absalom her brother
said
unto her,
Hath Amnon thy brother
been with thee?
but hold now
thy peace,
my sister:
he is thy brother;
regard not
this thing.
So Tamar
remained
desolate
in her brother Absalom's house.
But
when
king David
heard
of all these things,
he was very wroth.
And Absalom
spake unto his brother Amnon
neither good
nor bad:
for Absalom
hated Amnon,
because
he had forced
his sister Tamar.
And it
came
to pass
after two full years,
that Absalom
had sheepshearers
in Baalhazor,
which is beside
Ephraim:
and Absalom
invited all
the king's sons.
And Absalom
came
to the king,
and said,
Behold now,
thy servant
hath sheepshearers;
let the king,
I beseech thee,
and his servants
go
with thy servant.
And the king
said
to Absalom, Nay,
my son,
let us
not all now go,
lest
we be chargeable
unto thee.
And
he pressed him:
howbeit
he would not go,
but blessed him.
Then said
Absalom,
If not,
I pray thee,
let my brother Amnon
go with us.
And the king
said unto him,
Why should
he go
with thee?
But Absalom
pressed him,
that he let Amnon
and all
the king's sons
go with him.
Now Absalom
had commanded
his servants,
saying,
Mark ye now
when Amnon's heart
is merry
with wine,
and
when
I say unto you,
Smite Amnon;
then kill him,
fear not:
have not
I commanded you?
be courageous,
and be valiant.
And
the servants
of Absalom
did unto Amnon
as Absalom
had commanded.
Then
all the king's sons arose,
and every man gat
him up
upon his mule,
and fled.
And it
came
to pass,
while they
were in the way,
that tidings
came to David,
saying,
Absalom
hath slain all
the king's sons,
and there is not one
of them left.
Then the king arose,
and tare
his garments,
and lay
on the earth;
and all
his servants
stood by
with their clothes rent.
And Jonadab,
the son
of Shimeah David's brother,
answered
and said,
Let not my lord
suppose that
they have slain all
the young men
the king's sons;
for Amnon
only is dead:
for by the appointment
of Absalom
this hath been determined
from the day
that he
forced his sister Tamar.
Now therefore let not
my lord the king
take
the thing
to his heart,
to think
that all
the king's sons
are dead:
for Amnon only is dead.
But Absalom fled.
And the young man
that kept
the watch lifted
up his eyes,
and looked,
and,
behold,
there came much people
by the way
of the hill side
behind him.
And Jonadab
said
unto the king,
Behold,
the king's sons come:
as thy servant said,
so it is.
And it
came
to pass,
as soon as he
had made an end
of speaking,
that,
behold,
the king's sons came,
and lifted
up their voice
and wept:
and the king
also and
all his servants
wept very sore.
But Absalom fled,
and went to Talmai,
the son
of Ammihud,
king of Geshur.
And David
mourned
for his son every day.
So Absalom fled,
and went to Geshur,
and was there
three years.
And the soul
of king
David longed
to go forth
unto Absalom:
for he
was comforted concerning Amnon,
seeing
he was dead.
Now Joab
the son
of Zeruiah
perceived
that the king's heart
was toward Absalom.
And Joab
sent
to Tekoah,
and fetched thence
a wise woman,
and said
unto her,
I pray thee,
feign thyself
to be a mourner,
and put on
now mourning apparel,
and anoint not thyself
with oil,
but be
as a woman
that had
a long time
mourned for the dead:
And come
to the king,
and speak
on this manner
unto him.
So Joab put
the words
in her mouth.
And
when the woman
of Tekoah
spake to the king,
she fell
on her face
to the ground,
and did obeisance,
and said,
Help,
O king.
And the king
said
unto her,
What aileth thee?
And she answered,
I am indeed
a widow woman,
and mine
husband is dead.
And thy handmaid
had two sons,
and
they two
strove together
in the field,
and there was none
to part them,
but the one
smote the other,
and slew him.
And,
behold,
the whole family
is risen
against thine handmaid,
and they said,
Deliver him that
smote his brother,
that we
may kill him,
for the life
of his brother whom
he slew;
and we
will destroy
the heir also:
and so
they
shall quench
my coal which
is left,
and shall not leave
to my husband neither name
nor remainder
upon the earth.
And the king
said
unto the woman,
Go to thine house,
and
I will give
charge concerning thee.
And the woman
of Tekoah
said unto the king,
My lord,
O king,
the iniquity
be on me,
and
on my father's house:
and the king
and his throne
be guiltless.
And the king said,
Whoever saith ought
unto thee,
bring him to me,
and
he shall not touch
thee any more.
Then said she,
I pray thee,
let the king
remember
the LORD thy God,
that thou
wouldest not suffer the revengers
of blood
to destroy any more,
lest
they destroy
my son.
And he said,
As the LORD liveth,
there shall not
one hair
of thy son
fall
to the earth.
Then the woman said,
Let thine handmaid,
I pray thee,
speak one word
unto my lord the king.
And he said,
Say on.
And the woman said,
Wherefore
then hast
thou thought
such a thing
against the people
of God?
for the king
doth speak
this thing
as one which
is faulty,
in that
the king
doth not fetch
home
again his banished.
For we must needs die,
and are
as water
spilt on the ground,
which cannot be gathered
up again;
neither doth
God respect
any person:
yet doth
he devise means,
that his banished
be not expelled from him.
Now therefore
that
I am come
to speak
of this thing
unto my lord the king,
it is
because
the people
have made me afraid:
and thy handmaid said,
I will now speak
unto the king;
it may be
that the king
will perform
the request
of his handmaid.
For the king
will hear,
to deliver
his handmaid
out of the hand
of the man
that would destroy me
and my son
together out of the inheritance
of God.
Then thine handmaid said,
The word
of my lord
the king
shall now be comfortable:
for as an angel
of God,
so is my lord
the king
to discern good
and bad:
therefore the LORD
thy God
will be
with thee.
Then the king
answered
and said
unto the woman,
Hide not from me,
I pray thee,
the thing
that I
shall ask thee.
And the woman said,
Let my lord
the king
now speak.
And the king said,
Is not
the hand
of Joab with thee
in all this?
And the woman
answered
and said,
As thy soul liveth,
my lord the king,
none can turn
to the right hand
or
to the left
from ought
that my lord
the king
hath spoken:
for thy servant Joab,
he bade me,
and he put all
these words
in the mouth
of thine handmaid:
To fetch
about this form
of speech
hath thy servant Joab
done this thing:
and my lord
is wise,
according to the wisdom
of an angel
of God,
to know all
things
that are in the earth.
And the king
said
unto Joab,
Behold now,
I have done
this thing:
go therefore,
bring the young man Absalom again.
And Joab
fell
to the ground
on his face,
and bowed himself,
and thanked
the king:
and Joab said,
To day
thy servant
knoweth that
I have found
grace in thy sight,
my lord,
O king,
in that
the king
hath fulfilled the request
of his servant.
So Joab
arose
and went
to Geshur,
and brought Absalom
to Jerusalem.
And the king said,
Let him
turn
to his own house,
and let him
not see my face.
So Absalom
returned
to his own house,
and saw not
the king's face.
But in all Israel
there was none
to be so much
praised
as Absalom
for his beauty:
from the sole
of his foot
even to the crown
of his head
there was
no blemish in him.
And
when
he polled his head,
(for it
was at every year's
end that
he polled it:
because
the hair
was heavy
on him,
therefore he polled it:)
he weighed the hair
of his head
at two hundred shekels
after the king's weight.
And unto Absalom
there were born
three sons,
and one daughter,
whose name
was Tamar:
she was a woman
of a fair countenance.
So Absalom
dwelt
two full years
in Jerusalem,
and saw not
the king's face.
Therefore Absalom
sent
for Joab,
to have sent him
to the king;
but
he would not come
to him:
and
when
he sent again
the second time,
he would not come.
Therefore he
said
unto his servants,
See,
Joab's
field
is near mine,
and
he hath barley there;
go and set it
on fire.
And Absalom's servants set
the field
on fire.
Then Joab arose,
and came
to Absalom
unto his house,
and
said unto him,
Wherefore
have
thy servants
set my field
on fire?
And Absalom
answered Joab, Behold,
I sent unto thee,
saying,
Come hither,
that I
may send thee
to the king,
to say,
Wherefore
am I come
from Geshur?
it had been good
for me to have been
there still:
now therefore let me
see the king's face;
and
if there be any iniquity
in me,
let him
kill me.
So Joab
came
to the king,
and told him:
and
when
he had called for
Absalom,
he came
to the king,
and bowed himself
on his face
to the ground
before the king:
and the king
kissed Absalom.
And it
came
to pass
after this,
that Absalom
prepared him chariots
and horses,
and fifty men
to run
before him.
And Absalom
rose
up early,
and stood beside
the way
of the gate:
and it
was so,
that when any man
that
had a controversy
came
to the king
for judgment,
then Absalom
called unto him,
and said,
Of what city art thou?
And he said,
Thy servant
is of one
of the tribes
of Israel.
And Absalom
said unto him,
See,
thy matters
are good
and right;
but there is
no man deputed
of the king to hear thee.
Absalom
said moreover,
Oh that
I were made
judge
in the land,
that every man
which hath any suit
or cause
might come unto me,
and
I would do him
justice!
And it
was so,
that when any man
came nigh
to him
to do him obeisance,
he put forth
his hand,
and took him,
and kissed him.
And on this manner
did
Absalom to all
Israel
that came
to the king
for judgment:
so Absalom
stole
the hearts
of the men
of Israel.
And it
came
to pass
after forty years,
that Absalom
said unto the king,
I pray thee,
let me
go and pay
my vow,
which I
have vowed
unto the LORD,
in Hebron.
For thy servant vowed
a vow
while I abode
at Geshur
in Syria,
saying,
If the LORD
shall bring me again
indeed to Jerusalem,
then
I will serve
the LORD.
And the king
said unto him,
Go in peace.
So he arose,
and went to Hebron.
But Absalom
sent
spies
throughout all
the tribes
of Israel,
saying,
As soon as ye
hear the sound
of the trumpet,
then
ye shall say,
Absalom
reigneth
in Hebron.
And with Absalom
went two hundred men
out of Jerusalem,
that were called;
and they
went in
their simplicity,
and
they knew not
any thing.
And Absalom
sent
for Ahithophel
the Gilonite,
David's counsellor,
from his city,
even from Giloh,
while he offered sacrifices.
And the conspiracy
was strong;
for the people
increased continually
with Absalom.
And there came
a messenger
to David,
saying,
The hearts
of the men
of Israel
are after Absalom.
And David
said
unto all
his servants
that were with him
at Jerusalem, Arise,
and let us flee;
for we shall not else escape
from Absalom:
make
speed
to depart,
lest
he overtake us
suddenly,
and bring evil
upon us,
and smite
the city
with the edge
of the sword.
And the king's servants
said
unto the king,
Behold,
thy servants
are ready
to do whatsoever
my lord the king
shall appoint.
And the king
went forth,
and all
his household
after him.
And the king
left ten women,
which were concubines,
to keep the house.
And the king
went forth,
and all
the people
after him,
and tarried
in a place
that was
far off.
And all
his servants
passed on beside him;
and all
the Cherethites,
and all
the Pelethites,
and all
the Gittites,
six hundred men
which came
after him
from Gath,
passed on
before the king.
Then said
the king
to Ittai the Gittite,
Wherefore
goest
thou also with us?
return to thy place,
and abide
with the king:
for thou art
a stranger,
and also an exile.
Whereas
thou camest
but yesterday,
should
I this day
make thee
go up and down
with us?
seeing
I go whither
I may,
return thou,
and take
back thy brethren:
mercy and truth
be with thee.
And Ittai
answered the king,
and said,
As the LORD liveth,
and
as my lord
the king liveth,
surely in
what place
my lord the king
shall be,
whether in death
or life,
even there also will
thy servant be.
And David
said
to Ittai,
Go and
pass over.
And Ittai
the Gittite
passed over,
and all
his men,
and all
the little ones
that were with him.
And all
the country
wept
with a loud voice,
and all
the people
passed over:
the king
also himself
passed
over the brook Kidron,
and all
the people
passed over,
toward the way
of the wilderness.
And lo Zadok also,
and all
the Levites
were with him,
bearing the ark
of the covenant
of God:
and they set
down the ark
of God;
and Abiathar
went up,
until all
the people
had done
passing
out of the city.
And the king
said
unto Zadok,
Carry
back
the ark
of God
into the city:
if I
shall find
favour
in the eyes
of the LORD,
he will bring me again,
and shew me
both it,
and his habitation:
But
if he thus say,
I have
no delight
in thee;
behold,
here am I,
let him
do to me
as seemeth good
unto him.
The king
said also
unto Zadok the priest,
Art not
thou a seer?
return
into the city
in peace,
and your two sons
with you,
Ahimaaz thy son,
and Jonathan
the son
of Abiathar.
See,
I will tarry in the plain
of the wilderness,
until there come
word from you
to certify me.
Zadok
therefore and Abiathar
carried
the ark
of God
again to Jerusalem:
and
they tarried there.
And David
went up
by the ascent
of mount Olivet,
and wept
as he went up,
and had
his head covered,
and
he went barefoot:
and all
the people
that
was with him covered every man
his head,
and they went up,
weeping as they
went up.
And one
told David,
saying,
Ahithophel is among the conspirators
with Absalom.
And David said,
O LORD,
I pray thee,
turn the counsel
of Ahithophel
into foolishness.
And it
came
to pass,
that when David
was come
to the top
of the mount,
where he
worshipped God,
behold,
Hushai the Archite
came
to meet him
with his coat rent,
and earth
upon his head:
Unto whom
David said,
If thou
passest on with me,
then
thou shalt be a burden
unto me:
But
if thou
return to the city,
and say
unto Absalom,
I will be
thy servant,
O king;
as I
have been
thy father's servant hitherto,
so will
I now also be
thy servant:
then mayest
thou
for me defeat
the counsel
of Ahithophel.
And hast
thou not
there with thee Zadok
and Abiathar
the priests?
therefore it
shall be,
that what thing
soever thou
shalt hear
out of the king's house,
thou shalt tell it
to Zadok
and Abiathar
the priests.
Behold,
they have there
with them their two sons,
Ahimaaz Zadok's son,
and Jonathan Abiathar's son;
and by them ye
shall send
unto me every thing
that ye can hear.
So Hushai David's friend
came
into the city,
and Absalom
came
into Jerusalem.
And
when David
was a little
past the top
of the hill,
behold,
Ziba the servant
of Mephibosheth
met him,
with a couple
of asses saddled,
and upon them two hundred loaves
of bread,
and an hundred
bunches
of raisins,
and an hundred
of summer fruits,
and a bottle
of wine.
And the king
said
unto Ziba,
What meanest
thou by these?
And Ziba said,
The asses
be for the king's household
to ride on;
and the bread
and summer fruit
for the young men
to eat;
and the wine,
that such as be
faint
in the wilderness
may drink.
And the king said,
And
where is thy master's son?
And Ziba
said
unto the king,
Behold,
he abideth
at Jerusalem:
for he said,
To day
shall
the house
of Israel
restore me the kingdom
of my father.
Then said
the king
to Ziba, Behold,
thine are all
that
pertained
unto Mephibosheth.
And Ziba said,
I humbly beseech thee that
I may find
grace in thy sight,
my lord,
O king.
And
when
king David
came
to Bahurim,
behold,
thence came
out a man
of the family
of the house
of Saul,
whose name
was Shimei,
the son of Gera:
he came forth,
and cursed still
as he came.
And
he cast
stones at David,
and
at all the servants
of king David:
and all
the people
and all
the mighty men
were on his right hand
and
on his left.
And thus said Shimei
when he cursed,
Come out,
come out,
thou bloody man,
and
thou man
of Belial:
The LORD
hath returned
upon thee all the blood
of the house
of Saul,
in whose stead
thou hast reigned;
and the LORD
hath delivered
the kingdom
into the hand
of Absalom
thy son:
and,
behold,
thou art
taken
in thy mischief,
because
thou art
a bloody man.
Then said Abishai
the son
of Zeruiah
unto the king,
Why should
this dead dog
curse
my lord the king?
let me go over,
I pray thee,
and take off
his head.
And the king said,
What
have
I to do
with you,
ye sons
of Zeruiah?
so let him curse,
because
the LORD
hath said unto him,
Curse David.
Who shall
then say,
Wherefore
hast
thou done so?
And David
said
to Abishai,
and
to all his servants,
Behold,
my son,
which came forth
of my bowels,
seeketh my life:
how much more now may
this Benjamite
do it?
let him alone,
and let him curse;
for the LORD
hath bidden him.
It may be
that the LORD
will look
on mine affliction,
and
that the LORD
will requite
me good
for his cursing
this day.
And
as David
and his men
went by
the way,
Shimei
went along
on the hill's side over
against him,
and cursed
as he went,
and threw
stones at him,
and cast dust.
And the king,
and all
the people
that were with him,
came weary,
and refreshed themselves there.
And Absalom,
and all
the people
the men
of Israel,
came
to Jerusalem,
and Ahithophel
with him.
And it
came
to pass,
when Hushai
the Archite,
David's friend,
was come
unto Absalom,
that Hushai
said unto Absalom,
God save
the king,
God save
the king.
And Absalom
said
to Hushai,
Is this thy kindness
to thy friend?
why wentest
thou not with thy friend?
And Hushai
said
unto Absalom, Nay;
but
whom the LORD,
and this people,
and all
the men
of Israel,
choose,
his will
I be,
and
with him will
I abide.
And again,
whom should
I serve?
should
I not serve
in the presence
of his son?
as I
have served
in thy
father's presence,
so will
I be
in thy presence.
Then said Absalom
to Ahithophel,
Give
counsel
among you
what we shall do.
And Ahithophel
said
unto Absalom,
Go in
unto thy
father's concubines,
which he
hath left to keep
the house;
and all Israel
shall hear
that thou
art abhorred
of thy father:
then shall
the hands of all
that
are with thee
be strong.
So they spread
Absalom a tent
upon the top
of the house;
and Absalom
went in
unto his father's concubines
in the sight
of all Israel.
And the counsel
of Ahithophel,
which he
counselled
in those days,
was
as if a man
had enquired
at the oracle
of God:
so was all the counsel
of Ahithophel both
with David
and with Absalom.
Moreover Ahithophel
said
unto Absalom,
Let me
now choose
out twelve thousand men,
and I
will arise
and pursue
after David
this night:
And
I will come upon him
while he
is weary
and weak handed,
and will make him afraid:
and all
the people
that are with him
shall flee;
and I
will smite
the king only:
And
I will bring back all
the people
unto thee:
the man whom
thou seekest
is
as if
all returned:
so all the people
shall be
in peace.
And the saying
pleased Absalom well,
and all
the elders
of Israel.
Then said
Absalom,
Call
now Hushai
the Archite also,
and let us
hear likewise
what he saith.
And
when Hushai
was come
to Absalom,
Absalom
spake unto him,
saying,
Ahithophel
hath spoken
after this manner:
shall
we do
after his saying?
if not;
speak thou.
And Hushai
said
unto Absalom,
The counsel that Ahithophel
hath given
is not good
at this time.
For, said
Hushai,
thou knowest thy
father
and his men,
that they
be mighty men,
and
they be chafed
in their minds,
as a bear robbed
of her whelps
in the field:
and thy
father
is a man
of war,
and will not lodge
with the people.
Behold,
he is
hid now
in some pit,
or in some other place:
and it
will come
to pass,
when some of them
be overthrown
at the first,
that whosoever heareth it
will say,
There
is
a slaughter
among the people
that follow
Absalom.
And
he also that is valiant,
whose heart
is as the heart
of a lion,
shall utterly melt:
for all Israel
knoweth
that thy
father
is a mighty man,
and
they
which be
with him are valiant men.
Therefore I
counsel
that all Israel
be generally gathered
unto thee,
from Dan
even to Beersheba,
as the sand
that is
by the sea
for multitude;
and that thou
go to battle
in thine own person.
So shall
we come upon him
in some place
where he
shall be found,
and we
will light
upon him
as the dew
falleth on the ground:
and of him and
of all
the men that
are with him
there shall not be left so much as
one.
Moreover,
if he
be gotten
into a city,
then shall all
Israel bring ropes to
that city,
and
we will draw it
into the river,
until there be not
one small stone
found there.
And 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 appointed
to defeat
the good counsel
of Ahithophel,
to the intent
that the LORD
might bring evil
upon Absalom.
Then said Hushai
unto Zadok
and to Abiathar the priests,
Thus and thus
did
Ahithophel counsel Absalom
and the elders
of Israel;
and thus
and thus
have I counselled.
Now therefore send quickly,
and tell David,
saying,
Lodge
not this night
in the plains
of the wilderness,
but
speedily pass over;
lest
the king
be swallowed up,
and all
the people
that are with him.
Now Jonathan
and Ahimaaz
stayed
by Enrogel;
for they
might not be seen to
come into the city:
and a wench
went
and told them;
and they
went
and told king David.
Nevertheless
a lad
saw them,
and told Absalom:
but
they went both
of them away quickly,
and came
to a man's house
in Bahurim,
which had a
well in his court;
whither
they went down.
And the woman
took
and spread
a covering
over the well's mouth,
and spread
ground corn thereon;
and the thing
was not known.
And
when Absalom's servants
came
to the woman
to the house,
they said,
Where is Ahimaaz
and Jonathan?
And the woman
said unto them,
They be gone over
the brook
of water.
And
when
they had sought
and could not find them,
they returned
to Jerusalem.
And it
came
to pass,
after they
were departed,
that they
came up
out of the well,
and went
and told king David,
and said
unto David, Arise,
and pass quickly
over the water:
for thus
hath
Ahithophel
counselled
against you.
Then David arose,
and all
the people
that were with him,
and they
passed
over Jordan:
by the morning light
there lacked not one
of them that
was not gone over Jordan.
And
when Ahithophel
saw
that his counsel
was not followed,
he saddled
his ass,
and arose,
and gat him
home
to his house,
to his city,
and put
his household
in order,
and hanged himself,
and died,
and was buried
in the sepulchre
of his father.
Then David
came
to Mahanaim.
And Absalom
passed
over Jordan,
he and all
the men
of Israel
with him.
And Absalom made Amasa captain
of the host
instead of Joab:
which Amasa
was a man's son,
whose name
was Ithra
an Israelite,
that went in
to Abigail
the daughter
of Nahash,
sister
to Zeruiah Joab's mother.
So Israel
and Absalom
pitched
in the land
of Gilead.
And it
came
to pass,
when David
was come
to Mahanaim,
that Shobi the son
of Nahash
of Rabbah
of the children
of Ammon,
and Machir
the son
of Ammiel
of Lodebar,
and Barzillai
the Gileadite
of Rogelim,
Brought beds,
and basons,
and earthen vessels,
and wheat,
and barley,
and flour,
and parched corn,
and beans,
and lentiles,
and parched pulse,
And honey,
and butter,
and sheep,
and cheese
of kine,
for David,
and
for the people
that were with him,
to eat:
for they said,
The people
is hungry,
and weary,
and thirsty,
in the wilderness.
And David
numbered
the people
that were with him,
and set captains
of thousands,
and captains
of hundreds
over them.
And David
sent
forth a third part
of the people
under the hand
of Joab,
and a third part
under the hand
of Abishai
the son
of Zeruiah,
Joab's brother,
and a third part
under the hand
of Ittai the Gittite.
And the king
said
unto the people,
I will surely go forth
with you myself also.
But the people answered,
Thou
shalt not go forth:
for if
we flee away,
they will not care for us;
neither if half
of us die,
will
they care for us:
but now
thou art worth ten thousand
of us:
therefore now
it is
better
that thou
succour us
out of the city.
And the king
said unto them,
What seemeth you
best I will do.
And the king
stood by
the gate side,
and all
the people
came out
by hundreds
and by thousands.
And the king
commanded Joab
and Abishai
and Ittai,
saying,
Deal
gently for my sake
with the young man,
even with Absalom.
And all
the people
heard
when the king
gave all
the captains
charge concerning
Absalom.
So the people
went out
into the field
against Israel:
and the battle
was in the wood
of Ephraim;
Where the people
of Israel
were slain before the servants
of David,
and there was there
a great
slaughter
that day
of twenty thousand men.
For the battle
was there scattered
over the face
of all the country:
and the wood
devoured more people
that day than
the sword devoured.
And Absalom
met
the servants
of David.
And Absalom
rode upon a mule,
and the mule
went under the thick boughs
of a great oak,
and his head
caught
hold of the oak,
and
he was taken up
between the heaven
and the earth;
and the mule
that was under him
went away.
And a
certain man saw it,
and told Joab,
and said,
Behold,
I saw Absalom
hanged
in an oak.
And Joab
said
unto the man
that told him,
And,
behold,
thou sawest him,
and
why didst thou
not smite him there
to the ground?
and
I would have given
thee ten shekels
of silver,
and a girdle.
And the man
said
unto Joab,
Though I
should receive
a thousand shekels
of silver
in mine hand,
yet would
I not put forth mine hand
against the king's son:
for in our hearing
the king charged thee
and Abishai
and Ittai,
saying,
Beware that none
touch the young man Absalom.
Otherwise
I should have wrought falsehood
against mine own life:
for there is
no matter
hid from the king,
and
thou thyself
wouldest have set thyself
against me.
Then said Joab,
I may not tarry thus
with thee.
And
he took three darts
in his hand,
and thrust them
through the heart
of Absalom,
while he
was yet alive
in the midst
of the oak.
And ten young men
that bare
Joab's armour
compassed
about and smote Absalom,
and slew him.
And Joab
blew the trumpet,
and the people
returned
from pursuing
after Israel:
for Joab
held
back the people.
And
they took Absalom,
and cast him
into a great pit
in the wood,
and laid
a very great heap
of stones upon him:
and all Israel
fled every one
to his tent.
Now Absalom
in his lifetime
had taken
and reared up
for himself
a pillar,
which is in the king's dale:
for he said,
I have no son
to keep my name
in remembrance:
and he
called
the pillar
after his own name:
and it
is called
unto this day,
Absalom's place.
Then said Ahimaaz
the son
of Zadok,
Let me now run,
and bear
the king tidings,
how that
the LORD
hath avenged him
of his enemies.
And Joab
said unto him,
Thou shalt not bear tidings
this day,
but
thou shalt bear tidings
another day:
but this day
thou shalt bear
no tidings,
because
the king's son
is dead.
Then said Joab
to Cushi,
Go tell
the king
what
thou hast seen.
And Cushi
bowed himself
unto Joab,
and ran.
Then said Ahimaaz
the son
of Zadok yet
again to Joab,
But howsoever,
let me,
I pray thee,
also run
after Cushi.
And Joab said,
Wherefore
wilt
thou run,
my son,
seeing that
thou hast
no tidings ready?
But howsoever,
said he,
let me run.
And
he said unto him,
Run.
Then Ahimaaz
ran by the way
of the plain,
and overran Cushi.
And David
sat
between the two gates:
and the watchman
went up to
the roof
over the gate
unto the wall,
and lifted
up his eyes,
and looked,
and behold
a man running alone.
And the watchman cried,
and told
the king.
And the king said,
If he
be alone,
there is tidings
in his mouth.
And
he came apace,
and drew near.
And the watchman
saw
another man running:
and the watchman
called
unto the porter,
and said,
Behold
another man running alone.
And the king said,
He also bringeth
tidings.
And the watchman said,
Me thinketh
the running
of the foremost
is like
the running
of Ahimaaz
the son
of Zadok.
And the king said,
He is a good man,
and cometh with good tidings.
And Ahimaaz called,
and said
unto the king,
All is well.
And
he fell down to the earth
upon his face
before the king,
and said,
Blessed
be
the LORD thy God,
which hath delivered
up the men
that lifted
up their hand
against my lord the king.
And the king said,
Is the young man Absalom safe?
And Ahimaaz answered,
When Joab
sent the king's servant,
and me thy servant,
I saw
a great tumult,
but I
knew not
what it was.
And the king
said unto him,
Turn aside,
and stand here.
And
he turned aside,
and stood still.
And,
behold,
Cushi came;
and Cushi said,
Tidings,
my lord the king:
for the LORD
hath avenged thee
this day
of all
them that rose up
against thee.
And the king
said
unto Cushi,
Is the young man Absalom safe?
And Cushi answered,
The enemies
of my lord the king,
and all that rise
against thee
to do thee hurt,
be as that
young man is.
And the king
was much moved,
and went up to
the chamber
over the gate,
and wept:
and as he went,
thus
he said,
O my son Absalom,
my son,
my son Absalom!
would God I
had died
for thee,
O Absalom,
my son,
my son!
And it
was told
Joab, Behold,
the king
weepeth
and mourneth
for Absalom.
And the victory
that day
was turned into
mourning unto all
the people:
for the people
heard
say that day
how the king
was grieved
for his son.
And the people gat them
by stealth
that day
into the city,
as people
being ashamed
steal away
when
they flee
in battle.
But the king covered
his face,
and the king
cried
with a loud voice,
O my son Absalom, O Absalom,
my son,
my son!
And Joab
came
into the house
to the king,
and said,
Thou
hast shamed
this day
the faces
of all thy servants,
which this day
have saved
thy life,
and the lives
of thy sons
and of thy daughters,
and the lives
of thy wives,
and the lives
of thy concubines;
In that thou
lovest thine enemies,
and hatest thy friends.
For thou
hast declared
this day,
that thou
regardest neither princes
nor servants:
for this day
I perceive,
that if Absalom
had lived,
and all
we had died
this day,
then it
had pleased thee well.
Now therefore arise,
go forth,
and speak comfortably
unto thy servants:
for I
swear
by the LORD,
if thou
go not forth,
there will not tarry one
with thee
this night:
and that
will be worse
unto thee
than all
the evil
that befell thee
from thy youth
until now.
Then the king arose,
and sat
in the gate.
And they
told
unto all
the people,
saying,
Behold,
the king
doth sit
in the gate.
And all
the people
came
before the king:
for Israel
had fled
every man
to his tent.
And all
the people
were at strife
throughout all
the tribes
of Israel,
saying,
The king
saved us
out of the hand
of our enemies,
and
he delivered us
out of the hand
of the Philistines;
and now
he is fled
out of the land
for Absalom.
And Absalom,
whom
we anointed over us,
is dead
in battle.
Now therefore
why speak
ye not
a word
of bringing
the king back?
And king David
sent
to Zadok
and to Abiathar
the priests,
saying,
Speak
unto the elders
of Judah,
saying,
Why are
ye the last
to bring
the king back
to his house?
seeing the speech
of all
Israel
is come
to the king,
even to his house.
Ye are my brethren,
ye are my bones
and my flesh:
wherefore
then are
ye the last
to bring back the king?
And say
ye to Amasa,
Art
thou
not of my bone,
and of my flesh?
God do so to me,
and more also,
if thou
be not captain
of the host
before me continually in the room
of Joab.
And he
bowed
the heart
of all
the men of Judah,
even as the heart
of one man;
so that
they sent
this word
unto the king,
Return thou,
and all thy servants.
So the king returned,
and came
to Jordan.
And Judah
came
to Gilgal,
to go
to meet the king,
to conduct the king
over Jordan.
And Shimei
the son
of Gera,
a Benjamite,
which was of Bahurim,
hasted
and came down
with the men
of Judah
to meet king David.
And there were
a thousand men
of Benjamin
with him,
and Ziba
the servant
of the house
of Saul,
and his fifteen sons
and his twenty servants
with him;
and
they went over Jordan
before the king.
And there went over
a ferry boat
to carry
over the king's household,
and to do
what
he thought good.
And Shimei
the son
of Gera
fell down
before the king,
as he
was come over Jordan;
And said
unto the king,
Let not my lord
impute iniquity
unto me,
neither
do
thou remember that
which thy servant
did perversely
the day
that my lord
the king
went out of Jerusalem,
that the king
should take it
to his heart.
For thy servant
doth know
that I
have sinned:
therefore,
behold,
I am come the first
this day
of all the house
of Joseph
to go down
to meet my lord
the king.
But Abishai
the son
of Zeruiah answered
and said,
Shall
not Shimei
be put
to death
for this,
because
he
cursed
the LORD's anointed?
And David said,
What
have
I to do
with you,
ye sons
of Zeruiah,
that ye
should this day
be adversaries
unto me?
shall there
any man
be put
to death this day
in Israel?
for do not
I know that
I am this day king
over Israel?
Therefore the king
said
unto Shimei,
Thou shalt not die.
And the king
sware unto him.
And Mephibosheth
the son
of Saul
came down
to meet the king,
and had
neither dressed
his feet,
nor trimmed
his beard,
nor washed
his clothes,
from the day
the king
departed until
the day
he came again
in peace.
And it
came
to pass,
when he
was come
to Jerusalem
to meet the king,
that the king
said unto him,
Wherefore
wentest not
thou with me, Mephibosheth?
And he answered,
My lord,
O king,
my servant
deceived me:
for thy servant said,
I will saddle me
an ass,
that I
may ride thereon,
and go
to the king;
because thy servant
is lame.
And
he hath slandered
thy servant
unto my lord the king;
but my lord
the king
is as an angel
of God:
do therefore
what is good
in thine eyes.
For all of my father's house
were
but dead men
before my lord the king:
yet didst
thou set
thy servant
among them that
did eat
at thine own table.
What right
therefore have
I yet
to cry any more
unto the king?
And the king
said unto him,
Why speakest
thou any more
of thy matters?
I have said,
Thou
and Ziba
divide
the land.
And Mephibosheth
said
unto the king,
Yea,
let him
take all,
forasmuch
as my lord
the king
is come again in peace
unto his own house.
And Barzillai
the Gileadite
came down
from Rogelim,
and went over Jordan
with the king,
to conduct him
over Jordan.
Now Barzillai
was a
very aged man,
even fourscore years old:
and
he had provided
the king
of sustenance
while he
lay
at Mahanaim;
for he
was a
very great man.
And the king
said
unto Barzillai,
Come
thou
over with me,
and
I will feed thee
with me
in Jerusalem.
And Barzillai
said
unto the king,
How long
have
I to live,
that I
should go up with the king
unto Jerusalem?
I am this day fourscore years old:
and can
I discern
between good
and evil?
can thy servant taste
what I
eat or
what I drink?
can I
hear
any more the voice
of singing men
and singing women?
wherefore
then should thy servant
be yet a burden
unto my lord the king?
Thy servant
will go
a little way
over Jordan
with the king:
and why
should
the king
recompense it me
with such a reward?
Let thy servant,
I pray thee,
turn back again,
that I
may die
in mine own city,
and be buried
by the grave
of my father
and of my mother.
But behold
thy servant Chimham;
let him go over
with my lord the king;
and do to him
what shall seem good
unto thee.
And the king answered,
Chimham shall go over
with me,
and I
will do
to him
that which
shall seem good
unto thee:
and whatsoever
thou
shalt require of me,
that will
I do for thee.
And all
the people
went over Jordan.
And
when the king
was come over,
the king
kissed Barzillai,
and blessed him;
and he
returned
unto his own place.
Then the king
went on
to Gilgal,
and Chimham
went on with him:
and all
the people
of Judah
conducted
the king,
and
also half
the people
of Israel.
And,
behold,
all the men
of Israel
came
to the king,
and said
unto the king,
Why have
our brethren the men
of Judah
stolen thee away,
and have brought
the king,
and his household,
and all David's men
with him,
over Jordan?
And all
the men
of Judah
answered
the men
of Israel,
Because the king
is near
of kin to us:
wherefore
then be
ye angry
for this matter?
have
we eaten
at all of the king's cost?
or hath
he given us any gift?
And the men
of Israel
answered
the men
of Judah,
and said,
We have ten parts
in the king,
and
we have also more right
in David
than ye:
why then
did
ye despise us,
that our advice
should not be first had
in bringing
back our king?
And the words
of the men
of Judah
were fiercer
than the words
of the men
of Israel.
And there happened
to be there a man
of Belial,
whose name
was Sheba,
the son
of Bichri,
a Benjamite:
and
he blew a trumpet,
and said,
We have
no part in David,
neither have
we inheritance
in the son
of Jesse:
every man
to his tents,
O Israel.
So every man
of Israel
went up from
after David,
and followed
Sheba the son
of Bichri:
but the men
of Judah clave
unto their king,
from Jordan
even to Jerusalem.
And David
came to his house
at Jerusalem;
and the king
took
the ten women his concubines,
whom
he had left
to keep
the house,
and put them
in ward,
and fed them,
but went not
in unto them.
So they
were shut up
unto the day
of their death,
living
in widowhood.
Then said
the king
to Amasa,
Assemble me
the men
of Judah
within three days,
and be
thou here present.
So Amasa
went
to assemble the men
of Judah:
but
he tarried longer than
the set
time
which he
had appointed him.
And David
said
to Abishai,
Now shall Sheba
the son
of Bichri
do us more harm
than did Absalom:
take
thou thy lord's servants,
and pursue
after him,
lest
he get him
fenced cities,
and escape us.
And there went out
after him Joab's men,
and the Cherethites,
and the Pelethites,
and all
the mighty men:
and
they
went out of Jerusalem,
to pursue
after Sheba
the son
of Bichri.
When
they were at the great stone
which is in Gibeon,
Amasa
went
before them.
And
Joab's garment
that he had put on
was girded unto him,
and upon it
a girdle
with a sword
fastened
upon his loins
in the sheath
thereof;
and as he
went forth it
fell out.
And Joab
said
to Amasa,
Art
thou in health,
my brother?
And Joab
took Amasa
by the beard
with the right
hand
to kiss him.
But Amasa
took no
heed to the sword
that was in Joab's hand:
so he
smote him therewith
in the fifth rib,
and shed
out his bowels
to the ground,
and struck him
not again;
and he died.
So Joab
and Abishai
his brother
pursued
after Sheba
the son
of Bichri.
And one
of Joab's men
stood by him,
and said,
He that
favoureth Joab,
and
he that is
for David,
let him go after Joab.
And Amasa
wallowed
in blood
in the midst
of the highway.
And
when the man
saw that all
the people
stood still,
he removed Amasa
out of the highway
into the field,
and cast
a cloth
upon him,
when he
saw
that every one
that came
by him stood still.
When
he was removed
out of the highway,
all the people
went on
after Joab,
to pursue
after Sheba
the son
of Bichri.
And
he went through all
the tribes
of Israel
unto Abel,
and
to Bethmaachah,
and all
the Berites:
and
they
were gathered together,
and went also
after him.
And they
came
and besieged him
in Abel
of Bethmaachah,
and they cast
up a bank
against the city,
and it
stood
in the trench:
and all
the people
that were with Joab
battered the wall,
to throw it down.
Then cried
a wise woman
out of the city,
Hear,
hear;
say,
I pray you,
unto Joab,
Come near hither,
that I
may speak
with thee.
And
when
he was come near
unto her,
the woman said,
Art thou Joab?
And he answered,
I am he.
Then
she
said unto him,
Hear the words
of thine handmaid.
And he answered,
I do hear.
Then she spake,
saying,
They were wont
to speak
in old time,
saying,
They
shall surely ask
counsel at Abel:
and so
they ended
the matter.
I am
one of them that
are
peaceable
and faithful
in Israel:
thou seekest
to destroy a city
and a mother
in Israel:
why wilt
thou swallow
up the inheritance
of the LORD?
And Joab
answered
and said,
Far be it,
far be it
from me,
that
I should swallow
up or destroy.
The matter
is not so:
but a man
of mount Ephraim,
Sheba the son
of Bichri
by name,
hath lifted
up his hand
against the king,
even against David:
deliver him only,
and
I will depart
from the city.
And the woman
said
unto Joab, Behold,
his head
shall be thrown
to thee
over the wall.
Then the woman
went unto all
the people in her wisdom.
And they cut off
the head
of Sheba
the son
of Bichri,
and cast it out
to Joab.
And
he blew a trumpet,
and they
retired
from the city,
every man
to his tent.
And Joab
returned
to Jerusalem
unto the king.
Now Joab
was over all
the host
of Israel:
and Benaiah
the son
of Jehoiada
was over the Cherethites
and over the Pelethites:
And Adoram
was over the tribute:
and Jehoshaphat
the son
of Ahilud
was recorder:
And Sheva
was scribe:
and Zadok
and Abiathar
were the priests:
And Ira
also the Jairite
was
a chief ruler
about David.
Then there was a famine
in the days
of David three years,
year after year;
and David
enquired
of the LORD.
And the LORD answered,
It is for Saul,
and
for his bloody house,
because
he slew the Gibeonites.
And the king
called the Gibeonites,
and
said unto them;
(now the Gibeonites
were not
of the children
of Israel,
but of the remnant
of the Amorites;
and the children
of Israel
had sworn unto them:
and Saul
sought
to slay them
in his zeal
to the children
of Israel and Judah.)
Wherefore
David
said
unto the Gibeonites,
What
shall
I do for you?
and wherewith shall
I make
the atonement,
that ye
may bless
the inheritance
of the LORD?
And the Gibeonites
said unto him,
We will have
no silver
nor gold
of Saul,
nor of his house;
neither for us shalt thou
kill any man
in Israel.
And he said,
What
ye shall say,
that will
I do for you.
And
they answered
the king,
The man
that consumed us,
and that
devised
against us that
we should be destroyed
from remaining
in any of the coasts
of Israel,
Let
seven men
of his sons
be delivered unto us,
and we
will hang
them up
unto the LORD
in Gibeah
of Saul,
whom
the LORD
did choose.
And the king said,
I will give them.
But the king
spared Mephibosheth,
the son
of Jonathan
the son of Saul,
because
of the LORD's oath
that was between them,
between David
and Jonathan
the son
of Saul.
But the king
took
the two sons
of Rizpah
the daughter
of Aiah,
whom
she bare
unto Saul,
Armoni
and Mephibosheth;
and the five sons
of Michal
the daughter
of Saul,
whom
she brought up
for Adriel the son
of Barzillai the Meholathite:
And
he delivered them
into the hands
of the Gibeonites,
and
they hanged them
in the hill
before the LORD:
and
they fell all seven
together,
and were put
to death
in the days
of harvest,
in the first days,
in the beginning
of barley harvest.
And Rizpah
the daughter
of Aiah
took sackcloth,
and spread it
for her
upon the rock,
from the beginning
of harvest
until water
dropped
upon them
out of heaven,
and suffered
neither the birds
of the air
to rest
on them
by day,
nor the beasts
of the field
by night.
And it
was told David
what Rizpah
the daughter
of Aiah,
the concubine
of Saul,
had done.
And David
went
and took
the bones
of Saul
and the bones
of Jonathan his son
from the men
of Jabeshgilead,
which had stolen them
from the street
of Bethshan,
where the Philistines
had hanged them,
when the Philistines
had slain Saul
in Gilboa:
And he
brought up
from thence
the bones
of Saul
and the bones
of Jonathan his son;
and they
gathered
the bones
of them that
were hanged.
And the bones
of Saul
and Jonathan
his son
buried
they
in the country
of Benjamin
in Zelah,
in the sepulchre
of Kish his father:
and
they performed all
that the king commanded.
And after that God
was intreated
for the land.
Moreover the Philistines
had yet
war again
with Israel;
and David went down,
and his servants
with him,
and fought
against the Philistines:
and David waxed faint.
And Ishbibenob,
which was of the sons
of the giant,
the weight
of whose spear
weighed
three hundred shekels
of brass
in weight,
he being girded
with a new sword,
thought to have slain David.
But Abishai
the son
of Zeruiah
succoured him,
and smote the Philistine,
and killed him.
Then the men
of David
sware unto him,
saying,
Thou
shalt go
no more
out with us to battle,
that thou
quench not the light
of Israel.
And it
came
to pass
after this,
that there was again a battle
with the Philistines
at Gob:
then Sibbechai
the Hushathite
slew Saph,
which was of the sons
of the giant.
And there was again a battle
in Gob
with the Philistines,
where Elhanan
the son
of Jaareoregim,
a Bethlehemite,
slew the brother
of Goliath the Gittite,
the staff
of whose spear
was like
a weaver's beam.
And there was yet
a battle in Gath,
where was a man
of great stature,
that had
on every hand six fingers,
and on every foot six toes,
four and twenty
in number;
and
he also was born
to the giant.
And
when
he defied Israel,
Jonathan the son
of Shimeah
the brother
of David
slew him.
These four
were born
to the giant
in Gath,
and fell by the hand
of David,
and by the hand
of his servants.
And David
spake unto the LORD
the words
of this song
in the day
that the LORD
had delivered him
out of the hand
of all
his enemies,
and
out of the hand
of Saul:
And he said,
The LORD
is my rock,
and my fortress,
and my deliverer;
The God
of my rock;
in him will
I trust:
he is my shield,
and the horn
of my salvation,
my high tower,
and my refuge,
my saviour;
thou savest me
from violence.
I will call on
the LORD,
who is worthy
to be praised:
so shall
I be saved
from mine enemies.
When the waves
of death
compassed me,
the floods
of ungodly men
made me afraid;
The sorrows
of hell
compassed me about;
the snares
of death
prevented me;
In my distress
I called
upon the LORD,
and cried
to my God:
and he
did hear
my voice
out of his temple,
and my cry
did enter
into his ears.
Then the earth
shook
and trembled;
the foundations
of heaven moved
and shook,
because
he was wroth.
There went
up a smoke
out of his nostrils,
and fire
out of his mouth devoured:
coals were kindled by it.
He bowed
the heavens also,
and came down;
and darkness
was under his feet.
And
he rode upon a cherub,
and did fly:
and
he was seen upon the wings
of the wind.
And
he made darkness pavilions round
about him, dark waters,
and thick clouds
of the skies.
Through the brightness
before him
were coals
of fire kindled.
The LORD
thundered
from heaven,
and the most High
uttered his voice.
And he
sent
out arrows,
and scattered them;
lightning,
and discomfited them.
And
the channels
of the sea appeared,
the foundations
of the world
were discovered,
at the rebuking
of the LORD,
at the blast
of the breath
of his nostrils.
He sent
from above,
he took me;
he drew me
out of many waters;
He delivered me
from my strong enemy,
and from them that
hated me:
for they
were too strong
for me.
They prevented me
in the day
of my calamity:
but the LORD
was my stay.
He brought me forth
also into a large place:
he delivered me,
because
he delighted in me.
The LORD
rewarded me according to
my righteousness:
according to
the cleanness
of my hands
hath
he recompensed me.
For I
have kept the ways
of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed
from my God.
For all
his judgments
were
before me:
and
as for his statutes,
I did not depart from them.
I was also upright
before him,
and have kept myself
from mine iniquity.
Therefore the LORD
hath recompensed me according to
my righteousness;
according to my cleanness
in his eye sight.
With the merciful
thou wilt shew thyself merciful,
and with the upright man
thou wilt shew thyself upright.
With the pure
thou wilt shew thyself pure;
and
with the froward
thou wilt shew
thyself unsavoury.
And the afflicted people
thou wilt save:
but thine
eyes
are upon the haughty,
that thou
mayest bring them down.
For thou art
my lamp,
O LORD:
and the LORD
will lighten
my darkness.
For by thee
I have run
through a troop:
by my God
have
I leaped
over a wall.
As for God,
his way
is perfect;
the word
of the LORD
is tried:
he is a buckler
to all
them that trust
in him.
For who
is God,
save the LORD?
and
who is a rock,
save our God?
God is my strength
and power:
and he
maketh
my way perfect.
He maketh
my feet like hinds' feet:
and setteth me
upon my high places.
He teacheth
my hands to war;
so that a bow
of steel
is broken by mine arms.
Thou hast also given me
the shield
of thy salvation:
and thy gentleness
hath made me great.
Thou hast enlarged
my steps
under me;
so that
my feet
did not slip.
I have pursued
mine enemies,
and destroyed them;
and turned not again until
I had consumed them.
And
I have consumed them,
and wounded them,
that they
could not arise:
yea,
they are fallen
under my feet.
For thou
hast girded me
with strength
to battle:
them that rose up
against me hast
thou
subdued under me.
Thou hast also given me
the necks
of mine enemies,
that I
might destroy them
that hate me.
They looked,
but there was none
to save;
even unto the LORD,
but
he answered them not.
Then did
I beat them
as small
as the dust
of the earth,
I did stamp them
as the mire
of the street,
and did spread them abroad.
Thou also hast delivered me
from the strivings
of my people,
thou hast kept me
to be
head of the heathen:
a people
which I
knew not shall serve me.
Strangers
shall submit themselves unto me:
as soon as they hear,
they shall be obedient
unto me.
Strangers shall fade away,
and
they shall be
afraid out of their close places.
The LORD liveth;
and blessed
be my rock;
and exalted
be the God
of the rock
of my salvation.
It is
God that
avengeth me,
and that
bringeth down the people
under me.
And that
bringeth me forth
from mine enemies:
thou also hast lifted me up
on high above
them that rose up
against me:
thou hast delivered me
from the violent man.
Therefore I
will give
thanks unto thee,
O LORD,
among the heathen,
and I
will sing
praises unto thy name.
He is the tower
of salvation
for his king:
and sheweth mercy
to his anointed,
unto David,
and
to his seed
for evermore.
Now these
be the last
words of David.
David
the son
of Jesse said,
and the man
who was raised up
on high,
the anointed
of the God
of Jacob,
and the sweet psalmist
of Israel,
said,
The Spirit
of the LORD
spake by me,
and his word
was in my tongue.
The God
of Israel said,
the Rock
of Israel
spake to me,
He that
ruleth over men
must be just,
ruling in the fear of God.
And
he shall be as the light
of the morning,
when the sun riseth,
even a morning
without clouds;
as the tender grass
springing
out of the earth
by clear
shining after rain.
Although my house
be not so
with God;
yet he
hath made
with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered
in all things,
and sure:
for this
is all
my salvation,
and all my desire,
although he
make it not
to grow.
But the sons
of Belial
shall be
all of them
as thorns
thrust away,
because
they cannot be taken
with hands:
But the man
that shall touch them
must be fenced
with iron
and the staff
of a spear;
and
they shall be utterly burned
with fire
in the same place.
These be
the names
of the mighty men
whom David had:
The Tachmonite that
sat
in the seat,
chief among the captains;
the same
was Adino
the Eznite:
he lift
up his spear
against eight hundred,
whom
he slew at one time.
And
after him
was Eleazar
the son
of Dodo the Ahohite,
one of the three mighty men
with David,
when
they defied
the Philistines
that were there gathered together
to battle,
and the men
of Israel
were gone away:
He arose,
and smote
the Philistines
until his hand
was weary,
and his hand clave
unto the sword:
and the LORD
wrought
a great victory
that day;
and the people
returned
after him only
to spoil.
And
after him
was Shammah
the son
of Agee the Hararite.
And the Philistines
were gathered together
into a troop,
where was a piece
of ground
full of lentiles:
and the people
fled
from the Philistines.
But he
stood
in the midst
of the ground,
and defended it,
and slew the Philistines:
and the LORD
wrought a great victory.
And three
of the thirty chief went down,
and came to David
in the harvest time
unto the cave
of Adullam:
and
the troop
of the Philistines
pitched
in the valley
of Rephaim.
And David
was
then in an hold,
and
the garrison
of the Philistines
was
then
in Bethlehem.
And David longed,
and said,
Oh that one
would give me
drink
of the water
of the well of Bethlehem,
which is by the gate!
And the three mighty men brake
through the host
of the Philistines,
and drew
water out of the
well of Bethlehem,
that was by the gate,
and took it,
and brought
it to David:
nevertheless
he would not drink
thereof,
but poured it out
unto the LORD.
And he said,
Be it far
from me, O LORD,
that I
should do this:
is not
this the blood
of the men
that went in jeopardy
of their lives?
therefore he
would not drink it.
These things
did these
three mighty men.
And Abishai,
the brother
of Joab,
the son
of Zeruiah,
was chief
among three.
And he
lifted
up his spear
against three hundred,
and slew them,
and had
the name
among three.
Was
he not most honourable
of three?
therefore he
was their captain:
howbeit
he attained not
unto the first three.
And Benaiah
the son
of Jehoiada,
the son
of a valiant man,
of Kabzeel,
who had done
many acts,
he slew two
lionlike men
of Moab:
he went down also
and slew
a lion
in the midst
of a pit
in time
of snow:
And
he slew an Egyptian,
a goodly man:
and the Egyptian
had
a spear
in his hand;
but he
went down
to him
with a staff,
and plucked
the spear
out of the Egyptian's hand,
and slew him
with his own spear.
These things
did Benaiah
the son
of Jehoiada,
and had
the name
among three mighty men.
He was more honourable
than the thirty,
but
he attained not
to the first three.
And David set him
over his guard.
Asahel
the brother
of Joab
was one
of the thirty;
Elhanan the son
of Dodo
of Bethlehem,
Shammah the Harodite,
Elika the Harodite,
Helez the Paltite,
Ira the son
of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
Abiezer the Anethothite,
Mebunnai the Hushathite,
Zalmon the Ahohite,
Maharai
the Netophathite,
Heleb the son
of Baanah,
a Netophathite,
Ittai the son
of Ribai
out of Gibeah
of the children
of Benjamin,
Benaiah the Pirathonite,
Hiddai
of the brooks
of Gaash,
Abialbon the Arbathite,
Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Eliahba the Shaalbonite,
of the sons
of Jashen, Jonathan,
Shammah the Hararite,
Ahiam the son
of Sharar the Hararite,
Eliphelet the son
of Ahasbai,
the son
of the Maachathite,
Eliam the son
of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
Hezrai the Carmelite,
Paarai the Arbite,
Igal the son
of Nathan
of Zobah,
Bani the Gadite,
Zelek the Ammonite,
Nahari the Beerothite,
armourbearer
to Joab
the son
of Zeruiah,
Ira an Ithrite,
Gareb an Ithrite,
Uriah the Hittite:
thirty and seven
in all.
And
again
the anger
of the LORD
was kindled
against Israel,
and
he moved David
against them to say,
Go,
number Israel
and Judah.
For the king
said to Joab
the captain
of the host,
which was with him,
Go now through all
the tribes
of Israel,
from Dan
even to Beersheba,
and number
ye the people,
that I
may know
the number
of the people.
And Joab
said
unto the king,
Now the LORD
thy God
add
unto the people,
how many soever
they be,
an hundredfold,
and
that the eyes
of my lord
the king
may see it:
but
why doth
my lord the king
delight
in this thing?
Notwithstanding
the king's word
prevailed
against Joab,
and
against the captains
of the host.
And Joab
and the captains
of the host
went out
from the presence
of the king,
to number the people
of Israel.
And they
passed
over Jordan,
and pitched
in Aroer,
on the right side
of the city
that lieth
in the midst
of the river
of Gad,
and
toward Jazer:
Then they
came
to Gilead,
and to the land
of Tahtimhodshi;
and they
came
to Danjaan,
and about
to Zidon,
And came
to the strong hold
of Tyre,
and
to all the cities
of the Hivites,
and
of the Canaanites:
and
they went out
to the south
of Judah,
even to Beersheba.
So when
they had gone
through all
the land,
they came
to Jerusalem
at the end
of nine months
and twenty days.
And Joab
gave up
the sum
of the number
of the people
unto the king:
and there were
in Israel eight hundred thousand
valiant men that
drew the sword;
and the men
of Judah
were five hundred thousand men.
And David's heart
smote him
after that
he had numbered
the people.
And David
said
unto the LORD,
I have sinned greatly
in that
I have done:
and now,
I beseech thee,
O LORD,
take away the iniquity
of thy servant;
for I
have done
very foolishly.
For when
David was up
in the morning,
the word
of the LORD
came
unto the prophet Gad,
David's seer,
saying,
Go and say
unto David,
Thus saith the LORD,
I offer
thee three things;
choose thee one
of them,
that I
may do it
unto thee.
So Gad
came
to David,
and told him,
and
said unto him,
Shall seven years
of famine
come
unto thee
in thy land?
or wilt
thou flee
three months before thine enemies,
while they
pursue thee?
or that
there be
three days' pestilence
in thy land?
now advise,
and see
what answer
I shall return
to him that sent me.
And David
said
unto Gad,
I am in a great strait:
let us
fall now
into the hand
of the LORD;
for his mercies
are great:
and let me
not fall
into the hand
of man.
So the LORD
sent
a pestilence
upon Israel
from the morning
even to the time appointed:
and there died
of the people
from Dan
even to
Beersheba seventy thousand men.
And
when the angel
stretched out
his hand
upon Jerusalem
to destroy it,
the LORD
repented him
of the evil,
and said
to the angel
that destroyed
the people,
It is enough:
stay
now thine hand.
And
the angel
of the LORD
was by the threshingplace
of Araunah the Jebusite.
And David
spake unto the LORD
when
he saw
the angel
that smote the people,
and said,
Lo,
I have sinned,
and
I have done wickedly:
but these sheep,
what have
they done?
let thine hand,
I pray thee,
be against me,
and
against my father's house.
And Gad
came
that day
to David,
and
said unto him,
Go up,
rear an altar
unto the LORD
in the threshingfloor
of Araunah the Jebusite.
And David,
according to
the saying
of Gad,
went up
as the LORD commanded.
And Araunah looked,
and saw
the king
and his servants
coming on toward him:
and Araunah went out,
and bowed himself
before the king
on his face
upon the ground.
And Araunah said,
Wherefore is my lord
the king
come
to his servant?
And David said,
To buy
the threshingfloor
of thee,
to build an altar
unto the LORD,
that the plague
may be stayed
from the people.
And Araunah
said
unto David,
Let my lord
the king
take
and offer
up what
seemeth good
unto him:
behold,
here be oxen
for burnt sacrifice,
and threshing
instruments
and other instruments
of the oxen
for wood.
All these things
did Araunah,
as a king,
give
unto the king.
And Araunah
said
unto the king,
The LORD thy God
accept thee.
And the king
said
unto Araunah, Nay;
but
I will surely buy it
of thee
at a price:
neither will
I offer
burnt
offerings
unto the LORD my
God of that
which doth cost me
nothing.
So David
bought
the threshingfloor
and the oxen
for fifty shekels
of silver.
And David
built there
an altar
unto the LORD,
and offered
burnt offerings
and peace offerings.
So the LORD
was intreated
for the land,
and the plague
was stayed
from Israel.