And David said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.

And David said to him, How did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead also.

And I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown on his head, and the bracelet on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.

And David said to him, Your blood be upon your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, I have slain Jehovah's anointed.

I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant you have been to me. Your love to me was wonderful, more than the love of women.

And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead. And he said to them, Blessed are you of Jehovah, that you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him.

And now may Jehovah do kindness and truth to you. And I also do good to you, because you have done this thing.

And Joab said, As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone up each one from following his brother.

And Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbosheth said to Abner, Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?

And Abner was very angry over the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, who shows kindness against Judah this day to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David? Am I a dog's head that you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman today?

And Joab came to the king and said, What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is this, that you have sent him away, and he has already gone?

when one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good news, I took hold of him and killed him in Ziklag. I gave that to him as a reward.

Indeed 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 I will be still lower than this, and will be base in my own sight. And of the handmaids of whom you have spoken, with them I shall be had in honor.

For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the sons of Israel out of Egypt until this day, but have walked in a tent, even in a tabernacle.

In all places in which I have walked with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, those I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, Why do you not build Me a house of cedars?

And I was with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies out of your sight, and have made you a great name like the name of the great ones in the earth.

Then King David went in and sat before Jehovah. And he said, Who am I, O Lord Jehovah? And what is my house, that You have brought me here?

And this was yet a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God. But You have spoken also of Your servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of men, O Lord God?

For Your Word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things to make Your servant know.

Therefore You are great, O Jehovah God. For there is none like You, neither is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

For You have confirmed to Yourself Your people Israel to be a people to You forever. And You, Jehovah, have become their God.

And now, O Jehovah God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant, and concerning his house: establish it forever, and do as You have said.

For You, O Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to Your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore Your servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer to You.

And now, O Lord Jehovah, You are that God, and Your Words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.

Therefore, now, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, to be forever before You. For You, O Lord Jehovah, have spoken. And with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.

Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.

And you shall till the land for him, you and your sons and your servants. And you shall bring in the fruits so that your master's son may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's son, shall eat bread always at my table. And Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

And they told David, saying, Uriah did not go to his house. And David said to Uriah, Did you not come from a journey? Why have you not gone down to your house?

And he commanded the messenger saying, When you have made an end of telling the matters of the war to the king,

And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that was too little, I would have given to you such and such things besides.

Why have you despised the Word of Jehovah, to do evil in His sight? You have stricken Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

And therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said to David, Jehovah also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

Only, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, this child born to you shall surely die.

Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the living boy, but when the child was dead you arose and ate bread!

And Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

And Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, And watch when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Strike Amnon, you shall kill him. Do not fear. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous, and be brave.

And Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah answered and said, Let not my lord think that they have killed all the young men, the king's sons. For only Amnon is dead. For by the mouth of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he humbled his sister Tamar.

And the woman said, Why then have you thought such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is at fault, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again.

And now I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, because the people have made me afraid. And your handmaid said, I will now speak to the king. It may be that the king will do what his handmaid has asked.

And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing. Go therefore and 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, Today your servant knows that I have found grace in your sight, my lord, O, king, in that the king has done what your servant has asked.

And Joab arose and came to Absalom's house, and said to him, Why have your servants set my field on fire?

And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent to you, saying, Come here so that I may send you to the king, to say, Why have I come from Geshur? It was good for me to be there still. And now let me see the king's face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.

And it happened at the end of forty years, Absalom said to the king, Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to Jehovah in Hebron.

But if He says this, I have no delight in you; behold me, and let Him do to me as seems good to Him.

But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; I have been your father's servant until now, and now I also will be your servant, then you may break down the advice of Ahithophel for me.

And do you not have there with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests? And it shall be, whatever you shall hear out of the king's house, you shall tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

Behold, they have their two sons there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son. And you shall send to me everything that you hear by them.

Jehovah has returned on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. And Jehovah has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. And behold, you are taken in your mischief, because you are a man of blood!

And the king said, What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse, because Jehovah has said to him, Curse David. Who then shall say, Why have you done so?

And again, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father's presence, so I will be in your presence.

And Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, This and this Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this and this I have advised.

And when Absalom's servants came to the woman, to the house, they said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They have gone over the brook of water. And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

And Joab said to the man who told him, And, behold, you saw him, and why did you not strike him there to the ground? And I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a girdle.

Or I would have dealt falsely with my own life, for there is no matter hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.

And Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the King's Valley. 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 until this day, Absalom's monument.

And Joab said to Cushi, Go tell the king what you have seen. And Cushi bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, Yet whatever, please let me also run after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why will you run, my son, since you have no good news ready?

And Joab came into the house to the king and said, You have today shamed the faces of all your servants. For they have saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters today, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines.

By loving your enemies and hating those who love you, you have declared today that there are neither commanders nor servants to you. For I know that today if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would have pleased you very much!

For your servant knows that I have sinned. And, behold, I come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

And David said, What do I have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be my foes today? Shall there be any man put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?

For all my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king. And you set your servant among those eating at your own table. What right then have I to cry to the king any more?

And the king said to him, Why do you speak any more of your matters? I have said, You and Ziba divide the land.

And Barzillai said to the king, How long do I have to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you 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 to us. Why then are you angry for this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king's cost? Or has 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 also have more right in David than you. Why then did you despise us, so that our advice should not be sought first in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were more fierce than the words of the men of Israel.

And there happened to be there a man of Belial named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a ram's horn and said, We have no part in David, neither do we have any inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O, Israel!

And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver nor gold from Saul, nor from his house. Also, we will have no man in Israel put to death. And he said, What you shall say, I will do for you.

For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

I was also upright before Him, and have kept myself from my iniquity.

For by You I have run through a troop. By my God I have leaped over a wall.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your gentleness has made me great.

You have enlarged my steps under me, so that my feet did not slip.

I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and turned not again until I had finished them.

And I have crushed them and wounded them so that they could not rise. Yea, they have fallen under my feet.

For You have girded me with strength to battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

You have also given me the necks of my enemies; I silenced those who hate me.

You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people, You have kept me the head of the nations. A people I knew not shall serve me.

And David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in what I have done. And now, I beseech You, O Jehovah, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.

And David spoke to Jehovah when he saw the angel who struck the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? I pray You, let Your hand be against me and against my father's house.