and it cometh to pass, on the third day, that lo, a man hath come in out of the camp from Saul, and his garments are rent, and earth on his head; and it cometh to pass, in his coming in unto David, that he falleth to the earth, and doth obeisance.

David asked him, "Where are you coming from?" He replied, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."

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 are dead?

He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

And David taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them, and also all the men who are with him,

David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?” He answered, “I am the son of a foreigner (resident alien, sojourner), an Amalekite.”

The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!

Saul and Jonathan! They are loved and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they have not been parted. Than eagles they have been lighter, Than lions they have been mightier!

How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.

How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

and his men who are with him hath David brought up -- a man and his household -- and they dwell in the cities of Hebron.

And the men of Judah come, and anoint there David for king over the house of Judah; and they declare to David, saying, 'The men of Jabesh-Gilead are they who buried Saul.'

And David sendeth messengers unto the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and saith unto them, 'Blessed are ye of Jehovah, in that ye have done this kindness with your lord, with Saul, that ye bury him.

and now, are your hands strong, and be ye for sons of valour, for your lord Saul. is dead, and also -- me have the house of Judah anointed for king over them.'

And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was swift of foot, as one of the gazelles that are in the field.

Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” He answered, “It is I.”

Then crying out to Joab, Abner said, Are fighting and destruction to go on for ever? do you not see that the end will only be bitter? how long will it be before you send the people back and make them give up attacking their countrymen?

And Joab hath turned back from after Abner, and gathereth all the people, and there are lacking of the servants of David nineteen men, and Asahel;

And the war is long between the house of Saul and the house of David, and David is going on and is strong, and the house of Saul are going on and are weak.

And there are born to David sons in Hebron, and his first-born is Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess,

For the Lord has said of David, By the hand of my servant David I will make my people Israel safe from the Philistines, and from all who are against them.

and Abner cometh in unto David, to Hebron, and with him twenty men, and David maketh for Abner, and for the men who are with him, a banquet.

You know Abner the son of Ner, that he [only] came to deceive you [with flattering words] and to learn of your going out and coming in, and to find out what you are doing.”

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:

May it come on the head of Joab and all his father's family: among the men of Joab's family may there ever be some who are diseased or lepers, or who do the work of women, or are put to the sword, or are wasted from need of food!

And David saith unto Joab, and unto all the people who are with him, 'Rend your garments, and gird on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner;' and king David is going after the bier.

And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me: Jehovah reward the evil-doer according to his wickedness.

And the son of Saul heareth that Abner is dead in Hebron, and his hands are feeble, and all Israel have been troubled.

and the Beerothites flee to Gittaim, and are there sojourners unto this day.

How much worse will it be, then, when evil men kill an innocent man on his own bed in his own house! Shouldn't I avenge his blood which you are responsible for shedding by removing you from the earth?"

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

In the past when Saul was king over us, it was you who went at the head of Israel when they went out or came in: and the Lord said to you, You are to be the keeper of my people Israel and their ruler.

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.

Therefore they say, "The blind and lame are never to come into the house." David occupied the fortress, naming it the City of David. He built up the surroundings from the terrace ramparts inward.

And David taketh again concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after his coming from Hebron, and there are born again to David sons and daughters.

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

and the Philistines have come, and are spread out in the valley of Rephaim.

And the Philistines add again to come up, and are spread out in the valley of Rephaim,

And when David went for directions to the Lord, he said, You are not to go up against them in front; but make a circle round them from the back and come on them opposite the spice-trees.

and David riseth and goeth, and all the people who are with him, from Baale-Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God, whose name hath been called -- the name of Jehovah of Hosts, inhabiting the cherubs -- upon it.

And they cause the ark of God to ride on a new cart, and lift it up from the house of Abinadab, which is in the height, and Uzzah and Ahio sons of Abinadab are leading the new cart;

and David and all the house of Israel are playing before Jehovah, with all kinds of instruments of fir-wood, even with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cornets, and with cymbals.

and David and all the house of Israel are bringing up the ark of Jehovah with shouting, and with the voice of a trumpet,

I'm going to act more shamelessly than this, even to humbling myself in my own eyes. Now as to the women staff members about whom you have spoken, they are to hold me in honor!"

"Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says Yahweh: "[Are] you the one to build for me a house for my dwelling?

"""Are you going to build a house for me to inhabit? After all, I haven't lived in a house since the day I brought up the Israelis from Egypt until now. Instead, I've moved around in a tent that served as my dwelling place.

“Now this is what you are to say to My servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from following the sheep to be ruler over My people 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.

From the time when I put judges over my people Israel; and I will give you peace from all who are against you. And the Lord says to you that he will make you the head of a line of kings.

When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

Therefore You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

For you, O Yahweh of hosts, [are] God of Israel! You have revealed to the ear of your servant, 'I will build a house for you'; therefore your servant {has found courage} to pray this prayer to you.

And now, O Lord Jehovah, thou art God, and thy words are truth, and thou hast promised this good thing unto thy servant:

And he smiteth Moab, and measureth them with a line, causing them to lie down on the earth, and he measureth two lines to put to death, and the fulness of the line to keep alive, and the Moabites are to David for servants, bearers of a present.

and he putteth in Edom garrisons -- in all Edom he hath put garrisons, and all Edom are servants to David; and Jehovah saveth David whithersoever he hath gone.

and Zadok son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech son of Abiathar, are priests, and Seraiah is scribe,

There was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, so they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “I am your servant.”

And the king said, Is there anyone of Saul's family still living, to whom I may be a friend in God's name? And Ziba said, There is a son of Jonathan, whose feet are damaged.

You, your sons, and your servants are to work the ground for him, and you are to bring in the crops so your master’s grandson will have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table.” Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.

And Mephibosheth hath a young son, and his name is Micha, and every one dwelling in the house of Ziba are servants to Mephibosheth.

When David was informed, he sent [messengers] to meet them [before they reached Jerusalem], for the men were greatly ashamed and humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

And the Bene-Ammon come out, and set battle in array, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, are by themselves in the field;

Joab said [to Abishai], “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come to help you.

And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who are with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence;

And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together;

And it came to pass in the beginning of a new year, in the times when kings are wont to 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.

They told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house." David said to Uriah, "[Are] you not coming from a journey? Why did you not go down to your 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 it cometh to pass in Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men are;

He instructed the messenger, saying, "As you are finishing to speak all the news of the battle to the king,

and the messenger saith unto David, 'Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out unto us into the field, and we are upon them unto the opening of the gate,

And the shooters shot at thy servants from off the wall; and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

Nathan approached David and said, "There are two men in the city. One is rich and one is poor. The rich man has many flocks and herds,

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I spared you from the hand of Saul.

Then David exclaimed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord!" Nathan replied to David, "Yes, and the Lord has forgiven your sin. You are not going to die.

And David seeth that his servants are whispering, and David understandeth that the lad is dead, and David saith unto his servants, 'Is the lad dead?' and they say, 'Dead.'

and the people who are in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.

He said to Amnon, “Why are you, the king’s son, so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” And Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, my [half-] brother Absalom’s sister.”

Jonadab said to him, “Go to bed and pretend you are sick; and when your father [David] comes to see you, say to him, ‘Just let my sister Tamar come and serve me food, and let her prepare it in my sight, so that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’”

-- and upon her is a long coat, for such upper robes do daughters of the king who are virgins put on, -- and his servant taketh her out without, and hath bolted the door after her.

Then Absalom went to the king and said, "Look, here [are] your servant's shearers; please let the king and his servants go with your servant.

And the king saith unto Absalom, 'Nay, my son, let us not all go, I pray thee, and we are not too heavy on thee;' and he presseth on him, and he hath not been willing to go, and he blesseth him.

So Absalom responded, "If you aren't coming, please allow my brother Amnon to accompany us." The king asked, "Why should he go with you?"

And it cometh to pass -- they are in the way -- and the report hath come unto David, saying, 'Absalom hath smitten all the sons of the king, and there is not left of them one;'

and the king riseth, and rendeth his garments, and lieth on the earth, and all his servants are standing by with rent garments.

Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, responded and said, "My lord should not think that all the young men, the sons of the king, [are] dead, because only Amnon [is] dead. {Absalom was talking about it}, as it was being determined from the day he raped Tamar his sister.

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.

And Absalom fleeth, and the young man who is watching lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, much people are coming by the way behind him, on the side of the hill.

And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king's sons are come: as thy servant said, so it is.

And the woman of Tekoah saith unto the king, 'On me, my lord, O king, is the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne are innocent.'

"Why, then," the woman asked, "are you planning to act just like this against God's people? Based on what your majesty has said, you're acting like one who is guilty himself, because you're not bringing back the one whom you've 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.

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 there are born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, and her name is Tamar; she was a woman of a fair appearance.

And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Absalom prepareth for himself a chariot, and horses, and fifty men are running before him;

He would get up early and stand beside the road to the gate [of the city, where court was held]; and when any man who had a dispute came to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from 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.

Then Absalom sent messengers throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron!’”

And with Absalom have gone two hundred men, out of Jerusalem, invited ones, and they are going in their simplicity, and have not known anything;