And David said to him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thy hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?

And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD'S anointed.

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

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

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been to me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay hold on one of the young men, and take to thee his armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: Why should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, who against Judah do show kindness this day to 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?

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 to thee.

And Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

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.

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 they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul thy enemy, who sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and of his seed.

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

And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And the LORD said to David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thy hand.

And David said to Michal, It was before the LORD, who 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 Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart: for the LORD is with thee.

And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thy enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like to the name of the great men that are in the earth.

And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thy enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee a house.

And when thy days shall 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.

And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

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 to thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.

For thy word's sake, and according to thy own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.

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 to 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 a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee.

And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness to 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 there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him to David, the king said to him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.

Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!

And David said to him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for the sake of Jonathan thy father, 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 shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?

Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to 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 always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

Then said Ziba to 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 the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, that he hath sent comforters to thee? hath not David rather sent his servants to thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?

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.

And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down to his house, David said to Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down to thy house?

And Uriah said to 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 my 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.

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.

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

Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to 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 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 to thee such and such things.

Why 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 thy 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 thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them to thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said to David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.

Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress meat for him.

And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

And Absalom her brother said to 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.

And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheep-shearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.

And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons come; as thy servant said, so it is.

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 hath risen against thy 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 will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.

And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

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 thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

Now therefore that I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

Then thy handmaid said, The word of my lord the king, will 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.

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 aught that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid:

To bring 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 on the earth.

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.

Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom, to his house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire?

And Absalom rose 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 to him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel.

And Absalom said to him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed by the king to hear thee.

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's servants said to the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king shall appoint.

Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Why 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.

The king said also to 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.

But if thou shalt return to the city, and say to 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 the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father.

Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained to Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.

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.

And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?

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.

And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred by thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.

For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are 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.

And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they who are with him are valiant men.

Therefore I counsel that all Israel should be generally gathered to thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou shouldst go to battle in thy own person.

And Ahimaaz called, and said to 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, who hath delivered up the men that raised 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 Joab came into the house to the king, and said, thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who 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 thy 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 to thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou shalt not go forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse to thee than all the evil that hath befallen thee from thy youth until now.

And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word to the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.

And said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity to 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 have come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

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 on it, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame.

And he hath slandered thy servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thy 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 ate at thy own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more to the king?

And the king said to him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.

I am this day eighty 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? why then should thy servant be yet a burden to my lord the king?

Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense me with such a reward?

Let thy servant, I pray thee, return again, that I may die in my 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 to thee.