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 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 in 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 to the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the LORD, in Hebron.

And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.

Thus then the king went forth, with all the people attending him, - and they came to a stand at a place that was far off.

And all his servants passed on by his side; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

Yesterday when you came and {today}, I have caused you to wander by going with us. Now I [am] going to where I [am] going; return and let your brothers return. [May] loyal love and faithfulness [be] with you."

And lo, Zadok came also, and all the Levites were with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God. And Abiathar went up until all the people had finished passing out of the city.

And word came to David, saying, Ahithophel is among those who are joined to Absalom. And David said, O Lord, let the wisdom of Ahithophel be made foolish.

And it came to pass, that when David had come to the top of the mount, where he worshiped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head;

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 came against him with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves and one hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred frayls of dried figs, and a bottle of wine.

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 David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjaminite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him.

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, had come to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, God save the king, God save the king.

So Hushai came to Absalom, who said to him, "Shall we do according to this word [that] Ahithophel has spoken? If not, then you tell [us]."

And we came upon him in one of the places which we shall find there, and we upon him as the dew will fall upon the earth: and we will not leave of him and of all the men which are with him, even one.

Nevertheless, a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; into which they descended.

And when Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, they have 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 had departed, that they came out of the well, and went and told king David, and said to David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counseled against you.

So David and all the people who were with him went up over Jordan: when dawn came, every one of them had gone over Jordan.

Now when Ahithophel saw that his suggestion was not acted on, he got his ass ready, and went back to his house, to the town where he came from, and having put his house in order, he put himself to death by hanging; so he came to his end and was put in the resting-place of his father.

Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

And it came to pass, when David had come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

Came with beds and basins and pots, and grain and meal, and all sorts of dry foods,

And the king said to them, What seemeth to you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.

Now, when Absolom met the servants of David, Absolom, was riding upon a mule, and the mule came under the thick branches of a large oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, the mule that was under him passing on.

Then came round ten young men who bare Joab's armour, - and smote Absolom, and slew him.

And Joab had the horn sounded, and the people came back from going after Israel, for Joab kept them back.

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 saw: and behold, there came a man running alone.

And the watchman called, and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.

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.

The army {came secretly} into the city on that day because the army was disgraced when they fled in the battle,

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;

And now arise, go forth, and speak to the heart of thy servants: for in Jehovah I swore if thou wilt not go forth, if a man shall lodge with thee this night: and this evil to thee above all the evil which came upon thee from thy youth till now

Then the king rose, and sat in the gate. And they told to 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 it came to pass that all the people were reproaching one another, throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, - the king, delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and, he, rescued us out of the hand of the Philistines, but, now, he hath fled out of the land, away from Absolom;

And Absalom, whom we made a ruler over us, is dead in the fight. So now why do you say nothing about getting the king back? And word of what all Israel was saying came to the king.

And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak ye to the old men of Judah, saying, Wherefore will ye be the last to turn back the king to his house? And the word of all Israel came to the king to his house.

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 Benjaminite, who was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David.

And with him a thousand men of Benjamin, and Ziba, the servant of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, came rushing to 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 came over Jordan;

And he will say to the king, My lord will not reckon iniquity to me, and he will not remember what thy servant did perversely in the day which my lord the king came forth from Jerusalem, for the king to set to his heart

For thy servant knew that I sinned: and behold, I came this day the first for all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the

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 had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?

And Mephibosheth will say to the king, Also he shall take all, after that my lord the king came in peace to his house.

And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.

And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to him, 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 me; and why then are ye angry for this matter? have we eaten anything which came from the king, or has he given us any present?

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 custody, and fed them, but went not in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

They [were] near the big rock that [is] in Gibeon, and Amasa came before them. Joab {was dressed in his military clothing}, [with] a utility belt on him and a sword strapped to his waist in its scabbard. Now he went out, and it fell out.

But Amasa did not see danger from the sword which was now in Joab's left hand, and Joab put it through his stomach so that his inside came out on to the earth, and he did not give him another blow. So Joab and his brother Abishai went on after Sheba, the son of Bichri.

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.

Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah. All the Berites came together and followed him.

And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, 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 he came near to her, and the woman asked, "[Are] you Joab?" And he said, "I [am]." Then she said to him, "Listen to the words of your servant." He said, "I [am] listening."

So the woman came unto all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri, and cast it out unto Joab. And he blew with a horn, and they dispersed themselves from the city, every man to his home; but, Joab, returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

And there came to be a famine, in the days of David, for three years, year after year, so then David sought the face of Yahweh, - and Yahweh said - It respecteth Saul and his house, as to bloodshed, in that he put to death the Gibeonites.

And he gave them up to the Gibeonites, and they put them to death, hanging them on the mountain before the Lord; all seven came to their end together in the first days of the grain-cutting, at the start of the cutting of the barley.

And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took haircloth, placing it on the rock as a bed for herself, from the start of the grain-cutting till rain came down on them from heaven; and she did not let the birds of the air come near them by day, or the beasts of the field by night.

And there came against David one of the offspring of the Rephaim, whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, and having a new sword, he made an attempt to put David to death.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, You shall not go out to battle with us any more, so that you do not put out 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, who was of the sons of the giant.

These four were of the offspring of the Rephaim in Gath; and they came to their end by the hands of David and his servants.

For the waves of death came round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear;

The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.

In my distress I called upon Jehovah; Yea, I called unto my God: And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry came into his ears.

Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth; he hurled down fiery coals.

He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

From the brightness in front of him came coals of fire.

They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.

For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who came out against me.

They looked for help, but none came to save them: unto the LORD they cried, but he heard them not.

Children of a foreign land came cringing to me; {when they heard of me}, they became obedient to me.

Children of a foreign land lost heart and came trembling from their strongholds.

The God of Israel said, the word of the Rock of Israel came to me: When an upright king is ruling over men, when he is ruling in the fear of God,

After him was Eleazar, the son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three great fighters, who was with David in Pas-dammim when the Philistines came together there for the fight; and when the men of Israel had gone in flight,

but Eleazar stood his ground and attacked the Philistines until his hand was tired and stuck to his sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. Then the troops came back to him, but only to plunder the dead.

After him was Shammah, the son of Ela the Hararite. And the Philistines came together in Lehi, where there was a bit of land full of seed; and the people went in flight from the Philistines.

And three of the thirty chiefs went down, and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

Above the three was he not honored? and he will be to them for chief: and he came not even to the three.

Of the thirty he is honoured, and unto the three he came not; and David setteth him over his guard.

Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, 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 Beer-sheba.

So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

For when David had risen in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,

So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come upon thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? Now consider, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

So David made selection of the disease; and the time was the days of the grain-cutting, when the disease came among the people, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan as far as Beer-sheba.

And Gad came that day to David, and said to him, Go up, rear an altar to the LORD in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

And Araunah will say, Wherefore came my lord the king to his servant? and David will say, To buy from thee the threshing-floor to build an altar to Jehovah, and the slaughter shall be withheld from above the people.

And there David put up an altar to the Lord, making burned offerings and peace-offerings. So the Lord gave ear to his prayer for the land, and the disease came to an end in Israel.