So then, let not my lord the king set his heart on this matter, thinking, 'All the sons of the king [are] dead,' for only Amnon alone [is] dead."

Jonadab told the king, "Look! Here come the king's sons. This thing has turned out just like your servant reported."

Just as he finished his comments, the king's sons arrived, crying loudly. At this, with tears overflowing, the king and his entire staff wept bitterly.

So Joab sent to Tekoa and took from there a wise woman, and he said to her, "Please pretend to mourn and put on garments of mourning. You should not anoint yourself [with] oil, and you must act like this woman who has been mourning over the dead for {a long time}.

And come to the king, and speak in this manner to him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.

And the king said to the woman, Go to your house and I will give orders about this.

But the woman from Tekoa told the king, "Your majesty, let any guilt for this be on me and on my ancestors' household, and not on my king or his throne!"

The king replied, "Bring anyone who talks to you about this to me, and he certainly won't be bothering you anymore!"

At this, the woman responded, "Would your majesty the king please allow your humble servant to say one more thing?" "Say it"" he replied.

And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one who is faulty, in that the king doth not bring home again his banished.

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.

The king will surely listen in order to rescue his servant from the hand of this man who would eliminate both me and my son from God’s inheritance.

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 the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.

At this, Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrating himself to bless the king, and then said, "Today your servant realizes that he's found favor with you, your majesty, in that the king has acted on the request of his servant."

And this Absalom had three sons born him and one daughter named Tamar, which was a fair woman to look upon.

After this, Absalom sent for Joab, intending to send him to the king, but Joab would not come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but he still would not come.

At this, Joab got up, went to Absalom's home, and demanded of him, "Why did your servants set fire to my grain field?"

Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I sent a message to you saying, 'Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there."' Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!"

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

And more than this, Absalom said, If only I was made judge in the land, so that every man who has any cause or question might come to me, and I would give a right decision for 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.

For I made this vow when I was living in Geshur in Aram: 'If the Lord really does allow me to return to Jerusalem, I will serve the Lord.'"

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!’”

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.

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

And David said to Ziba, What is your reason for this? And Ziba said, The asses are for the use of the king's people, and the bread and the fruit are food for the young men; and the wine is for drink for those who are overcome by weariness in the waste land.

Then said the king, "Where is thy master's son?" and Ziba said unto the king, "Behold, he tarrieth still at Jerusalem. For he said, 'This day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.'"

And Shimei said this in his cursing, Go out, O man of blood, O man of Belial.

Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.

The king said, "{What do we have in common}, sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because Yahweh has said to him 'Curse David,' who can say, "Why have you done this?"

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.

It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.

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

And Hushai said to 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 more than this! where is my place as a servant? is it not before his son? as I have been your father's servant, so will I be yours.

Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night;

This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders of Israel.

And when Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not, speak thou.

And Hushai said to Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given, is not good at this time.

At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first, whoever hears about it will say, 'Absalom's army has been slaughtered!'

My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba -- in number like the sand by the sea! -- be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle.

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.

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.

And it happened after they had departed, they came up out of the well, and went and told King David. And they said to David, Arise and pass quickly over the waters, for this is what Ahithophel has advised against you.

And Absalom made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. This Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, an Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

And honey and butter and sheep and milk-cheeses, for David and his people: for they said, This people is in the waste land, needing food and drink and rest.

But the soldiers replied, "You should not do this! For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won't be too concerned about us. Even if half of us should die, they won't be too concerned about us. But you are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support."

The king gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: "For my sake deal gently with the young man Absalom." Now the entire army was listening when the king gave all the leaders this order concerning Absalom.

When one of the men saw this, he reported it to Joab saying, "I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.

Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, "What! You saw this? Why didn't you strike him down right on the spot? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a commemorative belt!"

The man replied to Joab, "Even if I were receiving a thousand pieces of silver, I would not strike the king's son! In our very presence the king gave this order to you and Abishai and Ittai, 'Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.'

And Joab said, I cannot stay here with you this way! And he took three darts in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the oak.

At this, Joab sounded his battle trumpet and his troops stopped pursuing the other Israelis.

Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and raised 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 to this day, Absalom's place.

And Joab said to 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.

"Please," Zadok's son Ahimaaz continued, "No matter what happens, let me follow the Ethiopian!" Joab asked him, "Why this request to run, my son? There's no reward in it for you."

Then the sentinel saw another man running, so the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, "Look, a man running alone." The king said, "This one also [is] bringing good news."

The watchman said, “The way the first man runs looks to me like the way Ahimaaz son of Zadok runs.”

“This is a good man; he comes with good news,” the king commented.

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 was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said this, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for you, 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, 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.

So King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: "Ask the elders of Judah, "Why are you the last to bring the king back to his palace, considering that what's being reported throughout all of Israel has come to the king at his palace?

Say to Amasa, 'Are you not my flesh and blood? God will punish me severely, if from this time on you are not the commander of my army in place 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 to the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.

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.

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 to 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?

The king said to Shimei, "You won't die." The king vowed an oath concerning this.

Then the king replied to him, "Why should you continue speaking like this? You and Ziba will inherit the field together."

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?

Your servant shall go over the Jordan with the king a little way, but why should the king recompense me with this reward?

And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: why then are ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all at the king's cost? or hath he given us any gift?

Now a wicked man named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He blew the trumpet and said, "We have no share in David; we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse! Every man go home, O Israel!"

Amasa did not notice the sword that Joab was holding in his hand. Joab stabbed him in the abdomen, spilling his intestines to the ground in a single stroke and killing him. After this, Joab and his brother pursued Bichri's son Sheba.

Amasa was squirming in his own blood in the middle of the path, and this man had noticed that all the soldiers stopped. Having noticed that everyone who came across Amasa stopped, the man pulled him away from the path and into the field and threw a garment over him.

That's not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city." The woman said to Joab, "This very minute his head will be thrown over the wall to you!"

So the woman replied, "Watch this! His head will be thrown to you over the city wall." Then the woman wisely went back to her people. They cut off the head of Bichri's son Sheba and threw it out to Joab, so Joab sounded his battle trumpet and they withdrew from the city. Everybody went back home and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.

And David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? And with what shall I atone for this, so that you may bless the inheritance of Jehovah?

They replied to the king, "As for this man who exterminated us and who schemed against us so that we were destroyed and left without status throughout all the borders of Israel --

and buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan at Zela in the land of Benjamin in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king commanded. After this, God answered prayer for the land.

But Zeruiah's son Abishai came to David's aid, attacked the Philistine, and killed him. After this, David's army told him, "You're not going out anymore with us to battle, so Israel's beacon won't be extinguished!"

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.

And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul:

This is what he said: LORD, you are my stone stronghold and my fortified place; you are continuously delivering me.

Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes.

This God, his way [is] blameless; the promise of Yahweh [is] flawless. He [is] a shield to all who take refuge in him.

This God is my strong place of valor! He has made my life blameless.

Because of all of this I will praise you among the nations, LORD, and I will sing praises to your name!

This was David's last composition: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, an oracle by the valiant one who was exalted anointed by the God of Jacob, the contented psalm writer of Israel.

Although my house is 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 maketh it not to grow.

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.

Benaiah did things like this and gained a reputation comparable to the Three warriors.

And Joab said to the king, Now the LORD thy God add to the people, how many soever they may be, a hundred-fold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?

David felt guilty after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly."

Before David arose the next morning, this message from the LORD came to Gad, David's seer:

"Go, tell David, 'This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.'"