When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me. I answered, 'Here I am!'

So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn't live in such a condition. Then I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord."

They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord's people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.

David replied to him, "How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?"

Then David called one of the soldiers and said, "Come here and strike him down!" So he struck him down, and he died.

David said to him, "Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying 'I have put the Lord's anointed to death.'"

So David went up, along with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, formerly the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead and told them, "May you be blessed by the Lord because you have shown this kindness to your lord Saul by burying him.

Now Abner son of Ner, the general in command of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth and had brought him to Mahanaim.

Abner said to Joab, "Let the soldiers get up and fight before us." Joab said, "So be it!"

So they got up and crossed over by number: twelve belonging to Benjamin and to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

As they grappled with one another, each one stabbed his opponent with his sword and they fell dead together. So that place is called the Field of Flints; it is in Gibeon.

Now the battle was very severe that day; Abner and the men of Israel were overcome by David's soldiers.

So Abner spoke again to Asahel, "Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. How then could I show my face in the presence of Joab your brother?"

But Asahel refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the back end of his spear. The spear came out his back; Asahel collapsed on the spot and died there right before Abner. Everyone who now comes to the place where Asahel fell dead pauses in respect.

So Joab and Abishai chased Abner. At sunset they came to the hill of Ammah near Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

Then Joab blew the ram's horn and all the people stopped in their tracks. They stopped chasing Israel and ceased fighting.

Now Joab returned from chasing Abner and assembled all the people. Nineteen of David's soldiers were missing, in addition to Asahel.

But David's soldiers had slaughtered the Benjaminites and Abner's men -- in all, 360 men had died!

They took Asahel's body and buried him in his father's tomb at Bethlehem. Joab and his men then traveled all that night and reached Hebron by dawn.

His sixth son was Ithream, born to David's wife Eglah. These sons were all born to David in Hebron.

Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth said to Abner, "Why did you have sexual relations with my father's concubine?"

So David said, "Good! I will make an agreement with you. I ask only one thing from you. You will not see my face unless you bring Saul's daughter Michal when you come to visit me."

So Ish-bosheth took her from her husband Paltiel son of Laish.

Her husband went along behind her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Finally Abner said to him, "Go back!" So he returned home.

Abner said to David, "Let me leave so that I may go and gather all Israel to my lord the king so that they may make an agreement with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire." So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.

Now David's soldiers and Joab were coming back from a raid, bringing a great deal of plunder with them. Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for David had sent him away and he had left in peace.

So Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he's gone on his way!

May his blood whirl over the head of Joab and the entire house of his father! May the males of Joab's house never cease to have someone with a running sore or a skin disease or one who works at the spindle or one who falls by the sword or one who lacks food!"

So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in Gibeon during the battle.

So they buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly over Abner's grave and all the people wept too.

All the people and all Israel realized on that day that the killing of Abner son of Ner was not done at the king's instigation.

Now Saul's son had two men who were in charge of raiding units; one was named Baanah and the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, who was a Benjaminite. (Beeroth is regarded as belonging to Benjamin,

Now Saul's son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan arrived from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, he fell and was injured. Mephibosheth was his name.

So David issued orders to the soldiers and they put them to death. Then they cut off their hands and feet and hung them near the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

David said on that day, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the 'lame' and the 'blind' who are David's enemies by going through the water tunnel." For this reason it is said, "The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace."

So David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. David built all around it, from the terrace inwards.

David's power grew steadily, for the Lord God who commands armies was with him.

So David asked the Lord, "Should I march up against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The Lord said to David, "March up, for I will indeed hand the Philistines over to you."

So David marched against Baal Perazim and defeated them there. Then he said, "The Lord has burst out against my enemies like water bursts out." So he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.

So David asked the Lord what he should do. This time the Lord said to him, "Don't march straight up. Instead, circle around behind them and come against them opposite the trees.

The Lord was so furious with Uzzah, he killed him on the spot for his negligence. He died right there beside the ark of God.

David was angry because the Lord attacked Uzzah; so he called that place Perez Uzzah, which remains its name to this very day.

So David was no longer willing to bring the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. David left it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

David was told, "The Lord has blessed the family of Obed-Edom and everything he owns because of the ark of God." So David went and joyfully brought the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David.

As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him.

When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house, Michal, Saul's daughter, came out to meet him. She said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants' slave girls the way a vulgar fool might do!"

David replied to Michal, "It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family and appointed me as leader over the Lord's people Israel.

Now Michal, Saul's daughter, had no children to the day of her death.

Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?"'

"So now, say this to my servant David: 'This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you leader of my people Israel.

And you didn't stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant's family. Is this your usual way of dealing with men, O Lord God?

What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition, O Lord God!

So now, O Lord God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality. Do as you promised,

so you may gain lasting fame, as people say, 'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel!' The dynasty of your servant David will be established before you,

Now be willing to bless your servant's dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant's dynasty be blessed on into the future!"

He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third. The Moabites became David's subjects and brought tribute.

David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.

David took the golden shields that belonged to Hadadezer's servants and brought them to Jerusalem.

From Tebah and Berothai, Hadadezer's cities, King David took a great deal of bronze.

He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David's subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.

Benaiah son of Jehoida supervised the Kerithites and Pelethites; and David's sons were priests.

Then David asked, "Is anyone still left from the family of Saul, so that I may extend kindness to him for the sake of Jonathan?"

Now there was a servant from Saul's house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, "Are you Ziba?" He replied, "At your service."

The king asked, "Is there not someone left from Saul's family, that I may extend God's kindness to him?" Ziba said to the king, "One of Jonathan's sons is left; both of his feet are crippled."

So King David had him brought from the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.

Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's attendant, and said to him, "Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I hereby give to your master's grandson.

You will cultivate the land for him -- you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce and it will be food for your master's grandson to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, will be a regular guest at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do everything that my lord the king has instructed his servant to do." So Mephibosheth was a regular guest at David's table, just as though he were one of the king's sons.

Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. All the members of Ziba's household were Mephibosheth's servants.

Mephibosheth was living in Jerusalem, for he was a regular guest at the king's table. But both his feet were crippled.

David said, "I will express my loyalty to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal to me." So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father's death. When David's servants entered the land of the Ammonites,

the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, "Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!"

So Hanun seized David's servants and shaved off half of each one's beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed, and then sent them away.

Messengers told David what had happened, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, "Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown again; then you may come back."

When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel's best men and deployed them against the Arameans.

Be strong! Let's fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!"

So Joab and his men marched out to do battle with the Arameans, and they fled before him.

When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before his brother Abishai and went into the city. Joab withdrew from fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.

Then Hadadezer sent for Arameans from beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam. Shobach, the general in command of Hadadezer's army, led them.

When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subjects of Israel. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive.

So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

So David sent a message to Joab that said, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David.

So they informed David, "Uriah has not gone down to his house." So David said to Uriah, "Haven't you just arrived from a journey? Why haven't you gone down to your house?"

Uriah replied to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord's soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and have marital relations with my wife? As surely as you are alive, I will not do this thing!"

So David said to Uriah, "Stay here another day. Tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem both that day and the following one.

In the letter he wrote: "Station Uriah in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed."

So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were.

When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David's soldiers fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.

if the king becomes angry and asks you, 'Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn't you realize they would shoot from the wall?

Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?' just say to him, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.'"

So the messenger departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him.

Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall and some of the king's soldiers died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead."

When Uriah's wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him.

So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to David, Nathan said, "There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

"When a traveler arrived at the rich man's home, he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler who had come to visit him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to visit him."

I gave you your master's house, and put your master's wives into your arms. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well!

So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!'

Then Nathan went to his home. The Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill.