The next day, a man escaped from Saul's camp! With torn clothes and dirty hair, he approached David, fell to the ground, and bowed down to him.

Saul glanced behind him, saw me, and called out to me, so I replied, "Here I am!'

He begged me, "Please come stand here next to me and kill me, because I'm still alive.'

So Ish-bosheth ordered that she be taken away from her husband, Laish's son Paltiel.

Her husband accompanied her, crying as he followed after her all the way to Bahurim, where Abner told him, "Leave! Go back!" So he went back.

Meanwhile, Saul's son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled. When he was five years old, news had arrived about Saul and Jonathan from Jezreel, and his nurse picked him up to flee, but in her hurry to leave, he happened to fall and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

They brought Ish-bosheth's head to David at Hebron and told the king, "Look! Here's the head of your enemy Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, who sought your life. Today the LORD has given your majesty the king vengeance on Saul and his descendants."

Later, the king and his army marched on Jerusalem against the Jebusites, who were inhabiting the territory at that time and who had told David, "You're not coming in here! Even the blind and the lame could turn you away!" because they were thinking "David can't come here."

When you hear the sound of marching coming from the tops of the balsam trees, then be sure to act quickly, since the LORD will have gone out ahead of you to cut down the Philistine army."

As the ark of the LORD was coming into the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal was peering out a window, watching King David jumping and dancing in the LORD's presence, and she despised him in her heart.

David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"

So David sent some messengers, took her from her home, and she went to him, and he had sex with her. (She had been consecrating herself following her menstrual separation.) Then she returned to her home.

Then David invited Uriah, "Stay here today, and tomorrow I'll send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem all that day and the next.

David responded to the messenger, "Here's what you're to tell Joab: "Don't be troubled by this incident, because the battle sword consumes one or another from time to time. Consolidate your attack against the city and conquer it.' Be sure to encourage him."

When Uriah's wife heard about the death of her husband Uriah, she went into mourning for the head of her household.

When her mourning period was completed, David sent for her, brought her to his palace, and she became his wife. Later on, she bore him a son.

Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba. He went in and had sex with her, and she bore a son whom he named Solomon. The LORD loved him,

Amnon became so emotionally distressed that he fell sick over his half-sister Tamar. She was a virgin, and Amnon found it difficult to do anything to her.

Jonadab advised him, "Lie down and pretend to be sick. When your father visits you, ask him, "Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat that she prepares especially for me, and after she makes dinner for me, let her feed it to me personally.'"

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to visit him, Amnon asked the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make some of her bread especially for me, so she can feed it to me personally."

So David sent for Tamar back at the palace, telling her, "Please go to your brother Amnon's home and prepare some food for him."

Tamar went to her brother Amnon's home, where he was lying down. She brought along some dough, kneaded it, prepared some cakes especially for him, baked them,

"Send everybody out of here," Amnon said. So everyone left the room. Amnon told Tamar, "Bring the food into my private bedroom, so I can eat it with you personally." So Tamar took the cakes she had prepared and brought them into the private bedroom for her brother Amnon.

But as soon as she brought them near him to eat, he overpowered her and told her, "Come here and have sex with me, my sister!"

But he was unwilling to listen to what she was saying. Since he was stronger than she was, he forced her into having sex with him.

Afterwards, though, Amnon hated her very intensely. As a result, his hatred for her exceeded the love that he had previously for her. So Amnon told her, "Get up! Leave!"

But he was unwilling to listen to her. So he called out to a young man who was serving him, and told him: "Send this woman away from me and lock the door after her."

Now she was clothed in a long sleeved, multi-colored ornamental tunic, commonly worn by the king's virgin daughters. When Amnon's servant threw her out and locked the door after her,

Tamar rubbed her head with ashes, tore her tunic that she was wearing, put her hand to her head, and ran off, crying aloud as she went away.

Later, her brother Absalom asked her, "Has Amnon, that brother of yours, raped you? Then keep quiet about your half-brother for now, my sister. Stop taking this so personally." From that time on, Tamar lived in continuous desolation within her brother Absalom's house.

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

so he sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, "Please play the role of a mourner, wear the clothes of a mourner, and refrain from using makeup. Act like a woman who's been in mourning for the dead for many days.

Then go to the king and speak to him like this"" Then Joab told her what to say.

When the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, prostrating herself to address him, "Help, your majesty!"

The king asked her, "What's your problem?"

Now please pay attention closely! My whole family is attacking your humble servant! They're saying, "Turn over the one who attacked his brother and we'll put him to death in retribution for his brother, whose life he took. That way, we'll kill the heir also!' They're going to extinguish the only light left in my family, leaving my late husband neither an ongoing name nor a survivor on the face of the earth!"

Then she said, "Your majesty, please remember the LORD your God, so that blood avengers don't do any more damage! Otherwise, they'll destroy my son!" So he promised, "As the LORD lives, not even a single hair from your son's head will fall to the ground!"

Whenever he cut his hair he cut it at the end of every year, because it grew thick on his head, which is why he cut it his hair weighed in at 200 shekels measured by the royal standard.

In answer to Joab, Absalom replied, "Look, I sent for you, telling you "Come here so I can send you to the king to ask him "What's the point in moving here from Geshur? I would have been better off to have remained there!"' So let me see the king's face, and if I'm guilty of anything, let him execute me!"

But Absalom sent agents throughout all of the tribes of Israel, telling them, "When you hear the sound of the battle trumpet, you're to announce that Absalom is king in Hebron."

So David told all of his staff who were with him in Jerusalem, "Let's get up and get out of here! Otherwise, none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he'll overtake us quickly, bring disaster on all of us, and execute the inhabitants of the city!"

But if he should say something like "I'm not pleased with you,' well then, here I am let him do to me whatever seems right to him."

Won't Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? So whatever you hear from the king's palace, you're to report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

Their two sons Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan are with them there. You'll be sending me everything that you hear through them."

"Get out of here! Get out!" Shimei yelled as he cursed. "You murderer! You who think you're above the law!

Ahithophel responded, "Go inside and have sex with your father's mistresses, whom he left to keep the palace in order. Then everyone in Israel will hear how your father has come to hate you and everyone who has joined you will be emboldened to act."

Absalom replied, "Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!"

When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, "Here's what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!"

"You know how strong your father and his men are. They're as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won't stay with his army at night.

Look! He's probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, "Absalom's army is losing!'

So here's my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other! You'll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you'll go into battle!

When Absalom's servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" "They've already crossed the brook," the woman answered. So Absalom's servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn't find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

The king replied, "Stand here at attention and wait." So he stepped to the side and stood there waiting.

because your servant knows that I have sinned, but today I have come here as the first one from the entire house of Joseph to meet your majesty the king."

I'm now 80 years old! I can hardly tell the difference between what tastes good or bad! I can't tell what I eat or drink! I can't hear the voice of men and women when they sing! So why should your servant be an added burden to your majesty the king?

Please let your servant return so I can die in my own home town near the grave of my father and mother. Meanwhile, here is your servant Chimham! Let him accompany your majesty the king. Please do for him whatever seems best to you."

Meanwhile, David ordered Amasa, "Muster the army of Judah here within three days, and be here yourself!"

Just then a wise woman called out from the city. "Attention!" she said, "Go tell Joab "Come here! I want to talk to you!'"

But Joab replied, "No way! No way! I'm not here to devour or destroy!

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.

Then Aiah's daughter Rizpah grabbed some sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock where her children had been hanged from the beginning of harvest until the first rain fell from the sky. She would not allow any scavenger birds to land on them during the day nor the beasts of the field to approach them at night.

Here's a list of the names of David's special forces: Josheb-basshebeth the Tahkemonite was head of the Three; he was nicknamed Adino the Eznite because he killed 800 men in a single battle engagement.

Araunah responded to David, "May your majesty the king take it and offer whatever pleases him. Here are oxen for a burnt offering, along with the threshing sledges and yokes from the oxen for wood!