And David said to the young man who told him, How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?

And now may Jehovah do kindness and truth to you. And I also do good to you, because you have done this thing.

And now let your hands be strengthened, and be brave. For your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.

And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

Then Abner called to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long shall it be then before you command the people to return from chasing their brothers?

You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive you, and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you do.

And Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner, who brought him again from the well of Sirah. But David did not know.

And the king said to his servants, Do you not know that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

Indeed when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed, shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?

And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab in Gibeah. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child by David to the day of her death.

the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I live in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains.

And now so shall you say to My servant David, So says Jehovah of Hosts: I took you from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.

And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more. Neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as before.

And what can David say more to You? For You, O Lord Jehovah, know Your servant.

For Your Word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things to make Your servant know.

And now, O Jehovah God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant, and concerning his house: establish it forever, and do as You have said.

And now, O Lord Jehovah, You are that God, and Your Words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.

Therefore, now, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, to be forever before You. For You, O Lord Jehovah, have spoken. And with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.

And it happened when Joab observed the city, he sent Uriah to a place where he knew brave men were.

and if it be so that the king's wrath arise, and he say to you, Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?

And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

And David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to your brother Amnon's house, and prepare food for him.

And she answered him, No, my brother, do not humble me. For no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Do not do this folly.

And I, where shall I cause my shame to go? And as for you, you shall be as one of the fools in Israel. But now please speak to the king. For he will not withhold me from you.

And she said to him, There is no cause. This evil in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me. But he would not listen to her.

And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Do not set your heart on this thing. And Tamar remained desolate in the house of her brother Absalom.

And Absalom came to the king and said, Behold now, your servant has shearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant.

And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be too heavy upon you. And he pressed him. He would not go, however, but blessed him.

And now do not let my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead, for only Amnon is dead.

And Joab sent to Tekoah and brought a wise woman from there. And he said to her, Please pretend yourself to be a mourner, and put on mourning clothes now, and do not anoint yourself with oil. But be like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.

And your handmaid had two sons, and the two of them fought together in the field. And there was no deliverer between them, but the one struck the other and killed him.

And now I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, because the people have made me afraid. And your handmaid said, I will now speak to the king. It may be that the king will do what his handmaid has asked.

And your handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comforting. For as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, to see what is good and bad. And Jehovah your God will be with you.

And the king answered and said to the woman, Please do not hide from me the thing that I shall ask you. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Your servant Joab has done this thing to change the face of the matter. And my lord is wise according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is in the land.

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

But in all Israel there was not a man handsome like Absalom. From the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent to you, saying, Come here so that I may send you to the king, to say, Why have I come from Geshur? It was good for me to be there still. And now let me see the king's face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.

And Absalom said to him, See! Your matters are good and right. But no listener from the king will hear you.

And with Absalom went two hundred called men out of Jerusalem. And they went in their honesty, and did not know anything.

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

But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; I have been your father's servant until now, and now I also will be your servant, then you may break down the advice of Ahithophel for me.

And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeks my life; and surely now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, for Jehovah has spoken to him.

And Hushai said to Absalom, No, but whom Jehovah and this people, and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and I will stay with him.

For, Hushai said, you know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are bitter of soul, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is a man of war, and will not stay the night with the people.

Behold, he is hidden now in some pit, or in one of the places. And it shall be, at the falling among them at the first, whoever hears will say, There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.

And now send quickly and tell David, saying, Do not stay in the plains of the wilderness tonight, but speedily pass over, lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people with him.

But the people answered, You shall not go forth. For if we run away, they will not set their heart on us, even if half of us die. For now you are worth ten thousand of us. And now it is better that you remain to help us from the city.

Or I would have dealt falsely with my own life, for there is no matter hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.

And Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the King's Valley. 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 until this day, Absalom's monument.

And Joab said to him, You shall not bear news today, but you shall bear good news some other day. But today you shall bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.

And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, Yet whatever, please let me also run after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why will you run, my son, since you have no good news ready?

And the king said, Peace to the young man, to Absalom? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and your servant, I saw a great uproar, but I did not know what it was.

By loving your enemies and hating those who love you, you have declared today that there are neither commanders nor servants to you. For I know that today if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would have pleased you very much!

And now get up and go out. Speak to the heart of your servants. For I swear by Jehovah if you do not go out, not a man shall stay with you tonight. And that will be worse to you than all the evil which has come to you from your youth until now.

And it happened, all the people quarreled throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines. And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.

And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. And now why do you not speak a word about bringing the king back?

And David said, What do I have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be my foes today? Shall there be any man put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?

And there happened to be there a man of Belial named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a ram's horn and said, We have no part in David, neither do we have any inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O, Israel!

And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver nor gold from Saul, nor from his house. Also, we will have no man in Israel put to death. And he said, What you shall say, I will do for you.

And Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight. And he being girded with a new sword thought to kill David.

You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people, You have kept me the head of the nations. A people I knew not shall serve me.

For the king said to Joab the commander of the army, who was with him, Go around through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and count the people so that I may know the number of the people.

And David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in what I have done. And now, I beseech You, O Jehovah, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.

And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah, for His mercies are great. And do not let me fall into the hand of man.

And the king said to Araunah, No, but I will surely buy from you at a price. And I will not offer burnt offerings to Jehovah my God of that which costs me nothing. And David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.