And David said to him, From where did thou come? And he said to him, I escaped out of the camp of Israel.

And David said to him, How did the matter go? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are also dead.

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

And the young man who told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul was leaning upon his spear, and, lo, the chariots and the horsemen followed close after him.

And he said to me, Who are thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

And he said to me, Stand, I pray thee, beside me, and kill me, for anguish has taken hold of me, because my life is yet whole in me.

And David said to the young man who told him, From where are thou? And he answered, I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.

And David said to him, Why were thou not afraid to put forth thy hand to destroy LORD's anointed?

And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him so that he died.

And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain LORD's anointed.

And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And LORD said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And he said, To Hebron.

And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, Blessed be ye of LORD, that ye have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Saul, and have buried him.

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

Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Is it thou, Asahel? And he answered, It is I.

And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay hold on one of the young men, and take his armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me. Why should I smite thee to the ground? How then would I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? Know thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then, before thou bid the people return from following their brothers?

And Joab said, As God lives unless thou had spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone up every man from followed his brother.

Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And [Ish-bosheth] said to Abner, Why have thou gone in to my father's concubine?

Then Abner was very angry for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah? This day I show kindness to the house of Saul thy father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee i

And he said, Well! I will make a league with thee, but one thing I require of thee. That is, thou shall not see my face unless thou first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou come to see my face.

And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, Go, return, and he returned.

And Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king that they may make a covenant with thee, and that thou may reign over all that thy soul desires. And David sent Abner away, and he went in

Then Joab came to the king, and said, What have thou done? Behold, Abner came to thee. Why is it that thou have sent him away, and he is quite gone?

And afterward, when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

And David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David followed the bier.

And the king lamented for Abner, and said, Should Abner die as a fool dies?

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

And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, thine enemy, who sought thy life. And LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of h

And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, As LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,

In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was thou who led out and brought in Israel. And LORD said to thee, Thou shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shall be prince over Israel.

And David said on that day, Whoever smites the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and [smite] the lame and the blind, the hated by David's soul, because the blind and the lame say, He cannot come into the house.

And David inquired of LORD, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will thou deliver them into my hand? And LORD said to David, Go up, for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into thy hand.

And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there. And he said, LORD has broken my enemies before me, like the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And when David inquired of LORD, he said, Thou shall not go up. Make a circuit behind them, and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees.

And David was afraid of LORD that day, and he said, How shall the ark of LORD come to me?

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants as on

And David said to Michal, [It was] before LORD, who chose me above thy father, and above all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play before LORD.

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

And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart, for LORD is with thee.

Then David the king went in, and sat before LORD. And he said, Who am I, O lord LORD, and what is my house, that thou have brought me thus far?

And David said, Is there yet any who is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, Are thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.

And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son who is lame in his feet.

And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.

And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face, and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold, thy servant!

And David said to him, Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore to thee all the land of Saul thy father, and thou shall eat bread at my table continually.

And he did obeisance, and said, What is thy servant that thou should look upon such a dead dog as I am?

Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, All that pertained to Saul and to all his house I have given to thy master's son.

Then Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, [the king said], he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons.

And David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon.

But the rulers of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Think thou that David honors thy father, in that he has sent comforters to thee? Has not David sent his servants to thee to search the city, and to spy it out, and to ov

When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

And David send and inquired after the woman. And he said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

And the woman conceived. And she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and a gift from the king followed him.

And when they had told David, saying, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Have thou not come from a journey? Why did thou not go down to thy house?

And Uriah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in booths, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open field. Shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? A

And David said to Uriah, Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.

And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field, and we were upon them even to the entrance of the gate.

Then David said to the messenger, Thus thou shall say to Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make thy battle stronger against the city, and overthrow it. And encourage thou him.

And LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city: the one rich, and the other poor.

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As LORD lives, the man who has done this is worthy to die.

And Nathan said to David, Thou are the man. Thus says LORD, the God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul.

And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against LORD. And Nathan said to David, LORD also has put away thy sin; thou shall not die.

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive we spoke to him, and he did not hearken to our

But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

Then his servants said to him, What thing is this that thou have done? Thou fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou arose and ate bread.

And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, Who knows whether LORD will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?

And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yea, I have taken the city of waters.

And he said to him, Why, O son of the king, are thou emaciated this way from day to day? Will thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

And Jonadab said to him, Lay down on thy bed, and feign thyself sick. And when thy father comes to see thee, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come, I pray thee, and give me bread to eat, and dress the food in my sight, that I may se

So Amnon lay down, and feigned himself sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Let my sister Tamar come, I pray thee, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.

And she took the pan, and poured them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have all men out from me. And they went out every man from him.

And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber that I may eat from thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes that she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

And when she had brought them near to him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lay with me, my sister.

Then Amnon hated her with exceedingly great hatred, for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone.

And she said to him, Not so, because this great wrong in putting me forth is [worse] than the other that thou did to me. But he would not hearken to her.

Then he called his servant who ministered to him, and said, Put this woman out from me now, and bolt the door after her.

And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon thy brother been with thee? But now hold thy peace, my sister. He is thy brother. Do not take this thing to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.

And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant has sheep-shearers. Let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant.

And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to thee. And he pressed him. However he would not go, but blessed him.

Then Absalom said, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee?

And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king's sons, for Amnon only is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined fr

And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons have come; as thy servant said, so it is.

And Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched from there a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, I pray thee, and do not anoint thyself with oil, but be as a woman who has a lon

And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

And the king said to her, What troubles thee? And she answered, Of a truth I am a widow, and my husband is dead.

And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house, and the king and his throne be guiltless.

And the king said, Whoever says anything to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember LORD thy God, that the avenger of blood not destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As LORD lives, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

And the woman said, Why then have thou devised such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word the king is as he who is guilty, in that the king does not fetch home again his banished one.

Now therefore seeing that I have come to speak this word 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 hi

Then thy handmaid said, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be gracious, for as an agent of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad. And LORD thy God be with thee.

Then the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, anything that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul lives, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken, for

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