Then David said to him, "{How did things go}? Please tell me." He answered, "{When} the army fled from the battle, and many of the people fell; also, Saul and Jonathan his son died."

Then David asked the young man who [was] reporting to him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?"

Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, [as well] as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.

Then David said to the young man who [was] reporting to him, "Where [are] you from?" And he said, "I [am] the son of an alien man. I [am] an Amalekite."

Then David sang this funeral song over Saul and over Jonathan his son.

But Abner the son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over [to] Mahanaim.

Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul [was] forty years old when he became king over Israel and he reigned two years; however, the house of Judah {followed} David.

Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

Then Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out, and they met at the pool of Gibeon. The one group sat on one side of the pool, and the other sat on the other side.

So they came forward and passed by in number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

So Joab and Abishai pursued Abner {when} the sun went down. And they came to the hill [country] of Ammah, which [is] {before Giah} [on] the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

His second [was] Kileab by Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; the third [was] Absalom the son of Maacah, [who was] the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur.

The fourth [was] Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth [was] Shephatiah the son of Abital.

{Abner became very angry} at the words of Ish-Bosheth, and he said, "[Am] I the head of a dog which [is] for Judah today? Do I not continue to show loyal love with the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends? I have not let you fall into the hands of David, yet you have {accused me of sin with this woman} today.

Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, saying, "Give [me] my wife Michal whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of [the] Philistines."

So Ish-Bosheth sent and took her from [her] husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.

When Joab and all the army that [was] with him came, they told Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he left in peace."

You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you. He came to learn about your going out and coming [in] and to know all which you [are] doing."

When David heard this afterwards, he said: "I and my kingdom [are] innocent {before Yahweh} forever [for] the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

Then all the people came to give David food. Still on that day, David swore, "{May God punish me} if I taste food or anything before the sun goes down."

Then all the people and all of Israel realized on that day that {the king had not desired} to kill Abner the son of Ner.

When the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, {his courage failed} and all of Israel [was] horrified.

Two of the men, commanders of the raiding bands, were [for] the son of Saul. The name of one [was] Baanah, and the name of the other [was] Recab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the descendants of Benjamin; also, Beeroth [was] regarded [as belonging] to Benjamin.

(Now Jonathan the son of Saul had a son who [was] crippled in the feet. He [was] five years old when the message of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse had picked him up and fled. It happened that as she [was] hurrying away to flee, he fell and became crippled. His name [was] Mephibosheth.)

They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron, and they said to the king, "Here [is] the head of Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life. Yahweh has given to my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and on his offspring."

David captured the fortress of Zion, the city of David.

I will be a father to him, and he will be a son for me, whom I will punish when he does wrong, with a rod of men and with blows of the {human beings}.

Then David struck down Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River.

Toi sent Joram his son to King David {to greet him} and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; {for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi}. {He brought with him} objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze.

from Aram and from Moab and from the {Ammonites} and from [the] Philistines and from Amalek and from the plunder of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah.

Joab the son of Zeruiah [was] over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] secretary.

Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar [were] priests and Seraiah [was] scribe.

Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was over] the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of David [were] priests.

Then the king said, "But [is] there still anyone of Saul's household that I may show the loyal love of God with him?" And Ziba said to the king, "There [is] still a son of Jonathan [who is] lame in the feet."

The king said to him, "Where [is] he?" And Ziba said to the king, "{He [is] here} in the house of Makir the son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."

So King David sent and brought him from the house of Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar.

So Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David. And he fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, "Mephibosheth," and he said, "{I am ready to serve you}."

David summoned Ziba the servant of Saul and said to him, "All that [was] Saul's and all his household I have given to the son of your master.

You shall till the land for him, you and your sons and your servants; you shall bring [in the produce] and it shall be food for the son of your master that he may eat. But Mephibosheth the son of your master may always eat food at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty slaves.)

Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name [was] Micah, and all of the dwelling of the household of Ziba [became] servants for Mephibosheth.

{Afterwards the king of the Ammonites died}, and his son Hanun ruled in his place.

David said, "I will show loyal love with Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed loyal love with me." So David sent to console him concerning his father, by the hand of his servants. And the servants of David came to the land of the {Ammonites}.

Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerub-bosheth, if not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from [atop] the wall and he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?' Then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'"

When the mourning [was] over, David sent and brought her to his household, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing which David had done [was] evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh!" Nathan said to David, "Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die.

But because you have {utterly scorned} Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you {will certainly die}."

David consoled Bathsheba his wife, and he went to her and slept with her. She bore a son, and he called him Solomon, and Yahweh loved him.

It happened afterwards that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name [was] Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her.

Now Amnon had a friend whose name [was] Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David. (Now Jonadab [was] a very crafty man.)

And he said to him, "Why [are] you so sullen {every morning}, O son of the king? Will you not tell me?" And Amnon said to him, "I [am] in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom."

The king said to Absalom, "No my son, not all of us shall go, so that we not be a burden to you." And he urged him, but he [was] not willing to go, but he blessed him.

Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, responded and said, "My lord should not think that all the young men, the sons of the king, [are] dead, because only Amnon [is] dead. {Absalom was talking about it}, as it was being determined from the day he raped Tamar his sister.

Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, the king of Geshur. [David] mourned over his son {day after day}.

Joab the son of Zeruiah realized that the mind of the king [was] on Absalom.

Then she said, "Please may the king remember Yahweh your God, {to prevent the increase of blood avengers who kill}, [so that they] not wipe out my son." He said, "{As Yahweh lives}, surely not one hair shall fall from your son to the ground."

For the king will listen, to deliver his servant from the hand of the man [who seeks] to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.'

Then the king said to Zadok the priest, "[Are] you a seer? Return to the city in peace, [with] Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you.

Then the king said, "Where [is] the son of your lord?" And Ziba said to the king, "He [is] living in Jerusalem for he said, 'Today the house of Israel shall return the kingdom of my father to me.'"

King David came up to Bahurim and suddenly a man from there [was] coming out from the family of the house of Saul, and his name [was] Shimei the son of Gera. {He was cursing as he came out}.

Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the household of Saul {whom you have supplanted as king}, and Yahweh has given the kingship into the hand of Absalom your son. Look, you [are] in disaster for you [are] a man of blood."

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

David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son who came out of my loins [is] seeking my life. Now {as far as} [this] Benjaminite, leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him.

{Furthermore}, for whom have I served? [Is] it not in the presence of his son that I have served before your father? {So shall I serve you}!"

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [were] staying at En Rogel, so a servant girl used to go and tell them, then they would go and tell King David, for they [were] not able to be seen coming to the city.

Absalom had appointed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. Now Amasa [was] the son of a man whose name [was] Ithra the Israelite, {who had married} Abigail the daughter of Nahash the sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab.

Just as David had arrived in Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the {Ammonites} and Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

David sent forth a third of the troops {under the command of Joab}, and a third {under the command of Abishai}, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the remaining third {under the command of Ittai} the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, "I, even I, {will certainly go out} with you."

The man said to Joab, "{Even if I felt the weight} of a thousand pieces of silver in my palms, I would not have sent my hand against the son of the king, for in our ears the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, 'Whoever you may be, protect the young man Absalom.'

(Now Absalom had taken and set up for himself in his lifetime a stone pillar that [is] in the valley of the king, because he said, "I have no son in order to remember my name," and he called the stone pillar by his name. It [is] called the monument of Absalom until this day).

Now Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, "Please let me run and bring the good news to the king that Yahweh has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies."

Joab said to him, "You [will] not [be] a man {bringing} good news this day! You may bring good news on another day, but today you will not be bringing good news because the king's son is dead."

Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen"; then the Cushite bowed down to Joab and ran [off].

Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again said to Joab, "{Come what may}, please let me also run after the Cushite." Joab asked, "Why [are] you wanting to run, my son, when for you there is no {messenger's reward}?"

The sentinel said, "I [am] seeing [that] the running of the first [is] like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zakok." The king said, "He [is] a good man; he will come, for good news."

The king was upset, and he went up to the upper room of the gate and wept. He said as he went, "My son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom. {If only} I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son."

so the victory turned to mourning on that day for all the army, because they had heard that day, "The king is grieving over his son."

and because the king had covered his face and cried with a loud voice, "My son, Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son."

Then Shimei the son of Gera, the son of the Benjaminite, who [was] from Bahurim quickly came down with the men of Judah to meet King David,

{The crossing took place} to bring the household of the king over and to do good in his eyes. Then Shimei the son of Gera fell before the king when he crossed over the Jordan,

Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah responded and said, "Because of this, should not Shimei be put to death, for he cursed the anointed one of Yahweh?"

Now, Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet nor trimmed his moustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in peace.

Now a man of wickedness was found there whose name [was] Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. He blew the horn and said, "There is no share for us in David, and there [is] no inheritance for us in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel!"

Then all the men of Israel went up from [following] after David, [following instead] after Sheba the son of Bicri, but the men of Judah stuck to their king from the Jordan up to Jerusalem.

Then David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bicri will do us more harm than Absalom. You take the servants of your lord and pursue after him, lest he find fortified cities for himself and escape from us."

Then the men of Joab, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty warriors went out after him; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri.

Now Amasa was not on his guard against the sword that [was] in Joab's hand, and he struck him with it into the stomach, and his entrails poured out to the ground. He did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bicri.

Now Amasa [was] wallowing in the blood in the middle of the highway; when the man saw that all the people stood [there], he turned Amasa over from the highway into the field, and he threw a garment over him because he had seen that all who had come by him had stopped.

After he was removed from the highway, all the men passed by after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri.

That is not the matter. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name [is] Sheba the son Bicri, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Give only him to us, and I will depart from the city." The woman said to Joab, "Look, his head [is] being thrown down to you over the wall."

The woman went to all of the people with her wise plan, so they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bicri and threw [it] to Joab. Then he blew the horn and dispersed from the city, each to his tent. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

Now Joab [was] over all the army of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was] over the Carites and over the Pelethites.

Adoram [was] over the forced labor, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] the recorder.

But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the sworn oath of Yahweh which [was] between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

So the king took two of the sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, namely Armoni and Mephibosheth, and five of the sons of Michal the daughter of Saul whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

So David left and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the rulers of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where [the] Philistines hung them {when} [the] Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.

He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed.

And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and he attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall not go out with us any longer to the battle, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel."

There [was] again a battle with [the] Philistines at Gob. And Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear [was] like the beam of a weaver.

He taunted Israel but Jonathan the son of Shimei, the brother of David, killed him.