And David said to him, From whence comest thou? And he said to him, Out of the camp of Israel have I escaped.

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

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

And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

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

He said to me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.

And David said to the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.

And David said to him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thy hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?

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

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

And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said to him, Go up. And David said, Whither 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 the LORD, that ye have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Saul, and have buried him.

And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

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

And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side: so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am.

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 to thee 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 should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou wilt bid the people return from following their brethren?

And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Why hast thou gone in to my father's concubine?

Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, who against Judah do show kindness this day to the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to-day with a fault concerning this woman?

To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba.

And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou shalt first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face.

And her husband went with her, weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner 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 league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came to thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?

And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner:

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

And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?

And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that there hath 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 thy enemy, who sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and of his seed.

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

Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

And David said on that day, Whoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated by David's soul, he shall be chief and captain: Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

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

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

And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up: but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry-trees.

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

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

And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD.

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 to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

And David said to Michal, It was before the LORD, who chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.

And I shall yet be more vile than thus, and shall be base in my own sight: and by the maid-servants which thou hast spoken of, by them shall I be had in honor.

And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest around from all his enemies;

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

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

And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thy enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like to the name of the great men that are in the earth.

And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

Then king David went in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto;

And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?

And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

And David said, Is there yet any that 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 when they had called him to David, the king said to him, Art 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 hath 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.

Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. 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 the sake of Jonathan thy father, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?

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

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

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

And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, that he hath sent comforters to thee? hath not David rather sent his servants to thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?

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

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

And when it was told David, he assembled all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

And the woman conceived, and 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 there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down to his house, David said to Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down to thy house?

And Uriah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

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

And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the front of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

And the messenger said to David, Surely 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 shalt thou say to Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

And the 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 the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul;

Why hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them to thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said to David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt 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 would not hearken to our voice: how will he then be grieved, if we tell him that the child is dead?

But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he ate.

Then said his servants to him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but after the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted, and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

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

And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

And he said to him, Why art thou, being the king's son, pining from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.

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

So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men 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 which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

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

Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that 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, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her.

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

And Absalom her brother said to her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.

And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheep-shearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.