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

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant thou have been to me. Thy love to me was wonderful, exceeding the love of women.

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

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 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 Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? [And] saying, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee to bring about all Israel to thee.

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 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?

Thou know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou do.

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 it shall be, when thou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shall bestir thyself, for then LORD has gone out before thee to smite the army of the Philistines.

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

Now therefore thus thou shall say to my servant David, Thus says LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, that thou should be prince over my people, over Israel.

And I have been with thee wherever thou went, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee. And I will make thee a great name, like the name of the great ones that are on the earth.

and [as] from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and I will cause thee to rest from all thine enemies. Moreover LORD tells thee that LORD will make thee a house.

When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

but my loving kindness shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul whom I put away before thee.

And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever.

And what can David say more to thee? For thou know thy servant, O lord LORD.

Therefore thou are great, O LORD God, for there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And thou established to thyself thy people Israel to be a people to thee forever, and thou, LORD, became their God.

And let thy name be magnified forever, saying, LORD of hosts is God over Israel, and the house of thy servant David shall be established before thee.

For thou, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house. Therefore thy servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee.

Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee, for thou, O lord LORD, have spoken it. And with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever.

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.

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

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

it shall be that, if the king's wrath arise, and he says to thee, Why did ye go so near to the city to fight? Did ye not know that they would shoot from the wall?

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 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 I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would have added to thee such and such things.

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

However, because by this deed thou have given great occasion to the enemies of LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to thee shall surely die.

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 I, where shall I carry my shame? And as for thee, thou will be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from thee.

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 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 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 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.

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 Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come here, that I may send thee to the king to say, Why have I come from Geshur? It were better for me to still be there. Now therefore let me see the king's face, and if t

And Absalom said to him, See, thy matters are good and right, but there is no man appointed by the king to hear thee.

And it came to pass at the end of forty years, that Absalom said to the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to LORD, in Hebron.

Whereas thou came but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us, seeing I go where I may? Return thou, and take back thy brothers. Mercy and truth be with thee.

But if he says thus, I have no delight in thee, behold, here I am. Let him do to me as seems good to him.

And it was told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.

And have thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? Therefore it shall be, that whatever thing thou shall hear out of the king's house, thou shall tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

LORD has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul in whose stead thou have reigned. And LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son, and, behold, thou are [taken] in thine own mischief because thou

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

And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to thy father's concubines that he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that thou are abhorred by thy father. Then the hands of all who are with thee will be strong.

and I will bring back all the people to thee. The man whom thou seek is as if all returned, [so] all the people shall be in peace.

But I counsel that all Israel be gathered together to thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

And Joab said to the man who told him, and, behold, thou saw it, and why did thou not smite him there to the ground? And I would have given thee ten [pieces of] silver, and a belt.

And the man said to Joab, Though I should receive a thousand [pieces of] silver in my hand, yet I would not put forth my hand against the king's son, for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware th

Then Joab said, I will not delay thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, But come what may, let me, I pray thee, also run after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why will thou run, my son, seeing that thou will have no reward for the news?

And, behold, the Cushite came. And the Cushite said, News for my lord the king, for LORD has avenged thee this day of all those who rose up against thee.

And the king said to the Cushite, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And the Cushite answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

in that thou love those who hate thee, and hate those who love thee. For thou have declared this day that rulers and servants are nothing to thee. For this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, th

Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak graciously to thy servants. For I swear by LORD, if thou do not go forth, there will not remain a man with thee this night. And that will be worse to thee than all the evil that has befallen

And the king said to Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will sustain thee with me in Jerusalem.

Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in my own city by the grave of my father and my mother. But, behold, thy servant Chimham, let him go over with my lord the king, and do to him what shall seem good to th

And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good to thee. And whatever thou shall require of me, that I will do for thee.

And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen thee away, and brought the king, and his household, over the Jordan, and all David's men with him?

And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with thee, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.

Then a wise woman out of the city cried out, Hear, hear. Say, I pray you, to Joab, Come near here, that I may speak with thee.

For by thee I run upon a troop. By my God do I leap over a wall.

Therefore I will give thanks to thee, O LORD, among gentiles, and will sing praises to thy name.

And David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David said to LORD, I have sinned greatly in that which I have done, but now, O LORD, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foo

Go and speak to David, Thus says LORD, I offer thee three things. Choose thee one of them, that I may do it to thee.

So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come to thee in thy land? Or will thou flee three months before thy foes while they pursue thee? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in thy land?

And David spoke to LORD when he saw the agent who smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done perversely, but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's ho

And Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing-floor from thee, to build an altar to LORD that the plague may be halted from the people.

All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king. And Araunah said to the king, LORD thy God accept thee.

And the king said to Araunah, No, but I will truly buy it from thee at a price. Neither will I offer burnt-offerings to LORD my God which cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver