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

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.

Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen!

How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain upon thy high places.

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 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 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

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.

Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters. As a man falls before the sons of iniquity, so did thou fall. And all the people wept again over him.

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

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

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 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.

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

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.

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

And this was yet a small thing in thine eyes, O lord LORD, but thou have spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and this [too] according to the manner of men, O lord LORD!

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

For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, thou have wrought all this greatness, to make thy servant know it.

And what one nation on the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem to himself for a people, and to make him a name, and to do great things for you, and awesome things for thy land, before thy people whom

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

And now, O LORD God, the word that thou have spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do as thou have spoken.

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.

And now, O lord LORD, thou are God, and thy words are truth, and thou have promised this good thing to thy servant.

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 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 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.

And thou shall till the land for him, thou, and thy sons, and thy servants. And thou shall bring in [the fruits] that thy master's son may have bread to eat, but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall always eat bread at my table. Now

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.

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 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?

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did ye go so near the wall? Then thou shall say, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

And the shooters shot at thy servants from off the wall. And some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

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 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.

Why have thou despised the word of LORD, to do that which is evil in his sight? Thou have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be thy wife, and have slain him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

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.

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 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

Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and make food for 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 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 Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons have come; as thy servant said, so it is.

And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.

And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they say, Deliver him who smote his brother that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he killed, and so destroy the heir also. Thus they will quench my co

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

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.

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.

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

Thy servant Joab has done this thing to change the face of the matter. And my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an agent of God, to know all things that are on the earth.

And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and did obeisance, and blessed the king. And Joab said, Today thy servant knows that I have found favor in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has performed the request of his serva

Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom to his house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire?

And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so, that, when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, Of what city are thou? And he said, Thy

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

For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If LORD shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve LORD.

And the king's servants said to the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king shall choose.

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.

And Ittai answered the king, and said, As LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, even there thy servant will also be.

The king said also to Zadok the priest, Are thou [not] a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

but if thou return to the city, and say to Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king. As I have been thy father's servant in time past, so I will now be thy servant, then thou will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.

And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he abides at Jerusalem, for he said, Today the house of Israel will restore for me the kingdom of my father.

Then the king said to Ziba, Behold, all that pertains to Mephibosheth is thine. And Ziba said, I do obeisance. Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, O king.

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

And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? Why did thou not go with thy friend?

And again, whom should I serve? [Is it] not in the presence of his son? As I have served in thy father's presence, so I will be in thy presence.

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.

Hushai said moreover, Thou know thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.

And even he who is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men.

And Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, All is well. And he bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, Blessed be LORD thy God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the ki

And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, even me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou have shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the live

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 he inclined the heart of all the men of Judah, even as [the heart of] one man, so that they sent to the king, [saying], Return thou, and all thy servants.

And he said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity to me, neither remember thou that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.

For thy servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For thy servant said, I will saddle for me a donkey, that I may ride on it, and go with the king, because thy servant is lame.

And he has slandered thy servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is as an agent of God; do therefore what is good in thine eyes.

For all my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet thou set thy servant among those who ate at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet that I should cry any more to the king?

And the king said to him, Why do thou speak any more of thy matters? I say, thou and Ziba divide the land.

I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern between good and bad? Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should thy servant be yet a burden to my

Thy servant would but just go over the Jordan with the king, and why should the king recompense it to me with such a reward?

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 David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom. Take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.

And he came near to her, and the woman said, Are thou Joab? And he answered, I am. Then she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.

Thou have also given me the shield of thy salvation, and thy gentleness has made me great.

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

And Joab said to the king, Now LORD thy God add to the people, however many they may be, a hundredfold, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?

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