The next day, a man escaped from Saul's camp! With torn clothes and dirty hair, he approached David, fell to the ground, and bowed down to him.

Mountains of Gilboa, let no dew or rain fall on you, and may none of your fields be filled with plenty, because in that place the shield of the valiant ones was defiled, the shield of Saul without an anointing with oil.

Each man grabbed his opponent by the head, plunged his sword into his opponent's side, and then they both fell together. That's why the place at Gibeon was named The Field of Swords.

But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner struck Asahel in the abdomen with the butt end of his spear, and the spear protruded through his back. He collapsed to the ground and died where he fell. Everyone gathered round the place where Asahel had collapsed and died, and stood still there.

The king composed this mourning song for Abner: "Should Abner's death be like a fool's?

Meanwhile, Saul's son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled. When he was five years old, news had arrived about Saul and Jonathan from Jezreel, and his nurse picked him up to flee, but in her hurry to leave, he happened to fall and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

Meanwhile, the Philistines arrived and encamped in the Rephaim Valley,

Later, the Philistines once again marched out and encamped in the Rephaim Valley.

David flew into a rage because the LORD had killed Uzzah. That's why that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.

David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley.

When the men of the city came out to fight Joab, some of David's army staff members fell, and Uriah the Hittite died, too.

David flew into a rage at the man and told Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

Sometime after this, David's son Amnon fell in love with David's other son Absalom's beautiful sister Tamar.

Amnon became so emotionally distressed that he fell sick over his half-sister Tamar. She was a virgin, and Amnon found it difficult to do anything to her.

When King David heard all about these developments, he flew into a rage over it.

Two full years later, Absalom took some men to Baal-hazor near Ephraim to shear his sheep. He also invited all of the king's sons to come.

Absalom continued to flee, eventually going to Ammihud's son King Talmai of Geshur, while King David continued to mourn for his son every day.

When the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, prostrating herself to address him, "Help, your majesty!"

Then she said, "Your majesty, please remember the LORD your God, so that blood avengers don't do any more damage! Otherwise, they'll destroy my son!" So he promised, "As the LORD lives, not even a single hair from your son's head will fall to the ground!"

At this, Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrating himself to bless the king, and then said, "Today your servant realizes that he's found favor with you, your majesty, in that the king has acted on the request of his servant."

So when Joab approached the king and told him what Absalom had said, he summoned Absalom, who then came to the king and fell to the ground on his face in front of him. Then the king kissed Absalom.

Then he would get up early, stand near the passageway to the palace gate, and when anyone arrived to file a legal complaint for a hearing before the king, Absalom would call to him and ask, "You're from what city?" If he replied, "Your servant is from one of Israel's tribes,"

Who will appoint me to be a judge in the land? When anyone arrived to file a legal complaint or other cause, he could approach me for justice and I would settle it!"

We'll go find David wherever he's hiding. We'll fall on him like dew on the ground! We'll kill him and all of his men, and we won't leave even one man alive!

If he escapes into a city, we'll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won't leave a single stone left in the valley!"

While Absalom had been living, he had erected a pillar as a monument to himself in King's Valley because he had been telling himself, "I don't have a son to carry on my family name." So he named the pillar after himself it's called Absalom's Monument even today.

"Please," Zadok's son Ahimaaz continued, "No matter what happens, let me follow the Ethiopian!" Joab asked him, "Why this request to run, my son? There's no reward in it for you."

"No matter what, I'm running," Ahimaaz replied. So Joab told Ahimaaz, "Run!" And Ahimaaz ran, taking the Jordan Valley road, passing the Ethiopian.

Just as the king was about to ford the Jordan River, Gera's son Shimei fell down in front of the king and addressed him, "May your majesty not hold me guilty. Don't remember how your servant did wrong the day your majesty the king left Jerusalem. May the king not let it burden his heart,

So all of the other Israeli soldiers abandoned David to follow Bichri's son Sheba, while the army of Judah remained with the king all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

One of Joab's soldiers stood by Amasa while he lay dying and announced, "Whoever is in favor of Joab and David, let him follow Joab."

Then Aiah's daughter Rizpah grabbed some sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock where her children had been hanged from the beginning of harvest until the first rain fell from the sky. She would not allow any scavenger birds to land on them during the day nor the beasts of the field to approach them at night.

He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind!

I devoured them, striking them down until they could not get up again. They fell beneath my feet.

You strengthened me with valor sufficient for the battle; you made those who rebelled against me fall beneath me.

One day while the Philistine army was camping in the valley of giants, three of the 30 leaders joined David at the cave of Adullam.

They crossed the Jordan River, encamped at Aroer south of the town that is located in the river valley, proceeding through Gad and then on toward Jazer.

So Gad went to David and asked him, "Shall seven years of famine come to your land, or three months of reversals while you flee from your enemies as they pursue you, or three days of pestilence in your land? Decide right now what I am to answer to the one who sent me."

So David replied to Gad, "This is a very difficult choice for me to make! Let me now please fall into the hand of the LORD, since his mercy is very great, but may I never fall into human hands!"

When David saw the angel who had been attacking the people, he told the LORD, "Look, I'm the one who has sinned! I did the evil. These are only sheep! What did they do? Please, let your hand fall on me and on my household!"

"No!" the king replied to Araunah. "I will buy them from you at full price. I won't offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 silver shekels,