On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head came from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.

When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, so I answered: I’m at your service.

David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The Lord bless you, because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.

Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was 40 years old when he began his reign over Israel; he ruled for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.

But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the end of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. When all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped,

When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, 19 of David’s soldiers were missing,

David replied, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. However, there’s one thing I require of you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal here when you come to see me.”

When Abner and 20 men came to David at Hebron, David held a banquet for him and his men.

When Joab and all his army arrived, Joab was informed, “Abner son of Ner came to see the king, the king dismissed him, and he went in peace.”

When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside to the middle of the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died in revenge for the death of Asahel, Joab’s brother.

When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept,

When Saul’s son Ish-bosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.

Saul’s son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. The one who had nursed him picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

when the person told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ he thought he was a bearer of good news, but I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was my reward to him for his news!

How much more when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house on his own bed! So now, should I not require his blood from your hands and wipe you off the earth?”

David was 30 years old when he began his reign; he reigned 40 years.

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of David, but he heard about it and went down to the stronghold.

When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have marched out ahead of you to attack the camp of the Philistines.”

When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled.

When those carrying the ark of the Lord advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.

When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh of Hosts.

When David returned home to bless his household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”

When the king had settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,

When your time comes and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a human rod and with blows from others.

so that Your name will be exalted forever, when it is said, “The Lord of Hosts is God over Israel.” The house of Your servant David will be established before You

since You, Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, “I will build a house for you.” Therefore, Your servant has found the courage to pray this prayer to You.

When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 Aramean men.

When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,

David made a reputation for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

Then David said, “I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,

When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”

When the Ammonites realized they had become repulsive to David, they hired 20,000 foot soldiers from the Arameans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 men from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 men from Tob.

When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some men out of all the elite troops of Israel and lined up in battle formation to engage the Arameans.

When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab withdrew from the attack against the Ammonites and went to Jerusalem.

When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped.

When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans lined up in formation to engage David in battle and fought against him.

When all the kings who were Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. After this, the Arameans were afraid to ever help the Ammonites again.

In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.

David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home.

When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going.

When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”

When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were.

He commanded the messenger, “When you’ve finished telling the king all the details of the battle—

Then the messenger left.

When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell.

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah had died, she mourned for him.

When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the Lord considered what David had done to be evil.

So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him:

There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

When David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, he guessed that the baby was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the baby dead?”

“He is dead,” they replied.

His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”

Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you’re sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare food in my presence so I can watch and eat from her hand.’”

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my presence so I can eat from her hand.”

When she brought them to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come sleep with me, my sister!”

When King David heard about all these things, he was furious.

Now Absalom commanded his young men, “Watch Amnon until he is in a good mood from the wine. When I order you to strike Amnon, then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Am I not the one who has commanded you? Be strong and courageous!”

Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. When the young man who was standing watch looked up, there were many people coming from the road west of him from the side of the mountain.

When the woman from Tekoa came to the king, she fell with her face to the ground in homage and said, “Help me, my king!”

The woman asked, “Why have you devised something similar against the people of God? When the king spoke as he did about this matter, he has pronounced his own guilt. The king has not brought back his own banished one.

When he shaved his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy for him that he had to shave it off—he would weigh the hair from his head and it would be five pounds according to the royal standard.

When a person approached to bow down to him, Absalom reached out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him.

When four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.

For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram, saying: If the Lord really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.”

Then Absalom sent messengers throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron!’”

When David came to the summit where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.

When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba, Mephibosheth’s servant, was right there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a skin of wine.

When King David got to Bahurim, a man belonging to the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he was yelling curses as he approached.

When David’s friend Hushai the Archite came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

Ahithophel replied to Absalom, “Sleep with your father’s concubines he left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become repulsive to your father, everyone with you will be encouraged.”

and bring all the people back to you. When everyone returns except the man you’re seeking, all the people will be at peace.”

When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He set his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David’s soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair.

When he was alive, Absalom had set up a pillar for himself in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name. It is still called Absalom’s Monument today.

David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gate and over to the wall. The watchman looked out and saw a man running alone.

The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?”

Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a big disturbance, but I don’t know what it was.”

So they returned to the city quietly that day like people come in when they are humiliated after fleeing in battle.

Then the king returned. When he arrived at the Jordan, Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and escort him across the Jordan.

They forded the Jordan to bring the king’s household across and do whatever the king desired.

When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell down before the king

When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Mephibosheth, why didn’t you come with me?”

When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the 10 concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

They were at the great stone in Gibeon when Amasa joined them. Joab was wearing his uniform and over it was a belt around his waist with a sword in its sheath. As he approached, the sword fell out.

When he was removed from the highway, all the men passed by and followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

When he had come near her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?”

“I am,” he replied.

“Listen to the words of your servant,” she said to him.

He answered, “I’m listening.”

During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the Lord. The Lord answered, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family when he killed the Gibeonites.”

When it was reported to David what Saul’s concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, had done,

When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him.

is like the morning light when the sun rises
on a cloudless morning,
the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”

After him, Eleazar son of Dodo son of an Ahohite was among the three warriors with David when they defied the Philistines. The men of Israel retreated in the place they had gathered for battle,

When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days.

When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer:

When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the Lord, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand be against me and my father’s family.”