And now Jehovah shew kindness and faithfulness to you; and I also will requite you this good, because ye have done this thing.

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

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

and now do it, for Jehovah has spoken of David, saying, By my servant David will I save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.

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 mayest reign over all that thy heart desires. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land; and they spoke to David, saying, Thou shalt not come in hither, but the blind and the lame will drive thee back; as much as to say, David will not come in hither.

And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? wilt thou give them into my hand? And Jehovah said to David, Go up; for I will certainly give the Philistines into thy hand.

And it shall be, when thou hearest a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself; for then will Jehovah have gone forth before thee, to smite the army of the Philistines.

And I will make myself yet more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight; and of the handmaids that thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

Go and say to my servant, to David, Thus saith Jehovah: Wilt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly,

and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I have given thee rest from all thine enemies; and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.

When thy days are 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.

It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men;

For thou, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

And David said to him, Fear not; for I will certainly shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And Mephibosheth said David shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.

And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed 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 he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; 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 Urijah, Abide here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. And Urijah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow.

Thus saith Jehovah: 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 unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

For thou didst it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.

And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, Who knows? perhaps Jehovah will be gracious to me, that the child may live.

But now he is dead, why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

And he said to him, Why dost thou, the king's son, get thinner from morning to morning? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

And I, whither shall I carry my reproach? and thou wouldest be as one of the infamous in Israel. And now, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth.

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

And now that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy bondmaid said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

And thy bondmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and Jehovah thy God will be with thee.

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

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

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

And the king said to Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favour in the eyes of Jehovah, he will bring me again, and shew me it, and its habitation.

See, I will stop in the plains of the desert, until there come word from you to inform me.

And David said to him, If thou passest on with me, thou wilt be a burden to me;

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 hitherto, so now will I be thy servant; then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.

It may be that Jehovah will look on mine affliction, and that Jehovah will requite me good for my being cursed this day.

And Hushai said to Absalom, No; but whom Jehovah, and this people, and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

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

And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me, I pray, choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David to-night;

and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid; and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only;

and I will bring back all the people to thee. The man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: all the people shall be in peace.

And Absalom said, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and we will hear also what he says.

And Hushai said, Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are of exasperated spirit, 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.

Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or some such place; and it will come to pass, when some of them fall at the first, whoever heareth it will say, There has been slaughter among the people that follow Absalom,

And we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

And if he withdraw into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the torrent, until there be not one small stone found there.

And David sent forth the people, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.

But the people said, Thou shalt not go forth, for if we should in any case flee, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us; for thou art worth ten thousand of us; and now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.

And the king said to them, I will do what is good in your sight. And the king stood by the gate-side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.

And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, Come what may, let me, I pray thee, also run after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why wilt thou run, my son, seeing that there is no news suited to thee?

But now arise, go forth, and speak consolingly to thy servants; for I swear by Jehovah, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night; and that would be worse to thee than all the evil that has befallen thee from thy youth until now.

Ye are my brethren, ye are my bone and my flesh; and why will ye be the last to bring back the king?

And he said, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me; for thy servant said, I will saddle me the ass, and ride thereon, and go with the king; for thy servant is lame.

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

Thy servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king; and why should the king recompense it to me with this reward?

And the king said, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which seems good to thee; and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.

I am peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?

The matter is not so; but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David: give up him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.

And the Gibeonites said to him, As to Saul and his house, it is with us no question of receiving silver or gold, neither is it for us to have any man put to death in Israel. And he said, What ye say will I do for you.

let seven men of his sons be given up to us, and we will hang them up to Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give them.

God is my rock, in him will I trust My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge, My saviour: thou wilt save me from violence.

I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing psalms to thy name.

And the man that will touch them provideth himself with iron and the staff of a spear; And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.

And Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come to thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine adversaries while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days' pestilence in thy land? Now be aware and consider what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

And the king said to Araunah, No; but I will in any case buy them of thee at a price: neither will I offer up to Jehovah my God burnt-offerings without cost. And David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.