And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, 'Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, 'Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.'

Then said the king to Joab, "Behold, I am content to do this thing. Go therefore fetch home the lad Absalom."

Absalom fathered three sons and one daughter, whom he named Tamar. She was a beautiful woman, both in form and appearance.

And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.

Now Absalom used to get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever anyone came by who had a complaint to bring to the king for arbitration, Absalom would call out to him, "What city are you from?" The person would answer, "I, your servant, am from one of the tribes of Israel."

Yesterday is thy coming in, and to-day I move thee to go with us, and I am going on that which I am going! -- turn back, and take back thy brethren with thee, -- kindness and truth.'

But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.

see ye, I am tarrying in the plains of the wilderness till the coming in of a word from you to declare to me.'

Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me:

and if to the city thou dost turn back, and hast said to Absalom, Thy servant I am, O king; servant of thy father I am also hitherto, and now, I am also thy servant; then thou hast made void for me the counsel of Ahithophel;

Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the household of Saul {whom you have supplanted as king}, and Yahweh has given the kingship into the hand of Absalom your son. Look, you [are] in disaster for you [are] a man of blood."

And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD, 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 I not serve 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, Go in to thy father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art become odious with thy father; and the hands of all that are with thee shall be strong.

And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.

and the battle is there scattered over the face of all the land, and the forest multiplieth to devour among the people more than those whom the sword hath devoured in that day.

And the man saith unto Joab, 'Yea, though I am weighing on my hand a thousand silverlings, I do not put forth my hand unto the son of the king; for in our ears hath the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Observe ye who is against the youth -- against Absalom;

The sentinel said, "I [am] seeing [that] the running of the first [is] like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zakok." The king said, "He [is] a good man; he will come, for good news."

And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?

For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

He replied, "My lord the king, my servant deceived me! I said, 'Let me get my donkey saddled so that I can ride on it and go with the king,' for I am lame.

But Barzillai said unto the king, "Of what age am I of, that I should go with the king into Jerusalem?

I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?

And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.

I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?

Then the king sent for the Gibeonites; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but were the last of the Amorites, to whom the children of Israel had given an oath; but Saul, in his passion for the children of Israel and Judah, had made an attempt on their lives:)

So David said to the Gibeonites, What may I do for you? how am I to make up to you for your wrongs, so that you may give a blessing to the heritage of the Lord?

And the Gibeonites said to him, It is not a question of silver and gold between us and Saul or his family; and it is not in our power to put to death any man in Israel. And he said, Say, then, what am I to do for you?

And they said to the king, As for the man by whom we were wasted, and who made designs against us to have us completely cut off from the land of Israel,

Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;
My savior, You save me from violence.

The Praised One, I call Jehovah: And from mine enemies I am saved.

For I am aware of all his regulations, and I do not reject his rules.

And I am perfect before Him, And I keep myself from mine iniquity.

And the afflicted people thou dost save; And thine eyes are upon the haughty, whom thou bringest down.

Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people; Thou hast kept me to be the head of the nations: A people whom I have not known shall serve me.

He makes me free from my haters: I am lifted up over those who come up against me: you have made me free from the violent man.

Now these are the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, says, the man who was lifted up on high, the man on whom the God of Jacob put the holy oil, the loved one of Israel's songs, says:

These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

And. Abishai brother of Joab son of Zeruiah, he, was chief of three, in that he brandished his spear against three hundred whom he slew; and, he, had a name among three.

Later, David's conscience bothered him after he had numbered the army, so David told the LORD, "I have sinned greatly by what I did. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly."

Go, and thou hast spoken unto David, Thus said Jehovah: Three -- I am lifting up for thee, choose thee one of them, and I do it to thee.'

So Gad came to David, and gave him word of this and said to him, Are there to be three years when there is not enough food in your land? or will you go in flight from your haters for three months, while they go after you? or will you have three days of violent disease in your land? take thought and say what answer I am to give to him who sent me.

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

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.”

But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men whom David had, were not with Adonijah.

And the king went on to say this: ‘May the Lord God of Israel be praised! Today He has provided one to sit on my throne, and I am a witness.’”

I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;

Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

and now, one petition I am asking of thee -- turn not back my face;' and she saith unto him, 'Speak.'

She said, "I have one small request I am asking from you. Do {not refuse me}." The king said to her, "Ask, my mother, for I will {not refuse you}."

In Gibeon, Solomon had a vision of the Lord in a dream by night; and God said to him, Say what I am to give you.

And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

and Thy servant is in the midst of thy people, whom Thou hast chosen, a people numerous, that is not numbered nor counted for multitude,

Furthermore, I am giving you what you did not request -- riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.

And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I did bear.

And the woman to whom the living son, will say to the king, for her bowels were warm upon her son, and she will say, With leave, my lord, ye shall give to her the living child, and slaying, ye shall not slay him. And this said, It shall not be even to me, even to thee; divide it

And these were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;

Solomon also appointed twelve governors over all of Israel, each of whom were responsible for providing one month's food provisions to the king and to his administration during each year.

Baana the son of Ahilud to whom was Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah to the place that is beyond Jokneam;

And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

besides the overseers whom Solomon had set over the work, three thousand three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.

And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

(for Thy people and Thy inheritance are they, whom Thou didst bring out of Egypt, out of the midst of the furnace of iron) --

Others will then answer, 'Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.'"

Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.

from the very nations of whom the Lord said to the Israelites, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for the result will be that they will turn away your hearts to follow their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these in love.

And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.

and saith to Jeroboam, 'Take to thee ten pieces, for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, lo, I am rending the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and have given to thee the ten tribes,

I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon's father David did.

Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people?

But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.

The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, "Say this to these people who have said to you, 'Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.' Say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father!

And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places whom he had made.

And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

And he saith, 'I am not able to turn back with thee, and to go in with thee, nor do I eat bread or drink with thee water in this place,

He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:

And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

Therefore, lo, I am bringing in evil unto the house of Jeroboam, and have cut off to Jeroboam those sitting on the wall -- shut up and left -- in Israel, and have put away the posterity of the house of Jeroboam, as one putteth away the dung till its consumption;

Those of the family of Jeroboam who come to death in the town, will become food for the dogs; and those on whom death comes in the open country, will be food for the birds of the air; for the Lord has said it.

All Israel will mourn him and bury him. He is the only one in Jeroboam's family who will receive a decent burial, for he is the only one in whom the Lord God of Israel found anything good.

And [the people of] Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. They provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with their sins which they had committed.

There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed all the repulsive acts of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the Israelites.

“Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies whom he had against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maacah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

And straight away when he became king, he sent destruction on all the offspring of Jeroboam; there was not one living person of all the family of Jeroboam whom he did not put to death, so the word of the Lord, which he said by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite, came about;

lo, I am putting away the posterity of Baasha, even the posterity of his house, and have given up thy house as the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat;

Anyone of the family of Baasha who comes to death in the town, will become food for the dogs; and he to whom death comes in the open country, will be food for the birds of the air.

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

Then the woman said to Elijah, Now I am certain that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.