And {he put to the sword} Nob, the city of the priests, from man to woman, from child to infant, and ox and donkey and sheep; [all] {to the sword}.

But, one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, whose name was Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.

But David's men said to him, "Look, we [are] afraid here in Judah. {How much more} [if] we go [to] Keilah to the battle lines of [the] Philistines?"

David remained in the wilderness, in the strongholds, and in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him {continually}, but God did not give him into his hand

But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, because [the] Philistines have made a raid on the land!"

Look, this day your eyes have seen that Yahweh gave you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you. But {I took pity} on you and said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, because he [is] Yahweh's anointed one.'

Now, my father, see, yes, see, the hem of your robe in my hand! For {when I cut} the hem of your robe I did not kill you. Know and {realize} that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I did not sin against you, but you [are] hunting down my life to take it.

May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you!

Just as the ancient proverb says, 'From the wicked, wickedness goes out,' but my hand will not be against you!

Then he said to David, "You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me the good, but I have repaid you the evil.

You have explained to me today that you have dealt well with me, how Yahweh delivered me into your hand but you did not kill me.

For a man has found his enemy but sent him on [his] way safely. Now may Yahweh reward you with good in return for this day, for what you have done for me.

So David swore [this on oath] to Saul, and Saul went to his house, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

The name of the man [was] Nabal, and the name of his wife [was] Abigail. Now the woman [was] wise and beautiful, but the man [was] stubborn and {mean}, and he [was] as his heart.

But Nabal answered David's servants and said, "Who [is] David? And who [is] the son of Jesse? Today, [there] are many servants breaking away from the presence of their masters.

But a young man of the servants told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Look, David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, but he addressed them angrily,

Then Abigail {quickly took} two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she put [them] on the donkeys.

Then she said to her servants, "Go ahead before me; look, I am coming after you," but she did not tell her husband Nabal.

Now David had said, "Surely {in vain} I guarded all that this fellow had in the desert. And nothing was missed of all that [was] his, but he returned evil against me in place of good!

Please do not let my lord set his heart against {this worthless man}, Nabal; for as his name, so [is] he. Nabal [is] his name, and stupidity [is] with him! But I, your female servant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

Should a man arise to pursue you and to seek your life, may the life of my lord be wrapped in the pouch of the living with Yahweh your God. But as for the life of your enemy, he will sling it from within the pocket of the sling!

But {as Yahweh lives}, the God of Israel who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been {one male} left alive for Nabal by the light of morning!"

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his [own] head." Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her for his wife.

Now Saul was on the hill of Hakilah, which [is] opposite Jeshimon by the road, but David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come to the wilderness after him,

But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him! For who has stretched out his hand against Yahweh's anointed one and remained blameless?"

And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if {it is mortals}, [may] they be accursed {before} Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, 'Go, serve other gods!'

Yahweh repays to each [one] his righteousness and his faithfulness, for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to stretch out my hand against Yahweh's anointed.

Then Saul said to David, "Blessed are you, my son David; {you will not only do many things, but also will always succeed}!" Then David went on his way and Saul returned to his place.

Then David {thought to himself}, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me but [that] I must certainly escape to the land of [the] Philistines. Then Saul will desist from searching for me further in all of the territories of Israel, and so I will escape from his hand."

And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.

So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went {with two of his men}. And they came to the woman [by] night and he said, "Please consult a spirit for me through {the ritual pit}, and bring up for me [the one] whom I tell you."

But the woman said to him, "Look, you know what Saul did, how he exterminated the mediums and the soothsayers from the land! Why [are] you setting a trap for my life to kill me?"

Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul said, "{I am in distress}! For [the] Philistines [are about] to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not {by the prophets} or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know what I should do."

But he refused and said, "I will not eat!" However, his servants urged him, and the woman also. So he listened {to what they said}, and he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

But the commanders of [the] Philistines were angry with him and they said to him, "Send the man back so that he might return to his place where you have assigned him! But he will not go down with us into the battle, so that he does not become an adversary to us in the battle. By what could this fellow make himself favorable to his lord? Is it not with the heads of these men?

[Is] this not David about whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?"

So Achish called David and said to him, "{As Yahweh lives}, certainly you were honest, and {I am pleased to have you marching with me} in the campaign. For I have not found any wrong in you from the day you came to me until this day, but in the eyes of the rulers, you [are] not good.

Then David said to Achish, "But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day that I {entered your service} until this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

So David set out early, he and his men, to leave in the morning to return to the land of [the] Philistines, but [the] Philistines went up [to] Jezreel.

They took captive the women who were in it, {from the youngest to the oldest}. They did not kill anyone, but carried [them] off and went on their way.

And {David was in a very precarious situation}, for the people spoke of stoning him, for the souls of all the people were bitter, each [one] over his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.

So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the Wadi Besor, but the rest remained.

David pursued, he and four hundred men; but two hundred men stayed because they were too exhausted to pass over the Wadi Besor.

Then David said to him, "{To whom do you belong}, and from where [are] you? The young man said, "I am an Egyptian young man, a servant of an Amalekite man, but my master abandoned me because I became ill three days ago.

But David said to them, "You should not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given to us! He has preserved us and has given the [raiding] band that came against us into our hand.

Then Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!" But {his armor bearer} [was] not willing [to do so] because he [was] very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

And they put his armor [in] the temple of the Ashtoreth, and they fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan.

But Abner the son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over [to] Mahanaim.

Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right or to your left; seize for yourself one of the young men, and take his belongings for yourself." But Asahel [was] not willing to turn aside from him.

But he refused to turn away, so Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of the spear, and the spear went out of his back. He fell there and he died {on the spot}. {Then} all who came to the place where Asahel fell and died [just] stood there.

The battle [was] prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David, but David {[was] growing stronger and stronger} while the house of Saul {[was] becoming weaker and weaker}.

But her husband went with her, {weeping all along} after her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go [and] return." So he returned.

And look, the servants of David and Joab came from the raid, and they brought much plunder with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had dismissed him, and he had gone in peace.

Then Joab went out from David, and he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from Bor Hasirah, but David did not know [it].

David said to Joab and to all the people who [were] with him, "Tear your clothing and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." Now King David [was] following after the bier.

{How much more} when wicked men kill a righteous man in his house, on his bed! So then, shall I not seek his lifeblood from your hand, so that I may destroy you from the earth?"

Then David commanded the young men, and they killed them, and they cut off their hands and their feet, and they hung [them] at the pool at Hebron, but the head of Ish-Bosheth they took and buried in the grave of Abner at Hebron.

When [the] Philistines heard that they had anointed David as king over Israel, all [the] Philistines went up to seek David, but David heard and went down to the stronghold.

So David inquired of Yahweh, but he said, "You shall not go up. [Rather,] go around to their rear and come to them from opposite the balsam trees.

But David feared Yahweh on that day and said, "How can the ark of Yahweh come to me?"

I will demean myself again more than this, and I will be abased in my eyes, but with the maids whom you mentioned, with them I will be honored."

And the king said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, please, I [am] living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God [is] staying in the middle of the tent."

But it happened {that night}, the word of Yahweh came to Nathan, saying,

But my loyal love shall not depart from him as I took [it] from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

David captured from him one thousand and seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand {foot soldiers}. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but {from them} he spared a hundred chariot horses.

From Betah and from Berothai, the towns of Hadadezer, King David took very many bronze [items].

He put garrisons in Edom; all over Edom he put garrisons, and all of Edom became servants of David. Yahweh protected David wherever he went.

Then the king said, "But [is] there still anyone of Saul's household that I may show the loyal love of God with him?" And Ziba said to the king, "There [is] still a son of Jonathan [who is] lame in the feet."

Then he did obeisance and said, "What [is] your servant that you have paid attention to the dead dog like me?"

You shall till the land for him, you and your sons and your servants; you shall bring [in the produce] and it shall be food for the son of your master that he may eat. But Mephibosheth the son of your master may always eat food at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty slaves.)

But the commanders of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun their master, "{In your opinion}, [is] David honoring your father because he has sent condolences to you? [Is] it not in order to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it [that] David sent his servants to you?"

The {Ammonites} came out and {drew up a battle formation} at the entrance of the gate, but Aram-Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah [were] alone in the open field.

Then he said, "If Aram [is] stronger than I [am], you must become my deliverer; but if the {Ammonites} [are] too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.

{It came about in the spring}, at the time {kings} go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all of Israel. They ravaged all of the {Ammonites} and besieged Rabbah, but David [was] remaining in Jerusalem.

It happened {late one afternoon} [that] David got up from his bed and walked about on the roof of the king's house, and he saw a woman bathing on her roof. Now the woman {was very beautiful}.

But Uriah slept [at] the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his master and did not go down to his house.

David invited him, and he ate and drank in his presence {so that he became drunk}, and he went out in the evening to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

He had written in the letter, "Put Uriah in the front, in the face of the fiercest fighting, then draw back from behind him so that he may be struck down and die."

{When Joab was besieging} the city, he put Uriah toward the place which he knew {there were valiant warriors}.

The messenger said to David, "Because {the men overpowered us}, the men came out to us [in] the field, but {we forced them back} to the entrance of the gate.

When the mourning [was] over, David sent and brought her to his household, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing which David had done [was] evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

but the poor [man] had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him.

And a visitor came to the rich man, but he {was reluctant} to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

But because you have {utterly scorned} Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you {will certainly die}."

The elders of his household stood over him to lift him up from the ground, but he [was] not willing, and he did not eat [any] food with them.

It happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David [were] afraid to tell him that the child [was] dead, for they said, "Look, when the child [was] alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How can we tell him, 'The child [is] dead'? He may do [something] evil."

But now he [is] dead. Why [should I be] fasting? [Am] I able to return him again? I [am] going to him, but he cannot return to me."

He took the crown of their king from his head. (Now its weight [was] a talent of gold, and there [was] a precious stone [in it] and it [was] put on David's head.) He brought out the plunder of the city {in great abundance}.

He also brought out the people who [were] in it and put them to the saws and to the iron picks and to the iron axes, and he sent them to the place of the brickmakers. Thus he used to do to all the cities of the {Ammonites}, and he and all of the army returned to Jerusalem.

Then Jonadab said to him, "Lie down on your bed and appear ill. If your father comes to see you, you shall say to him, 'Please let Tamar my sister come and give me food to eat, and let her prepare the food before my eyes, in order that I may see it and eat from her hand.'"

Then she took the pan and poured it out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, "Let all [the] men go out from me." So all [the] men went out from him.

But he [was] not willing to listen to her voice. He [was] stronger than she, and he forced her and lay with her.

She said to him, "No, because this evil in sending me away [is] greater than the other you have done to me." But he [was] not willing to listen to her.

Now there [was] a long-sleeved robe on her, for so they clothed the daughters of the king who [were] virgins, in robes. His servant put her outside, and he bolted the door behind her.

Tamar put ashes on her head, and she tore the long-sleeved robe which [was] on her. She put her hand on her head, and {she went away, crying out as she went}.

Absalom her brother said to her, "[Was] Amnon your brother with you? But now, my sister, be quiet; he [is] your brother. {Do not take this matter to heart}." So Tamar remained a desolate woman in the house of Absalom her brother.

Absalom did not speak with Amnon {either bad or good}, for Absalom hated Amnon {over the matter when} he raped Tamar his sister.

The king said to Absalom, "No my son, not all of us shall go, so that we not be a burden to you." And he urged him, but he [was] not willing to go, but he blessed him.

So Absalom said, "But [will you] not let Amnon my brother go with us?" And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you?"

But Absalom pressed him, so he sent Amnon with him and all of the sons of the king.