and secondly, for whom do I labour? is it not before his son? as I served before thy father so am I before thee.'

And Ahithophel saith unto Absalom, 'Go in unto the concubines of thy father, whom he left to keep the house, and all Israel hath heard that thou hast been abhorred by thy father, and the hands of all who are with thee have been strong.'

And Hushai saith, 'Thou hast known thy father and his men, that they are heroes, and they are bitter in soul as a bereaved bear in a field, and thy father is a man of war, and doth not lodge with the people;

and he also, the son of valour, whose heart is as the heart of the lion, doth utterly melt, for all Israel doth know that thy father is a hero, and sons of valour are those with him.

and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, have brought nigh for David, and for the people who are with him to eat, for they said, 'Thy people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.'

And Ahimaaz calleth and saith unto the king, 'Peace;' and he boweth himself to the king, on his face, to the earth, and saith, 'Blessed is Jehovah thy God who hath shut up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.'

And the king saith, 'Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And Ahimaaz saith, 'I saw the great multitude, at the sending away of the servant of the king, even thy servant by Joab, and I have not known what it is.'

And Joab cometh in unto the king to the house, and saith, 'Thou hast put to shame to-day the faces of all thy servants, those delivering thy life to-day, and the life of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the life of thy wives, and the life of thy concubines,

And now, rise, go out and speak unto the heart of thy servants, for by Jehovah I have sworn, that -- thou art not going out -- there doth not lodge a man with thee to-night; and this is worse for thee than all the evil that hath come upon thee from thy youth till now.'

And he inclineth the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and they send unto the king, 'Turn back, thou, and all thy servants.'

and saith unto the king, 'Let not my lord impute to me iniquity; neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely in the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, -- for the king to set it unto his heart;

for thy servant hath known that I have sinned; and lo, I have come to-day, first of all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king.'

And he saith, 'My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for thy servant said, I saddle for me the ass, and ride on it, and go with the king, for thy servant is lame;

and he uttereth slander against thy servant unto my lord the king, and my lord the king is as a messenger of God; and do thou that which is good in thine eyes,

for all the house of my father have been nothing except men of death before my lord the king, and thou dost set thy servant among those eating at thy table, and what right have I any more -- even to cry any more unto the king?'

And the king saith to him, 'Why dost thou speak any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba -- share ye the field.'

A son of eighty years I am to-day; do I know between good and evil? doth thy servant taste that which I am eating, and that which I drink? do I hearken any more to the voice of singers and songstresses? and why is thy servant any more for a burden unto my lord the king?

As a little thing, thy servant doth pass over the Jordan with the king, and why doth the king recompense me this recompense?

Let, I pray thee, thy servant turn back again, and I die in mine own city, near the burying-place of my father and of my mother, -- and lo, thy servant Chimham, let him pass over with my lord the king, and do thou to him that which is good in thine eyes.'

and David saith unto Abishai, 'Now doth Sheba son of Bichri do evil to us more than Absalom; thou, take the servants of thy lord, and pursue after him, lest he have found for himself fenced cities, and delivered himself from our eye.'

And he cometh near unto her, and the woman saith, 'Art thou Joab?' and he saith, 'I am.' And she saith to him, 'Hear the words of thy handmaid;' and he saith, 'I am hearing.'

And Thou givest to me the shield of Thy salvation, And Thy lowliness maketh me great.

Therefore I confess Thee, O Jehovah, among nations. And to Thy name I sing praise.

And Joab saith unto the king, 'Yea, Jehovah thy God doth add unto the people, as they are, a hundred times, and the eyes of my lord the king are seeing; and my lord the king, why is he desirous of this thing?'

And the heart of David smiteth him, after that he hath numbered the people, and David saith unto Jehovah, 'I have sinned greatly in that which I have done, and now, O Jehovah, cause to pass away, I pray Thee, the iniquity of Thy servant, for I have acted very foolishly.'

And Gad cometh in unto David, and declareth to him, and saith to him, 'Do seven years of famine come in to thee in thy land? or three months art thou fleeing before thine adversary -- and he pursuing thee? or are three days' pestilence in thy land? now, know and see what word I take back to Him sending me.'

and the messenger putteth forth his hand to Jerusalem to destroy it, and Jehovah repenteth concerning the evil, and saith to the messenger who is destroying among the people, 'Enough, now, cease thy hand;' and the messenger of Jehovah was near the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

And David speaketh unto Jehovah, when he seeth the messenger who is smiting among the people, and saith, 'Lo, I have sinned, yea, I have done perversely; and these -- the flock -- what have they done? Let, I pray Thee, Thy hand be on me, and on the house of my father.'

the whole hath Araunah given, as a king to a king; and Araunah saith unto the king, 'Jehovah thy God doth accept thee.'

and his servants say to him, 'Let them seek for my lord the king a young woman, a virgin, and she hath stood before the king, and is to him a companion, and hath lain in thy bosom, and my lord the king hath heat.'

and now, come, let me counsel thee, I pray thee, and deliver thy life, and the life of thy son Solomon;

go and enter in unto king David, and thou hast said unto him, Hast thou not, my lord, O king, sworn to thy handmaid, saying, Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne? and wherefore hath Adonijah reigned?

Lo, thou are yet speaking there with the king, and I come in after thee, and have completed thy words.'

And she saith to him, 'My lord, thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid: Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne;

and he sacrificeth ox, and fatling, and sheep in abundance, and calleth for all the sons of the king, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab head of the host -- and for Solomon thy servant he hath not called.

And for me -- me, thy servant, and for Zadok the priest, and for Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, and for Solomon thy servant, he hath not called;

if from my lord the king this thing hath been, then thou hast not caused thy servant to know who doth sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.'

surely as I sware to thee by Jehovah, God of Israel, saying, Surely Solomon thy son doth reign after me, and he doth sit on my throne in my stead; surely so I do this day.'

and also the servants of the king have come into bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God doth make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and his throne greater than thy throne; and the king boweth himself on the bed,

And king Solomon sendeth, and they bring him down from off the altar, and he cometh in and boweth himself to king Solomon, and Solomon saith to him, 'Go to thy house.'

and kept the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that thou dost wisely all that thou dost, and whithersoever thou turnest,

so that Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake unto me, saying, If thy sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, There is not cut off a man of thine from the throne of Israel.

and thou hast done according to thy wisdom, and dost not let his old age go down in peace to Sheol.

'And to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite thou dost do kindness, and they have been among those eating at thy table, for so they drew near unto me in my fleeing from the face of Absalom thy brother.

and Adonijah son of Haggith cometh in unto Bath-Sheba, mother of Solomon, and she saith, 'Is thy coming peace?' and he saith, 'Peace.'

And he saith, 'Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, for he doth not turn back thy face, and he doth give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.'

And she saith, 'One small petition I ask of thee, turn not back my face;' and the king saith to her, 'Ask, my mother, for I do not turn back thy face.'

And she saith, 'Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife.'

And to Abiathar the priest said the king, 'To Anathoth go, unto thy fields; for a man of death thou art, but in this day I do not put thee to death, because thou hast borne the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all that my father was afflicted in.'

and it hath been, in the day of thy going out, and thou hast passed over the brook Kidron, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die -- thy blood is on thy head.'

And Shimei saith to the king, 'The word is good; as my lord the king hath spoken so doth thy servant do;' and Shimei dwelleth in Jerusalem many days.

And it cometh to pass, at the end of three years, that flee do two of the servants of Shimei unto Achish son of Maachah, king of Gath, and they declare to Shimei, saying, 'Lo, thy servants are in Gath;'

and the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith unto him, 'Have I not caused thee to swear by Jehovah -- and I testify against thee, saying, In the day of thy going out, and thou hast gone anywhere, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die; and thou sayest unto me, The word I have heard is good?

And the king saith unto Shimei, 'Thou hast known all the evil that thy heart hath known, which thou didst to David my father, and Jehovah hath turned back thine evil on thy head,

And Solomon saith, 'Thou hast done with Thy servant David my father great kindness, as he walked before Thee in truth and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with Thee, and Thou dost keep for him this great kindness, and dost give to him a son sitting on his throne, as at this day.

And now, O Jehovah my God, Thou hast caused thy servant to reign instead of David my father; and I am a little child, I do not know to go out and to 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,

and Thou hast given to Thy servant an understanding heart, to judge Thy people, to discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this Thy great people?'

lo, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given to thee a heart, wise and understanding, that like thee there hath not been before thee, and after thee there doth not arise like thee;

and also, that which thou hast not asked I have given to thee, both riches and honour, that there hath not been like thee a man among the kings all thy days;

and if thou dost walk in My ways to keep My statutes, and My commands, as David thy father walked, then I have prolonged thy days.'

and she riseth in the middle of the night, and taketh my son from beside me -- and thy handmaid is asleep -- and layeth it in her bosom, and her dead son she hath laid in my bosom;

And the other woman saith, 'Nay, but my son is the living, and thy son the dead;' and this one saith, 'Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king.

And the king saith, 'This one saith, This is my son, the living, and thy son is the dead; and that one saith, Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.'

and lo, I am saying to build a house to the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son whom I appoint in thy stead on thy throne, he doth build the house for My name.

'And now, command, and they cut down for me cedars out of Lebanon, and my servants are with thy servants, and the hire of thy servants I give to thee according to all that thou sayest, for thou hast known that there is not among us a man acquainted with cutting wood, like the Sidonians.'

And Hiram sendeth unto Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou hast sent unto me, I do all thy desire concerning cedar-wood, and fir-wood,

This house that thou art building -- if thou dost walk in My statutes, and My judgments dost do, yea, hast done all My commands, to walk in them, then I have established My word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father,

and Jehovah saith unto David my father, Because that it hath been with thy heart to build a house for My name, thou hast done well that it hath been with thy heart;

only, thou dost not build the house, but thy son who is coming out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name.

and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, there is not a God like Thee, in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants, those walking before Thee with all their heart,

who hast kept for Thy servant David my father that which Thou spakest to him; yea, Thou speakest with Thy mouth, and with Thy hand hast fulfilled it, as at this day.

And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for Thy servant David my father that which Thou spakest to him, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from before Me, sitting on the throne of Israel -- only, if thy sons watch their way, to walk before Me as thou hast walked before Me.

'And now, O God of Israel, let it be established, I pray Thee, Thy word which Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, David my father.

'Then thou hast turned unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and unto the prayer which Thy servant is praying before Thee to-day,

for Thine eyes being open towards this house night and day, towards the place of which Thou hast said, My Name is there; to hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant prayeth towards this place.

Then Thou hast hearkened unto the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they pray towards this place; yea, Thou dost hearken in the place of Thy dwelling, in the heavens -- and Thou hast hearkened, and hast forgiven,

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy servants, to declare wicked the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

'In Thy people Israel being smitten before an enemy, because they sin against Thee, and they have turned back unto Thee, and have confessed Thy name, and prayed, and made supplication unto Thee in this house,

then thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and brought them back unto the ground that Thou gavest to their fathers.

'In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against Thee, and they have prayed towards this place, and confessed Thy name, and from their sin turn back, for Thou dost afflict them,

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, for Thou directest them the good way in which they go, and hast given rain on Thy land which Thou hast given to Thy people for inheritance.

any prayer, any supplication that is of any man of all Thy people Israel, who know each the plague of his own heart, and hath spread his hands towards this house,

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast done, and hast given to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known -- Thyself alone -- the heart of all the sons of man),

And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and hath come from a land afar off for Thy name's sake --

(for they hear of Thy great name, and of Thy strong hand, and of Thy stretched-out arm) -- and he hath come in and prayed towards this house,

Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.

'When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemy, in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Jehovah the way of the city which thou hast fixed on, and of the house which I have builded for Thy name;

yea, they have turned back unto Thee, with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and have prayed unto Thee the way of their land, which Thou gavest to their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have builded for Thy name:

'Then Thou hast heard in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause,

and hast forgiven Thy people who have sinned against Thee, even all their transgressions which they have transgressed against Thee, and hast given them mercies before their captors, and they have had mercy on them --

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

for Thine eyes being open unto the supplication of Thy servant, and unto the supplication of Thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all they call unto Thee for;

for Thou hast separated them to Thyself for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, as Thou didst speak by the hand of Moses Thy servant, in Thy bringing out our fathers from Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.'

and Jehovah saith unto him, 'I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication with which thou hast made supplication before Me; I have hallowed this house that thou hast built to put My name there -- unto the age, and Mine eyes and My heart have been there all the days.

And thou -- if thou dost walk before Me as David thy father walked, in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee -- My statutes and My judgments thou dost keep --

then I have established the throne of thy kingdom over Israel -- to the age, as I spake unto David thy father, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from being on the throne of Israel.

And she saith unto the king, 'True hath been the word that I heard in my land, concerning thy matters and thy wisdom;

O the happiness of thy men, O the happiness of thy servants -- these -- who are standing before thee continually, who are hearing thy wisdom!

Jehovah thy God is blessed who delighted in thee, to put thee on the throne of Israel; in Jehovah's loving Israel to the age He doth set thee for king, to do judgment and righteousness.