And Joab falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and blesseth the king, and Joab saith, 'To-day hath thy servant known that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king hath done the word of his servant.'

And Joab riseth and cometh unto Absalom in the house, and saith unto him, 'Why have thy servants burned the portion that I have with fire?'

And Absalom saith unto Joab, 'Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? -- good for me while I am there -- and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.'

And Absalom saith, 'Who doth make me a judge in the land, that unto me doth come every man who hath a plea and judgment? -- then I have declared him righteous.'

for a vow hath thy servant vowed in my dwelling in Geshur, in Aram, saying, If Jehovah doth certainly bring me back to Jerusalem, then I have served Jehovah.'

and Absalom sendeth spies through all the tribes of Israel, saying, 'At your hearing the voice of the trumpet, then ye have said, Absalom hath reigned in Hebron.'

And with Absalom have gone two hundred men, out of Jerusalem, invited ones, and they are going in their simplicity, and have not known anything;

And David saith to all his servants who are with him in Jerusalem, 'Rise, and we flee, for we have no escape from the face of Absalom; haste to go, lest he hasten, and have overtaken us, and forced on us evil, and smitten the city by the mouth of the sword.'

and if thus He say, I have not delighted in thee; here am I, He doth to me as is good in His eyes.'

And David is going up in the ascent of the olives, going up and weeping, and he hath the head covered, and he is going barefooted, and all the people who are with him have covered each his head, and have gone up, going up and weeping;

Lo, there with them are their two sons, Ahimaaz to Zadok, and Jonathan to Abiathar, and ye have sent by their hand unto me anything that ye hear.'

And the king saith to Ziba, 'Lo, thine are all that Mephibosheth hath;' and Ziba saith, 'I have bowed myself -- I find grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king.'

And Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, have come in to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him,

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 come upon him, and he weary and feeble-handed, and I have caused him to tremble, and all the people have fled who are with him, and I have smitten the king by himself,

So that I have counselled: Let all Israel be diligently gathered unto thee, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and thou thyself art going in the midst;

and we have come in unto him in one of the places where he is found, and we are upon him as the dew falleth on the ground, and there hath not been left of him and of all the men who are with him even one.

And if unto a city he is gathered, then they have caused all Israel to bear unto that city ropes, and we have drawn it unto the brook till that there hath not been found there even a stone.'

And Hushai saith unto Zadok and unto Abiathar the priests, 'Thus and thus hath Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus I have counselled;

And Jonathan and Ahimaaz are standing at En-Rogel, and the maid-servant hath gone and declared to them -- and they go and have declared it to king David -- for they are not able to be seen to go in to the city.

And the servants of Absalom come in unto the woman to the house, and say, 'Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?' and the woman saith to them, 'They passed over the brook of water;' and they seek, and have not found, and turn back to Jerusalem.

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 the king saith unto them, 'That which is good in your eyes I do;' and the king standeth at the side of the gate, and all the people have gone out by hundreds and by thousands,

and they take Absalom and cast him in the forest unto the great pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel have fled -- each to his tent.

And Absalom hath taken, and setteth up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that is in the king's valley, for he said, 'I have no son to cause my name to be remembered;' and he calleth the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called 'The monument of Absalom' unto this day.

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 the king saith unto the Cushite, 'Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And the Cushite saith, 'Let them be -- as the youth -- the enemies of my lord the king, and all who have risen up against thee for evil.'

to love thine enemies, and to hate those loving thee, for thou hast declared to-day that thou hast no princes and servants, for I have known to-day that if Absalom were alive, and all of us to-day dead, that then it were right in thine eyes.

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 the king riseth, and sitteth in the gate, and to all the people they have declared, saying, 'Lo, the king is sitting in the gate;' and all the people come in before the king, and Israel hath fled, each to his tents.

and a thousand men are with him from Benjamin, and Ziba servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him, and they have gone prosperously over the Jordan before the king.

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 David saith, 'What -- to me and to you, O sons of Zeruiah, that ye are to me to-day for an adversary? to-day is any man put to death in Israel? for have I not known that to-day I am king over Israel?'

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.'

and the king saith unto Barzillai, 'Pass thou over with me, and I have sustained thee with me in Jerusalem.'

And, lo, all the men of Israel are coming unto the king, and they say unto the king, 'Wherefore have they stolen thee -- our brethren, the men of Judah?' (and they bring the king and his household over the Jordan, and all the men of David with him).

And all the men of Judah answer against the men of Israel, 'Because the king is near unto us, and why is this -- ye are displeased about this matter? have we at all eaten of the king's substance? a gift hath he lifted up to us?'

And the men of Israel answer the men of Judah, and say, 'Ten parts we have in the king, and also in David more than you; and wherefore have ye lightly esteemed us, that our word hath not been first to bring back our king?' And the word of the men of Judah is sharper than the word of the men of Israel.

And there hath been called there a man of worthlessness, and his name is Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjamite, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and saith, 'We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel.'

And every man of Israel goeth up from after David, after Sheba son of Bichri, and the men of Judah have cleaved to their king, from the Jordan even unto Jerusalem.

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 Amasa hath not been watchful of the sword that is in the hand of Joab, and he smiteth him with it unto the fifth rib, and sheddeth out his bowels to the earth, and he hath not repeated it to him, and he dieth; and Joab and Abishai his brother have pursued after Sheba son of Bichri.

And Amasa is rolling himself in blood, in the midst of the highway, and the man seeth that all the people have stood still, and he bringeth round Amasa out of the highway to the field, and casteth over him a garment, when he hath seen that every one who hath come by him -- hath stood still.

And the Gibeonites say to him, 'We have no silver and gold by Saul and by his house, and we have no man to put to death in Israel;' and he saith, 'What ye are saying I do to you.'

And they say unto the king, 'The man who consumed us, and who devised against us -- we have been destroyed from stationing ourselves in all the border of Israel --

let there be given to us seven men of his sons, and we have hanged them before Jehovah, in the height of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah.' And the king saith, 'I do give;'

and giveth them into the hand of the Gibeonites, and they hang them in the hill before Jehovah; and the seven fall together, and they have been put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, the commencement of barley-harvest.

And again have the Philistines war with Israel, and David goeth down, and his servants with him, and they fight with the Philistines; and David is weary,

these four have been born to the giant in Gath, and they fall by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

The cords of Sheol have surrounded me, Before me have been the snares of death.

Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by it.

For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not done wickedly against my God.

Thou enlargest my step under me, And mine ankles have not slidden.

And -- Thou dost deliver me From the strivings of my people, Thou placest me for a head of nations; A people I have not known do serve me.

And after him is Eleazar son of Dodo, son of Ahohi, of the three mighty men with David; in their exposing themselves among the Philistines -- they have been gathered there to battle, and the men of Israel go up --

And the king saith unto Joab, head of the host that is with him, 'Go to and fro, I pray thee, through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, and inspect ye the people -- and I have known the number of the people.'

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 David saith unto Gad, 'I have great distress, let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for many are His mercies, and into the hand of man let me not fall.'

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.'

and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty ones whom David hath, have not been with Adonijah.

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

and it hath been, when my lord the king lieth with his fathers, that I have been, I and my son Solomon -- reckoned sinners.'

And the king saith to them, 'Take with you the servants of your lord, and ye have caused Solomon my son to ride on mine own mule, and caused him to go down unto Gihon,

and anointed him there hath Zadok the priest -- and Nathan the prophet -- for king over Israel, and ye have blown with a trumpet, and said, Let king Solomon live;

and ye have come up after him, and he hath come in and hath sat on my throne, and he doth reign in my stead, and him I have appointed to be leader over Israel, and over Judah.'

And Adonijah heareth, and all those called, who are with him, and they have finished to eat, and Joab heareth the noise of the trumpet, and saith, 'Wherefore is the noise of the city roaring?'

and they anoint him -- Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet -- for king in Gihon, and are come up thence rejoicing, and the city is moved; it is the noise that ye have heard.

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 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 he saith, 'I have a word unto thee,' and she saith, 'Speak.'

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?

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 all Israel hear of the judgment that the king hath judged, and fear because of the king, for they have seen that the wisdom of God is in his heart, to do judgment.

And Solomon hath twelve officers over all Israel, and they have sustained the king and his household -- a month in the year is on each one for sustenance;

And these officers have sustained king Solomon and every one drawing near unto the table of king Solomon, each in his month; they let nothing be lacking.

and there come out of all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who have heard of his wisdom.

'Thou hast known David my father, that he hath not been able to build a house to the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars that have been round about him, till Jehovah's putting them under the soles of his feet.

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,

my servants bring down from Lebanon to the sea, and I make them floats in the sea unto the place that thou sendest unto me, and I have spread them out there; and thou dost take them up, and thou dost execute my desire, to give the food of my house.'

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 have tabernacled in the midst of the sons of Israel, and do not forsake My people Israel.'

And this is the work of the base: they have borders, and the borders are between the joinings;

And four wheels of brass are to the one base, and axles of brass; and its four corners have shoulders -- under the laver are the molten shoulders, beside each addition.

Thus he hath made the ten bases; one casting, one measure, one form, have they all.

and the priests have not been able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

I have surely built a house of habitation for Thee; a fixed place for Thine abiding to the ages.'

From the day that I brought out My people, even Israel, from Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of all the tribes of Israel, to build a house for My name being there; and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

But, is it true? -- God dwelleth on the earth! lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens do not contain Thee, how much less this house which I have builded!

'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,

'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,

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;

'When they sin against Thee (for there is not a man who sinneth not), and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them up before an enemy, and they have taken captive their captivity unto the land of the enemy far off or near;

and they have turned it back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely -- we have done wickedly;

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:

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 --

and these my words with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, are near unto Jehovah our God by day and by night, to maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel, the matter of a day in its day;