And David said unto the young man that told him, "How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?"

And the young man that told him, said, "I was by chance in mount Gilboa. And see, Saul leaned upon his spear, and the chariots and horsemen followed him at the heels.

And he said unto me, 'What art thou?' And I said unto him, 'I am an Amalekite.'

And he said unto me, 'Come on me and slay me: For anguish is come upon me and my life is yet all in me.'

Then said David unto the young man that brought him tidings, "Whence art thou?" And he said, "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite."

And David said unto him, "How is it that thou wast not afraid to lay thine hand on the LORD's anointed, to destroy him?"

And David called one of his young men, and said, "Go and run upon him." And he smote him that he died.

Then said David unto him, "Thy blood upon thine own head; for thine own mouth hath testified against thee, saying, 'I have slain the LORD's anointed.'"

After this David asked the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Juda? And the LORD said, "Go." And David answered, "Whither shall I go?" He answered, "Unto Hebron."

he sent messengers unto them and said unto them, "Blessed are ye unto the LORD, that ye have showed such kindness unto your lord Saul, and have buried him.

And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the Pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one part on the one side the pool and the other on the other side.

And Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men arise and play before us." And Joab answered, "Be it."

And they caught each his fellow that came against him, by the head and thrust his sword in his side, and so fell down all at once. Wherefore the place was called Helkathhazzurim which is in Gibeon.

Then Abner looked behind him and said, "Art thou Asahel?" And he said, "Yea."

Then said Abner, "Turn thee either to the righthand or to the left and catch one of the young men and take thee his spoil." But Asahel would not depart from him.

And Abner said again to Asahel, "Turn from me! Why wilt thou that I smite thee to the ground? For then how should I hold up my face before Joab thy brother?"

Then Abner called to Joab, and said, "Shall the sword devour without end? Knowest thou not that bitterness is wont to come in the latter end? How long shall it be, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?"

And Joab answered, "As truly as God liveth, if thou hadst so said, then even in the morning had the people departed, each from following his brother."

And Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbosheth said to Abner, "Wherefore liest thou with my father's concubine?"

Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, "Am I a dog's head, then? That I, against Judah, do mercy unto the house of Saul thy father - and unto his brethren and kinsfolk - and have not delivered them into the hand of David? And thou layest a trespass to my charge this day for a woman's sake?

and bring the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, even from Dan to Beersheba."

And Abner sent messengers to David forthwith, saying, "Whose is the land?" And he said thereto, "Make a bond with me, and see, my hand is with thee, to bring all Israel unto thee."

And David answered, "Well said. I will make a bond with thee. But one thing I require of thee, that thou see not my face, except thou first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see me."

And her husband went with her, and came weeping behind her, till they came to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, "Go and return." And he returned.

Now then, do it. For the LORD hath said of David, 'By the hand of my servant David, I will save my people Israel; out of the hands of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.'"

Then Abner said unto David, "I will up and go gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make an appointment with thee, that thou mayest be king over all that thine heart desireth." And so David let Abner depart, and he went in peace.

Then Joab went to the king, and said, "What hast thou done? See, Abner came unto thee, why hast thou sent him away, that he should escape quite?

And when it afterward came to David's ear, he said, "I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD forever, concerning the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

And David said to Joab and to all the people that were with him, "Rent your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And king David himself followed the bier.

And the king lamented over Abner and said, "Abner died not as a wretch dieth.

And the people wist it, and it pleased them, as well as all other good things which the king did in the sight of the people.

And the king said unto his servants, "Know ye not, how that there is a lord, and that a great, fallen this day in Israel?

And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David, to Hebron and said to the king, "Behold there the head of Ishbosheth Saul's son, thine enemy, which sought thy soul. But the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and of his seed."

And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, "As surely as the LORD liveth, which hath delivered my soul out of all adversities:

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and said, "See, we are thy bones and thy flesh.

And thereto in time past when Saul was king over us, thou leddest Israel in and out. And the LORD hath said to thee, 'Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.'"

Then went the king and his men to Jerusalem, unto the Jebusites the inhabiters of the land. And they said unto David, "Except thou take away the blind and the lame thou shalt not come in hither" - meaning thereby that David should not have come in thither.

Then said David the same day, "Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, and getteth up to the gutters of the houses: smite the lame and the blind that hate David's soul." Wherefore they said, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house."

And David asked of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go to the Philistines? And wilt thou deliver them into my hands?" And the LORD said unto David, "Go, for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hands."

And David came to Baalperazim and smote them there, and said, "The LORD hath divided mine enemies asunder before me, as a man would divide water." And therefore he called the name of the said place, Baalperazim.

And David asked the LORD, and he said, "Go not. But compass them on the back side and come down upon them from the pear trees.

And David was then afraid of the LORD and said, "How should the Ark of the LORD come to my house?"

And when they had brought in the Ark of the LORD, and had set it even in his place, even in the tabernacle that David had prepared for it: David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

Then David returned to salute his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out against him, and said, "Oh how glorious was the king of Israel today, which stripped himself today before the eyes of the maidens of his servants, as a light-brained fellow is wont to strip himself."

But David said again to Michal, "I thought to dance before the LORD - which chose me, rather thy father and all his kin, and commanded me to be ruler over all the people of the LORD, even over Israel.

And therefore will I play before the LORD, and will yet be more vile than so, and I will be meek in mine own sight: and of the very same maidservants which thou hast spoken of, shall I be had in honour."

he said unto Nathan the prophet, "Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar trees, but the Ark of God dwelleth in the midst of curtains."

Then said Nathan unto the king, "Go, and do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee."

And I was with thee in all that thou wentest to, and have destroyed all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men of the world.

And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou laid to rest with thy fathers, then I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy body, and will establish his kingdom.

And he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the seat of his kingdom forever:

And thine house and thy kingdom shall endure without end after thee, and thy seat shall be established forever.'"

then went King David and set him down before the LORD and said, "What am I, Lord Jehovah, and what is my kin, that thou shouldest have brought me this far forth?

And is this a small thing in thy sight Lord Jehovah, but that thou shouldest speak also of thy servant's house for a great while to come? Is this a law among men Lord Jehovah?

And now, LORD God, the thing thou hast said of thy servant and of his house: make it good forever and do as thou hast said.

And now go to and bless the household of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee. For thou, Lord Jehovah, hast said that of thy blessing the house of thy servant shall be blessed forever."

Then said David, "Is there yet any man left of the house of Saul, that I may show him mercy for Jonathan's sake?"

And there was, of the household of Saul, a servant named Ziba which was called unto David. And the king said unto him, "Art thou Ziba?" And he said, "Thy servant is the man."

Then said the king, "Remaineth there yet any man of the kindred of Saul, whom I may show the mercy of God upon?" And Ziba said unto the king, "Jonathan hath yet a son which is lame on both feet."

And the king said unto him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said unto the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lodebar."

Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul was come unto David, he bowed himself and fell on his face. Then said David, "Mephibosheth?" And he answered, "Behold thy servant."

And David said, "Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan's sake and will restore thee all the fields of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat meat on mine own table always."

And the other bowed himself and said, "What is thy servant that thou shouldst vouchsafe to look upon such a dead dog as I am?"

Then said Ziba unto the king, "All that my lord hath said unto his servant, thy servant shall do." "For," said the king, "Mephibosheth must eat upon my table, as one of the king's sons."

Then said David, "I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me." And thereupon David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants over the death of his father. Now when David's servants were come into the land of the children of Ammon,

the lords of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, "Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, because he hath sent to comfort thee? Nay, he hath rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city and to spy it out, even to overthrow it."

When it was told David he sent against them - for they were men exceedingly ashamed - and said, "Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return."

And he said, "If the Syrians overcome me, then succor me. But if the children of Ammon be too good for thee, I will come and succor thee.

And when the woman had perceived that she had conceived, she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."

And David said moreover to Uriah, "Go down to thine house and wash thy feet." And Uriah departed out of the king's palace, and there followed him a service from the king's table.

Then they told David, saying, "Uriah descended not into his house." Then said David unto Uriah, "Seeing that thou art come from journeying, why dost thou not go down unto thine house?"

And Uriah said unto David, "The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in pavilions; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord lie in tents upon the flat earth - and should I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By thy life and as sure as thy soul liveth, I will not do that thing."

Then said David unto Uriah, "Tarry here this day also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart." And so Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day and on the morrow.

and said unto David, "The men prevail against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we stuck unto them, even unto the entering of the gate.

Then said David unto the messenger, "Thus wise say unto Joab, 'Let not that thing trouble thee. For the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city and destroy it, and see that thou courage, Joab."

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him and said unto him, "There were two men in one city, a rich and a poor.

And David was exceeding wroth with the man, and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD liveth, the fellow that hath done this thing is the child of death

Then Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man. Thus sayeth the LORD God of Israel, 'I anointed thee king over Israel and rid thee out of the hands of Saul.

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do wickedness in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and hast taken his wife to thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

Thus sayeth the LORD, 'Behold, I will stir up evil against thee even of thine own house and will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, which shall sleep with them in the sight of the sun.

Then said David unto Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said again to David, "The LORD hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

And it happened the seventh day that the child died. But the servants of David durst not tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "See, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice. How much more then will he vex himself if we tell him that the child is dead?"

But David saw his servants whispering and thereby perceived that the child was dead, and said unto his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "Yea."

Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his apparel, and went into the house of the LORD and prayed; and after came to his own house and bade that they should set meat before him, and he did eat.

Then said his servants unto him, "What is this that thou hast done? Thou did fast and weep for thy child while it was alive, and as soon as it was dead thou didst rise up and didst eat meat."

And he took the king's crown from off his head, which weighed a hundred weight of gold, and was set with precious stones. And David wore it on his head. And he brought out the spoil of the city in exceeding great abundance.

And he said unto him, "How cometh it that thou, being the king's son, art thus consumed every morning? Mayest thou not tell it me?" And Amnon answered him, "I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."

Then said Jonadab unto him, "Lie on thy bed and feign thyself sick. And when thy father is come to see thee, say unto him, 'Let my sister Tamar come and give me meat and dress it in my sight, that I may see it and eat it of her hand."

And Amnon lay down and made himself sick. And when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto him, "Let Tamar my sister come and make me a couple of fritters in my sight, that I may eat of her hand."

When Tamar came to her brother Amnon's house, he lay. And she took flour and made paste and made fritters in his sight and did bake them,

Then said Amnon unto Tamar, "Bring the meat into the chamber that I may eat it of thine hand." And Tamar took the fritters which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother,

and set them before him to eat. And he took her and said unto her, "Come, lie with me my sister."

And then Amnon hated her exceedingly: so that the hate wherewith he hated her was greater than the love with which he before loved her. And he said unto her, "Up, and away."

Then she said unto him, "This great cruelness, that thou puttest me away, passeth the other that thou didst unto me." Nevertheless he would not hear her,

but called his lad that waited upon him, and said, "Put her out at the doors from me and bolt the door after her."

Then Absalom her brother said unto her, "Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? Now then, be still my sister: for he is thy brother. And let not this thing grieve thine heart." And so Tamar remained discomforted in her brother Absalom's house.

And Absalom said unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. Howbeit, Absalom hated Amnon because he had forced his sister Tamar.

And he came to the king and said, "Behold, thy servant hath a sheep shearing. Let the king and his servants come with thy servant."

And the king said unto Absalom, "Oh nay my son let us not go every one of us that we be not chargeable unto thee." And Absalom lay sore upon him: howbeit, he would not go, but blessed him.

Then said Absalom, "Then let my brother Amnon go with us." And the king answered, "What needeth it that he go with thee?"