But David saw that his servants whispered. And David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, Is the boy dead? And they said, He is dead.

Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the living boy, but when the child was dead you arose and ate bread!

But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

And it happened after this Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar. And Amnon the son of David loved her.

And Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah. And Jonadab was a very crafty man.

And I, where shall I cause my shame to go? And as for you, you shall be as one of the fools in Israel. But now please speak to the king. For he will not withhold me from you.

And she said to him, There is no cause. This evil in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me. But he would not listen to her.

And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Do not set your heart on this thing. And Tamar remained desolate in the house of her brother Absalom.

And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be too heavy upon you. And he pressed him. He would not go, however, but blessed him.

Then Absalom said, If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us? And the king said to him, Why should he go with you?

And Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, And watch when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Strike Amnon, you shall kill him. Do not fear. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous, and be brave.

And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. And all the king's sons arose. And they each got on his mule and fled.

And it happened while they were in the way, news came to David, saying, Absalom has killed all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.

And Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah answered and said, Let not my lord think that they have killed all the young men, the king's sons. For only Amnon is dead. For by the mouth of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he humbled his sister Tamar.

And now do not let my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead, for only Amnon is dead.

And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons come; as your servant said, so it is.

And it happened as soon as he had made an end of speaking, behold, the king's sons came. And they lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept with a great weeping.

And Joab sent to Tekoah and brought a wise woman from there. And he said to her, Please pretend yourself to be a mourner, and put on mourning clothes now, and do not anoint yourself with oil. But be like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.

And behold, the whole family has risen against your handmaid. And they said, Deliver him who struck his brother so that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he killed. And we will destroy the heir also. And so they shall put out my coal which is left, and shall leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the face of the earth.

Then she said, Please let the king remember Jehovah your God, that you would not allow the avengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they should destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of your son fall to the earth.

And the woman said, Why then have you thought such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is at fault, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again.

For we must all die, and we are as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. And God does not take a life, but has devised plans so that the outcast is not cast out from Him.

And your handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comforting. For as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, to see what is good and bad. And Jehovah your God will be with you.

And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with you in all this? And the woman answered and said, As your soul lives, my lord the king, none shall turn to the right hand or to the left from anything which my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me. And he put all these words in the mouth of your handmaid.

Your servant Joab has done this thing to change the face of the matter. And my lord is wise according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is in the land.

And there were born three sons to Absalom, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a woman with a beautiful face.

And he said to his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire! And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.

And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent to you, saying, Come here so that I may send you to the king, to say, Why have I come from Geshur? It was good for me to be there still. And now let me see the king's face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.

And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so, if any man had a suit to come before the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him and said, What city are you from? And he said, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the ram's horn, then you shall say, Absalom reigns in Hebron!

And David said to all his servants with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee! For otherwise we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why do you also go with us? Return to your place, and stay with the king. For you are a stranger, and also an exile.

Since you came only yesterday, should I make you go up and down with us today? Since I go where I may, you may return and take back your brothers. May mercy and truth be with you.

And Ittai answered the king and said, As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will your servant be.

But if He says this, I have no delight in you; behold me, and let Him do to me as seems good to Him.

And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet. And he wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot. And of all the people with him, each man covered his head. And they went up, weeping as they went.

And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Jehovah, I pray You, turn the advice of Ahithophel to foolishness.

And the king said to Ziba, What are these to you? And Ziba said, The asses are for the king's household to ride upon. And the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. And the wine is so that the ones who are faint in the wilderness may drink.

And the king said, And where is your master's son? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he remains at Jerusalem. For he said, Today the house of Israel shall restore to me the kingdom of my father.

And the king said to Ziba, Behold, All that belonged to Mephibosheth is yours. And Ziba said, I humbly beg you that I may find grace in your sight, my lord, O king.

And King David came to Bahurim. And, behold, a man of the house of Saul came out from there, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came out, and he came cursing.

Jehovah has returned on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. And Jehovah has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. And behold, you are taken in your mischief, because you are a man of blood!

And David and his men went by the highway. And Shimei went along on the hillside over across from him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and threw dust.

And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this your kindness to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?

And again, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father's presence, so I will be in your presence.

And the advice of Ahithophel, which he advised in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom.

And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and I will make him tremble. And all the people with him will flee. And I will strike the king by himself.

And Absalom said, Please call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what is in his mouth.

And Hushai said to Absalom, The advice which Ahithophel has given is not good at this time.

For, Hushai said, you know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are bitter of soul, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is a man of war, and will not stay the night with the people.

Behold, he is hidden now in some pit, or in one of the places. And it shall be, at the falling among them at the first, whoever hears will say, There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.

And also he, the son of valor, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and they who are with him are mighty men.

Therefore I advise that all Israel be generally gathered to you, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, like the sand that is by the sea for multitude. And you yourself shall go into battle.

And if he has gotten into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until there is not one small stone found there.

And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For Jehovah had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Jehovah might bring evil on Absalom.

And it happened after they had departed, they came up out of the well, and went and told King David. And they said to David, Arise and pass quickly over the waters, for this is what Ahithophel has advised against you.

And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, even he saddled the ass and arose, and went home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order. And he hanged himself and died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.

But the people answered, You shall not go forth. For if we run away, they will not set their heart on us, even if half of us die. For now you are worth ten thousand of us. And now it is better that you remain to help us from the city.

And the king said to them, I will do what is good in your eyes. And the king stood by the side of the gate, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.

Or I would have dealt falsely with my own life, for there is no matter hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.

And Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the King's Valley. For he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance. And he called the pillar after his own name. And it is called until this day, Absalom's monument.

And Joab said to him, You shall not bear news today, but you shall bear good news some other day. But today you shall bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.

And the watchman cried and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone, there is news in his mouth. And he came apace and drew near.

And the watchman said, I see the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and comes with good news.

And the king said to Cushi, Peace to the young man, to Absalom? And Cushi answered, May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do you hurt, be as the young man.

And the king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said this, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son!

And the people went up secretly into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

By loving your enemies and hating those who love you, you have declared today that there are neither commanders nor servants to you. For I know that today if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would have pleased you very much!

And it happened, all the people quarreled throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines. And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.

And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. And now why do you not speak a word about bringing the king back?

And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as one man, so that they sent to the king, saying, Return, you and all your servants.

And they had crossed over the ford to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he had come over Jordan.

And he answered, My lord, O, king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, I will saddle me an ass so that I may ride on it and go to the king, because your servant is lame.

And he spoke slander against your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is as an angel of God. And do what is good in your eyes.

And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near to us. Why then are you angry for this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king's cost? Or has he given us any gift?

And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we also have more right in David than you. Why then did you despise us, so that our advice should not be sought first in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were more fierce than the words of the men of Israel.

And David said to Abishai, And Sheba the son of Bichri shall do us more harm than Absalom. You take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself into fortified cities and escape us.

They were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, and Amasa had gone before them. And Joab was girded with his war-coat as his clothing. And upon it was a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins, in its sheath. And as he went forth, it fell out.

And one of Joab's men stood by him and said, He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, go after Joab!

Then a wise woman cried out of the city, Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, Come near here so that I may speak with you.

The matter is not so. But a man of Mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Only deliver him, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.

And they answered the king, The man who destroyed us, and who devised against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Israel,

let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give them.

And Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight. And he being girded with a new sword thought to kill David.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, You shall not go out to battle with us any more, so that you do not put out the light of Israel.

And there was again a battle with the Philistines in Gob, where Elhanan of Bethlehem, the son of Jaare-oregim, killed one of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

And he said, Jehovah is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer.

The God who is my Rock, in Him will I trust. He is my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower, and my Refuge, my Savior. You save me from violence.

I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised. And I shall be saved from my enemies.

For all His judgments were before me. And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

As for God, His way is perfect. The Word of Jehovah is tried. He is a shield to all those who seek refuge in Him.

For who is God, except Jehovah? And who is a rock except our God?

God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.

Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I stamped them like the mire of the streets and spread them out.

Strangers shall submit themselves to me. As soon as they hear, they shall obey me.

It is God who avenges me and who brings down the peoples under me,

He is the Tower of salvation for His king, and He shows mercy to His anointed, to David and to his seed, forevermore.

is as the light of the morning, as the sun rises, a morning without clouds. The tender grass springs out of the earth through shining after rain.

Although my house is not so with God, yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. For all my salvation, and all my desire, will He not make it grow?

And he said, Be it far from me, O Jehovah, that I should do this. Is it not the blood of the men who went in danger of their lives? And he would not drink it. These three mighty men did these things.