And afterwards David heard it, and he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before Jehovah for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner:

let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that has an issue, or that is a leper, or that leans on a staff, or that falls by the sword, or that lacks bread!

And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David followed the bier.

Thy hands were not bound, Nor thy feet put into fetters; As a man falleth before wicked men, Fellest thou! And all the people wept again over him.

And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread or aught else till the sun be down!

And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me: Jehovah reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness!

And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were enfeebled, and all Israel was troubled.

And the Beerothites had fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.

how much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? and should I not now demand his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron; and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

And these are the names of those that were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,

And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale-Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God which is called by the name, the name of Jehovah of hosts who sitteth between the cherubim.

and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.

When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

Wherefore thou art great, Jehovah Elohim; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And now, Lord Jehovah, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;

And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

and Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him; for Hadadezer was continually at war with Toi. And he brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.

and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was scribe;

and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

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

And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

And they told it to David; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;

and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might array them against the children of Ammon.

Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah do what is good in his sight.

And Joab drew near, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him.

And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

And Hadarezer sent, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

And all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they laid waste the land of the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem.

And when Urijah had come to him, David asked how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, and how the war prospered.

And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields: shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

And it came to pass as Joab watched the city, that he assigned Urijah to a place where he knew that the valiant men were.

Then Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war;

and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast ended telling the matters of the war to the king,

And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out against us into the field, and we were upon them as far as the entrance of the gate.

And the shooters shot from upon the wall against thy servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice; and how shall we say to him, The child is dead? he may do some harm.

And he brought out the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkilns. And so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Now she had a vest of many colours upon her; for so were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. And his attendant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.

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

And now let not my lord the king take the thing to heart, to say, All the king's sons are dead; for Amnon only is dead.

And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth.

For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and God has not taken away his life, but devises means that the banished one be not expelled from him.

And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy bondmaid:

And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.

And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a beautiful countenance.

And Absalom said to him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man to hear thee appointed by the king.

And Absalom said, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who has any controversy and cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!

And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were invited; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew nothing.

And there came one to David who reported saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.

And David said to all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Rise up and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom. Be quick to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.

And the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why dost thou also go with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king; for thou art a foreigner, and besides, thou hast emigrated to the place where thou dwellest.

And Ittai answered the king and said, As Jehovah liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.

And the king said to Zadok the priest, Thou art the seer: return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

And it came to pass, when David had come to the summit, where he worshipped God, that behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head.

And the king said to Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses are for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruits for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as are faint in the wilderness may drink.

And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he abides at Jerusalem; for he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

And the king said to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained to Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly bow myself: may I find favour in thy sight, my lord, O king.

and cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.

And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to thy father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art become odious with thy father; and the hands of all that are with thee shall be strong.

and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid; and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only;

And Hushai said, Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are of exasperated spirit, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field; and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.

Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or some such place; and it will come to pass, when some of them fall at the first, whoever heareth it will say, There has been slaughter among the people that follow Absalom,

and even the valiant man whose heart is as the heart of a lion shall utterly melt; for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man, and they that are with him are valiant men.

And we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

And now send quickly, and tell David saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

And Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, and said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They have gone over the brook of water. And they sought and could not find them, and returned to Jerusalem.

Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over the Jordan; by the morning light there was not one of them missing that had not gone over the Jordan.

and honey, and cream, and sheep, and cheese of kine to David, and to the people that were with him, to eat; for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.

And David marshalled the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.

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

And the people of Israel were routed before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day: twenty thousand men.

And the man said to Joab, Though I should receive a thousand silver pieces in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son; for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Take care, whoever it be of you, of the young man Absalom.

Or I should have acted falsely against mine own life, for there is no matter concealed from the king, and thou wouldest have set thyself against me.

in that thou lovest them that hate thee, and hatest those that love thee. For thou hast declared this day, that neither princes nor servants are anything to thee: for to-day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died to-day, then it would have been right in thine eyes.

And all the people were at strife throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land because of Absalom.

And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle; and now why are ye silent as to bringing the king back?

And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak to the elders of Judah saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, to his house.

Ye are my brethren, ye are my bone and my flesh; and why will ye be the last to bring back the king?

And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they forded the Jordan before the king.

For all my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king; and thou didst set thy servant among them that eat at thine own table. What further right therefore have I? and for what should I cry any more to the king?

And Barzillai said to the king, How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David's men with him, over the Jordan?

And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to me; and why then are ye angry for this matter? have we eaten anything which came from the king, or has he given us any present?

And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, I have ten parts in the king and I have also more right in David than thou; and why didst thou slight me? and was not my advice the first, to bring back my king? And the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.

And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women, concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in a house of confinement and maintained them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom. Take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities and escape our sight.

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. And Joab was girded with his coat, his dress, and upon it was the girdle of the sword which was fastened on his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out.

And they came and besieged him in Abel-Beth-Maacah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it was raised in the trench; and all the people that were with Joab sapped the wall, to throw it down.

And she spoke saying, They were wont to speak in old time saying, Just inquire in Abel; and so they ended.

And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;