And he brought forth the people that were in it, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And Dav

And Amnon was so frustrated that he fell sick because of his sister Tamar. For she was a virgin, and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.

And he said to him, Why, O son of the king, are thou emaciated this way from day to day? Will thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, and he was laid down. And she took dough, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

And she took the pan, and poured them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have all men out from me. And they went out every man from him.

And when she had brought them near to him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lay with me, my sister.

And I, where shall I carry my shame? And as for thee, thou will be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from thee.

However he would not hearken to her voice, but being stronger than she, he forced her, and lay with her.

Then Amnon hated her with exceedingly great hatred, for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone.

And she said to him, Not so, because this great wrong in putting me forth is [worse] than the other that thou did to me. But he would not hearken to her.

Then he called his servant who ministered to him, and said, Put this woman out from me now, and bolt the door after her.

And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon thy brother been with thee? But now hold thy peace, my sister. He is thy brother. Do not take this thing to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.

But when king David heard of all these things, he was very angry.

And Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.

And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to thee. And he pressed him. However he would not go, but blessed him.

Then Absalom said, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee?

But Absalom pressed him, and he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.

And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice, and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept very much.

And [the soul of] king David longed to go forth to Absalom, for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.

And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they say, Deliver him who smote his brother that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he killed, and so destroy the heir also. Thus they will quench my co

And the king said, Whoever says anything to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember LORD thy God, that the avenger of blood not destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As LORD lives, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

And the woman said, Why then have thou devised such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word the king is as he who is guilty, in that the king does not fetch home again his banished one.

For we must die, and are as water split on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again, neither does God take away life, but devises means that he who is banished be not an outcast from him.

Now therefore seeing that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid. And thy handmaid said, I will now speak to the king. It may be that the king will perform the request of hi

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

And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and he did not see the king's face.

Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. And he sent again a second time, but he would not come.

Therefore 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.

So Joab came to the king, and told him. And when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.

And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so, that, when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, Of what city are thou? And he said, Thy

And it was so, that, when any man came near to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.

And the king said to him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.

And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom.

And David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee, for otherwise none of us shall escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil upon us, and smit

And the king said to Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the eyes of LORD he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation.

But if he says thus, I have no delight in thee, behold, here I am. Let him do to me as seems good to him.

And David went up by the ascent of the [mount of] Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head covered, and went barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they we

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, Today the house of Israel will restore for me the kingdom of my father.

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

And he 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 thus said Shimei when he cursed, Begone, begone, thou man of blood, and base fellow.

And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? Because he curses, and because LORD has said to him, Curse David, who then shall say, Why have thou done so?

And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeks my life. How much more [may] this Benjamite now [do it]? Let him alone, and let him curse, for LORD has bidden him.

So David and his men went by the way, and Shimei went along on the hill-side opposite him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

And the king, and all the people who were with him, came weary, and he refreshed himself there.

And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to thy father's concubines that he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that thou are abhorred by thy father. Then the hands of all who are with thee will be strong.

And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if a man inquired at the oracle of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

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

Then Absalom said, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he says.

Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some [other] place. And it will come to pass, when some of them are fallen at the first, that whoever hears it will say, There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.

And even he who is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men.

So 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 who are with him we will not leave so much as one.

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

And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, and arose, and got home to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself. And he died, and was buried in the sepulcher of his father.

Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak. And he was taken up between sky and earth, and t

Then Joab said, I will not delay thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the 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 Absa

Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, Let me now run, and bear the king news, how that LORD has avenged him of his enemies.

But come what may, [he said], I will run. And he said to him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.

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 saw another man running. And the watchman called to the porter, and said, Behold, [another] man running alone. And the king said, He also brings news.

And the watchman said, I think the running of the foremost 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 Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, All is well. And he bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, Blessed be LORD thy God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the ki

And the king said, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.

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

And all the people were contending throughout all 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 fled out of the land from Absalom.

And he inclined the heart of all the men of Judah, even as [the heart of] one man, so that they sent to the king, [saying], Return thou, and all thy servants.

And there went over a ferry-boat to bring over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he came over the Jordan.

And he said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity to me, neither remember thou that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed LORD's anointed?

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

And it came to pass, when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, Why did thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?

And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For thy servant said, I will saddle for me a donkey, that I may ride on it, and go with the king, because thy servant is lame.

And he has slandered thy servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is as an agent of God; do therefore what is good in thine eyes.

And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim. And he went over the Jordan with the king to conduct him over the Jordan.

Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old. And he had provided the king with sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man [of wealth].

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 all the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over. And the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.

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

And there happened to be there a base fellow whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his te

And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up

So Amasa went to call [the men of] Judah together, but he delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

And David said to Abishai, Now will 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 out of our sight.

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. And Joab was girded with his apparel of war that he had put on, and on it was a belt with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath of it. And as he

But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand. So he smote him with it in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again, and he died. And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba th

And there stood by him one of Joab's young men, and said, He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab.

And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who

When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-maacah, and all the Berites. And they were gathered together, and also went after him.

And he came near to her, and the woman said, Are thou Joab? And he answered, I am. Then she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.

Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab re

And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of LORD. And LORD said, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put to death the Gibeonites.

And the Gibeonites said to him, It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house, neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that I will do for you.

And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites. And they hanged them in the mountain before LORD, and they fell [all] seven together. And they were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of

and he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged.

and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred [shekels] of brass in weight, he being girded with a new [sword], thought to have slain David.

And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, twenty-four in number, and he also was born to the giant.