But the Arameans retreated from Israel, and David's forces killed 700 of their charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and mortally wounded Shobach, the commander of their army. As a result, Shobach died there.

David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"

So as Joab began to attack the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew valiant men would be stationed.

The messenger told David, "The men surprised us and attacked us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate.

Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's staff members are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite has died as well."

Nathan approached David and said, "There are two men in the city. One is rich and one is poor. The rich man has many flocks and herds,

David flew into a rage at the man and told Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

But Nathan replied to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ""I anointed you king and you became king over Israel. ""I delivered you from Saul's control.

""Why did you despise what the LORD has promised by doing what is detestable in his sight? ""You struck down Uriah the Hittite with a battle sword. ""You took his wife to be your own. ""You killed him with the sword of the Ammonite army.

"This is what the LORD says: ""Listen very carefully! ""I'm raising up evil against you right out of your own household. ""I'm going to take your wives away from you right before your eyes. ""Then I'll give them to your neighbor. ""And then he's going to have sex with your wives in broad daylight!

""What you did in secret I'm going to do right in front of all Israel and in broad daylight as well!'"

But as David observed his staff whispering together, he perceived that the child had died, so he asked his staff, "Is the child dead?" They replied, "He has died."

But as soon as she brought them near him to eat, he overpowered her and told her, "Come here and have sex with me, my sister!"

And what about me? Where will I go to escape this disgrace? And as for you, you'll be known as one of Israel's greatest fools! So please talk to the king, because he won't withhold me from you!"

Afterwards, though, Amnon hated her very intensely. As a result, his hatred for her exceeded the love that he had previously for her. So Amnon told her, "Get up! Leave!"

Tamar rubbed her head with ashes, tore her tunic that she was wearing, put her hand to her head, and ran off, crying aloud as she went away.

So Absalom responded, "If you aren't coming, please allow my brother Amnon to accompany us." The king asked, "Why should he go with you?"

Then Absalom instructed his young men, "Please keep watching Amnon until he's drunk. Then I'll tell you, "Attack Amnon!' As soon as I do, kill him and don't be afraid! You have your orders, so be strong and brave!"

So Absalom's young men did to Amnon just as they had been ordered, but the rest of David's sons jumped up, mounted their mules, and escaped.

Now your majesty, don't be concerned about this rumor that all the king's sons have died, because only Amnon is dead."

Just as he finished his comments, the king's sons arrived, crying loudly. At this, with tears overflowing, the king and his entire staff wept bitterly.

so he sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, "Please play the role of a mourner, wear the clothes of a mourner, and refrain from using makeup. Act like a woman who's been in mourning for the dead for many days.

Now please pay attention closely! My whole family is attacking your humble servant! They're saying, "Turn over the one who attacked his brother and we'll put him to death in retribution for his brother, whose life he took. That way, we'll kill the heir also!' They're going to extinguish the only light left in my family, leaving my late husband neither an ongoing name nor a survivor on the face of the earth!"

Then she said, "Your majesty, please remember the LORD your God, so that blood avengers don't do any more damage! Otherwise, they'll destroy my son!" So he promised, "As the LORD lives, not even a single hair from your son's head will fall to the ground!"

"Why, then," the woman asked, "are you planning to act just like this against God's people? Based on what your majesty has said, you're acting like one who is guilty himself, because you're not bringing back the one whom you've banished!

After all, even though we all die, and we're all like water being spilled on the ground that cannot be recovered, nevertheless God doesn't take away life, but carries out his plans so as not to cast away permanently from him those who are presently estranged.

"Now as to why I've come to speak with your majesty the king, it's because the people have made me afraid, so your humble servant told herself, "I'll go speak to the king, so perhaps the king will do what his humble servant has requested.

Perhaps the king will listen and deliver his humble servant from the oppression of the man who intends to eliminate both me and my son from what God has apportioned to us!'

"So your humble servant is saying, "Please, your majesty, let what the king has to say be of comfort, because just as the angel of God is, so also is your majesty the king to discern both good and evil. And may the LORD your God remain present with you.'"

Then the king asked, "Is Joab behind all of this with you?"

"As your soul lives, your majesty, the king," the woman answered, "no one can divert anything left or right from what your majesty the king has spoken! As a matter of fact, it was your servant Joab! He was there, giving me precise orders about everything that your humble servant was to say. Your servant Joab did this, intending to change the outcome of this matter. Nevertheless, your majesty is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to be aware of everything that's going on throughout the earth."

Now throughout all of Israel no one was as handsome as Absalom or so highly praised, from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there wasn't a single thing wrong about him.

Whenever he cut his hair he cut it at the end of every year, because it grew thick on his head, which is why he cut it his hair weighed in at 200 shekels measured by the royal standard.

Then he would get up early, stand near the passageway to the palace gate, and when anyone arrived to file a legal complaint for a hearing before the king, Absalom would call to him and ask, "You're from what city?" If he replied, "Your servant is from one of Israel's tribes,"

But Absalom sent agents throughout all of the tribes of Israel, telling them, "When you hear the sound of the battle trumpet, you're to announce that Absalom is king in Hebron."

So David told all of his staff who were with him in Jerusalem, "Let's get up and get out of here! Otherwise, none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he'll overtake us quickly, bring disaster on all of us, and execute the inhabitants of the city!"

All of his staff were going on ahead of him that is, all of the special forces and mercenaries, all of the Gittites, and 600 men who had come to serve him from Gath, went on ahead of the king.

Then the king suggested to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you have to go with us? Return and stay with the new king, since you're a foreigner and exile. Stay where you want to stay.

It seems only yesterday that you arrived, so should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May gracious love and truth accompany you!"

"As the LORD lives," Ittai answered in reply, "and as your majesty the king lives, wherever your majesty my king may be whether living or dying that's where your servant will be!"

David then left, going up the Mount of Olives, crying as he went, with his head covered and his feet bare. All of the people who were with him covered their own heads and climbed up the Mount of Olives, crying as they went along.

Just then, someone told David, "Ahithophel is one of Absalom's conspirators!" So David prayed, "LORD, please turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."

Just as David was coming to the top of the Mount of Olives where God was being worshipped, there was Hushai the Archite to meet him, with his coat ripped and dust all over his head!

So go back to the city and tell Absalom, "I'll be your servant, your majesty! Just as I served your father in the past, I can be your servant now.' That way you can manipulate Ahithophel's advice to my benefit.

So David's friend Hushai went back to the city just as Absalom was arriving in Jerusalem.

Now just as David happened to have passed the summit of the Mount of Olives, suddenly Mephibosheth's servant Ziba met him, accompanied by a couple of saddled donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 pieces of summer fruit, and a skin of wine!

The king asked Ziba, "What are those for?" Ziba replied, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for your young men to eat, and the wine is for whoever wants to drink if they get weary in the wilderness."

Then the king asked, "Where is your master's son?" "He's staying in Jerusalem!" Ziba answered the king. "He's saying "The nation of Israel will restore my father's kingdom to me today!'"

So the king told Ziba, "Pay attention! Everything that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!" In response Ziba said, "I'm submitting to you. Let me find favor in your sight, your majesty the king!"

Later on, as King David approached Bahurim, Gera's son Shimei, who was related to the family of Saul's household, went out to meet David, cursing continually as he approached.

"Get out of here! Get out!" Shimei yelled as he cursed. "You murderer! You who think you're above the law!

The LORD has repaid you personally for murdering the entire dynasty of Saul, whose place you've taken to reign! And the LORD has given the kingdom into your son Absalom's control. Now look! Your own evil has caught up with you, because you're guilty of murder!"

So David ordered Abishai and all of his staff: "Look! My own son wants to kill me! How much more now is this descendant of Benjamin? Leave him alone and let him go on cursing, because the LORD has ordered him to do this.

So David and his entourage went on their way, and Shimei walked along the hillside with him, cursing, throwing rocks, and tossing dirt at David as they went along.

But Absalom asked Hushai, "So this is how you demonstrate your loyalty to your closest friends? Why didn't you leave with your friend?"

Hushai replied, "No! On the contrary, whomever the LORD, this group, and all the men of Israel choose is where I'll be, and I'll remain with him!

"I'll catch him while he is still tired and weak. I'll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I'll only kill the king.

Then I'll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you're looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly."

"Ahithophel's advice is not best at this time," Hushai suggested to Absalom.

"You know how strong your father and his men are. They're as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won't stay with his army at night.

Look! He's probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, "Absalom's army is losing!'

Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant!

Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's!"

The man's wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place.

A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, "Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you""

Dividing his forces into three groups, he set Joab as commander of one third of his army, Zeruiah's son Abishai, Joab's brother, as commander of another third, and Ittai from Gath as commander of another third. The king informed the army, "I'm going out to battle with you, too."

"No way!" his army responded. "If we have to retreat from the battle, Absalom's men won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care about us. But you are worth 10,000 of us. The best thing you can do for us is to remain in the city."

So David responded, "I'll do what you think best." Then he stood alongside the city gate as the army went out in battle array by hundreds and thousands.

As they were going out, the king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, "Treat young Absalom gently for my sake." Everyone heard what the king had ordered his commanders about Absalom.

Absalom happened to run into David's soldiers. While Absalom was trying to get away on his mule, it ran under the thick branches of a giant oak tree, and Absalom's head got caught in the tree! As his mule ran out from under him, Absalom was left hanging above the ground.

Ten young men who served as Joab's personal assistants then surrounded Absalom, striking him repeatedly and killing him.

While Absalom had been living, he had erected a pillar as a monument to himself in King's Valley because he had been telling himself, "I don't have a son to carry on my family name." So he named the pillar after himself it's called Absalom's Monument even today.

But Joab answered Ahimaaz, "You're not the man to deliver news today. Do it any other time, but not today, because the king's son is dead."

The king responded, "If he's alone, he's bringing some news to report." As the man continued to draw near and approach the palace, the watchman observed another man running. So he called out to the gatekeeper, "There's another man running by himself!" The king replied, "He's also bringing some news to report!"

Then the watchman observed, "It looks to me that the runner out in front is running like Zadok's son Ahimaaz!" The king replied, "This is a good man bearing good news!"

The king asked the Ethiopian, "Is the young man safe?" The Ethiopian answered, "May the enemies of your majesty the king including everyone who rebels and tries to harm you become like that young man"."

Deeply shaken, the king went up to the chamber overlooking the city gate, weeping bitterly and crying out as he went along, "My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you, Absalom my son, my son!"

Someone informed Joab, "The king is weeping bitterly, mourning for Absalom."

The victory had become an occasion for the army to mourn, because on that very day the troops heard the announcement, "The king is grieving for his son!"

You love those who hate you and hate those who love you! You've made it abundantly clear today that your officers and the men under them mean nothing to you! I've learned today that you would rather have Absalom alive today and all the rest of us dead!

So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the army was informed, "The king is sitting in the gateway!" they all gathered together in his presence.

Meanwhile, the Israelis had run away back to their own homes. Throughout the tribes of Israel, everyone was quarreling with one another: "The king delivered us from the domination of our enemies"." "He's the one who rescued us from Philistine control"." "Now he's fleeing the country because of Absalom"!"

Then ask Amasa, "Aren't you my own flesh and blood? So may God deal with me, no matter how severely, if from this day forward you don't take Joab's place as commander of my army.'

So the king returned to Israel as far as the Jordan River.

The men of Judah went out as far as Gilgal to greet the king and escort him across the Jordan River while Gera's son Shimei, a descendant of Benjamin from Bahurim, accompanied them to meet King David.

Just as the king was about to ford the Jordan River, Gera's son Shimei fell down in front of the king and addressed him, "May your majesty not hold me guilty. Don't remember how your servant did wrong the day your majesty the king left Jerusalem. May the king not let it burden his heart,

because your servant knows that I have sinned, but today I have come here as the first one from the entire house of Joseph to meet your majesty the king."

David replied, "What do you sons of Zeruiah have in common with me? You've become my enemies today! Should anyone be executed in Israel today? Don't you know that I've been reinstated as king over Israel today?"

He replied, "Well, your majesty, since your servant is lame, I told myself, "I'll have my donkey saddled and I'll ride on it so I can leave with the king.' But my servant Ziba deceived me

by slandering your servant to your majesty. But your majesty the king is like an angel from God: so do what you think is best.

In response, the king told him, "What's the point of us talking anymore? My decision is that you and Ziba divide the fields."

Please let your servant return so I can die in my own home town near the grave of my father and mother. Meanwhile, here is your servant Chimham! Let him accompany your majesty the king. Please do for him whatever seems best to you."

As the king crossed over the Jordan River to Gilgal, Chimham accompanied him, as did all the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel.

Everybody from Judah shouted to the men from Israel, "We did this because the king is closely related to us. So why are you angry about this? Have we lived off the king's expense? Have we appropriated anything for ourselves?"

But the men from Israel answered the men from Judah: "We represent ten of the tribes of Israel! So we have more right to David than you do! Why haven't you taken us seriously? Weren't we the first to talk about bringing back our king?" But what the people of Judah had to say was harsher than what the people of Israel were saying.

When David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, the king took the ten mistresses whom he had left behind to keep the palace in order and placed them in a separate house, providing for them under the care of a protective guard. He never visited them again, so they were under care until they died, living as if their husbands had died.

So David told Abishai, "Now Bichri's son Sheba is about to do more damage than did Absalom. So take my personal guards and go after them. Otherwise, he'll run to one of the fortified cities and escape from us."

When they arrived at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came out to meet them. Joab was dressed in a soldier's uniform, over which was a belt that fastened a sword sheath to his thigh. As he walked forward, the sword was exposed.

Joab asked Amasa, "Is everything going well with you, my brother?" As Joab took Amasa by his beard to greet him,

One of Joab's soldiers stood by Amasa while he lay dying and announced, "Whoever is in favor of Joab and David, let him follow Joab."