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

But, if, into a city, he withdraw, then will all Israel bring up unto that city, ropes, - and we will drag it down unto the ravine, until there be not found in that place, so much as a small stone.

As for Jonathan and Ahimaaz, they stood by the well of Rogel, and a damsel went thither and told them. They went on their way and told King David, for they durst not be seen to come into the city.

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.

And as soon as they were departed, the other came out of the well, and went and told King David and said unto him, "Up, and get you quickly over the water for such counsel hath Ahithophel given."

So David arose, and all the people who were with him, and passed over the Jordan, by the morning light, so much as one, was not lacking, who had not passed over the Jordan.

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

And as soon as David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

brought beds and basins and objects of pottery, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,

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."

But the men said, “You should not go out [to battle with us]. For if in fact we retreat, they will not care about us; even if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. So now it is better that you be ready to help us from the city [of Mahanaim].”

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 was found in the presence of the servants of David [as he was] riding on the mule. The mule went under the thicket of the great oak tree, and his head [was] caught in the tree. He [was] left hanging between heaven and earth, and the mule which [was] under him went on.

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.

He called out and told the king.

The king said, “If he’s alone, he bears good news.”

As the first runner came closer,

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!"

And the watchman saith, 'I see the running of the first as the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.' And the king saith, 'This is a good man, and with good tidings he cometh.'

And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

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 God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

So the victory of that day was turned to mourning as far as all the people were concerned. For the people heard on that day, "The king is grieved over his son."

And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

So Joab visited the king at his home. He said, "Today you have embarrassed all your servants who have saved your life this day, as well as the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines.

You seem to love your enemies and hate your friends! For you have as much as declared today that leaders and servants don't matter to you. I realize now that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, it would be all right with you.

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

So King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: "Ask the elders of Judah, "Why are you the last to bring the king back to his palace, considering that what's being reported throughout all of Israel has come to the king at his palace?

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.'

And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.

And the king returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over the Jordan.

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.

And there went over a ferry boat 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 was come over Jordan;

And said to him, Let me not be judged as a sinner in your eyes, O my lord, and do not keep in mind the wrong I did on the day when my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, or take it to heart.

For your servant knows that I have sinned; look, I have come this day [as the first] of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord 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?"

And as soon as Jerusalem came to meet the king, the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?

And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame.

And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.

Everyone from my grandfather's household deserved nothing but death from your majesty the king, but you provided a place for your servant among those who have been eating from your table. So what right do I have to ask for anything more from the king?"

And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.

And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim; and he went on as far as Jordan with the king to take him across Jordan.

Now Barzillai was a very old man, as much as eighty years old: and he had given the king everything he had need of, while he was at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man.

I am this day eighty years old. Can I [be useful to advise you to] discern between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or drink? Can I still hear the voices of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

As a little thing, thy servant doth pass over the Jordan with the king, and why doth the king recompense me this recompense?

The king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you; and whatever you ask of me, I will do for you.”

So all the people crossed the Jordan, as did the king. After the king had kissed him and blessed him, Barzillai returned to his home.

So the king went over to Gilgal, and Chimham went with him: and all the people of Judah, as well as half the people of Israel, took the king on his way.

Then all the men of Israel began coming to the king. They asked the king, "Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, sneak the king away and help the king and his household cross the Jordan -- and not only him but all of David's men as well?"

Then the people of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, "I have {ten times as much} in the king, moreover in David I have more than you. Why did you treat me with contempt {by not giving me first chance} to bring back my king?" But the words of the men of Judah [were] fiercer than the word of the men of Israel.

So all the men of Israel, turning away from David, went after Sheba, the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah were true to their king, going with him from Jordan as far as Jerusalem.

When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the 10 concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.

Joab said to Amasa, “Is it going well with you, my brother?” And with his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa by the beard [as if] to kiss him [in greeting].

And one of Joab's men that stood by him said, "What is he that he would be as Joab, and what is he that would be unto David instead of Joab?"

But, Amasa, was wallowing in blood, in the midst of the highway, - and, when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa, out of the highway into the field, and cast over him a garment, as soon as he saw that every man that came up to him stood still.

As soon as he was removed from the highway, all the men passed on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

So Joab's men came and laid siege against him in Abel of Beth Maacah. They prepared a siege ramp outside the city which stood against its outer rampart. As all of Joab's soldiers were trying to break through the wall so that it would collapse,

Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.

Abel is one of the quietest and faithfullest cities that are in Israel. And thou goest about to destroy a city that is as a mother in Israel. Why devourest thou the inheritance of the LORD?"

That's a lie! But there is a man from the Ephraim hill country he's known as Bichri's son Sheba who has rebelled against King David. Turn him over and I'll withdraw from the city!"

And there came to be a famine, in the days of David, for three years, year after year, so then David sought the face of Yahweh, - and Yahweh said - It respecteth Saul and his house, as to bloodshed, in that he put to death the Gibeonites.

And the king calleth for the Gibeonites, and saith unto them -- as to the Gibeonites, they are not of the sons of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorite, and the sons of Israel had sworn to them, and Saul seeketh to smite them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah --

And the Gibeonites said to him, As to Saul and his house, it is with us no question of receiving silver or gold, neither is it for us to have any man put to death in Israel. And he said, What ye say will I do for you.

They replied to the king, “As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel,

Then he turned them over to the custody of the Gibeonites, who hanged them on the mountain in the presence of the LORD. All seven of them died at the same time. They were executed during the first days of harvest, just as the barley began to be gathered in.

And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took haircloth, placing it on the rock as a bed for herself, from the start of the grain-cutting till rain came down on them from heaven; and she did not let the birds of the air come near them by day, or the beasts of the field by night.

Now when the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

And there was yet the third battle in Gob, with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of the Jair slew Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite: the staff of whose spear was as great as a weaver's cloth beam.

As one worthy to be praised, called I on Yahweh, - And, from my foes, was I saved.

Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth; he hurled down fiery coals.

He deformed heaven itself as he descended. Thick darkness enveloped his feet.

He put darkness [as] a canopy all around him, a collection of {thick rain clouds}.

For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

The Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness, that is, according to my clean standing as he looks at me.

With the loyal, you act as loyal, and with the blameless, you show yourself blameless.

With the pure, you show yourself pure, but with the crooked, you appear as a fool.

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

And maketh my feet as swift as a hind's, and setteth me fast upon my high hold.

Thus didst thou grant me, as a shield, thy salvation, - and, thy condescension, made me great.

And, as for my foes, thou didst give me their neck, - yea, them who hated me, that I might destroy them:

Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.

“You also have rescued me from strife with my [own] people;
You have kept me as the head of the nations.
People whom I have not known served me.

Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.

Foreigners lose their courage; they shake with fear as they leave their strongholds.

The Lord is alive! My protector is praiseworthy! The God who delivers me is exalted as king!

These are the final words of David: "The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, Israel's beloved singer of songs:

And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

For is not my house so with God? For he has made with me an eternal agreement, ordered in all things and certain: as for all my salvation and all my desire, will he not give it increase?

But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:

These are the names of the mighty men (warriors) whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, also called Adino the Eznite (spear) because of the eight hundred men killed [by him] at one time.

So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord

And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should drink this. [Is it not the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name as well as the three.

These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men.

And the king said to Joab and the captains of the army, who were with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba, and have all the people numbered, so that I may be certain of the number of the people.

And Joab saith unto the king, 'Yea, Jehovah thy God doth add unto the people, as they are, a hundred times, and the eyes of my lord the king are seeing; and my lord the king, why is he desirous of this thing?'

So Gad went to David and asked him, "Shall seven years of famine come to your land, or three months of reversals while you flee from your enemies as they pursue you, or three days of pestilence in your land? Decide right now what I am to answer to the one who sent me."

So David made selection of the disease; and the time was the days of the grain-cutting, when the disease came among the people, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan as far as Beer-sheba.

But, when the messenger stretched out his hand towards Jerusalem, to destroy it, then relented Yahweh as to the evil, and he said to the messenger who was destroying the people - Enough! now, stay thy hand. And, the messenger of Yahweh, was by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, "Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep -- what have they done? Attack me and my family."