Now Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, "Please let me run and bring the good news to the king that Yahweh has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies."

So Joab ordered a man from Ethiopia, "Go tell the king what you've seen." So the Ethiopian saluted Joab and then ran to tell David.

Suddenly the Cushite arrived and said, "May my lord the king receive the good news, for Yahweh has vindicated you today from the power of all who stood up against you."

That day the people stole away to go to the city the way people who are embarrassed steal away in fleeing from battle.

And Joab came into the house to the king and said, Today you have put to shame the faces of all your servants who even now have kept you and your sons and your daughters and your wives and all your women safe from death;

Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably to thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou shalt not go forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse to thee than all the evil that hath befallen thee from thy youth until now.

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

And king David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak unto the elders of Judah and say, 'Why should ye be the last that should bring again the king to his house, seeing that such tidings is come from all Israel unto the king, even to his house?

Say to Amasa, 'Are you not my flesh and blood? God will punish me severely, if from this time on you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!'"

Then Shimei the son of Gera, the son of the Benjaminite, who [was] from Bahurim quickly came down with the men of Judah to meet King David,

and a thousand men [were] with him from Benjamin. Too, Ziba the servant of the household of Saul and fifteen of his sons and twenty of his servants [were] with him, and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.

And a ferry boat passed to and fro 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 just crossing over the Jordan.

and he said to the king, "May not my lord hold me guilty, and may you not remember how your servant did wrong on the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, by taking it to 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."

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

When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, "Why didn't you go with me, Mephibosheth?"

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.

After all, there was no one in the entire house of my grandfather who did not deserve death from my lord the king. But instead you allowed me to eat at your own table! What further claim do I have to ask the king for anything?"

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

I am this day four score year old: and therefore can not discern savoury from unsavoury, neither hath thy servant pleasure in that he eateth or drinketh: nor yet delectation in the songs of men or women. It is no need that thy servant be a burden unto my lord the king:

The king replied, “Chimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you, and whatever you desire from me I will do for you.”

Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "Because the king [is] my close relative! Why [are] you this angry over this matter? {Have we by any means eaten [anything] from the king? Did we take by any means anything that was not ours}?"

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.

Right about then, Bichri's son Sheba, an ungodly man from the tribe of Benjamin, sounded a battle trumpet and announced: We've never been a part of David! We'll never gain anything from Jesse's son! It's every man to his tent, Israel!

So every man of Israel, withdrawing from David, followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah adhered to their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

And Amasa will go to call Judah together: and he will delay from the appointment which he appointed him.

Then David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bicri will do us more harm than Absalom. You take the servants of your lord and pursue after him, lest he find fortified cities for himself and escape from us."

Then the men of Joab, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty warriors went out after him; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri.

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came face to face with them. Now Joab had on his war-dress, and round him a band from which his sword was hanging in its cover; and while he was walking, it came out, falling to the earth.

Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab's other hand, and Joab stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa's intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.

A young man stood over him, from the young men of Joab, and he said, "Whoever takes delight in Joab and whoever [is] for David, [follow] after Joab."

Now Amasa [was] wallowing in the blood in the middle of the highway; when the man saw that all the people stood [there], he turned Amasa over from the highway into the field, and he threw a garment over him because he had seen that all who had come by him had stopped.

After he was removed from the highway, all the men passed by after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri.

Then a wise woman from the city called out, "Listen, listen! Please speak to Joab [to] come near here so that I may speak to you."

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

The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.

Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites [were] not from the {Israelites}; they [were] from the remainder of the Amorites. Now the {Israelites} had sworn to them, but Saul tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the {Israelites} and Judah.

And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver nor gold from Saul, nor from his house. Also, we will have no man in Israel put to death. And he said, What you shall say, I will do for you.

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

let seven men from his sons be given over to us, and we will execute them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of Yahweh." Then the king said, "I will give them over."

And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

And Ishbi-Benob who was from the children of Rephaim, and the weight of his spear three hundred weight of brass, and he being girded with a new one, and he will say to strike David.

At Gath there was still another battle. A huge man was there with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—24 in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.

These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.

And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul:

He said:“The Lord is my rock and my fortress [on the mountain] and my rescuer;

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my preserver; thou savest me from violence.

I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies.

Because deadly breakers engulfed me, while torrents of abuse from the ungodly overwhelmed me.

Binding ropes from Sheol entangled me while lethal snares hindered me.

In my distress I called [upon] Yahweh, and to my God I called. He heard my voice from his temple, and my cry for help [was] to his ears.

Smoke went up from his nostrils and fire from his mouth. Burning coals devoured, they burned from him.

From the brightness before him flamed burning coals of fire.

The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

Then the channels of water of the sea were exposed, the foundations of the world, at the rebuke of Yawheh, from the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

He delivered me from my strong enemy, from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

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

I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from my iniquity.

For who [is] God apart from Yahweh? And who [is] a rock apart from our God?

{My enemies you cause to retreat from me}; I destroy those who hate me.

Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.

Men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority: from the time when my name comes to their ears, they will be ruled by me.

Strangers shall fade away, and they shall tremble from their close places.

And that bringeth me forth from my enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

Like the light of [the] morning when the sun rises, shining with no clouds, [bringing] vegetation from the earth apart from rain.'

but Eleazar remained standing right where he was and fought so hard against the Philistines that he became exhausted he couldn't even let go of his sword! The LORD magnificently delivered them that day. After Eleazar had won the battle, the other soldiers returned, but only to strip the weapons and armor from the dead.

And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were collected into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines.

David {said longingly}, "{Oh that someone would bring me a drink} of water from the well of Bethlehem that [is] at the gate."

So three of the mighty warriors broke into the camp of [the] Philistines, and they drew water from the well of Bethlehem that [was] at the gate, and they carried [it] and brought [it] to David. But he [was] not willing to drink it, but poured it out to Yahweh.

And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

Zeruiah's son Abishai, Joab's brother, was the lieutenant in charge of the platoons. He used his spear to fight and kill 300 men, gaining a reputation distinct from the Three.

From the three he was given honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of the three.

Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of Ish-Hai, [was] a great [man] of deeds from Kabzeel. He struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day.

He also killed a good-looking Egyptian man, in whose hand [was] a spear. He went down against him with the staff and snatched the spear from the hand of the Egyptian and killed him with his spear

He received honor from the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

Included with the thirty were the following: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,

Shammah from Harod; Elika from Harod,

Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,

Abiezer from Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin,

Benaiah [the] Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash,

Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth from Bahurim,

Eliahba from Shaalbon, Jashen's sons,

Shammah's son from Harar, Sharar the Hararite's son Ahiam,

Hezro from Carmel, Paarai the Arbite,

Igal the son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite

Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai from Beeroth (the armor-bearer for Zeruiah's son Joab),

For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.

Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.

And they went over Jordan, and starting from Aroer, from the town which is in the middle of the valley, they went in the direction of the Gadites, and on to Jazer;

They went on to Gilead and the territory of Tahtim-hodshi, then on toward Dan. From Dan they went around to Sidon

And they went to and fro through all the land, and came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

Joab gave the king the total of the registration of the troops. There were 800,000 fighting men from Israel and 500,000 men from Judah.

When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer:

Go and speak to David, Thus said Jehovah, Three I lay upon thee: choose to thee one from them, and I will do to thee.