On the third day a man came [unexpectedly] from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head [as in mourning]. When he came to David, he bowed to the ground and lay himself face down [in an act of great respect and submission].

And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men give a test of their strength before us. And Joab said, Let them do so.

and Abner calleth unto Joab, and saith, 'For ever doth the sword consume? hast thou not known that it is bitterness in the latter end? and till when dost thou not say to the people to turn back from after their brethren?'

And he saith, 'Good -- I make with thee a covenant; only, one thing I am asking of thee, that is, Thou dost not see my face, except thou dost first bring in Michal, daughter of Saul in thy coming into see my face.'

Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.

also heretofore, in Saul's being king over us, thou hast been he who is bringing out and bringing in Israel, and Jehovah saith to thee, Thou dost feed My people Israel, and thou art for leader over Israel.'

And the king goeth, and his men, to Jerusalem, unto the Jebusite, the inhabitant of the land, and they speak to David, saying, 'Thou dost not come in hither, except thou turn aside the blind and the lame;' saying, 'David doth not come in hither.'

And David asketh of Jehovah, saying, 'Do I go up unto the Philistines? dost Thou give them into my hand?' And Jehovah saith unto David, 'Go up, for I certainly give the Philistines into thy hand.'

and David asketh of Jehovah, and He saith, 'Thou dost not go up, turn round unto their rear, and thou hast come to them over-against the mulberries,

and it cometh to pass, in thy hearing the sound of a stepping in the tops of the mulberries, then thou dost move sharply, for then hath Jehovah gone out before thee to smite in the camp of the Philistines.'

'Go, and thou hast said unto My servant, unto David, Thus said Jehovah, Dost thou build for Me a house for My dwelling in?

and now, thus dost thou say to My servant, to David: 'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have taken thee from the comely place, from after the flock, to be leader over My people, over Israel;

And yet this is little in Thine eyes, Lord Jehovah, and Thou dost speak also concerning the house of Thy servant afar off; and this is the law of the Man, Lord Jehovah.

Yea, Thou dost establish to Thee Thy people Israel, to Thee for a people unto the age, and Thou, Jehovah, hast been to them for God.

And David saith to him, 'Be not afraid; for I certainly do with thee kindness because of Jonathan thy father, and have given back to thee all the field of Saul thy father, and thou dost eat bread at my table continually.'

Then they told David, saying, "Uriah descended not into his house." Then said David unto Uriah, "Seeing that thou art come from journeying, why dost thou not go down unto thine house?"

And David saith unto the messenger, 'Thus dost thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing be evil in thine eyes; for thus and thus doth the sword devour; strengthen thy warfare against the city, and throw it down -- and strengthen thou him.'

'And now, the sword doth not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;

And David saith unto Nathan, 'I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, 'Also -- Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;

And his servants said to him, What thing is this which thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child alive; but as soon as the child is dead, thou dost rise and eat bread.

And he said to him, Why dost thou, the king's son, get thinner from morning to morning? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

And Tamar, in her grief, put dust on her head; and she put her hand on her head and went away crying loudly.

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.

When David came to the summit where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.

and if to the city thou dost turn back, and hast said to Absalom, Thy servant I am, O king; servant of thy father I am also hitherto, and now, I am also thy servant; then thou hast made void for me the counsel of Ahithophel;

and are there not with thee there Zadok and Abiathar the priests? and it hath been, the whole of the matter that thou hearest from the house of the king thou dost declare to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests.

And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, for Jehovah has said to him, Curse David! Who shall then say, Why dost thou so?

And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

And the people say, 'Thou dost not go out, for if we utterly flee, they do not set their heart upon us; and if half of us die, they do not set their heart unto us -- for now like us are ten thousand; and now, better that thou be to us from the city for an helper.'

or I had done against my soul a vain thing, and no matter is hid from the king, and thou -- thou dost station thyself over-against.'

and Joab saith to him, 'Thou art not a man of tidings this day, but thou hast borne tidings on another day, and this day thou dost not bear tidings, because the king's son is dead.'

And kept going across the river to take the people of the king's house over, and to do whatever was desired by the king. And Shimei, the son of Gera, went down on his face in the dust before the king, when he was about to go over Jordan,

And the king saith unto Shimei, 'Thou dost not die;' and the king sweareth to him.

And he said in answer, Because of the deceit of my servant, my lord king: for I, your servant, said to him, You are to make ready an ass and on it I will go with the king, for your servant has not the use of his feet.

for all the house of my father have been nothing except men of death before my lord the king, and thou dost set thy servant among those eating at thy table, and what right have I any more -- even to cry any more unto the king?'

And the king saith to him, 'Why dost thou speak any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba -- share ye the field.'

And the king saith, 'With me doth Chimham go over, and I do to him that which is good in thine eyes, yea, all that thou dost fix on me I do to thee.'

I am of the peaceable -- faithful ones of Israel; thou art seeking to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel; why dost thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?

and Abishai son of Zeruiah giveth help to him, and smiteth the Philistine, and putteth him to death; then swear the men of David to him, saying, 'Thou dost not go out again with us to battle, nor quench the lamp of Israel.'

With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; With the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright;

With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; And with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary.

And the afflicted people thou dost save; And thine eyes are upon the haughty, whom thou bringest down.

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.

And -- Thou dost deliver me From the strivings of my people, Thou placest me for a head of nations; A people I have not known do serve me.

And his father had not grieved him at any time in saying, Why doest thou so? and he was also a very comely man; and his mother bore him after Absalom.

While yet he was speaking, lo! Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest, came in, - and Adonijah said - Come in, for, a worthy man, thou art, and, good tidings, dost thou bring.

And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

and thou hast done according to thy wisdom, and dost not let his old age go down in peace to Sheol.

'And to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite thou dost do kindness, and they have been among those eating at thy table, for so they drew near unto me in my fleeing from the face of Absalom thy brother.

and now, acquit him not, for a wise man thou art, and thou hast known that which thou dost to him, and hast brought down his old age with blood to Sheol.'

And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.

And the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith to him, 'Build for thee a house in Jerusalem, and thou hast dwelt there, and dost not go out thence any where;

and it hath been, in the day of thy going out, and thou hast passed over the brook Kidron, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die -- thy blood is on thy head.'

and the king sendeth and calleth for Shimei, and saith unto him, 'Have I not caused thee to swear by Jehovah -- and I testify against thee, saying, In the day of thy going out, and thou hast gone anywhere, thou dost certainly know that thou dost surely die; and thou sayest unto me, The word I have heard is good?

And Solomon saith, 'Thou hast done with Thy servant David my father great kindness, as he walked before Thee in truth and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with Thee, and Thou dost keep for him this great kindness, and dost give to him a son sitting on his throne, as at this day.

and if thou dost walk in My ways to keep My statutes, and My commands, as David thy father walked, then I have prolonged thy days.'

my servants bring down from Lebanon to the sea, and I make them floats in the sea unto the place that thou sendest unto me, and I have spread them out there; and thou dost take them up, and thou dost execute my desire, to give the food of my house.'

This house that thou art building -- if thou dost walk in My statutes, and My judgments dost do, yea, hast done all My commands, to walk in them, then I have established My word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father,

only, thou dost not build the house, but thy son who is coming out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name.

Then Thou hast hearkened unto the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they pray towards this place; yea, Thou dost hearken in the place of Thy dwelling, in the heavens -- and Thou hast hearkened, and hast forgiven,

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy servants, to declare wicked the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

then thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and brought them back unto the ground that Thou gavest to their fathers.

When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them:

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, for Thou directest them the good way in which they go, and hast given rain on Thy land which Thou hast given to Thy people for inheritance.

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast done, and hast given to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known -- Thyself alone -- the heart of all the sons of man),

Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.

'When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemy, in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Jehovah the way of the city which thou hast fixed on, and of the house which I have builded for Thy name;

And thou -- if thou dost walk before Me as David thy father walked, in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee -- My statutes and My judgments thou dost keep --

Now the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon regarding the name of Yahweh, and she came to test him with hard questions.

Howbeit I believed not the words, until that I had come and mine own eyes had seen, and lo! there had not been told me, the half, - thou dost exceed, in wisdom and prosperity, even the report which I heard!

And Pharaoh said to him, What then dost thou lack with me, that behold, thou desirest to go to thine own country? And he said, Nothing; but in any case let me depart.

and it hath been, if thou dost hear all that I command thee, and hast walked in My ways, and done that which is right in Mine eyes, to keep My statutes and My commands, as did David My servant, that I have been with thee, and have built for thee a stedfast house, as I built for David, and have given to thee Israel,

And they speak unto him -- the lads who had grown up with him -- saying, 'Thus dost thou say to this people who have spoken unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and thou, make it light upon us; thus dost thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father;

And the man of God saith unto the king, 'If thou dost give to me the half of thine house, I do not go in with thee, nor do I eat bread, nor do I drink water, in this place;

for so He commanded me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water, nor turn back in the way that thou hast come.'

for a word is unto me by the word of Jehovah, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink there water, thou dost not turn back to go in the way in which thou camest.'

and turnest back and dost eat bread and drink water in the place of which He said unto thee, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water -- thy carcase cometh not in unto the burying-place of thy fathers.'

And Jehovah said unto Ahijah, 'Lo, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to seek a word from thee concerning her son, for he is sick; thus and thus thou dost speak unto her, and it cometh to pass at her coming in, that she is making herself strange.'

and thou dost evil above all who have been before thee, and goest, and makest to thee other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger, and Me thou hast cast behind thy back:

Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;

and it hath been, from the brook thou dost drink, and the ravens I have commanded to sustain thee there.'

Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God." All the people responded, "This will be a fair test."

Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

and Jehu son of Nimshi thou dost anoint for king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel-Meholah, thou dost anoint for prophet in thy stead.

And the messengers turn back and say, 'Thus spake Ben-Hadad, saying, Surely I sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy sons, to me thou dost give;

And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

And he saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' -- 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.

And it cometh to pass -- the king is passing by -- that he hath cried unto the king, and saith, 'Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and lo, a man hath turned aside and bringeth in unto me a man, and saith, Keep this man; if he be at all missing, then hath thy life been for his life, or a talent of silver thou dost weigh out;

And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

and given up thy house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which thou hast provoked Me, and dost cause Israel to sin.

And he saith unto Jehoshaphat, 'Dost thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-Gilead?' and Jehoshaphat saith unto the king of Israel, 'As I am, so thou; as my people, so thy people; as my horses, so thy horses.'

And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah maketh for himself horns of iron, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, By these thou dost push the Aramaeans till they are consumed;'

and he saith, I go out, and have been a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets; and He saith, Thou dost entice, and also thou art able; go out and do so.

And now, see, the Lord has put a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has said evil against you.

and therefore, thus said Jehovah, The bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die;' and Elijah goeth on.

And they say unto him, 'A man hath come up to meet us, and saith unto us, Go, turn back unto the king who sent you, and ye have said unto him, Thus said Jehovah, Is it because there is not a God in Israel -- thou art sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die.'

and speaketh unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because that thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron -- is it because there is not a God in Israel to inquire of His word? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up -- thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die.'