But David replied to the Philistine, "You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel's armies, whom you have defied!

Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem."

David said to Saul, "Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father in Israel that I should become the king's son-in-law?"

I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, I will let you know."

Finally Saul himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" They said, "At Naioth in Ramah."

Jonathan said to him, "By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won't happen!"

When I send a boy after them, I will say, "Go and find the arrows." If I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,' then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem.

But if I say to the boy, "Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,' get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away.

He said, 'Permit me to go, for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go to see my brothers.' For that reason he has not come to the king's table."

David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?"

Stay with me. Don't be afraid! Whoever seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me."

They told David, "The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors."

But David's men said to him, "We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?"

Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn't kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life.

Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea?

He said to David, "You are more innocent than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you!

Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel.

But Nabal responded to David's servants, "Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters!

David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Won't you answer, Abner?" Abner replied, "Who are you, that you have called to the king?"

David said to Abner, "Aren't you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven't you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king.

This failure on your part isn't good! As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord's chosen one, are as good as dead! Now look where the king's spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!"

But the woman said to him, "Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed the mediums and magicians from the land! Why are you trapping me so you can put me to death?"

When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. The woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"

Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul replied, "I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me -- not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do."

Samuel said, "Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy?

So Achish summoned David and said to him, "As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you serving with me in the army. I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion of the leaders, you are not reliable.

Achish replied to David, "I am convinced that you are as reliable as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us in the battle.'

David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" The young man said, "I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days.

We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag."

David asked him, "Where are you coming from?" He replied, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."

David inquired, "How were things going? Tell me!" He replied, "The people fled from the battle and many of them fell dead. Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!"

David said to the young man who was telling him this, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"

He asked me, 'Who are you?' I told him, 'I'm an Amalekite.'

David said to the young man who told this to him, "Where are you from?" He replied, "I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner."

How the warriors have fallen! The weapons of war are destroyed!

The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people of Judah. David was told, "The people of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul."

You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return and to discover everything that you are doing!"

When David later heard about this, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner!

Today I am weak, even though I am anointed as king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too much for me to bear! May the Lord punish appropriately the one who has done this evil thing!"

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron saying, "Look, we are your very flesh and blood!

David said on that day, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the 'lame' and the 'blind' who are David's enemies by going through the water tunnel." For this reason it is said, "The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace."

These are the names of children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

David and all the men who were with him traveled to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.

Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true!

Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God! May your words prove to be true! You have made this good promise to your servant!

Now there was a servant from Saul's house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, "Are you Ziba?" He replied, "At your service."

The king asked, "Is there not someone left from Saul's family, that I may extend God's kindness to him?" Ziba said to the king, "One of Jonathan's sons is left; both of his feet are crippled."

Uriah replied to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord's soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and have marital relations with my wife? As surely as you are alive, I will not do this thing!"

Nathan said to David, "You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'I chose you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul.

Then David exclaimed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord!" Nathan replied to David, "Yes, and the Lord has forgiven your sin. You are not going to die.

He asked Amnon, "Why are you, the king's son, so depressed every morning? Can't you tell me?" So Amnon said to him, "I'm in love with Tamar the sister of my brother Absalom."

Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah, said, "My lord should not say, 'They have killed all the young men who are the king's sons.' For only Amnon is dead. This is what Absalom has talked about from the day that Amnon humiliated his sister Tamar.

Now don't let my lord the king be concerned about the report that has come saying, 'All the king's sons are dead.' It is only Amnon who is dead."

Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored.

Now Absalom used to get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever anyone came by who had a complaint to bring to the king for arbitration, Absalom would call out to him, "What city are you from?" The person would answer, "I, your servant, am from one of the tribes of Israel."

Absalom would then say to him, "Look, your claims are legitimate and appropriate. But there is no representative of the king who will listen to you."

Then a messenger came to David and reported, "The men of Israel are loyal to Absalom!"

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come with us? Go back and stay with the new king, for you are a foreigner and an exile from your own country.

The king said to Zadok the priest, "Are you a seer? Go back to the city in peace! Your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan may go with you and Abiathar.

Now David had been told, "Ahithophel has sided with the conspirators who are with Absalom. So David prayed, "Make the advice of Ahithophel foolish, O Lord!"

Furthermore, their two sons are there with them, Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. You must send them to me with any information you hear."

The king asked Ziba, "Why did you bring these things?" Ziba replied, "The donkeys are for the king's family to ride on, the loaves of bread and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert."

The Lord has punished you for all the spilled blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you rule. Now the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. Disaster has overtaken you, for you are a man of bloodshed!"

and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone. The entire army will return unharmed."

Hushai went on to say, "You know your father and his men -- they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army.

If that happens even the bravest soldier -- one who is lion-hearted -- will virtually melt away. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave.

We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive -- not one of them!

When the servants of Absalom approached the woman at her home, they asked, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" The woman replied to them, "They crossed over the stream." Absalom's men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

honey, curds, flocks, and cheese. For they said, "The people are no doubt hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the desert."

But the soldiers replied, "You should not do this! For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won't be too concerned about us. Even if half of us should die, they won't be too concerned about us. But you are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support."

The battle there was spread out over the whole area, and the forest consumed more soldiers than the sword devoured that day.

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

You are my brothers -- my very own flesh and blood! Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back?'

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!'"

But David said, "What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? You are like my enemy today! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don't you realize that today I am king over Israel?"

So the king said to Barzillai, "Cross over with me, and I will take care of you while you are with me in Jerusalem."

All the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, "Because the king is our close relative! Why are you so upset about this? Have we eaten at the king's expense? Or have we misappropriated anything for our own use?"

Joab said to Amasa, "How are you, my brother?" With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa's beard as if to greet him with a kiss.

When he approached her, the woman asked, "Are you Joab?" He replied, "I am." She said to him, "Listen to the words of your servant." He said, "Go ahead. I'm listening."

I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord's inheritance?"

That's not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city." The woman said to Joab, "This very minute his head will be thrown over the wall to you!"

The Gibeonites said to him, "We have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel." David asked, "What then are you asking me to do for you?"

Indeed, you are my lamp, Lord. The Lord illumines the darkness around me.

You rescue me from a hostile army; you preserve me as a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.

Foreigners are powerless before me; when they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.

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:

is like the light of morning when the sun comes up, a morning in which there are no clouds. He is like the brightness after rain that produces grass from the earth.

But evil people are like thorns -- all of them are tossed away, for they cannot be held in the hand.

The one who touches them must use an iron instrument or the wooden shaft of a spear. They are completely burned up right where they lie!"

These are the names of David's warriors: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers. He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle.

Next in command was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi, where there happened to be an area of a field that was full of lentils, the army retreated before the Philistines.

But he made a stand in the middle of that area. He defended it and defeated the Philistines; the Lord gave them a great victory.

Araunah told David, "My lord the king may take whatever he wishes and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges and harnesses for wood.

While you are still there speaking to the king, I will arrive and verify your report."

But now, look, Adonijah has become king! But you, my master the king, are not even aware of it!

For today he has gone down and sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king's sons, the army commanders, and Abiathar the priest. At this moment they are having a feast in his presence, and they have declared, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

But now don't treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; make sure he has a bloody death."

Three years later two of Shimei's servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, "Look, your servants are in Gath."

Then the king said to Shimei, "You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. The Lord will punish you for what you did.

Your servant stands among your chosen people; they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number.