And when David came to Ziklag, he sent from the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold, a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of LORD:

to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the South, and to those who were in Jattir,

and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa,

and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites,

and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Borashan, and to those who were in Athach,

and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to frequent.

Then Saul said to his armor bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. Therefore Saul took his s

So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day together.

And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.

And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about to carry the news to the house of their idols, and to the people.

And they put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him, that which the Philistines had done to Saul,

all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

And it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag,

it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes torn, and earth upon his head. And so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground, and did obeisance.

And David said to him, From where did thou come? And he said to him, I escaped out of the camp of Israel.

And David said to him, How did the matter go? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are also dead.

And David said to the young man who told him, How do thou know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?

And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, Here I am.

And he said to me, Who are thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

And he said to me, Stand, I pray thee, beside me, and kill me, for anguish has taken hold of me, because my life is yet whole in me.

So I stood beside him, and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he was fallen. And I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.

And David said to the young man who told him, From where are thou? And he answered, I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.

And David said to him, Why were thou not afraid to put forth thy hand to destroy LORD's anointed?

And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain LORD's anointed.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you, neither fields of offerings, for there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant thou have been to me. Thy love to me was wonderful, exceeding the love of women.

And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And LORD said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And he said, To Hebron.

So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, Blessed be ye of LORD, that ye have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Saul, and have buried him.

And now LORD show loving kindness and truth to you. And I also will reward you this kindness because ye have done this thing.

Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim.

Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

And the battle was very severe that day. And Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

And Asahel pursued after Abner, and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay hold on one of the young men, and take his armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me. Why should I smite thee to the ground? How then would I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

However he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him. And he fell down there, and died in the same place. And it came to pass, that as many

But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner. And the sun went down when they came to the hill of Ammah that lays before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? Know thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then, before thou bid the people return from following their brothers?

And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah, and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.

And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulcher of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.

And sons were born to David in Hebron: and his first-born was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess,

and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong in the house of Saul.

Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And [Ish-bosheth] said to Abner, Why have thou gone in to my father's concubine?

Then Abner was very angry for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah? This day I show kindness to the house of Saul thy father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee i

God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as LORD has sworn to David, I do not even so to him,

to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.

And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? [And] saying, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee to bring about all Israel to thee.

And he said, Well! I will make a league with thee, but one thing I require of thee. That is, thou shall not see my face unless thou first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou come to see my face.

And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, Deliver to me my wife Michal whom I betrothed to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, Go, return, and he returned.

And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, In times past ye sought for David to be king over you.

Now then do it, for LORD has spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.

And Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin. And Abner also went to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to the whole house of Benjamin.

So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men who were with him a feast.

And Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king that they may make a covenant with thee, and that thou may reign over all that thy soul desires. And David sent Abner away, and he went in

When Joab and all the army that was with him came, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.

Then Joab came to the king, and said, What have thou done? Behold, Abner came to thee. Why is it that thou have sent him away, and he is quite gone?

Thou know 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 do.

And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there in the body, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

And David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David followed the bier.

And the king lamented for Abner, and said, Should Abner die as a fool dies?

And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day, but David swore, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, till the sun is down.

So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to kill Abner the son of Ner.

And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

And I am this day weak, though anointed king, and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. LORD reward the evil-doer according to his wickedness.

And [Ish-bosheth], Saul's son, [had] two men who were captains of bands. The name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin, for Beeroth also is reckoned to

And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been sojourners there until this day.

Now Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled. And it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that h

And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, as he took his rest at noon.

And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, thine enemy, who sought thy life. And LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of h

And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, As LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,

when he who told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good news, I took hold of him, and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was thou who led out and brought in Israel. And LORD said to thee, Thou shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shall be prince over Israel.

So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron. And king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, Unless thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shall not come in here, thinking, David cannot come in he

And David said on that day, Whoever smites the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and [smite] the lame and the blind, the hated by David's soul, because the blind and the lame say, He cannot come into the house.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons, and they built David a house.

And David took for him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,

And when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went down to the stronghold.

And David inquired of LORD, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will thou deliver them into my hand? And LORD said to David, Go up, for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into thy hand.

And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there. And he said, LORD has broken my enemies before me, like the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And it shall be, when thou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shall bestir thyself, for then LORD has gone out before thee to smite the army of the Philistines.

And David did so, as LORD commanded him, and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gezer.

And David arose, and went with all the people who were with him, from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, even the name of LORD of hosts who sits [above] the cherubim.

And when they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah put forth to the ark of God, and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.

And David was displeased, because LORD had broken forth upon Uzzah. And he called that place Perez-uzzah, to this day.

And David was afraid of LORD that day, and he said, How shall the ark of LORD come to me?

So David would not remove the ark of LORD to him into the city of David, but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

And it was told king David, saying, LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertains to him, because of the ark of God. And David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David w

And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, both to men and women, to every one a cake of bread, and a portion [of flesh], and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed every one to his house.

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants as on

And David said to Michal, [It was] before LORD, who chose me above thy father, and above all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play before LORD.