Then David asked the young man who [was] reporting to him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?"

So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his falling; I took the crown that [was] on his head and [the] bracelet which [was] on his arm; and here, I have brought them to my lord.

O mountains of Gilboa, [let there be] no dew or rain upon you or on the fields of [grain for] offerings, for there the small shield of [the] mighty [was] defiled, the small shield of Saul [was] not anointed with oil.

Now may Yahweh show loyal love and faithfulness with you. I will also show the good with you that you have done in this matter.

The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel [was] swift with his feet as one of the gazelles which [is] in the open field.

Then Abner called to Joab and said, "Will [the] sword devour forever? Do you not know that [there] will be bitterness in the end? {How long} will you not tell the people to turn {away from pursuing} their brothers?"

Then Joab blew on the trumpet and all the people stopped, and they no longer pursued after Israel, and they did not fight with them again.

And [Ish-Bosheth] was no longer able to {answer} Abner {because he feared him}.

You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you. He came to learn about your going out and coming [in] and to know all which you [are] doing."

Then Joab went out from David, and he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from Bor Hasirah, but David did not know [it].

David said to Joab and to all the people who [were] with him, "Tear your clothing and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." Now King David [was] following after the bier.

(Now Jonathan the son of Saul had a son who [was] crippled in the feet. He [was] five years old when the message of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse had picked him up and fled. It happened that as she [was] hurrying away to flee, he fell and became crippled. His name [was] Mephibosheth.)

Now [the] Philistines had come, and they spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

They loaded the ark of God on a new utility cart, and they carried it from the house of Abinadab, which [was] on the hill. Now Uzza and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, [were] driving the new utility cart along.

Now David and all the house of Israel [were] dancing before Yahweh, with all kinds of [musical instruments made from] ash trees, and with zithers, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

Now David [was] dancing with all [his] might before Yahweh, and David [was] wearing a linen ephod.

So for Michal the daughter of Saul, she had no child until the day of her death.

It happened that the king settled in his house. (Now Yahweh had given rest to him from all his enemies all around.)

{What more can David say to you}? You know your servant, my lord Yahweh.

Because of your word and according to your heart, you have done all of this great thing, [in order] to let your servant know.

Therefore you [are] great, my lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there [is] no god except you, in all that we have heard with our ears.

Now, my Lord Yahweh, you alone [are] God, and your words [are] true. You have promised this good to your servant.

Now Saul's household had a servant whose name [was] Ziba, so they summoned him to David, and the king asked him, "[Are] you Ziba?" He said, "{At your service}!"

You shall till the land for him, you and your sons and your servants; you shall bring [in the produce] and it shall be food for the son of your master that he may eat. But Mephibosheth the son of your master may always eat food at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty slaves.)

Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name [was] Micah, and all of the dwelling of the household of Ziba [became] servants for Mephibosheth.

Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who [were] beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam. Now Shobach, the commander of the army of Hadadezer, {was at their head}.

It happened {late one afternoon} [that] David got up from his bed and walked about on the roof of the king's house, and he saw a woman bathing on her roof. Now the woman {was very beautiful}.

Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) And she returned to her house.

{When Joab was besieging} the city, he put Uriah toward the place which he knew {there were valiant warriors}.

if the anger of the king rises and he says to you, 'Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from [atop] the wall?

Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab, '{Do not feel badly about this matter}; {now one and then another} the sword will devour. Intensify your attack on the city and overthrow it.'" And he encouraged him.

He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this thing, and because he had no pity."

Then his servants said to him, "What [is] this thing that you have done? While the child [was] alive, you fasted and wept; [now] that the child has died, you get up and eat food!"

But now he [is] dead. Why [should I be] fasting? [Am] I able to return him again? I [am] going to him, but he cannot return to me."

He took the crown of their king from his head. (Now its weight [was] a talent of gold, and there [was] a precious stone [in it] and it [was] put on David's head.) He brought out the plunder of the city {in great abundance}.

Now Amnon had a friend whose name [was] Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David. (Now Jonadab [was] a very crafty man.)

Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother. Now he [was] lying down, and she took the dough and kneaded [it] and made cakes before his eyes, and she baked the cakes.

Then Tamar said to him, "No, my brother! Do not force me, for such a thing has not been done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!

She said to him, "No, because this evil in sending me away [is] greater than the other you have done to me." But he [was] not willing to listen to her.

Now there [was] a long-sleeved robe on her, for so they clothed the daughters of the king who [were] virgins, in robes. His servant put her outside, and he bolted the door behind her.

Absalom her brother said to her, "[Was] Amnon your brother with you? But now, my sister, be quiet; he [is] your brother. {Do not take this matter to heart}." So Tamar remained a desolate woman in the house of Absalom her brother.

Now King David heard all these things, and {he became very angry}.

The king said to Absalom, "No my son, not all of us shall go, so that we not be a burden to you." And he urged him, but he [was] not willing to go, but he blessed him.

Your servant had two sons, and they both fought in the open field, and there [was] no one {to part them}. One struck the other and killed him.

Now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people made me afraid, and your servant thought, 'I will speak to the king, perhaps the king will grant the request of his servant.

In order {to change the situation}, your servant Joab did this thing. But my lord [has] wisdom, as the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that [is] on the earth."

As far as Absalom, there was not a more handsome man in all of Israel to admire so much; from the sole of his foot up to his crown, there was no physical defect on him.

Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your case [is] good and right, but for you there is no hearing with the king."

Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom as invited guests, going in their innocence as they did not know anything.

Then David said to all his servants who [were] with him in Jerusalem, "Get up and let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Hurry to go, otherwise he will come quickly and overtake us! And he will bring disaster on us and evil! He will attack the city with the edge of the sword!"

Yesterday when you came and {today}, I have caused you to wander by going with us. Now I [am] going to where I [am] going; return and let your brothers return. [May] loyal love and faithfulness [be] with you."

But if he says, 'I take no pleasure in you,' then {I am ready}. Let him do to me that which [is] good in his eyes.

Now David [was] going up on the Ascent of the Olives, {weeping as he went}, with his head covered and going barefoot. All the people who [were] with him each covered their head {and wept as they went}.

Now David [was] told, "Ahithophel [was] among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh."

but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I [am] your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I [will be] your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

Now David passed a little from beyond the summit, and suddenly Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth [was] there to meet him [with] a pair of saddled donkeys; on them [were] two hundred loaves of bread and a hundred raisin cakes, [with] a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine.

David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son who came out of my loins [is] seeking my life. Now {as far as} [this] Benjaminite, leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him.

Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, had come to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel [was] with him.

Then Hushai said to Absalom, "No, rather, whom Yahweh and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, to him I will be, and with him I will remain.

Hushai continued, "You know your father and his men, that they [are] mighty warriors and they {are enraged} as a bear robbed of [her] offspring in the field. Your father [is] a man of war, so he will not spend the night with the troops.

Now he has hidden himself in one of the caves or in one of the places. At the moment he falls on them the first time, {whoever hears} the report will say, 'There has been a defeat among the people who follow after Absalom.'

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite [is] better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom).

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [were] staying at En Rogel, so a servant girl used to go and tell them, then they would go and tell King David, for they [were] not able to be seen coming to the city.

But a young man saw them and told Absalom, so both of them went quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim. Now he had a well in his courtyard, so they went down there.

So David and all the people who [were] with him set out, and they crossed over the Jordan until morning light until {there was no one} missing who had not crossed over the Jordan.

Now David had come to Mahanaim, and Absalom had crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

Absalom had appointed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. Now Amasa [was] the son of a man whose name [was] Ithra the Israelite, {who had married} Abigail the daughter of Nahash the sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab.

Then the troops said, "You will not go out, for {if we must flee}, then {they will not care about us}; even if half of us die, {they will not care about us}, but now, you [are] like ten thousand of us. And so then, [it is] better for us that you be in the city to help."

Joab said, "No longer will I wait in your presence." Then he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he [was] still alive in the oak tree.

(Now Absalom had taken and set up for himself in his lifetime a stone pillar that [is] in the valley of the king, because he said, "I have no son in order to remember my name," and he called the stone pillar by his name. It [is] called the monument of Absalom until this day).

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."

Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again said to Joab, "{Come what may}, please let me also run after the Cushite." Joab asked, "Why [are] you wanting to run, my son, when for you there is no {messenger's reward}?"

Now David [was] sitting between the two gates, and the sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall and he lifted up his eyes and watched, and look, a man [was] running by himself.

The king said, "[Is] it peace for the young man Absalom?" Ahimaaz said, "I saw the great commotion when Joab the servant of the king sent your servant, but I do not know what [it was all about]."

by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. Indeed, you have made clear this day that you have no [regard for your] commanders or officers, for I have realized today that [were] Absalom alive, and all of us were dead, then [that would] have been right in your eyes!

So then, get up and go out and {speak kindly to your servants}, for I swear by Yahweh, if you do not go out, no man will lodge this night with you, and this disaster [will be] greater for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your childhood until now!"

Then it happened that all the people [were] disputing among all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies, and he saved us from the hand of [the] Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

Now Absalom whom we anointed [as king] over us has died in the battle; so then, why [are] you taking no action to restore the king?"

Then David said, "What [is] it to me or to you, sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary today? [Should] anyone be put to death in Israel? Do I not know today that I [am] king over Israel?"

Now, Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet nor trimmed his moustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in peace.

For there [was no one] in all the house of my father {who were not doomed to death} before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. Do I have any righteousness any longer except to cry out to the king?"

Now Barzillai [was] very old, {eighty years old}. Now he had provided the king [with food] while he [was] staying at Mahanaim, for he [was] a very wealthy man.

Now a man of wickedness was found there whose name [was] Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. He blew the horn and said, "There is no share for us in David, and there [is] no inheritance for us in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel!"

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."

They [were] near the big rock that [is] in Gibeon, and Amasa came before them. Joab {was dressed in his military clothing}, [with] a utility belt on him and a sword strapped to his waist in its scabbard. Now he went out, and it fell out.

Now Amasa was not on his guard against the sword that [was] in Joab's hand, and he struck him with it into the stomach, and his entrails poured out to the ground. He did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bicri.

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.

(He had passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maacah; now all of the Berites had been treated badly, so they also followed after him.)

Now Joab [was] over all the army of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was] over the Carites and over the Pelethites.

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.

He gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they executed them on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, and the seven fell together. Now they were put to death in the days of the harvest, at the beginning of the harvest of barley.

Now Yishbi in Nob, who [was] among the descendents of Raphah (now the weight of his spearhead [was] three hundredweight of bronze, and he [was] newly armed), said that he would kill David.

They looked out, but there was no deliverer, [even] to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.

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

Now at that time, David [was] in the stronghold, and a garrison of [the] Philistines [was] in Bethlehem at that [same] time

Now Abishai the brother of Joab the son of Zeruiah [was] himself the leader of the thirty. He [was] wielding his spear against three hundred slain and {gained a name} among the thirty.

The king said to Joab, the commander of the army who [was] with him: "Please go about through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people that I may know the number of the people."

Then Gad came to David, and he told him and said to him, "Shall seven years of famine in the land come to you? Or three months of your fleeing from your enemies while he [is] pursuing you? Or should there be three days of pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what I must return to the one who sent me a word."

When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, Yahweh regretted about the evil, and he said to the angel who brought destruction among the people, "Enough, now relax your hand." Now the angel of Yahweh [was] at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but {I will certainly buy} it from you for a price; I don't want to offer to Yahweh my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the cattle for fifty shekels of silver.