Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul [was] forty years old when he became king over Israel and he reigned two years; however, the house of Judah {followed} David.

Then the battle {became increasingly fierce} on that day, and Abner and the men of Israel [were] defeated before the servants of David.

The descendants of Benjamin rallied after Abner, and they became as one fighting group and stood on the top of a certain hill.

{Abner became very angry} at the words of Ish-Bosheth, and he said, "[Am] I the head of a dog which [is] for Judah today? Do I not continue to show loyal love with the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends? I have not let you fall into the hands of David, yet you have {accused me of sin with this woman} today.

(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.)

When he defeated Moab, he measured them with the cord, making them lie on the ground. He measured two cords to kill and {the third cord} to let live. So Moab became servants of David, bringing tribute.

David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went.

He put garrisons in Edom; all over Edom he put garrisons, and all of Edom became servants of David. Yahweh protected David wherever he went.

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

The woman became pregnant, and she sent and told David, and she said, "I [am] pregnant."

David invited him, and he ate and drank in his presence {so that he became drunk}, and he went out in the evening to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

When the mourning [was] over, David sent and brought her to his household, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing which David had done [was] evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

but the poor [man] had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him.

Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill.

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

Children of a foreign land came cringing to me; {when they heard of me}, they became obedient to me.

Among the thirty, is it not that he [was] honored and became a commander for them? But he did not come up to the three