The next day, a man escaped from Saul's camp! With torn clothes and dirty hair, he approached David, fell to the ground, and bowed down to him.

David asked him, "Where did you come from? He answered him, "I just escaped from Israel's encampment."

David continued questioning him, "How did things go? Please tell me!" He replied, "The army has fled the battlefield, many of the army are wounded or have died, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."

Saul glanced behind him, saw me, and called out to me, so I replied, "Here I am!'

He asked me, "Who are you?' So I answered him, "I'm an Amalekite!'

So I stood next to him and killed him, because I knew that he wouldn't live after he had fallen. I took the crown that had been on his head, along with the bracelet that had been on his arm, and I have brought them to your majesty."

On hearing this, David grabbed his clothes and tore them, as did all the men who were attending to him.

Meanwhile, David asked the young man who had told him the story, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I'm an Amalekite, the son of a foreign man."

At this David asked him, "How is it that you weren't afraid to raise your hand to strike the LORD's anointed?"

Then David called out to one of his young men and ordered him, "Go up to him and cut him down!" So he attacked him and killed him.

David told him, "Your blood is on your own head, because your own words testified against you! After all, you said, "I myself have killed the LORD's anointed!'"

Some time later, David inquired of the LORD to ask, "Am I to move to any one of the cities of Judah?" The LORD told him, "Go." So David asked, "To which one?" He replied, "To Hebron."

David brought his army with him, each soldier accompanied by his household, and they settled in the cities of Hebron.

So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and told them, "May the LORD bless you, because you showed gracious love like this to your lord Saul by burying him.

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

He installed him as king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all of the rest of Israel.

So Asahel ran straight after Abner, following him.

When Abner looked behind him, he said, "Is that you, Asahel?" He answered, "I am."

Abner told him, "Go off to your right or left after one of the young men and grab some war spoils." But Asahel would not stop following him,

They retrieved Asahel's body and buried him in his father's tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night until daybreak and arrived back in Hebron.

Therefore may God do to me and more also! just as the LORD has promised to David, since I'm doing this for him:

Ish-bosheth couldn't say another word in response to Abner, because he was terrified of him.

So Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron to ask him, "Who owns this land? Cut a deal with me, and look! I'll lend my hand in bringing all of Israel over to you!"

Her husband accompanied her, crying as he followed after her all the way to Bahurim, where Abner told him, "Leave! Go back!" So he went back.

Afterwards, Abner brought 20 soldiers to David at Hebron, and David threw a party for Abner and the men who were with him.

Right about then, David's servants returned from a raid, bringing plenty of war booty with them, but Abner wasn't in Hebron with David, since David had sent him away and Abner had left in peace.

When Joab returned with his entire army, Joab was informed, "Ner's son Abner visited the king, and he has dismissed him. He has left in peace."

So Joab approached the king and asked him, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you! What's this? You sent him away? He's long gone now!

As soon as Joab left David, Joab sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah, but David was not aware of this.

When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab brought him aside within the gateway to talk to him alone and then stabbed him in the abdomen. So he died for shedding the blood of Joab's brother Asahel.

David ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn for Abner." King David walked behind the funeral procession,

Then all the people cried again because of him. Everyone tried to persuade David to have a meal while there was still daylight, but David took an oath by saying, "May God to do like this to me and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!"

Meanwhile, Saul's son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled. When he was five years old, news had arrived about Saul and Jonathan from Jezreel, and his nurse picked him up to flee, but in her hurry to leave, he happened to fall and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

They entered the house as though they intended to obtain some grain and stabbed him in the abdomen. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped.

While they were in the house, they struck him, killed him, and cut off his head while he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. They took his head, and traveled all night along the Arabah road.

when the man who told me "Look! Saul is dead!' thought he was bringing me good news, I arrested him and had him killed at Ziklag as the reward I gave him for his news.

David became more and more esteemed because the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies was with him.

So David concluded that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom in order to benefit his people Israel.

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

When the Philistines eventually learned that Israel had anointed David to be king over Israel, they marched out in search of him. But David heard about it and retreated to his stronghold.

So David did exactly what the LORD ordered him to do, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

Then David and all the people with him set out from Baal-judah to bring up from there the Ark of God, who is called the Name, the name of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, and who is enthroned on the cherubim.

Just then, the anger of the LORD blazed against Uzzah, and God struck him down right there because of his failure, and he died there beside the Ark of God.

As the ark of the LORD was coming into the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal was peering out a window, watching King David jumping and dancing in the LORD's presence, and she despised him in her heart.

When David returned to bless his household, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him and called out, "How the king of Israel honored himself today by undressing himself right in front of his women staff members, just like any pervert would dare to expose himself!"

After the king had settled down in his palace and the LORD had given him respite from all of his surrounding enemies,

I will be a father to him, and he will be to me a son who, when he commits iniquity, I will discipline with the rod wielded by armies and with wounds inflicted by human beings.

But I'll never remove my gracious love from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed from your presence.

For you, LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, telling him, "I will build a dynasty for you,' so that your servant has found fortitude to pray this prayer to you.

David erected garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, placing the Arameans under servitude to him, and they paid tribute to him.

Tou sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory over Hadadezer, because he had been at war with Tou. Joram brought articles of silver, gold, and bronze with him,

A household servant of Saul named Ziba was called to appear before David, and the king asked him, "Are you Ziba?" "I am your servant," Ziba replied.

At this, King David sent for him and brought him from the home of Ammiel's son Makir in Lo-debar.

When Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son and a grandson of Saul, approached David, he threw himself on his face out of respect. "Mephibosheth!" David said as he greeted him. "Hello! I am your servant," he replied.

"Don't be afraid," David reassured him, "because I'm going to show gracious love to you in memory of your father Jonathan. I'm going to restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you'll always have a place at my table!"

At this, the king called for Saul's servant Ziba and told him, "I'm restoring to your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.

Later, Ziba told the king, "Your servant will do everything that your majesty the king commands him." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.

Sometime later, the Ammonite king died and his son Hanun succeeded him as king,

so David told himself, "I will be loyal to Nahash's son Hanun, since in his loyalty his father showed gracious love to me." So David sent a delegation to Hanun to console him about his loss of his father.

When Joab observed that the battle lines were set up to oppose him both in front and behind, he appointed the best troops in Israel and arrayed them to oppose the Arameans,

So Joab and the soldiers who were with him attacked the Arameans in battle formation, and the Arameans retreated in front of him.

David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"

So David sent some messengers, took her from her home, and she went to him, and he had sex with her. (She had been consecrating herself following her menstrual separation.) Then she returned to her home.

So David summoned Joab, and told him, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David.

Then David told Uriah, "Go on down to your house and relax a while." So Uriah left the king's palace, and the king sent a gift along after him.

When David was told that Uriah hadn't gone home the previous night, he quizzed him, "You just arrived from a long journey, so why didn't you go down to your own house?"

Then at David's invitation, he and Uriah dined and drank wine together, and David got him drunk. Later that evening, Uriah went out to lie on a couch in the company of his lord's servants, and he did not go down to his house.

The next morning, David sent a message to Joab that Uriah took with him in his hand.

In the message, he wrote: "Assign Uriah to the most difficult fighting at the battle front, and then withdraw from him so that he will be struck down and killed."

Who killed Jerubbesheth's son Abimelech? Didn't a woman kill him by throwing an upper millstone on him from the wall at Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?' then tell him, "Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'"

So the messenger left Joab, set out for Jerusalem, and disclosed to David everything that Joab had sent him to say.

David responded to the messenger, "Here's what you're to tell Joab: "Don't be troubled by this incident, because the battle sword consumes one or another from time to time. Consolidate your attack against the city and conquer it.' Be sure to encourage him."

When her mourning period was completed, David sent for her, brought her to his palace, and she became his wife. Later on, she bore him a son.

but the poor man had nothing except for one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It used to share his food and drink from his own cup. It even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

A traveler arrived to visit the rich man. Because he was unwilling to take an animal from one of his own flocks or herds to prepare for the guest who had come to visit him, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to visit him."

""Why did you despise what the LORD has promised by doing what is detestable in his sight? ""You struck down Uriah the Hittite with a battle sword. ""You took his wife to be your own. ""You killed him with the sword of the Ammonite army.

His closest advisors at the palace got up, remained with him, and tried to help him get up from the ground, but he would not do so. He also wouldn't eat with them.

A week later, the child died, and David's staff was afraid to tell him that the child had died. They were telling themselves, "Look, when the child was still alive, we talked to him but he wouldn't listen to what we said. Now what kind of trouble will he bring on himself if we tell him that the child has died?"

At this, David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the LORD's tent to worship. Then he went back to his palace where, at his request, they served him food and he ate.

His staff asked him, "What's this about? When the child was alive, you fasted and cried. Now that the child has died, you get up and eat!"

But now that he has died, what's the point of fasting? Can I bring him back again? I'll be going to be with him, but he won't be returning to me."

Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba. He went in and had sex with her, and she bore a son whom he named Solomon. The LORD loved him,

Then Joab sent messengers to David to tell him, "I just attacked Rabbah and captured its municipal water supply,

Jonadab advised him, "Lie down and pretend to be sick. When your father visits you, ask him, "Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat that she prepares especially for me, and after she makes dinner for me, let her feed it to me personally.'"

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to visit him, Amnon asked the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make some of her bread especially for me, so she can feed it to me personally."

So David sent for Tamar back at the palace, telling her, "Please go to your brother Amnon's home and prepare some food for him."

Tamar went to her brother Amnon's home, where he was lying down. She brought along some dough, kneaded it, prepared some cakes especially for him, baked them,

and emptied the baking skillet just for him, but he refused to eat.

But as soon as she brought them near him to eat, he overpowered her and told her, "Come here and have sex with me, my sister!"

"No, my brother!" she kept telling him. "Don't humiliate me like this! This just isn't done in Israel! Don't do this utterly foolish thing!

But he was unwilling to listen to what she was saying. Since he was stronger than she was, he forced her into having sex with him.

Even so, she tried to tell him, "No! After all, it's more wrong to send me away than what you just did to me!"

But he was unwilling to listen to her. So he called out to a young man who was serving him, and told him: "Send this woman away from me and lock the door after her."

Absalom had gone to the king to ask him, "I've brought some men to shear the sheep. Won't you please come and join me, along with your senior staff?"

Then Absalom instructed his young men, "Please keep watching Amnon until he's drunk. Then I'll tell you, "Attack Amnon!' As soon as I do, kill him and don't be afraid! You have your orders, so be strong and brave!"

Then go to the king and speak to him like this"" Then Joab told her what to say.

When the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, prostrating herself to address him, "Help, your majesty!"

"I've been a widowed woman ever since my husband died," she answered. "Your humble servant used to have two sons, but they got into a fight out in the field. Because there was no one to keep them apart, one of them attacked the other and killed him.

Now please pay attention closely! My whole family is attacking your humble servant! They're saying, "Turn over the one who attacked his brother and we'll put him to death in retribution for his brother, whose life he took. That way, we'll kill the heir also!' They're going to extinguish the only light left in my family, leaving my late husband neither an ongoing name nor a survivor on the face of the earth!"

After all, even though we all die, and we're all like water being spilled on the ground that cannot be recovered, nevertheless God doesn't take away life, but carries out his plans so as not to cast away permanently from him those who are presently estranged.