To whom David said, "Whence comest thou?" And the other answered him, "Out of the host of Israel am I escaped."

And David saith unto the youth who is declaring it to him, 'How hast thou known that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?'

And the youth who is declaring it to him saith, I happened to meet in mount Gilboa, and lo, Saul is leaning on his spear; and lo, the chariots and those possessing horses have followed him;

And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

And David taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them, and also all the men who are with him,

They mourned, wept, and fasted until the evening for those who died by the sword—for Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s people, and the house of Israel.

And David saith unto the youth who is declaring it to him, 'Whence art thou?' and he saith, 'Son of a sojourner, an Amalekite, I am.'

Saul and Jonathan, men who were loved and pleasant, undivided; comely in their lives, and undivided in their death; swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

and his men who are with him hath David brought up -- a man and his household -- and they dwell in the cities of Hebron.

And the men of Judah come, and anoint there David for king over the house of Judah; and they declare to David, saying, 'The men of Jabesh-Gilead are they who buried Saul.'

And David will send messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and he will say to them, Blessed ye to Jehovah, who did this mercy with your lord, with Saul, and ye will bury him.

So they stood up and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

And he refuseth to turn aside, and Abner smiteth him with the hinder part of the spear unto the fifth rib, and the spear cometh out from behind him, and he falleth there, and dieth under it; and it cometh to pass, every one who hath come unto the place where Asahel hath fallen and dieth -- they stand still.

And the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, three hundred and sixty men, who had died.

His second [was] Kileab by Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; the third [was] Absalom the son of Maacah, [who was] the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur.

Meanwhile, Saul had a mistress named Rizpah, who was the daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth asked Abner, "Why did you have sex with my father's mistress?"

Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, I who against Judah do shew kindness this day to the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou reproachest me this day with the fault of this woman?

Abner sent messengers to David {where he was}, saying, "To whom does the land [belong]? {Make your covenant with me}! Look, my hand [is] with you to bring all of Israel over to you!"

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

So Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish [to whom Saul had given her].

For the Lord has said of David, By the hand of my servant David I will make my people Israel safe from the Philistines, and from all who are against them.

and Abner cometh in unto David, to Hebron, and with him twenty men, and David maketh for Abner, and for the men who are with him, a banquet.

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

And when Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him again from the well of Sirah; but David did not know it.

Let the guilt fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house (family); and may there never disappear from the house of Joab one who suffers with a discharge or one who is a leper or one who walks with a crutch [being unfit for war], or one who falls by the sword, or one who lacks food.”

And David saith unto Joab, and unto all the people who are with him, 'Rend your garments, and gird on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner;' and king David is going after the bier.

Your hands [were] not tied and your feet [were] not in contact with bronze fetters. You have fallen as one who falls before sons of wickedness." Then {all the people wept over him again}.

Today, even though I'm anointed as king, I'm weak. These men, sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the LORD repay the one who acts wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!"

Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of [raiding] bands [of soldiers]. One was named Baanah and the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the sons (tribe) of Benjamin (for Beeroth is also considered part of [the tribe of] Benjamin,

Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the news [of the deaths] of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. And the boy’s nurse picked him up and fled; but it happened that while she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon.

And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto 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 Jehovah hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.

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

When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:

also heretofore, in Saul's being king over us, thou hast been he who is bringing out and bringing in Israel, and Jehovah saith to thee, Thou dost feed My people Israel, and thou art for leader over Israel.'

And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither.

Then David said on that day, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites, let him go up through the [underground] water shaft to strike the lame and the blind, who are detested by David’s soul [because of their arrogance].” So [for that reason] they say, “The blind or the lame (Jebusites) shall not come into the [royal] house [of Israel].”

David's power grew steadily, for the Lord God who commands armies was with him.

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

And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale-Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God which is called by the name, the name of Jehovah of hosts who sitteth between the cherubim.

So they carried the ark of God in a new waggon, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, who was in Gibeah, - and, Uzza and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were driving the new waggon.

And when those who were carrying the ark of the Lord [by its poles] had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.

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 to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

And David said unto Michal, It was before Jehovah, who chose me above thy father, and above all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of Jehovah, over Israel: therefore will I play before Jehovah.

And I will be yet more vile than this, and will be base in mine own sight: but of the handmaids of whom thou hast spoken, of them shall I be had in honor.

“Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in?

In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?

and I am with thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and I cut off all thine enemies from thy presence, and have made for thee a great name, as the name of the great ones who are in the earth,

From the time when I put judges over my people Israel; and I will give you peace from all who are against you. And the Lord says to you that he will make you the head of a line of kings.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down [in death] with your fathers (ancestors), I will raise up your descendant after you, who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom.

It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

I am to him for a father, and he is to Me for a son; whom in his dealings perversely I have even reproved with a rod of men, and with strokes of the sons of Adam,

But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

"Who am I, Lord GOD, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this? And this is still a small thing to you, Lord GOD you also have spoken about the future of your servant's house, and this is the charter for mankind, O Lord GOD!

And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who went to restore his control at the Euphrates River.

And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, who is lame of his feet.

Mephibosheth bowed low again and asked, "Who am I, your servant, that you would pay attention to a dead dog like me?"

And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

The rest of the army he placed into the hand of his brother Abishai, who {arranged them in battle lines} to meet the {Ammonites}.

And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who are with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence;

Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River [Euphrates]; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them.

And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.

When all the kings who were Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. After this, the Arameans were afraid to ever help the Ammonites again.

And David sent to get knowledge who the woman was. And one said, Is this not Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite?

And he gave orders to the man who took the news, saying, After you have given the king all the news about the war,

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

So the man went, and came to David, and gave him all the news which Joab had sent him to give; then David was angry with Joab and said, Why did you go so near the town for the fight? was it not certain that their archers would be on the wall? who put Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, to death? did not a woman send a great stone down on him from the wall, putting him to death at Thebez? why did you go so near the wall?

David said to the messenger, "Tell Joab, 'Don't let this thing upset you. There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. Press the battle against the city and conquer it.' Encourage him with these words."

So then Yahweh sent Nathan the prophet unto David, - who therefore came unto him and said to him - Two men, there were in a certain city, the one, rich, and, the other, poor.

And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'

And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, 'Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death is the man who is doing this,

Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.

only, because thou hast caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son who is born to thee doth surely die.'

And Nathan goeth unto his house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David, and it is incurable;

And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

And David gave comfort to his wife Bath-sheba, and he went in to her and had connection with her: and she had a son to whom she gave the name Solomon. And he was dear to the Lord.

and He sent a message through Nathan the prophet, who named him Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

and the people who are in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.

And it chanced that Absalom, David's son, had a fair sister named Tamar, whom afterward Amnon, another son of David, loved.

Meanwhile, Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David's brother Shimeah. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man.

So Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother, who was lying down. She took the dough, kneaded it, made some cakes while he watched, and baked them.

Instead, he called his young man who was his personal servant and said, “Now throw this woman out of my presence and bolt the door behind her.”

-- and upon her is a long coat, for such upper robes do daughters of the king who are virgins put on, -- and his servant taketh her out without, and hath bolted the door after her.

Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "Please watch. At the moment the heart of Amnon [is] {tipsy} with wine, then I shall say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' and you shall kill him! Don't be afraid. [Is] it not I myself who has commanded you? Be courageous and be {valiant!}

And the king arose, and rent his garments, and lay on the ground, - and all his servants who stood by rent their garments.

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."

And Absalom fleeth, and the young man who is watching lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, much people are coming by the way behind him, on the side of the hill.

So Joab sent word to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there and told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning clothes, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has for many days been in mourning for the dead.

Your servant has two sons. When the two of them got into a fight in the field, there was no one present who could intervene. One of them struck the other and killed him.

And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.

And the king saith, 'He who speaketh aught unto thee, and thou hast brought him unto me, then he doth not add any more to come against thee.'

Then she said, "Please may the king remember Yahweh your God, {to prevent the increase of blood avengers who kill}, [so that they] not wipe out my son." He said, "{As Yahweh lives}, surely not one hair shall fall from your son to the ground."

The woman said, “Now why have you planned such a thing against God’s people? For in speaking this word the king is like a guilty man, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.

For we will certainly die and are like water that is spilled on the ground and cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not [simply] take away life, but devises plans so that the one who is banished is not driven away from Him.

For the king will hear and save his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.’