Programmer 7500/MAX_PROGRAMMERS.iso/INFO/MISC/OLD_TEST.ZIP/10IISAM.KJV

Text File | 1980-01-01 | 112.1 KB | 2,172 lines

 1:1  Now 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;
 1:2  It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a
man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and
earth upon his head: and [so] it was, when he came to David,
that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
 1:3  And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he
said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.
 1:4  And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray
thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from
the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead;
and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
 1:5  And David said unto the young man that told him, How
knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?
 1:6  And the young man that told him said, As I happened by
chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear;
and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.
 1:7  And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto
me. And I answered, Here [am] I.
 1:8  And he said unto me, Who [art] thou? And I answered him,
I [am] an Amalekite.
 1:9  He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and
slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life [is] yet
whole in me.
 1:10  So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure
that he could not live after that 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 hither unto my lord.
 1:11  Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and
likewise all the men that [were] with him:
 1:12  And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for
Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD,
and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the
sword.
 1:13  And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence
[art] thou? And he answered, I [am] the son of a stranger, an
Amalekite.
 1:14  And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to
stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?
 1:15  And David called one of the young men, and said, Go
near, [and] fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
 1:16  And David said unto him, Thy blood [be] upon thy head;
for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain
the LORD'S anointed.
 1:17  And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and
over Jonathan his son:
 1:18  (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah [the use
of] the bow: behold, [it is] written in the book of Jasher.)
 1:19  The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how
are the mighty fallen!
 1:20  Tell [it] not in Gath, publish [it] not in the streets
of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest
the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
 1:21  Ye mountains of Gilboa, [let there be] no dew, neither
[let there be] rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for
there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield
of Saul, [as though he had] not [been] anointed with oil.
 1:22  From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul
returned not empty.
 1:23  Saul and Jonathan [were] lovely and pleasant in their
lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were
swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
 1:24  Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you
in scarlet, with [other] delights, who put on ornaments of gold
upon your apparel.
 1:25  How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O
Jonathan, [thou wast] slain in thine high places.
 1:26  I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very
pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.
 1:27  How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war
perished!

 2:1  And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of
the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of
Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said,
Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.
 2:2  So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam
the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite.
 2:3  And his men that [were] with him did David bring up,
every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of
Hebron.
 2:4  And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David
king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying,
[That] the men of Jabeshgilead [were they] that buried Saul.
 2:5  And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead,
and said unto them, Blessed [be] ye of the LORD, that ye have
showed this kindness unto your lord, [even] unto Saul, and have
buried him.
 2:6  And now the LORD show kindness and truth unto you: and I
also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this
thing.
 2:7  Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye
valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of
Judah have anointed me king over them.
 2:8  But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took
Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
 2:9  And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites,
and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over
all Israel.
 2:10  Ishbosheth Saul's son [was] forty years old when he
began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the
house of Judah followed David.
 2:11  And the time that David was king in Hebron over the
house of Judah was seven years and six months.
 2:12  And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth
the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
 2:13  And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David,
went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat
down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the
other side of the pool.
 2:14  And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and
play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
 2:15  Then there arose and went over by number twelve of
Benjamin, which [pertained] to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and
twelve of the servants of David.
 2:16  And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and
[thrust] his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down
together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim,
which [is] in Gibeon.
 2:17  And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was
beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
 2:18  And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and
Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel [was as] light of foot as a
wild roe.
 2:19  And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned
not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.
 2:20  Then Abner looked behind him, and said, [Art] thou
Asahel? And he answered, I [am].
 2:21  And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand
or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and
take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from
following of him.
 2:22  And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from
following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how
then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?
 2:23  Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with
the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth [rib],
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 as
came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.
 2:24  Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun
went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that
[lieth] before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
 2:25  And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves
together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the
top of an hill.
 2:26  Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword
devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in
the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the
people return from following their brethren?
 2:27  And Joab said, [As] God liveth, unless thou hadst
spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every
one from following his brother.
 2:28  So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still,
and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.
 2:29  And Abner and his men walked all that night through the
plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron,
and they came to Mahanaim.
 2:30  And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had
gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's
servants nineteen men and Asahel.
 2:31  But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and
of Abner's men, [so that] three hundred and threescore men
died.
 2:32  And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre
of his father, which [was in] Bethlehem. And Joab and his men
went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

 3:1  Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the
house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the
house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
 3:2  And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his
firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
 3:3  And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the
Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the
daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
 3:4  And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the
fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
 3:5  And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were
born to David in Hebron.
 3:6  And it came to pass, while there was war between the
house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself
strong for the house of Saul.
 3:7  And Saul had a concubine, whose name [was] Rizpah, the
daughter of Aiah: and [Ishbosheth] said to Abner, Wherefore
hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine?
 3:8  Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth,
and said, [Am] I a dog's head, which against Judah do show
kindness this day unto 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 chargest me to day with a fault
concerning this woman?
 3:9  So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD
hath sworn to David, even so I do to him;
 3:10  To translate 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.
 3:11  And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he
feared him.
 3:12  And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf,
saying, Whose [is] the land? saying [also], Make thy league
with me, and, behold, my hand [shall be] with thee, to bring
about all Israel unto thee.
 3:13  And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but
one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my
face, except thou first bring Michal Saul's daughter, when thou
comest to see my face.
 3:14  And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul's son,
saying, Deliver [me] my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for
an hundred foreskins of the Philistines.
 3:15  And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from [her] husband,
[even] from Phaltiel the son of Laish.
 3:16  And her husband went with her along weeping behind her
to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, Go, return. And he
returned.
 3:17  And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel,
saying, Ye sought for David in times past [to be] king over
you:
 3:18  Now then do [it]: for the LORD hath 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.
 3:19  And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner
went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that
seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house
of Benjamin.
 3:20  So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with
him. And David made Abner and the men that [were] with him a
feast.
 3:21  And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will
gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a
league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that
thine heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in
peace.
 3:22  And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from
[pursuing] a troop, and brought in a great spoil with them: but
Abner [was] not with David in Hebron; for he had sent him away,
and he was gone in peace.
 3:23  When Joab and all the host that [was] with him were
come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the
king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
 3:24  Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou
done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why [is] it [that] thou
hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?
 3:25  Thou knowest 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 doest.
 3:26  And when Joab was come out from David, he sent
messengers after Abner, which brought him again from the well
of Sirah: but David knew [it] not.
 3:27  And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him
aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him
there under the fifth [rib], that he died, for the blood of
Asahel his brother.
 3:28  And afterward when David heard [it], he said, I and my
kingdom [are] guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood
of Abner the son of Ner:
 3:29  Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father's
house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that
hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff,
or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread.
 3:30  So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he
had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
 3:31  And David said to Joab, and to all the people that
[were] with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with
sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David [himself]
followed the bier.
 3:32  And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up
his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people
wept.
 3:33  And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner
as a fool dieth?
 3:34  Thy hands [were] not bound. nor thy feet put into
fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, [so] fellest thou.
And all the people wept again over him.
 3:35  And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat
while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and
more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be
down.
 3:36  And all the people took notice [of it], and it pleased
them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people.
 3:37  For all the people and all Israel understood that day
that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner.
 3:38  And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that
there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?
 3:39  And I [am] this day weak, though anointed king; and
these men the sons of Zeruiah [be] too hard for me: the LORD
shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.

 4:1  And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron,
his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.
 4:2  And Saul's son had two men [that were] captains of bands:
the name of the one [was] Baanah, and the name of the other
Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of
Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin.
 4:3  And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners
there until this day.)
 4:4  And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son [that was] lame of
[his] feet. He was five years old when the tidings 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 he
fell, and became lame. And his name [was] Mephibosheth.
 4:5  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.
 4:6  And they came thither into the midst of the house, [as
though] they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under
the fifth [rib]: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
 4:7  For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in
his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded
him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all
night.
 4:8  And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to
Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the
son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD
hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his
seed.
 4:9  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,
 4:10  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:
 4:11  How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous
person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now
require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the
earth?
 4:12  And David commanded his young men, and they slew them,
and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged [them] up
over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth,
and buried [it] in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.

 5:1  Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron,
and spake, saying, Behold, we [are] thy bone and thy flesh.
 5:2  Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast
he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said
to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a
captain over Israel.
 5:3  So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron;
and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the
LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.
 5:4  David [was] thirty years old when he began to reign,
[and] he reigned forty years.
 5:5  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six
months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over
all Israel and Judah.
 5:6  And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the
Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which 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.
 5:7  Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same
[is] the city of David.
 5:8  And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the
gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind,
[that are] hated of David's soul, [he shall be chief and
captain]. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not
come into the house.
 5:9  So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of
David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.
 5:10  And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of
hosts [was] with him.
 5:11  And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and
cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David
an house.
 5:12  And David perceived that the LORD had established him
king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his
people Israel's sake.
 5:13  And David took [him] more concubines and wives out of
Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet
sons and daughters born to David.
 5:14  And these [be] the names of those that were born unto
him in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and
Solomon,
 5:15  Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
 5:16  And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.
 5:17  But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed
David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek
David; and David heard [of it], and went down to the hold.
 5:18  The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the
valley of Rephaim.
 5:19  And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to
the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the
LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the
Philistines into thine hand.
 5:20  And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them
there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies
before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the
name of that place Baalperazim.
 5:21  And there they left their images, and David and his men
burned them.
 5:22  And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread
themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
 5:23  And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt
not go up; [but] fetch a compass behind them, and come upon
them over against the mulberry trees.
 5:24  And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in
the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir
thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite
the host of the Philistines.
 5:25  And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and
smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

 6:1  Again, David gathered together all [the] chosen [men] of
Israel, thirty thousand.
 6:2  And David arose, and went with all the people that [were]
with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark
of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts
that dwelleth [between] the cherubims.
 6:3  And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought
it out of the house of Abinadab that [was] in Gibeah: and Uzzah
and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.
 6:4  And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which
[was] at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went
before the ark.
 6:5  And David and all the house of Israel played before the
LORD on all manner of [instruments made of] fir wood, even on
harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and
on cymbals.
 6:6  And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put
forth [his hand] to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for
the oxen shook [it].
 6:7  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and
God smote him there for [his] error; and there he died by the
ark of God.
 6:8  And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a
breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place
Perezuzzah to this day.
 6:9  And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How
shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
 6:10  So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him
into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the
house of Obededom the Gittite.
 6:11  And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of
Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed
Obededom, and all his household.
 6:12  And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath
blessed the house of Obededom, and all that [pertaineth] unto
him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up
the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of
David with gladness.
 6:13  And it was [so], that when they that bare the ark of the
LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
 6:14  And David danced before the LORD with all [his] might;
and David [was] girded with a linen ephod.
 6:15  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark
of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
 6:16  And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David,
Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king
David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him
in her heart.
 6:17  And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in
his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had
pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace
offerings before the LORD.
 6:18  And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt
offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the
name of the LORD of hosts.
 6:19  And he dealt among all the people, [even] among the
whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to
every one a cake of bread, and a good piece [of flesh], and a
flagon [of wine]. So all the people departed every one to his
house.
 6:20  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!
 6:21  And David said unto Michal, [It was] before the LORD,
which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to
appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel:
therefore will I play before the LORD.
 6:22  And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base
in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast
spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
 6:23  Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto
the day of her death.

 7:1  And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and
the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
 7:2  That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I
dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within
curtains.
 7:3  And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that [is] in
thine heart; for the LORD [is] with thee.
 7:4  And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD
came unto Nathan, saying,
 7:5  Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt
thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
 7:6  Whereas I have not dwelt in [any] house since the time
that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to
this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
 7:7  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?
 7:8  Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote,
from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over
Israel:
 7:9  And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have
cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee
a great name, like unto the name of the great [men] that [are]
in the earth.
 7:10  Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel,
and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their
own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness
afflict them any more, as beforetime,
 7:11  And as since the time that I commanded judges [to be]
over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all
thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make
thee an house.
 7:12  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep
with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which
shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his
kingdom.
 7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish
the throne of his kingdom for ever.
 7:14  I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he
commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and
with the stripes of the children of men:
 7:15  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took
[it] from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
 7:16  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for
ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
 7:17  According to all these words, and according to all this
vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
 7:18  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?
 7:19  And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD;
but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great
while to come. And [is] this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?
 7:20  And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord
GOD, knowest thy servant.
 7:21  For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart,
hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know
[them].
 7:22  Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for [there is]
none like thee, neither [is there any] God beside thee,
according to all that we have heard with our ears.
 7:23  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?
 7:24  For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel [to
be] a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become
their God.
 7:25  And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken
concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish
[it] for ever, and do as thou hast said.
 7:26  And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD
of hosts [is] the God over Israel: and let the house of thy
servant David be established before thee.
 7:27  For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed
to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore
hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto
thee.
 7:28  And now, O Lord GOD, thou [art] that God, and thy words
be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
 7:29  Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of
thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for
thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken [it]: and with thy blessing let
the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

 8:1  And after this it came to pass, that David smote the
Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Methegammah out
of the hand of the Philistines.
 8:2  And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting
them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put
to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And [so] the
Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts.
 8:3  David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of
Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.
 8:4  And David took from him a thousand [chariots], and seven
hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hocked
all the chariot [horses], but reserved of them [for] an hundred
chariots.
 8:5  And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour
Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and
twenty thousand men.
 8:6  Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the
Syrians became servants to David, [and] brought gifts. And the
LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
 8:7  And David took the shields of gold that were on the
servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
 8:8  And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer,
king David took exceeding much brass.
 8:9  When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all
the host of Hadadezer,
 8:10  Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute
him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer,
and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And [Joram]
brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and
vessels of brass:
 8:11  Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with
the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which
he subdued;
 8:12  Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and
of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of
Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
 8:13  And David gat [him] a name when he returned from smiting
of the Syrians in the valley of salt, [being] eighteen thousand
[men].
 8:14  And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he
garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And
the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
 8:15  And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed
judgment and justice unto all his people.
 8:16  And Joab the son of Zeruiah [was] over the host; and
Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] recorder;
 8:17  And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of
Abiathar, [were] the priests; and Seraiah [was] the scribe;
 8:18  And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was over] both the
Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief
rulers.

 9:1  And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the
house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's
sake?
 9:2  And [there was] of the house of Saul a servant whose name
[was] Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king
said unto him, [Art] thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant [is
he].
 9:3  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, [which is] lame on
[his] feet.
 9:4  And the king said unto him, Where [is] he? And Ziba said
unto the king, Behold, he [is] in the house of Machir, the son
of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
 9:5  Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of
Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
 9:6  Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of
Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did
reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered,
Behold thy servant!
 9:7  And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely show
thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore
thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread
at my table continually.
 9:8  And he bowed himself, and said, What [is] thy servant,
that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I [am]?
 9:9  Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said
unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that pertained
to Saul and to all his house.
 9:10  Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall
till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in [the fruits],
that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth
thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba
had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
 9:11  Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my
lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant
do. As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my
table, as one of the king's sons.
 9:12  And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name [was]
Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba [were] servants
unto Mephibosheth.
 9:13  So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat
continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet.

 10:1  And it came to pass after this, that the king of the
children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.
 10:2  Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son
of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David
sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father.
And David's servants came into the land of the children of
Ammon.
 10:3  And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun
their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father,
that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David [rather]
sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it
out, and to overthrow it?
 10:4  Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off
the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the
middle, [even] to their buttocks, and sent them away.
 10:5  When they told [it] unto David, he sent to meet them,
because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry
at Jericho until your beards be grown, and [then] return.
 10:6  And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank
before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians
of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen,
and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve
thousand men.
 10:7  And when David heard of [it], he sent Joab, and all the
host of the mighty men.
 10:8  And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle
in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of
Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, [were] by
themselves in the field.
 10:9  When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against
him before and behind, he chose of all the choice [men] of
Israel, and put [them] in array against the Syrians:
 10:10  And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand
of Abishai his brother, that he might put [them] in array
against the children of Ammon.
 10:11  And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then
thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong
for thee, then I will come and help thee.
 10:12  Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our
people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that
which seemeth him good.
 10:13  And Joab drew nigh, and the people that [were] with
him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before
him.
 10:14  And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians
were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into
the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came
to Jerusalem.
 10:15  And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before
Israel, they gathered themselves together.
 10:16  And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that
[were] beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach
the captain of the host of Hadarezer [went] before them.
 10:17  And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel
together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the
Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with
him.
 10:18  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.
 10:19  And when all the kings [that were] servants to
Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made
peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to
help the children of Ammon any more.

 11:1  And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the
time when kings go forth [to battle], that David sent Joab, and
his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the
children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still
at Jerusalem.
 11:2  And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose
from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house:
and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman
[was] very beautiful to look upon.
 11:3  And David sent and inquired after the woman. And [one]
said, [Is] not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife
of Uriah the Hittite?
 11:4  And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in
unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her
uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
 11:5  And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and
said, I [am] with child.
 11:6  And David sent to Joab, [saying], Send me Uriah the
Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
 11:7  And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded [of
him] how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war
prospered.
 11:8  And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash
thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there
followed him a mess [of meat] from the king.
 11:9  But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all
the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
 11:10  And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not
down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not
from [thy] journey? why [then] didst thou not go down unto
thine house?
 11:11  And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and
Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my
lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into
mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? [as]
thou livest, and [as] thy soul liveth, I will not do this
thing.
 11:12  And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to
morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that
day, and the morrow.
 11:13  And when David had called him, he did eat and drink
before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to
lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down
to his house.
 11:14  And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a
letter to Joab, and sent [it] by the hand of Uriah.
 11:15  And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the
forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that
he may be smitten, and die.
 11:16  And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that
he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men
[were].
 11:17  And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab:
and there fell [some] of the people of the servants of David;
and Uriah the Hittite died also.
 11:18  Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning
the war;
 11:19  And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made
an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,
 11:20  And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say
unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when
ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
 11:21  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.
 11:22  So the messenger went, and came and showed David all
that Joab had sent him for.
 11:23  And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men
prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and
we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
 11:24  And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy
servants; and [some] of the king's servants be dead, and thy
servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
 11:25  Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say
unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword
devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong
against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
 11:26  And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband
was dead, she mourned for her husband.
 11:27  And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched
her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

 12:1  And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto
him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one
rich, and the other poor.
 12:2  The rich [man] had exceeding many flocks and herds:
 12:3  But the poor [man] had nothing, save one little ewe
lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up
together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own
meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was
unto him as a daughter.
 12:4  And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he
spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress
for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor
man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
 12:5  And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man;
and he said to Nathan, [As] the LORD liveth, the man that hath
done this [thing] shall surely die:
 12:6  And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did
this thing, and because he had no pity.
 12:7  And Nathan said to David, Thou [art] the man. Thus saith
the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I
delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
 12:8  And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's
wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of
Judah; and if [that had been] too little, I would moreover have
given unto thee such and such things.
 12:9  Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the
LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the
Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife [to be] thy
wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of
Ammon.
 12:10  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine
house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife
of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
 12:11  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil
against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives
before thine eyes, and give [them] unto thy neighbour, and he
shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
 12:12  For thou didst [it] secretly: but I will do this thing
before all Israel, and before the sun.
 12:13  And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the
LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away
thy sin; thou shalt not die.
 12:14  Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great
occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child
also [that is] born unto thee shall surely die.
 12:15  And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck
the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very
sick.
 12:16  David therefore besought God for the child; and David
fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
 12:17  And the elders of his house arose, [and went] to him,
to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did
he eat bread with them.
 12:18  And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child
died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the
child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet
alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our
voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the
child is dead?
 12:19  But when David saw that his servants whispered, David
perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto
his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
 12:20  Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and
anointed [himself], and changed his apparel, and came into the
house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own
house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he
did eat.
 12:21  Then said his servants unto him, What thing [is] this
that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child,
[while it was] alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst
rise and eat bread.
 12:22  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?
 12:23  But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I
bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not
return to me.
 12:24  And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in
unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called
his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.
 12:25  And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he
called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
 12:26  And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of
Ammon, and took the royal city.
 12:27  And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have
fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
 12:28  Now therefore gather the rest of the people together,
and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city,
and it be called after my name.
 12:29  And David gathered all the people together, and went to
Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
 12:30  And he took their king's crown from off his head, the
weight whereof [was] a talent of gold with the precious stones:
and it was [set] on David's head. And he brought forth the
spoil of the city in great abundance.
 12:31  And he brought forth the people that [were] therein,
and put [them] under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under
axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and
thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So
David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.

 13:1  And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of
David had a fair sister, whose name [was] Tamar; and Amnon the
son of David loved her.
 13:2  And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister
Tamar; for she [was] a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for
him to do any thing to her.
 13:3  But Amnon had a friend, whose name [was] Jonadab, the
son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab [was] a very subtle
man.
 13:4  And he said unto him, Why [art] thou, [being] the king's
son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon
said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
 13:5  And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and
make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say
unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me
meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see [it], and
eat [it] at her hand.
 13:6  So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the
king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray
thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes
in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.
 13:7  Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy
brother Amnon's house, and dress him meat.
 13:8  So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was
laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded [it], and made cakes
in his sight, and did bake the cakes.
 13:9  And she took a pan, and poured [them] out before him;
but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from
me. And they went out every man from him.
 13:10  And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the
chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes
which she had made, and brought [them] into the chamber to
Amnon her brother.
 13:11  And when she had brought [them] unto him to eat, he
took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my
sister.
 13:12  And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me;
for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this
folly.
 13:13  And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for
thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now
therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not
withhold me from thee.
 13:14  Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being
stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
 13:15  Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred
wherewith he hated her [was] greater than the love wherewith he
had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.
 13:16  And she said unto him, [There is] no cause: this evil
in sending me away [is] greater than the other that thou didst
unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.
 13:17  Then he called his servant that ministered unto him,
and said, Put now this [woman] out from me, and bolt the door
after her.
 13:18  And [she had] a garment of divers colours upon her: for
with such robes were the king's daughters [that were] virgins
apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the
door after her.
 13:19  And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment
of divers colours that [was] on her, and laid her hand on her
head, and went on crying.
 13:20  And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy
brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he
[is] thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained
desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
 13:21  But when king David heard of all these things, he was
very wroth.
 13:22  And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good
nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his
sister Tamar.
 13:23  And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom
had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which [is] beside Ephraim: and
Absalom invited all the king's sons.
 13:24  And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy
servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and
his servants go with thy servant.
 13:25  And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not
all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed
him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.
 13:26  Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother
Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go
with thee?
 13:27  But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the
king's sons go with him.
 13:28  Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye
now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto
you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded
you? be courageous, and be valiant.
 13:29  And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom
had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man
gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
 13:30  And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that
tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the
king's sons, and there is not one of them left.
 13:31  Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on
the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes
rent.
 13:32  And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother,
answered and said, Let not my lord suppose [that] they have
slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is
dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been
determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.
 13:33  Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing
to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead: for
Amnon only is dead.
 13:34  But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch
lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much
people by the way of the hill side behind him.
 13:35  And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king's sons
come: as thy servant said, so it is.
 13:36  And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of
speaking, that, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up
their voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants
wept very sore.
 13:37  But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of
Ammihud, king of Geshur. And [David] mourned for his son every
day.
 13:38  So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there
three years.
 13:39  And [the soul of] king David longed to go forth unto
Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was
dead.

 14:1  Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's
heart [was] toward Absalom.
 14:2  And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise
woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a
mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not
thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time
mourned for the dead:
 14:3  And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him.
So Joab put the words in her mouth.
 14:4  And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell
on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O
king.
 14:5  And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she
answered, I [am] indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is
dead.
 14:6  And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove
together in the field, and [there was] none to part them, but
the one smote the other, and slew him.
 14:7  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.
 14:8  And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and
I will give charge concerning thee.
 14:9  And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O
king, the iniquity [be] on me, and on my father's house: and
the king and his throne [be] guiltless.
 14:10  And the king said, Whosoever saith [ought] unto thee,
bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
 14:11  Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the
LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of
blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he
said, [As] the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son
fall to the earth.
 14:12  Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee,
speak [one] word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
 14:13  And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought
such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak
this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not
fetch home again his banished.
 14:14  For we must needs die, and [are] as water spilled on
the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God
respect [any] person: yet doth he devise means, that his
banished be not expelled from him.
 14:15  Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing
unto my lord the king, [it is] because the people have made me
afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king;
it may be that the king will perform the request of his
handmaid.
 14:16  For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of
the hand of the man [that would] destroy me and my son together
out of the inheritance of God.
 14:17  Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king
shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so [is] my
lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy
God will be with thee.
 14:18  Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide
not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And
the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
 14:19  And the king said, [Is not] the hand of Joab with thee
in all this? And the woman answered and said, [As] thy soul
liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to
the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy
servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the
mouth of thine handmaid:
 14:20  To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant
Joab done this thing: and my lord [is] wise, according to the
wisdom of an angel of God, to know all [things] that [are] in
the earth.
 14:21  And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done
this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.
 14:22  And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed
himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy
servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord,
O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his
servant.
 14:23  So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom
to Jerusalem.
 14:24  And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and
let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house,
and saw not the king's face.
 14:25  But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised
as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to
the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
 14:26  And when he polled his head, (for it was at every
year's end that he polled [it]: because [the hair] was heavy on
him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head
at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
 14:27  And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one
daughter, whose name [was] Tamar: she was a woman of a fair
countenance.
 14:28  So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw
not the king's face.
 14:29  Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to
the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again
the second time, he would not come.
 14:30  Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field
is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire.
And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.
 14:31  Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto [his] house,
and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on
fire?
 14:32  And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee,
saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say,
Wherefore am I come from Geshur? [it had been] good for me [to
have been] there still: now therefore let me see the king's
face; and if there be [any] iniquity in me, let him kill me.
 14:33  So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had
called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on
his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed
Absalom.

 15:1  And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared
him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
 15:2  And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of
the gate: and it was [so], that when any man that had a
controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called
unto him, and said, Of what city [art] thou? And he said, Thy
servant [is] of one of the tribes of Israel.
 15:3  And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters [are] good
and right; but [there is] no man [deputed] of the king to hear
thee.
 15:4  Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the
land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come
unto me, and I would do him justice!
 15:5  And it was [so], that when any man came night [to him]
to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and
kissed him.
 15:6  And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came
to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the
men of Israel.
 15:7  And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said
unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I
have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron.
 15:8  For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in
Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to
Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.
 15:9  And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose,
and went to Hebron.
 15:10  But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of
Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet,
then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.
 15:11  And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem,
[that were] called; and they went in their simplicity, and they
knew not any thing.
 15:12  And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's
counsellor, from his city, [even] from Giloh, while he offered
sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people
increased continually with Absalom.
 15:13  And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts
of the men of Israel are after Absalom.
 15:14  And David said unto all his servants that [were] with
him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not
[else] escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he
overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the
city with the edge of the sword.
 15:15  And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy
servants [are ready to do] whatsoever my lord the king shall
appoint.
 15:16  And the king went forth, and all his household after
him. And the king left ten women, [which were] concubines, to
keep the house.
 15:17  And the king went forth, and all the people after him,
and tarried in a place that was far off.
 15:18  And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the
Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six
hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before
the king.
 15:19  Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore
goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with
the king: for thou [art] a stranger, and also an exile.
 15:20  Whereas thou camest [but] yesterday, should I this day
make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may,
return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth [be]
with thee.
 15:21  And Ittai answered the king, and said, [As] the LORD
liveth, and [as] my lord the king liveth, surely in what place
my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there
also will thy servant be.
 15:22  And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai
the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little
ones that [were] with him.
 15:23  And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the
people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook
Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the
wilderness.
 15:24  And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites [were] with him,
bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the
ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done
passing out of the city.
 15:25  And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God
into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD,
he will bring me again, and show me [both] it, and his
habitation:
 15:26  But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold,
[here am] I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.
 15:27  The king said also unto Zadok the priest, [Art not]
thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons
with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
 15:28  See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until
there come word from you to certify me.
 15:29  Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God
again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.
 15:30  And David went up by the ascent of [mount] Olivet, and
wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went
barefoot: and all the people that [was] with him covered every
man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
 15:31  And [one] told David, saying, Ahithophel [is] among the
conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee,
turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
 15:32  And it came to pass, that [when] David was come to the
top [of the mount], where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the
Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his
head:
 15:33  Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then
thou shalt be a burden unto me:
 15:34  But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I
will be thy servant, O king; [as] I [have been] thy father's
servant hitherto, so [will] I now also [be] thy servant: then
mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
 15:35  And [hast thou] not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar
the priests? therefore it shall be, [that] what thing soever
thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell [it]
to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
 15:36  Behold, [they have] there with them their two sons,
Ahimaaz Zadok's [son], and Jonathan Abiathar's [son]; and by
them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear.
 15:37  So Hushai David's friend came into the city, and
Absalom came into Jerusalem.

 16:1  And when David was a little past the top [of the hill],
behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple
of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred [loaves] of bread,
and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer
fruits, and a bottle of wine.
 16:2  And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these?
And Ziba said, The asses [be] for the king's household to ride
on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat;
and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may
drink.
 16:3  And the king said, And where [is] thy master's son? And
Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for
he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the
kingdom of my father.
 16:4  Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine [are] all that
[pertained] unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech
thee [that] I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.
 16:5  And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came
out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name [was]
Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he
came.
 16:6  And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of
king David: and all the people and all the mighty men [were] on
his right hand and on his left.
 16:7  And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out,
thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:
 16:8  The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the
house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD
hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son:
and, behold, thou [art taken] in thy mischief, because thou
[art] a bloody man.
 16:9  Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why
should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I
pray thee, and take off his head.
 16:10  And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons
of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto
him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done
so?
 16:11  And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants,
Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life:
how much more now [may this] Benjamite [do it]? let him alone,
and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him.
 16:12  It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction,
and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this
day.
 16:13  And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went
along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he
went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.
 16:14  And the king, and all the people that [were] with him,
came weary, and refreshed themselves there.
 16:15  And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came
to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
 16:16  And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's
friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom,
God save the king, God save the king.
 16:17  And Absalom said to Hushai, [Is] this thy kindness to
thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?
 16:18  And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD,
and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I
be, and with him will I abide.
 16:19  And again, whom should I serve? [should I] not [serve]
in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father's
presence, so will I be in thy presence.
 16:20  Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you
what we shall do.
 16:21  And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy
father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and
all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father:
then shall the hands of all that [are] with thee be strong.
 16:22  So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the
house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the
sight of all Israel.
 16:23  And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in
those days, [was] as if a man had inquired at the oracle of
God: so [was] all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and
with Absalom.

 17:1  Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose
out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after
David this night:
 17:2  And I will come upon him while he [is] weary and weak
handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that [are]
with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
 17:3  And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man
whom thou seekest [is] as if all returned: [so] all the people
shall be in peace.
 17:4  And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders
of Israel.
 17:5  Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and
let us hear likewise what he saith.
 17:6  And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto
him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we
do [after] his saying? if not; speak thou.
 17:7  And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that
Ahithophel hath given [is] not good at this time.
 17:8  For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men,
that they [be] mighty men, and they [be] chafed in their minds,
as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father
[is] a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
 17:9  Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some [other]
place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be
overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say,
There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
 17:10  And he also [that is] valiant, whose heart [is] as the
heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth
that thy father [is] a mighty man, and [they] which [be] with
him [are] valiant men.
 17:11  Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally
gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand
that [is] by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle
in thine own person.
 17:12  So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall
be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the
ground: and of him and of all the men that [are] with him there
shall not be left so much as one.
 17:13  Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all
Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the
river, until there be not one small stone found there.
 17:14  And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel
of Hushai the Archite [is] better than the counsel of
Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good
counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring
evil upon Absalom.
 17:15  Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the
priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the
elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.
 17:16  Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying,
Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but
speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the
people that [are] with him.
 17:17  Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they
might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and
told them; and they went and told king David.
 17:18  Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they
went both of them away quickly, and came to a man's house in
Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.
 17:19  And the woman took and spread a covering over the
well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was
not known.
 17:20  And when Absalom's servants came to the woman to the
house, they said, Where [is] Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the
woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And
when they had sought and could not find [them], they returned
to Jerusalem.
 17:21  And it came to pass, after they were departed, that
they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and
said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for
thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
 17:22  Then David arose, and all the people that [were] with
him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there
lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.
 17:23  And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not
followed, he saddled [his] ass, and arose, and gat him home to
his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and
hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of
his father.
 17:24  Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over
Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
 17:25  And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of
Joab: which Amasa [was] a man's son, whose name [was] Ithra an
Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash,
sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother.
 17:26  So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.
 17:27  And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim,
that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of
Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai
the Gileadite of Rogelim,
 17:28  Brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and
wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched [corn], and beans,
and lentiles, and parched [pulse],
 17:29  And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine,
for David, and for the people that [were] with him, to eat: for
they said, The people [is] hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in
the wilderness.

 18:1  And David numbered the people that [were] with him, and
set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
 18:2  And David sent forth a third part of the people under
the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai
the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the
hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I
will surely go forth with you myself also.
 18:3  But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if
we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us
die, will they care for us: but now [thou art] worth ten
thousand of us: therefore now [it is] better that thou succour
us out of the city.
 18:4  And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I
will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the
people came out by hundreds and by thousands.
 18:5  And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai,
saying, [Deal] gently for my sake with the young man, [even]
with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all
the captains charge concerning Absalom.
 18:6  So the people went out into the field against Israel:
and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;
 18:7  Where the people of Israel were slain before the
servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that
day of twenty thousand [men].
 18:8  For the battle was there scattered over the face of all
the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than
the sword devoured.
 18:9  And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode
upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a
great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was
taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that
[was] under him went away.
 18:10  And a certain man saw [it], and told Joab, and said,
Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.
 18:11  And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold,
thou sawest [him], and why didst thou not smite him there to
the ground? And I would have given thee ten [shekels] of
silver, and a girdle.
 18:12  And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a
thousand [shekels] of silver in mine hand, [yet] would I not
put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing
the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware
that none [touch] the young man Absalom.
 18:13  Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine
own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou
thyself wouldest have set thyself against [me].
 18:14  Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he
took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart
of Absalom, while he [was] yet alive in the midst of the oak.
 18:15  And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed
about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
 18:16  And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from
pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people.
 18:17  And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in
the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and
all Israel fled every one to his tent.
 18:18  Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for
himself a pillar, which [is] in the king's dale: for he said, I
have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the
pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day,
Absalom's place.
 18:19  Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and
bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath avenged him of
his enemies.
 18:20  And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings
this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day
thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.
 18:21  Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou
hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
 18:22  Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab,
But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And
Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou
hast no tidings ready?
 18:23  But howsoever, [said he], let me run. And he said unto
him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran
Cushi.
 18:24  And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman
went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up
his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
 18:25  And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king
said, If he [be] alone, [there is] tidings in his mouth. And he
came apace, and drew near.
 18:26  And the watchman saw another man running: and the
watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold [another] man
running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
 18:27  And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the
foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And
the king said, He [is] a good man, and cometh with good
tidings.
 18:28  And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is
well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the
king, and said, Blessed [be] the LORD thy God, which hath
delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord
the king.
 18:29  And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And
Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and [me]
thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what [it
was].
 18:30  And the king said [unto him], Turn aside, [and] stand
here. And he turned aside, and stood still.
 18:31  And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my
lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all
them that rose up against thee.
 18:32  And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom
safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and
all that rise against thee to do [thee] hurt, be as [that]
young man [is].
 18:33  And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber
over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son
Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee,
O Absalom, my son, my son!

 19:1  And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and
mourneth for Absalom.
 19:2  And the victory that day was [turned] into mourning unto
all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king
was grieved for his son.
 19:3  And the people gat them by stealth that day into the
city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in
battle.
 19:4  But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a
loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
 19:5  And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou
hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this
day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy
daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy
concubines;
 19:6  In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy
friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest
neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if
Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had
pleased thee well.
 19:7  Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably
unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not
forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that
will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from
thy youth until now.
 19:8  Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told
unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the
gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had
fled every man to his tent.
 19:9  And all the people were at strife throughout all the
tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of
our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the
Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.
 19:10  And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in
battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the
king back?
 19:11  And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the
priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why
are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the
speech of all Israel is come to the king, [even] to his house.
 19:12  Ye [are] my brethren, ye [are] my bones and my flesh:
wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
 19:13  And say ye to Amasa, [Art] thou not of my bone, and of
my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not
captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
 19:14  And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as
[the heart of] one man; so that they sent [this word] unto the
king, Return thou, and all thy servants.
 19:15  So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah
came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king
over Jordan.
 19:16  And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which [was] of
Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet
king David.
 19:17  And [there were] a thousand men of Benjamin with him,
and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons
and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan
before the king.
 19:18  And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the
king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei
the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over
Jordan;
 19:19  And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity
unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did
perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem,
that the king should take it to his heart.
 19:20  For thy servant doth know that I have sinned:
therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the
house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.
 19:21  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall
not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the
LORD'S anointed?
 19:22  And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of
Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall
there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I
know that I [am] this day king over Israel?
 19:23  Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not
die. And the king sware unto him.
 19:24  And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the
king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard,
nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until
the day he came [again] in peace.
 19:25  And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to
meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest
not thou with me, Mephibosheth?
 19:26  And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived
me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may
ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant [is]
lame.
 19:27  And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the
king; but my lord the king [is] as an angel of God: do
therefore [what is] good in thine eyes.
 19:28  For all [of] my father's house were but dead men before
my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them
that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I
yet to cry any more unto the king?
 19:29  And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more
of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.
 19:30  And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take
all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto
his own house.
 19:31  And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and
went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.
 19:32  Now Barzillai was a very aged man, [even] fourscore
years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he
lay at Mahanaim; for he [was] a very great man.
 19:33  And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with
me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.
 19:34  And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to
live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
 19:35  I [am] this day fourscore years old: [and] can I
discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat
or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men
and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a
burden unto my lord the king?
 19:36  Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the
king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a
reward?
 19:37  Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I
may die in mine own city, [and be buried] by the grave of my
father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let
him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall
seem good unto thee.
 19:38  And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me,
and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and
whatsoever thou shalt require of me, [that] will I do for thee.
 19:39  And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king
was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and
he returned unto his own place.
 19:40  Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on
with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and
also half the people of Israel.
 19:41  And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king,
and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah
stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household,
and all David's men with him, over Jordan?
 19:42  And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel,
Because the king [is] near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye
angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king's
[cost]? or hath he given us any gift?
 19:43  And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and
said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more
[right] in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our
advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And
the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of
the men of Israel.

 20:1  And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose
name [was] Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a
trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we
inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O
Israel.
 20:2  So every man of Israel went up from after David, [and]
followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave
unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.
 20:3  And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king
took the ten women [his] concubines, whom he had left to keep
the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in
unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death,
living in widowhood.
 20:4  Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of
Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
 20:5  So Amasa went to assemble [the men of] Judah: but he
tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
 20:6  And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of
Bichri do us more harm than [did] Absalom: take thou thy lord's
servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities,
and escape us.
 20:7  And there went out after him Joab's men, and the
Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and
they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of
Bichri.
 20:8  When they [were] at the great stone which [is] in
Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had
put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle [with] a sword
fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went
forth it fell out.
 20:9  And Joab said to Amasa, [Art] thou in health, my
brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand
to kiss him.
 20:10  But Amasa took no heed to the sword that [was] in
Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth [rib], and
shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again;
and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after
Sheba the son of Bichri.
 20:11  And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that
favoureth Joab, and he that [is] for David, [let him go] after
Joab.
 20:12  And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the
highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still,
he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a
cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him
stood still.
 20:13  When he was removed out of the highway, all the people
went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
 20:14  And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel,
and to Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered
together, and went also after him.
 20:15  And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah,
and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the
trench: and all the people that [were] with Joab battered the
wall, to throw it down.
 20:16  Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear;
say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak
with thee.
 20:17  And when he was come near unto her, the woman said,
[Art] thou Joab? And he answered, I [am he]. Then she said unto
him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do
hear.
 20:18  Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old
time, saying, They shall surely ask [counsel] at Abel: and so
they ended [the matter].
 20:19  I [am one of them that are] peaceable [and] faithful in
Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel:
why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?
 20:20  And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from
me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
 20:21  The matter [is] not so: but a man of mount Ephraim,
Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand
against the king, [even] against David: deliver him only, and I
will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab,
Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
 20:22  Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom.
And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast
[it] out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from
the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem
unto the king.
 20:23  Now Joab [was] over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah
the son of Jehoiada [was] over the Cherethites and over the
Pelethites:
 20:24  And Adoram [was] over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the
son of Ahilud [was] recorder:
 20:25  And Sheva [was] scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar [were]
the priests:
 20:26  And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.

 21:1  Then there was a famine in the days of David three
years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the
LORD answered, [It is] for Saul, and for [his] bloody house,
because he slew the Gibeonites.
 21:2  And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them;
(now the Gibeonites [were] not of the children of Israel, but
of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had
sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to
the children of Israel and Judah.)
 21:3  Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I
do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye
may bless the inheritance of the LORD?
 21:4  And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver
nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou
kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, [that]
will I do for you.
 21:5  And they answered the king, The man that consumed us,
and that devised against us [that] we should be destroyed from
remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,
 21:6  Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we
will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the
LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give [them].
 21:7  But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan
the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that [was] between
them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
 21:8  But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of
Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the
five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up
for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:
 21:9  And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites,
and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell
[all] seven together, and were put to death in the days of
harvest, in the first [days], in the beginning of barley
harvest.
 21:10  And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and
spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest
until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered
neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the
beasts of the field by night.
 21:11  And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah,
the concubine of Saul, had done.
 21:12  And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones
of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had
stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines
had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:
 21:13  And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the
bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them
that were hanged.
 21:14  And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they
in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish
his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And
after that God was entreated for the land.
 21:15  Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel;
and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought
against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.
 21:16  And Ishbibenob, which [was] of the sons of the giant,
the weight of whose spear [weighed] three hundred [shekels] of
brass in weight, he being girded with a new [sword], thought to
have slain David.
 21:17  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote
the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware
unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle,
that thou quench not the light of Israel.
 21:18  And it came to pass after this, that there was again a
battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the
Hushathite slew Saph, which [was] of the sons of the giant.
 21:19  And there was again a battle in Gob with the
Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a
Bethlehemite, slew [the brother of] Goliath the Gittite, the
staff of whose spear [was] like a weaver's beam.
 21:20  And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of
[great] stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on
every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was
born to the giant.
 21:21  And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah
the brother of David slew him.
 21:22  These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by
the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

 22:1  And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in
the day [that] the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of
all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
 22:2  And he said, The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and
my deliverer;
 22:3  The God of my rock; in him will I trust: [he is] my
shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my
refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
 22:4  I will call on the LORD, [who is] worthy to be praised:
so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
 22:5  When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of
ungodly men made me afraid;
 22:6  The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of
death prevented me;
 22:7  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my
God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry
[did enter] into his ears.
 22:8  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of
heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
 22:9  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out
of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
 22:10  He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness
[was] under his feet.
 22:11  And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen
upon the wings of the wind.
 22:12  And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark
waters, [and] thick clouds of the skies.
 22:13  Through the brightness before him were coals of fire
kindled.
 22:14  The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High
uttered his voice.
 22:15  And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning,
and discomfited them.
 22:16  And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations
of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at
the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
 22:17  He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many
waters;
 22:18  He delivered me from my strong enemy, [and] from them
that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
 22:19  They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the
LORD was my stay.
 22:20  He brought me forth also into a large place: he
delivered me, because he delighted in me.
 22:21  The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness:
according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
 22:22  For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not
wickedly departed from my God.
 22:23  For all his judgments [were] before me: and [as for]
his statutes, I did not depart from them.
 22:24  I was also upright before him, and have kept myself
from mine iniquity.
 22:25  Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my
righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
 22:26  With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful,
[and] with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright.
 22:27  With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the
froward thou wilt show thyself unsavoury.
 22:28  And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes
[are] upon the haughty, [that] thou mayest bring [them] down.
 22:29  For thou [art] my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will
lighten my darkness.
 22:30  For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have
I leaped over a wall.
 22:31  [As for] God, his way [is] perfect; the word of the
LORD [is] tried: he [is] a buckler to all them that trust in
him.
 22:32  For who [is] God, save the LORD? and who [is] a rock,
save our God?
 22:33  God [is] my strength [and] power: And he maketh my way
perfect.
 22:34  He maketh my feet like hinds' [feet]: and setteth me
upon my high places.
 22:35  He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is
broken by mine arms.
 22:36  Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation:
and thy gentleness hath made me great.
 22:37  Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet
did not slip.
 22:38  I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and
turned not again until I had consumed them.
 22:39  And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they
could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.
 22:40  For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them
that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.
 22:41  Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that
I might destroy them that hate me.
 22:42  They looked, but [there was] none to save; [even] unto
the LORD, but he answered them not.
 22:43  Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth,
I did stamp them as the mire of the street, [and] did spread
them abroad.
 22:44  Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my
people, thou hast kept me [to be] head of the heathen: a people
[which] I knew not shall serve me.
 22:45  Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as
they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
 22:46  Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out
of their close places.
 22:47  The LORD liveth; and blessed [be] my rock; and exalted
be the God of the rock of my salvation.
 22:48  It [is] God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down
the people under me,
 22:49  And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also
hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me:
thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
 22:50  Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among
the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.
 22:51  [He is] the tower of salvation for his king: and
showeth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for
evermore.

 23:1  Now these [be] the last words of David. David the son of
Jesse said, and the man [who was] raised up on high, the
anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel,
said,
 23:2  The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word [was]
in my tongue.
 23:3  The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me,
He that ruleth over men [must be] just, ruling in the fear of
God.
 23:4  And [he shall be] as the light of the morning, [when]
the sun riseth, [even] a morning without clouds; [as] the
tender grass [springing] out of the earth by clear shining
after rain.
 23:5  Although my house [be] not so with God; yet he hath made
with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all [things], and
sure: for [this is] all my salvation, and all [my] desire,
although he make [it] not to grow.
 23:6  But [the sons] of Belial [shall be] all of them as
thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:
 23:7  But the man [that] shall touch them must be fenced with
iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned
with fire in the [same] place.
 23:8  These [be] the names of the mighty men whom David had:
The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains;
the same [was] Adino the Eznite: [he lift up his spear] against
eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
 23:9  And after him [was] Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite,
[one] of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the
Philistines [that] were there gathered together to battle, and
the men of Israel were gone away:
 23:10  He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was
weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought
a great victory that day; and the people returned after him
only to spoil.
 23:11  And after him [was] Shammah the son of Agee the
Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a
troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the
people fled from the Philistines.
 23:12  But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended
it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great
victory.
 23:13  And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to
David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the
troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
 23:14  And David [was] then in an hold, and the garrison of
the Philistines [was] then [in] Bethlehem.
 23:15  And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me
drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which [is] by the
gate!
 23:16  And the three mighty men brake through the host of the
Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that
[was] by the gate, and took [it], and brought [it] to David:
nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto
the LORD.
 23:17  And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should
do this: [is not this] the blood of the men that went in
jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These
things did these three mighty men.
 23:18  And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah,
was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three
hundred, [and] slew [them], and had the name among three.
 23:19  Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was
their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the [first] three.
 23:20  And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant
man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike
men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of
a pit in time of snow:
 23:21  And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian
had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff,
and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him
with his own spear.
 23:22  These [things] did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had
the name among three mighty men.
 23:23  He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained
not to the [first] three. And David set him over his guard.
 23:24  Asahel the brother of Joab [was] one of the thirty;
Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
 23:25  Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
 23:26  Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
 23:27  Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
 23:28  Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
 23:29  Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son
of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
 23:30  Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,
 23:31  Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
 23:32  Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen,
Jonathan,
 23:33  Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the
Hararite,
 23:34  Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the
Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
 23:35  Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
 23:36  Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
 23:37  Zelek the Ammonite, Nahari the Beerothite, armourbearer
to Joab the son of Zeruiah,
 23:38  Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite,
 23:39  Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.

 24:1  And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against
Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number
Israel and Judah.
 24:2  For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which
[was] with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from
Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may
know the number of the people.
 24:3  And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add
unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and
that the eyes of my lord the king may see [it]: but why doth my
lord the king delight in this thing?
 24:4  Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab,
and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains
of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number
the people of Israel.
 24:5  And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on
the right side of the city that [lieth] in the midst of the
river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
 24:6  Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of
Tahtimhodshi; and they came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,
 24:7  And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the
cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out
to the south of Judah, [even] to Beersheba.
 24:8  So when they had gone through all the land, they came to
Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
 24:9  And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people
unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand
valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah [were]
five hundred thousand men.
 24:10  And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered
the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly
in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away
the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
 24:11  For when David was up in the morning, the word of the
LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
 24:12  Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer
thee three [things]; choose thee one of them, that I may [do
it] unto thee.
 24:13  So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him,
Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt
thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue
thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now
advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
 24:14  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us
fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies [are]
great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
 24:15  So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the
morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the
people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
 24:16  And when the angel stretched out his hand upon
Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and
said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay
now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the
threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
 24:17  And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel
that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have
done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine
hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's
house.
 24:18  And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go
up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of
Araunah the Jebusite.
 24:19  And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as
the LORD commanded.
 24:20  And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants
coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself
before the king on his face upon the ground.
 24:21  And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to
his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee,
to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed
from the people.
 24:22  And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take
and offer up what [seemeth] good unto him: behold, [here be]
oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and [other]
instruments of the oxen for wood.
 24:23  All these [things] did Araunah, [as] a king, give unto
the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God
accept thee.
 24:24  And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely
buy [it] of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt
offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me
nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for
fifty shekels of silver.
 24:25  And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was
entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.