2Samuel:3-5

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* And the war lasted a long time between the house of Saul and the house of David ; but David became continually stronger and stronger , and the house of Saul became continually weaker and weaker . * And there were born unto David sons in Hebron : and his first –born was Amnon , of Achino ’am the Yizre ’elitess ; * And his second was Kilab , of Abigayil the wife of Nabal the Carmelite ; and the third , Abshalom , the son of Ma ’achah the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur ; * And the fourth , Adoniyah , the son of Chaggith ; and the fifth , Shephatyah , the son of Abital ; * And the sixth , Yithre ’am , by ‘Eglah , David ’s wife . These were born to David in Hebron . * And it came to pass , while the war lasted between the house of Saul and the house of David , that Abner upheld with all his strength the house of Saul . * And Saul had a concubine , whose name was Rizpah , the daughter of Ayah : and Ish –bosheth said to Abner , Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father ’s concubine ? * And Abner became very wroth because of the words of Ish –bosheth , and said , Am I the chief of the dogs which belong to Judah ? unto this day have I shown kindness unto the house of Saul thy father , to his brothers , and to his friends , and have not delivered thee into the hand of David ; and yet thou chargest me today with a wrong committed with this woman ? * May God do so to Abner , and continue to do yet more to him , that , as the Lord hath sworn to David , even so will I surely do to him ; * To transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul , and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah , from Dan even to Beer –sheba ’. * And he could not answer Abner a word more in reply , because of his fear of him . * And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf , saying , Whose is the land ? saying Make thy covenant with me , and , behold , my hand shall be with thee , to bring round unto thee all Israel . * And he said , Well : I will indeed make a covenant with thee ; but one thing I require of thee , namely , Thou shalt not see my face , except thou first bring Michal , Saul ’s daughter , when thou comest to see my face . * And David sent messengers to Ish –bosheth , the son of Saul , saying , Give up to me my wife Michal , whom I espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines . * And Ish –bosheth sent , and took her from the man , from Paltiel the son of Layish . * And her husband went with her going along and weeping behind her as far as Bachurim : when Abner said unto him , Go , return . And he returned . * And Abner had used these words with the elders of Israel , saying , Already yesterday and even before ye have been desiring David as king over you : * And now do it ; for the Lord hath said of David thus , By the hand of my servant David will I save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines , and out of the hand of all their enemies . * And Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin ; and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good in the eyes of Israel , and in the eyes of the whole house of Benjamin . * And Abner came to David to Hebron , and with him were twenty men ; and David made for Abner and for the men that were with him a feast . * And Abner said unto David , I will now arise and go , and I will assemble unto my Lord the king all Israel , that they may make a covenant with thee , and that thou mayest reign over all that thy soul longeth for . And David dismissed Abner : and he went in peace . * And , behold , the servants of David and Joab came from a predatory excursion , and brought in much booty with them ; but Abner was no more with David in Hebron ; for he had dismissed him , and he was gone in peace . * When Joab and all the army that was with him were come , they told Joab , saying , Abner the son of Ner came to the king , and he hath dismissed him , and he is gone in peace . * Then came Joab to the king , and said , What hast thou done ? behold , Abner came unto thee : why is it that thou hast dismissed him , that he went freely away ? * Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner , that to deceive thee did he come , and to know thy going out and thy coming in , and to know all that thou art doing . * And Joab went out from David , and he sent messengers after Abner , who brought him back from the well of Sirah ; but David knew it not . * And when Abner was returned to Hebron , Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him in private ; and he smote him there under the fifth rib , and he died , for the blood of ‘Asahel his brother . * And when David heard it afterward , he said , I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for ever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner : * May it rest on the head of Joab , and on all his father ’s house ; and may there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue , or that is a leper , or that leaneth on a crutch , or that falleth by the sword , or that lacketh bread . * But Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner , because he had killed their brother ‘Asahel at Gib ’on in the battle . * And David said to Joab , and to all the people that were with him , Rend your clothes , and gird yourselves with sackcloth , and mourning before Abner . And king David walked behind the bier . * 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 . * And the king lamented over Abner , and said , O , that Abner had to die , as the worthless dieth ! * Thy hands were not bound , and thy feet were not put into fetters : as one falleth before men of wickedness art thou fallen . And all the people wept again over him . * And all the people came to cause David to eat food while it was yet day ; but David swore , saying , So do God to me , and thus may he continue , if before the sun be down I taste bread , or the least else . * And all the people took notice of it , and it was pleasing in their eyes : as whatsoever the king did was pleasing in the eyes of all the people . * And all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner . * And the king said unto his servants , Know ye not that a prince and a great man hath fallen this day in Israel ? * And I am this day yet weak , and just anointed king ; and these men , the sons of Zeruyah , are too strong for me : may the Lord pay the doer of evil according to his wickedness . * And when Saul ’s son heard that Abner had died in Hebron , his hands became enfeebled , and all the Israelites were troubled . * And Saul ’s son had two men who were captains of bands ; the name of the one was Ba ’anah , and the name of the other Rechab , the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite , of the children of Benjamin : (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin : * And the Beerothites had fled to Gittayim , and remained sojourners there until this day .) * And Jonathan , Saul ’s son , had a son that was lame on both feet . He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan from Yizre ’el , and his nurse took him up and fled : and it came to pass , in her haste to flee , that he fell , and was rendered lame . And his name was Mephibosheth . * And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite , Rechab and Ba ’anah , went , and came at the heat of the day to the house of Ish –bosheth , who was just lying in bed as usual at noon . * And they came thither into the interior of the house , as buyers of wheat ; and they smote him under the fifth rib : and Rechab and Ba ’anah his brother escaped . * Namely , they came into the house , while he was lying on his bed in his sleeping –chamber , and they smote him , and slew him , and cut off his head , and took his head , and went by the way of the plain all the night . * And they brought the head of Ish –bosheth unto David to Hebron , and they said to the king , Behold , here is the head of Ish –bosheth the son of Saul thy enemy , who sought thy life : and the Lord hath granted to my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul , and on his seed . * But David answered Rechab and Ba ’anah his brother , the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite , and said unto them , As the Lord liveth , who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity , * When one told me , saying , Behold , Saul is dead , and he was in his own eyes as though he brought good tidings , I took hold of him , and slew him in Ziklag , who that I should give him a reward for his tidings : * How much more , when wicked men have slain a righteous man in his own house upon his bed ? and now , behold , I will require his blood of your hand , and I will remove you away from the earth . * And David gave the command to the young men , and they slew them , and cut off their hands and their feet , and hanged them up by the pool in Hebron . But the head of Ish –bosheth they took , and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron . * Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron , and spoke , saying , Behold us , thy bone and thy flesh are we ; * Already yesterday , and even before , when Saul was king over us , thou wast the one that led out and brought in Israel : And the Lord said to thee , Thou shalt indeed feed my people Israel , and thou shalt be a chief over Israel . * Thus came all the elders of Israel to the king unto Hebron ; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord : and they anointed David as king over Israel . * Thirty years was David old when he became king , forty years he reigned . * 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 . * And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites , the inhabitants of the land ; who said unto David , as followeth , Thou shalt not come in hither , except thou remove away the blind and the lame : meaning , David cannot come in hither . * Nevertheless David captured the strong –hold of Zion ; the same is the city of David . * And David said on that day , Whosoever will smite the Jebusites , and reach the aqueduct and the lame and the blind , that are hateful to David ’s soul ,––Wherefore people usually say , The blind and the lame shall not come into the house . * And David dwelt in the fort , and he called it "The City of David ." And David built round about from the Millo and inward . * And David went on , and became greater and greater , and the Lord the God of hosts was with him . * And Hiram the king of Tyre sent messengers to David , and cedar –trees , and carpenters , and stone –masons : and they built a house for David . * And David felt conscious that the Lord has established him as king over Israel , and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel . * And David took yet more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem , after he was come from Hebron ; and there were born to David yet sons and daughters . * And these are the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem : Shammua ’, and Shobab , and Nathan , and Solomon , * And Yibchar , and Elishua ’, and Nepheg , and Yaphia ’, * And Elishama ’, and Elyada ’, and Eliphelet . * But when the Philistines heard that the people had anointed David as king over Israel , all the Philistines came up to seek David : and David heard of it , and went down to the strong –hold . * The Philistines also came and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim . * And David asked counsel of the Lord , saying , shall I go up against the Philistines ? wilt thou deliver them into my hand ? And the Lord said unto David , Go up ; for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into thy hand . * And David came to Ba ’al –perazim , and David smote them there , and said , The Lord hath broken down my enemies before me , as a breach water . Wherefore he called the name of that place Ba ’al –perazim . * And they left behind there their idols , and David and his men burnt them . * And the Philistines came up once again , and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim . * And when David asked counsel of the Lord , he said , Thou shalt not go up ; but turn about and fall in the rear of them , and come upon them opposite to the mulberry –trees . * And it shall be , when thou hearest the sound of walking on the top of the mulberry –trees , that thou shalt then bestir thyself ; for then will the Lord go out before thee , to smite in the camp of the Philistines . * And David did so , as the Lord had commanded him ; and he smote the Philistines from Geba ’ until thou comest to Gezer . * And David assembled again all the chosen men of Israel , thirty thousand .

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