2Samuel:8-16
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*
And it came to pass after this ,
that David smote the Philistines ,
and humbled them :
and David took Metheg
haammah out of the hand of the Philistines .
*
And he smote Moab ,
and measured them with a line ,
laying them down on the ground ;
and he measured with two lines to put to death ,
and with one full line to keep alive .
And the Moabites became David
s servants ,
bringing presents .
*
David smote also Hadad
ezer ,
the son of Rechob ,
the king of Zobah ,
as he went to extend his territory at the river Euphrates .
*
And David captured from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen ,
and twenty thousand men on foot :
and David hamstringed all the chariot
teams ,
but reserved of them a hundred chariot
teams .
*
And the Syrians of Damascus then came to aid Hadad
ezer ,
the king of Zobah ,
when David slew of the Syrians twenty and two thousand men .
*
And David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus :
and the Syrians became servants to David ,
bearing presents .
And the Lord helped David whithersoever he went .
*
And David took the shields of gold that belonged to the servants of Hadad
ezer ,
and brought them to Jerusalem .
*
And from Betach ,
and from Berothai ,
cities of Hadad
ezer ,
did king David take exceedingly much copper .
*
And when To
i the king of Chamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadad
ezer ,
*
Then did To
i send Yoram his son unto king David ,
to ask him after his well
being ,
and to bless him ,
because that he had fought against Hadad
ezer ,
and smitten him ;
for Hadad
ezer had been engaged in wars with To
i ;
and he had in his hand vessels of silver ,
and vessels of gold ,
and vessels of copper :
*
These also did king David sanctify unto the Lord ,
with the silver and gold that he had sanctified from all the nations which he subdued ;
*
From Syria ,
and from Moab ,
and from the children of
Ammon ,
and from the Philistines ,
and from
Amalek ,
and from the spoil of Hadad
ezer ,
the son of Rechob ,
the king of Zobah .
*
And David acquired a name when he returned from his smiting the Syrians in the valley of salt ,
eighteen thousand men .
*
And he put garrisons in Edom ;
throughout all Edom put he garrisons ,
and all the Edomites became servants to David .
And the Lord helped David whithersoever he went .
*
And David reigned over all Israel ;
and David did what is just and right unto all his people .
*
And Joab the son of Zeruyah was over the army ;
and Jehoshaphat the son of Achilud was recorder ;
*
And Zadok the son of Achitub ,
and Achimelech the son of Ebyathar ,
were priests ;
and Serayah was scribe ;
*
And Banayahu the son of Yehoyada
was over both the Kerethites and the Pelethites ;
and David
s sons were officers of state .
*
And David said ,
Is there yet any one that is left of the house of Saul ,
that I may show him kindness for the sake of Jonathan ?
*
And the house of Saul had a servant whose name was Ziba ;
and they called him unto David ;
and the king said unto him ,
Art thou Ziba ?
And be said ,
Thy servant .
*
And the king said ,
Is there no one left any more of the house of Saul ,
that I may show him the kindness of God !
And Ziba said unto the king ,
There is yet a son of Jonathan ,
lame on both feet .
*
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 Lo
debar .
*
And king David sent ,
and had him taken out of the house of Machir ,
the son of
Ammiel ,
from Lo
debar .
*
And Mephibosheth ,
the son of Jonathan ,
the son of Saul ,
came unto David ,
and he fell on his face ,
and bowed himself .
And David said ,
Mephibosheth ;
And he answered ,
Here is thy servant !
*
And David said unto him ,
Fear not ;
for I will surely show thee kindness for the sake of Jonathan thy father ,
and I will restore unto thee all the land of Saul thy father ;
and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually .
*
And he bowed himself ,
and said ,
What is thy servant ,
that thou shouldst turn thy regard unto such a dead dog as I am ?
*
Then called the king for Ziba ,
Saul
s servant ,
and said unto him ,
all that hath pertained to Saul and to all his house have I given unto thy master
s son .
*
And thou shalt till for him the land ,
thou ,
and thy sons ,
and thy servants ,
and thou shalt bring in ,
that thy master
s son may have bread which he can eat ;
but Mephibosheth thy master
s son shall eat continually bread at my table .
Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants .
*
And Ziba said unto the king ,
In accordance with all that my Lord the king may command his servant ,
so will thy servant do .
And Mephibosheth shall eat at my table ,
as one of the king
s sons .
*
And Mephibosheth had a young son ,
whose name was Micha .
And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth .
*
And Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem ;
for he ate continually at the king
s table ;
and he was lame on both his feet .
*
And it came to pass after this ,
that the king of the children of
Ammon died ,
and Chanun his son reigned in his stead .
*
Then said David ,
I will show kindness unto Chanun the son of Nachash ,
as his father showed me kindness .
And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father .
And David
s servants came unto the land of the children of
Ammon .
*
And the princes of the children of
Ammon said unto Chanun their Lord ,
Doth David honor thy father in thy eyes ,
that he hath sent comforters unto thee !
hath David not sent his servants unto thee ,
in order to search the city ,
and to spy it out ,
and to overthrow it ?
*
Chanun thereupon took David
s servants ,
and shaved off the one
half of their beard ,
and cut off their garments in the middle ,
even to their buttocks ,
and sent them away .
*
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 beard be grown ,
and then return .
*
And when the children of
Ammon saw that they were become in bad odor with David ,
the children of
Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth
rechob ,
and the Syrians of Zoba ,
twenty thousand men on foot ,
and the king of Ma
achah with a thousand men ,
and of the people of Tob twelve thousand men .
*
And when David heard of it ,
he sent Joab ,
and all the army ,
the mighty men .
*
And the children of
Ammon came out ,
and put themselves in battle
array at the entrance of the gate :
and the Syrians of Zoba ,
and of Rechob ,
and the people of Tob and Ma
achah ,
were by themselves in the field .
*
When now Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind ,
he selected from all the chosen men of Israel ,
and arrayed himself against the Syrians :
*
And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother ,
who arrayed himself against the children of
Ammon .
*
And he said ,
If the Syrians be too strong for me ,
then shalt thou bring me help ;
but if the children of
Ammon be too strong for thee ,
then will I go to help thee .
*
Be strong ,
and let us strengthen ourselves in behalf of our people ,
and in behalf of the cities of our God :
and may the Lord do that which seemeth good in his eyes .
*
And Joab drew nigh ,
and the people that were with him ,
unto the battle against the Syrians ;
and they fled from before him .
*
And when the children of
Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled ,
then did they also fly before Abishai ,
and entered into the city .
Joab then returned from the children of
Ammon ,
and came to Jerusalem .
*
And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel ,
they gathered themselves altogether .
*
And Hadar
ezer sent ,
and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river ,
and they came to Chelam ;
and Shobach the captain of the army of Hadar
ezer went before them .
*
And when it was told to David ,
he gathered all Israel together ,
and passed over the Jordan ,
and came to Chelam .
And the Syrians set themselves in battle
array against David ,
and fought with him .
*
And the Syrians fled from before Israel ;
and David slew of the Syrians of seven hundred chariots ,
and forty thousand horsemen ;
and Shobach also the captain of their army he smote ,
and he died there .
*
And when all the kings ,
the vassals to Hadar
ezer saw that they were smitten before Israel ,
they made peace with Israel ,
and served them :
and the Syrians feared to help the children of
Ammon any more .
*
And it came to pass ,
at the return of the same season of the year ,
at the time when kings go forth ,
that David sent Joab ,
and his servants with him ,
and all Israel ;
and they destroyed the children of
Ammon ,
and besieged Rabbah .
But David remained behind at Jerusalem .
*
And it happened at evening
tide ,
that David arose from off his couch ,
and walked upon the roof of the king
s house :
and he saw from the roof a woman bathing herself ;
and the woman was of a very beautiful appearance .
*
And David sent and inquired after the woman ;
and some one said ,
Behold ,
this is Beth
sheba ,
the daughter of Eli
am ,
the wife of Uriyah the Hittite .
*
And David sent messengers ,
and took her ;
and she came in unto him ,
and he lay with her ,
and she had just purified herself from her uncleanness ;
and she returned unto her house .
*
And the woman conceived ;
and she sent and told David ,
and said ,
I am with child .
*
And David sent to Joab ,
Send unto me Uriyah the Hittite .
And Joab sent Uriyah to David .
*
And when Uriyah was come unto him ,
David asked after the well
being of Joab ,
and after the well
being of the people ,
and how the war prospered .
*
And David said to Uriyah ,
Go down to thy house ,
and wash thy feet .
And Uriyah went forth out of the king
s house ,
and there followed him a mess of food from the king .
*
But Uriyah laid himself down at the door of the king
s house with all the servants of his lord ,
and went not down to his house .
*
And they told David ,
saying ,
Uriyah is not gone down unto his house :
and David said unto Uriyah ,
Art thou not come from a journey ?
why then art thou not gone down unto thy own house ?
*
Then said Uriyah unto David ,
The ark ,
and Israel ,
and Judah abide in booths ;
and my Lord Joab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open field :
and should I alone go unto my 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 .
*
And David said unto Uriyah ,
Tarry here also this day ,
and tomorrow will I send thee off .
So Uriyah remained in Jerusalem on that day and the following .
*
And David invited him ,
and he ate and drank before him ,
and he made him drunken ;
and he went out in the evening to lie down on his resting
place with the servants of his lord ;
but to his house he did not go down .
*
And it came to pass in the morning ,
that David wrote a letter to Joab ,
and sent it by the hand of Uriyah .
*
And he wrote in the letter ,
saying ,
Set Uriyah in front ,
opposite to the hottest fight ,
and then withdraw from behind him ,
that he may be smitten and die .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Joab was enclosing the city ,
that he placed Uriyah toward the spot of which he knew that valiant men were there .
*
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 there died also Uriyah the Hittite .
*
Then did Joab send ,
and told unto David all the events of the war .
*
And he charged the messenger ,
saying ,
When thou hast finished telling all the events of the war to the king ,
*
And it happen that the king
s wrath arise ,
and he say unto thee ,
Wherefore did you approach unto the city to fight ?
knew ye not ,
that they would shoot down from off the wall ?
*
Who smote Abimelech the son of Yerubbesheth ?
did not a woman throw down upon him a piece of an upper mill
stone from off the wall so that he died at Thebez ?
why did ye approach unto the wall ?
then must thou say ,
Also thy servant Uriyah the Hittite is dead .
*
And the messenger went ,
and came and told unto David all for which Joab had sent him .
*
And the messenger said unto David ,
Because the men overpowered us and came out against us into the field ;
but we set upon them ,
as far as the entrance of the gate .
*
And the archers then shot at thy servants from off the wall ;
and there died some of the servants of the king ,
and also thy servant Uriyah the Hittite is dead .
*
Then said David to the messenger ,
Thus shalt thou say to Joab ,
Let this thing not be displeasing in thy eyes ;
for at times this ,
at other times the other will the sword devour ;
continue firmly in thy war against the city ,
and overthrow it :
and thus do thou encourage him .
*
And when the wife of Uriyah heard that Uriyah her husband had died ,
she mourned for her lord .
*
And when the mourning was past ,
David sent and took her to his house ,
and she became his wife ;
and she bore him a son .
But the thing which David had done was displeasing in the eyes of the Lord .
*
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David ,
and he came unto him and said to him ,
Two men were once in one city ,
the one rich and the other poor .
*
The rich man had flocks and herds ,
in great abundance .
*
But the poor man had nothing ,
save one little ewe ,
which he had bought ;
and he nourished it ,
and it grew up with him and with his children together ;
of his bread it used to eat ,
and out of his cup it used to drink ,
and in his bosom it used to lie ,
and it was to him as a daughter .
*
And there came a traveler unto the rich man ;
and he felt compunction to take from his own flocks and from his own herds to dress for the wayfarer that was come to him ;
but he took the ewe of the poor man ,
and dressed it for the man that was come to him .
*
And the anger of David was greatly kindled against the man ;
and he said to Nathan ,
As the Lord liveth ,
surely the man that hath done this deserveth to die ;
*
And the ewe he shall pay fourfold ,
for punishment that he hath done this thing ,
and because he had no compassion .
*
Then said Nathan to David ,
Thou art the man !
Thus hath said the Lord ,
the God of Israel ,
It is I who anointed thee as king over Israel ,
and it is I who delivered thee out of the hand of Saul ;
*
And I gave unto thee the house of thy master ,
and the wives of thy master into thy bosom ,
and gave unto thee the house of Israel and Judah :
and if this be too little ,
I could bestow on thee yet many more like these things .
*
Wherefore hast thou despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his eyes ?
Uriyah the Hittite hast thou smitten with the sword ,
and his wife hast thou taken unto thee for wife ;
but him hast thou slain with the sword of the children of
Ammon .
*
And now ,
the sword shall not depart from thy house for ever ;
for the reason that thou hast despised me ,
and hast taken the wife of Uriyah the Hittite to be thy wife .
*
Thus hath said the Lord ,
Behold ,
I will raise up against thee evil out of thy own house ,
and I will take away thy wives before thy eyes ,
and I will give them unto thy neighbor ;
and he shall lie with thy wives before the face of this sun .
*
For thou hast done it in secret ;
but I will surely do this thing before all Israel ,
and before the sun .
*
Then said David unto Nathan ,
I have sinned against the Lord .
And Nathan said to David ,
Also the Lord hath caused thy sin to pass away :
thou shalt not die .
*
Nevertheless ,
because thou hast given great cause to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme through this thing ,
the child also that hath been born unto thee shall surely die .
*
And Nathan went to his house ;
and the Lord struck the child that Uriyah
s wife had born unto David ,
that it became very sick .
*
And David besought God in behalf of the lad ;
and David kept a fast ,
and came home ,
and lay over night upon the earth .
*
And the elders of the house arose about him ,
to raise him up from the earth ;
but he would not ,
and he did not partake of any bread with them .
*
And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died ;
and the servants of David were afraid to tell him ,
that the child was dead ;
for they said ,
Behold ,
while the child was yet alive ,
we spoke to him ,
and he would not hearken to our voice :
how then shall we say to him ,
The child is dead !
he might do a hurt .
*
But when David saw that his servants were whispering to each other ,
David understood that the child was dead ;
wherefore David said unto his servants ,
Is the child dead ?
and they said ,
he is dead .
*
David then rose up from the earth ,
and washed and anointed himself ,
and changed his garments ,
and went into the house of the Lord and prostrated himself ;
and then he came to his own house ,
and asked that they should set food before him ,
and he ate .
*
And his servants then said unto him ,
What is this thing which thou hast done ?
On account of the child when living thou didst fast and weep ;
but as soon as the child was dead thou didst arise and eat bread !
*
And he said ,
While the child was yet alive ,
I fasted and wept ;
because I said ,
Who knoweth ,
but that the Lord will be gracious to me ,
that the child may live ?
*
But now he is dead ,
wherefore should I fast then ?
can I restore him again ?
I am going to him ;
but he will not return to me .
*
And David comforted Bath
sheba
his wife ,
and he went in unto her ,
and lay with her ;
and she bore a son ,
and called his name Solomon ;
and the Lord loved him .
*
And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet ,
and called his name ,
Yedideyah in behalf of the Lord .
*
And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of
Ammon ,
and captured the royal city .
*
And Joab sent messengers to David ;
and said ,
I have fought against Rabbah ,
and have also captured the water
town .
*
And now gather the rest of the people together ,
and encamp against the city ,
and capture it :
lest I capture the city myself ,
and it be called by my name .
*
And David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah ,
and fought against it ,
and captured it .
*
And he took the crown of Malkam from off his head ,
and its weight was a talent of gold ,
and a precious stone ,
and it was set on the head of David ;
and the booty of the city he brought out in great abundance .
*
And the people that were therein he brought forward ,
and put them under saws ,
and under iron threshing
wagons ,
and under axes of iron ,
and made them pass through brick
kilns ;
and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of
Ammon :
and David returned with them with all the people unto Jerusalem .
*
And it came to pass after this ,
that Abshalom the son of David had a handsome sister ,
whose name was Thamar ;
and Amnon the son of David loved her .
*
And Amnon worried himself so that he fell sick on account of Thamar his sister ;
for she was a virgin ;
and it was impossible in the eyes of Amnon to do her the least .
*
But Amnon had a friend ,
whose name was Yonadab ,
the son of Shim
ah ,
David
s brother ;
and Yonadab was a very sensible man .
*
And he said to him ,
Why art thou so wasted ,
O prince ,
morning after morning ?
Wilt thou not tell me ?
Then said Amnon to him ,
Thamar the sister of Abshalom my brother do I love .
*
And Yonadab said to him ,
Lie down on thy couch ,
and feign thyself sick ;
and when thy father cometh to see thee ,
thou must say unto him ,
Let ,
I pray thee ,
Thamar my sister come ,
and give me some food ,
and prepare the refreshment before my eyes ,
in order that I may see it ,
and eat it out of her hand .
*
So Amnon lay down ,
and feigned himself sick ;
and when the king came to see him ,
Amnon said to the king ,
Let ,
I pray thee ,
Thamar my sister come ,
and mix up before my eyes a couple of cakes ,
that I may enjoy them out of her hand .
*
Then did David send home to Thamar ,
saying ,
Do go now to thy brother Amnon
s house ,
and prepare for him the refreshment .
*
So Thamar went to the house of Amnon her brother ,
and he was lying down ;
and she took the dough and kneaded ,
and mixed it up before his eyes ,
and baked the cakes ;
*
And she took the pan ,
and poured them out before him ;
but he refused to eat ;
and Amnon said ,
Cause every man to go out from me ;
and they went out ,
every man ,
from him .
*
And Amnon said to Thamar ,
Bring the refreshment into the chamber ,
that I may enjoy it out of thy hand .
So Thamar took the cakes which she had made ,
and brought them unto Amnon her brother into the chamber .
*
And when she had brought them near unto him to eat ,
he took hold of her ,
and said unto her ,
Come ,
lie with me ,
my sister .
*
But she said to him ,
No ,
my brother ,
do not violate me ;
for such a deed ought not to be done in Israel ;
do not this scandalous act !
*
And I ,
whither should I carry my shame ?
and as for thee ,
thou wouldst be like one of the worthless in Israel ;
but now ,
O speak ,
I pray thee ,
unto the king ,
for he will not withhold me from thee .
*
Nevertheless ,
he would not hearken unto her voice ;
but he overpowered her ,
and violated her ,
and lay with her .
*
Then did Amnon hate her with a very great hatred ;
so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her ;
and Amnon said unto her ,
Arise ,
be gone .
*
And she said unto him ,
not add this yet greater wrong than the other which thou hast done with me ,
to send me away !
But he would not listen to her ;
*
And he called his young man ,
his servant ,
and said ,
Do send this woman away from me ,
into the street ,
and lock the door behind her .
*
And she had on a garment of divers colors ;
for thus were usually appareled the king
s daughters when virgins ,
in robes ;
and his servant brought her out into the street ,
and locked the door behind her .
*
And Thamar put ashes on her head ,
and the garment of divers colors which was on her she rent :
and she placed her hand on her head ,
and went away and cried as she went along .
*
Then said to her Abshalom her brother ,
Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee ?
but now ,
my sister ,
keep silence ,
he is thy brother ,
take this thing not to thy heart .
So Thamar remained ,
and was secluded in the house of Abshalom her brother .
*
And when king David heard all these things ,
it displeased him greatly .
*
And Abshalom spoke not with Amnon either bad or good ;
for Abshalom hated Amnon ,
because he had violated Thamar his sister .
*
And it came to pass after two full years ,
that Abshalom had sheep
shearers at Ba
al
chazor ,
which is near Ephraim ;
and Abshalom invited all the king
s sons .
*
And Abshalom came to the king ,
and said ,
Behold ,
now ,
thy servant hath sheep
shearers ;
let the king ,
I pray thee ,
and his servants go with thy servant .
*
And the king said to Abshalom ,
No ,
my son ,
do not let us all go now ,
that we may not be a burden upon thee .
And he urged him much ,
but he would not go ,
and he blessed him .
*
And Abshalom said ,
If not ,
let ,
I pray thee ,
Amnon my brother go with us .
And the king said to him ,
Why should he go with thee ?
*
But Abshalom urged him greatly ,
and he sent with him Amnon and all the sons of the king .
*
Now Abshalom commanded his servants ,
saying ,
Mark ye ,
I pray you ,
when Annon
s heart is merry with wine ,
and I say unto you ,
Smite Amnon :
then kill him ,
fear not ;
behold ,
it is I who command it you ;
be firm and show yourselves men of valor .
*
And the servants of Abshalom did unto Amnon as Abshalom had commanded .
Then arose all the king
s sons ,
and they rode off ,
every man on his mule ,
and fled .
*
And it happened ,
while they were on the way ,
that the report came to David ,
saying ,
Abshalom hath smitten all the king
s sons ,
and there is not one of them left .
*
Then arose the king and rent his garments ,
and laid himself on the earth :
and all his servants were standing by with their garments rent .
*
But Yonadab the son of Shim
ah ,
David
s brother ,
commenced and said ,
Let not my Lord suppose that they have slain all the young men ,
the king
s sons ;
since Amnon alone is dead ;
for by the command of Abshalom was this ordained from the day that he violated Thamar his sister .
*
And now let not my Lord the king take the thing to his heart ,
thinking ,
that all the king
s sons are dead ;
for Amnon alone is dead .
*
And Abshalom flew away .
And the young man that was watching lifted up his eyes ,
and looked ,
and behold ,
many people were coming by the way behind him ,
by the side of the mount .
*
And Yonadab said to the king ,
The king
s sons are come :
according to the word of thy servant ,
so hath it come to pass .
*
And it happened ,
as he had just finished speaking ,
that ,
behold ,
the king
s sons came ,
and they lifted up their voice and wept ;
and also the king and all his servants wept very much .
*
But Abshalom had fled ;
and he went to Talmai ,
the son of
Ammihud ,
the king of Geshur :
and mourned for his son all the time .
*
So did Abshalom fly ,
and go to Geshur ,
and he remained there three years .
*
And king David longed to go forth unto Abshalom ;
for he was comforted concerning Amnon ,
that he was dead .
*
And when now Joab the son of Zeruyah perceived that the heart of the king was toward Abshalom :
*
Then sent Joab to Tekoa ,
and he fetched thence a wise woman ,
and said to her ,
Feign .
I pray thee ,
as though thou mournest ,
and do put on mourning garments ,
and anoint thyself not with oil ;
but be as a woman that hath these many days been mourning for the dead .
*
And thou must come to the king and speak with him after these words :
and Joab put the words into her mouth .
*
And the woman from Tekoa
spoke to the king ,
and fell on her face to the ground ,
and bowed herself ,
and said ,
Help ,
O king !
*
And the king said unto her ,
What aileth thee ?
And she said ,
Truly ,
I am a widow
woman ;
since my husband is dead .
*
And thy hand
maid had two sons ,
and they two quarreled together in the field ,
and there was no one between them to help ;
so the one smote the other ,
and slew him .
*
And ,
behold ,
the whole family is risen up against thy handmaid ,
and they said ,
Give up the slayer of his brother ,
that we may have him put to death ,
for the life of his brother whom he hath killed ;
and we will destroy also the heir :
and thus they will quench my coal which is remaining ,
so as not to allow to my husband either name or remainder upon the face of the earth .
*
And the king said unto the woman ,
Go to thy house ,
and I will issue charge concerning thee .
*
Then said the woman of Tekoa unto the king ,
On me ,
my Lord ,
O king ,
be the iniquity ,
and on my father
s house :
and may the king and his throne be guiltless .
*
And the king said ,
Whosoever speaketh aught unto thee ,
bring him to me ,
and he shall not touch thee any more .
*
Then said she ,
Let the king ,
I pray thee ,
remember the Lord thy God ,
so as not to suffer the avenger of the blood to cause yet more destruction ,
and that they may not destroy my son .
And he said ,
As the Lord liveth ,
there shall not fall one hair of thy son to the earth .
*
Then said the woman ,
Let thy hand
maid ,
I pray thee ,
speak unto my Lord the king one word .
And he said ,
Speak on .
*
And the woman said ,
Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God ?
and since the king doth speak this thing ,
he is as a guilty man ,
if the king do not permit his banished one to return home .
*
For we must needs die ,
and are as water which is spilt on the ground ,
which cannot be gathered up again ;
and yet doth God not take away life ;
and he deviseth thoughts ,
so that the banished one may not remain banished from him .
*
And now that I am come to speak unto my Lord the king of this thing ,
because the people made me afraid ;
and therefore thy hand
maid said ,
I will still speak unto the king ;
perhaps the king may act the word of his hand
maid .
*
For the king may hear ,
to deliver his hand
maid out of the hand of the man to exterminate me and my son together out of the inheritance of God .
*
And thy hand
maid said ,
May the word of my Lord the king now become repose ;
for as an angel of God ,
so is my Lord the king to comprehend the good and the bad :
and may the Lord thy God be with thee .
*
Then answered the king and said unto the woman ,
Conceal not ,
I pray thee ,
from me a word concerning what I am going to ask thee .
And the woman said ,
Let my Lord the king but speak .
*
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 ,
O king !
none can turn to the right or to the left from all that my Lord the king hath spoken ;
for it was thy servant Joab who hath bidden me ,
and it was he that hath put in the mouth of thy hand
maid all these words .
*
In order to change the appearance of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing :
and my Lord is wise ,
according to the wisdom of an angel of God ,
to know all that is on the earth .
*
And the king said unto Joab ,
Behold ,
now ,
thou hast done this thing :
go then ,
bring back the young man Abshalom .
*
And Joab fell on his face to the ground ,
and bowed himself ,
and blessed the king :
and Joab said ,
Today is thy servant convinced that I have found grace in thy eyes ,
my Lord ,
O king ;
since the king hath acted in accordance with the word of thy servant .
*
And Joab arose and went to Geshur ,
and brought Abshalom to Jerusalem .
*
And the king said ,
Let him repair to his own house ,
but my face he shall not see .
So Abshalom repaired to his own house ,
but the king
s face he did not see .
*
And like Abshalom there was no man as handsome in all Israel ,
so that he was greatly praised :
from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head there was no blemish on him .
*
And when he shaved off his head he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king
s weight .
*
And there was born unto Abshalom three sons and one daughter ,
whose name was Thamar :
this one was a woman of handsome appearance .
*
And Abshalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem ,
and the king
s face he did not see .
*
Abshalom sent out therefore for Joab ,
to send him to the king ;
but he would not come to him :
and he sent again the second time ;
but he would not come .
*
He thereupon said unto his servants ,
See ,
Joab
s field is alongside of mine ,
and he hath barley there :
go and set it on fire .
And Abshalom
s servants set the field on fire .
*
Then did Joab arise ,
and he went to Abshalom unto his house ,
and said unto him ,
Wherefore have thy servants set the field belonging to me on fire ?
*
And Abshalom said to Joab ,
Behold ,
I had sent unto thee ,
saying ,
Come hither ,
that I may send thee to the king ,
to say ,
Wherefore am I come from Geshur ?
it would be better for me were I yet there :
and now let me see the king
s face ;
and if there be any iniquity in me ,
let him put me to death .
*
So Joab went to the king ,
and told it to him :
and he called for Abshalom ,
who came to the king ,
and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king ;
and the king kissed Abshalom .
*
And it came to pass after this ,
that Abshalom provided for himself a chariot and horses ,
and fifty men who ran before him .
*
And Abshalom rose up early ,
and stood on the side of the way to the gate :
and it happened ,
that whenever a man who had a controversy came to the king for judgment ,
Abshalom called to him ,
and said ,
From what city art thou ?
And he said ,
Thy servant is from one of the tribes of Israel .
*
And Abshalom said unto him ,
See ,
thy words are good and right ;
but no one listeneth to thee on the part of the king .
*
And Abshalom said ,
Oh ,
if there were but one to appoint me judge in the land ,
so that every man who may have any controversy or cause might come unto me ,
and I would do him justice !
*
And it happened ,
that when a man came nigh to bow down to him ,
he used to put forth his hand ,
and laid hold of him ,
and kissed him .
*
And Abshalom did after this manner to all Israel that came to the king for judgment :
and thus did Abshalom steal the heart of the men of Israel .
*
And it came to pass at the end of forty years ,
that Abshalom said unto the king ,
Let me go ,
I pray thee ,
and fulfill my vow ,
which I have vowed unto the Lord ,
at Hebron .
*
For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria ,
saying ,
If the Lord will ever bring me back again to Jerusalem ,
then will I serve the Lord .
*
And the king said unto him ,
Go in peace :
and he arose ,
and went to Hebron .
*
But Abshalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel ,
saying ,
When ye hear the sound of the cornet ,
then shall ye say ,
Abshalom is become king at Hebron .
*
And with Abshalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem ,
who were invited ,
and going in their simplicity ;
and they knew of nothing whatever .
*
And Abshalom sent for Achithophel the Gilomite ,
David
s counsellor ,
from his city ,
from Giloh ,
while he offered the sacrifices .
And the conspiracy became strong ;
and the people increased continually with Abshalom .
*
And there came a news
bearer to David ,
saying ,
the heart of the men of Israel is turned after Abshalom .
*
And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem ,
Arise ,
and let us flee ;
for there will not be any escape for us from Abshalom :
make haste ,
to depart ,
lest he make haste and overtake us suddenly and overwhelm us with evil ,
and smite the city with the edge of the sword .
*
And the king
s servants said unto the king ,
In accordance with all that my Lord the king may choose ,
are thy servants ready .
*
And the king went forth ,
and all his household in his train .
And the king left behind ten women ,
who were concubines ,
to guard the house .
*
And the king went forth ,
and all the people in his train ,
and tarried in a place that was far off .
*
And all his servants passed on alongside of him ,
and all the Kerethites ,
and all the Pelethites ;
and all the Gittites ,
six hundred men ,
who were come in his train from Gath ,
passed on before the king .
*
Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite ,
Wherefore wilt thou also go with us ?
turn back and abide with the king ;
for thou art a stranger ,
and also an exile from thy place .
*
Yesterday thou camest ;
and today should I move thee about with us to wander ?
seeing that I go whither I may :
return thou ,
and take back thy brethren with thee ,
in kindness and truth .
*
And Ittai answered the king ,
and said ,
As the Lord liveth ,
and as my Lord the king liveth ,
surely in whatever place my Lord the king may be ,
whether for death or for life ,
even there will thy servant be .
*
And David said then to Ittai ,
Go and pass on .
And Ittai the Gittite passed on ,
and all his men ,
and all the little ones that were with him .
*
And all the country wept with a loud voice ,
as all the people passed on :
and the king passed over the brook Kidron ,
and all the people passed over ,
along the way to the wilderness .
*
And lo ,
Zadok also ,
and all the Levites with him ,
were bearing the ark of the covenant of God ;
and they set down the ark of God ;
and Ebyathar went up ,
until all the people had finished passing out of the city .
*
And the king said unto Zadok ,
Carry back the ark of God into the city ;
if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord ,
he will bring me back again ,
and show me both it ,
and his dwelling ;
*
But if he should thus say ,
I have no delight in thee :
here am I ,
let him do to me as seemeth good in his eyes .
*
The king said also unto Zadok the priest ,
If thou see the justice of this ,
return to the city in peace :
and your two sons ,
Achima
az thy son ,
and Jonathan the son of Ebyathar ,
are with you .
*
See ,
I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness ,
until there come word from you to bring me news .
*
Zadok therefore and Ebyathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem :
and they remained there .
*
And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives ,
weeping as he went up ,
and had his head covered ,
and he was walking barefoot :
and all the people that were with him covered every man his head ,
and they went up ,
weeping as they went up .
*
And some one told David ,
saying ,
Achithophel is among the conspirators with Abshalom .
And David said ,
I pray thee ,
turn into foolishness the counsel of Achithophel ,
O Lord !
*
And it came to pass ,
that ,
when David was come to the top ,
where he used to bow himself down to God ,
behold ,
Chushai the Arkite came to meet him with his coat rent ,
and earth upon his head .
*
And David said unto him ,
If thou passest on with me ,
thou wouldst be a burden unto me ;
*
But if thou shouldst return to the city ,
and say unto Abshalom ,
Thy servant will I be ,
O king ;
thy father
s servant have I been this long time past ,
and now will I also be thy servant :
then mightest thou defeat for me the counsel of Achithophel .
*
And ,
behold ,
thou hast with thee there Zadok and Ebyathar the priests ;
therefore shall it be ,
that what thing soever thou mayest hear out of the king
s house ,
shalt thou tell to Zadok and Ebyathar the priests .
*
Behold ,
they have there with them their two sons .
Achima
az for Zadok ,
and Jonathan for Ebyathar :
and ye shall send by means of them unto me whatever thing ye can hear .
*
So Chushai ,
David
s friend ,
came into the city ,
as Abshalom had just resolved to enter into Jerusalem .
*
And when David was passed a little beyond the top ,
behold ,
Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth came toward him ,
with a couple of asses saddled ,
and upon them two hundred loaves of bread ,
and a hundred bunches of raisins ,
and a hundred of dried figs ,
and a bottle of wine .
*
And the king said unto Ziba ,
What meanest thou with these ?
And Ziba said ,
The asses are for the king
s household to ride on ;
and the bread and the dried figs for the young men to eat ;
and the wine to drink for such as may be faint in the wilderness .
*
And the king said ,
And where is thy master
s son ?
And Ziba said unto the king ,
Behold ,
he remaineth at Jerusalem ;
for he said ,
Today will the house of Israel restore unto me the kingdom of my father .
*
Then said the king to Ziba ,
Behold ,
thine shall be all that pertaineth unto Mephibosheth .
And Ziba said ,
I prostrate myself ;
let me but find grace in thy eyes ,
my Lord ,
O king .
*
And when King David came as far as Bachurim ,
behold ,
there came out thence a man of the family of the house of Saul ,
whose name was Shim
i ,
the son of Gera ,
coming forth ,
and cursing .
*
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 and on his left .
*
And thus said Shim
i as he cursed ,
Away ,
away ,
thou man of blood ,
and thou worthless man !
*
The Lord hath brought back upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul ,
in whose stead thou didst reign ;
and the Lord hath placed the kingdom into the hand of Abshalom thy son ;
and ,
behold ,
thou art now in thy misfortune ,
because a man of blood art thou .
*
Then said Abishai the son of Zeruyah unto the king ,
Why should this dead dog curse my Lord the king ?
let me go over ,
I pray thee ,
and remove his head .
*
And the king said ,
What have I to do with you ,
ye sons of Zeruyah ?
so let him curse ;
because the Lord hath said unto him ,
Curse David .
Who shall then say ,
Wherefore hast thou done so ?
*
And David said to Abishai ,
and to all his servants ,
Behold ,
my son ,
who hath come forth out of my own body ,
seeketh my life :
how much more now this Benjamite ?
let him alone ,
and let him curse ;
for the Lord hath said it to him .
*
Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction ,
and the Lord will requite me good instead of his cursing this day .
*
And David and his men went on the way .
And Shim
i went on the side of the mount opposite to him ,
and cursed as he went ,
and threw stones toward him ,
and cast dust .
*
And the king ,
and all the people that were with him ,
arrived weary ,
and refreshed themselves there .
*
And Abshalom ,
and all the people the men of Israel ,
came to Jerusalem ,
and Achithophel with him .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Chushai the Arkite ,
David
s friend ,
was come unto Abshalom ,
that Chushai said unto Abshalom ,
Long live the king !
Long live the king !
*
And Abshalom said to Chushai ,
Is this thy kindness for thy friend ?
why art thou not gone with thy friend ?
*
And Chushai said unto Abshalom ,
No ;
but whom the Lord ,
and this people ,
and all the men of Israel have chosen ,
his will I be ,
and with him will I remain .
*
And secondly ,
who is it whom I shall serve ?
is it not in the presence of his son ?
as I have served in thy father
s presence ,
so will I be in thy presence .
*
Then said Abshalom to Achithophel ,
Hold counsel among yourselves as to what we shall do .
*
And Achithophel said unto Abshalom ,
Go in unto thy father
s concubines ,
whom he hath left to guard the house ;
and all Israel will hear that thou art in bad odor with thy father :
and then will the hands of all that are with thee become strong .
*
So they spread for Abshalom a tent upon the roof ;
and Abshalom went in unto his father
s concubines before the eyes of all Israel .
*
And the counsel of Achithophel ,
which he counseled in those days ,
was as if a man had asked advice of the word of God :
so was all the counsel of Achithophel both with David and with Abshalom .
*
Moreover Achithophel said unto Abshalom ,
Do let me now select twelve thousand men ,
and I will arise and pursue after David this night ;
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