1 It came to pass after the death of Saul, that David, returning from the defeat of the Amalekites, spent two days in Ziklag.
2 On the third day, it came to pass that one of Saul’s camp came, his clothes torn, and earth on his head; And coming to David, he fell on the ground and bowed.
3 And David asked him, Where do you come from? And he said, I have escaped from the camp of Israel.
4 David said to him, What has happened? I beg you to tell me. And he answered: The people fled from the battle, and many of the people also fell and are dead; Saul and Jonathan his son also died.
5 David said to the young man who was telling him: How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?
6 The young man who told him the news answered: By chance I came to Mount Gilboa, and I found Saul leaning on his spear, and chariots and horsemen were coming after him.
7 And looking back, he saw me and called me; and I said: Here I am.
8 And he asked me: Who are you? And I answered him: I am an Amalekite.
9 He said to me again: I beseech you, stand upon me and kill me, for he has taken hold of me; for my life is still all in me.
10 Then I stood upon him and killed him, because I knew that I could not live after his fall; and I took the crown that was on his head, and the ring that was on his arm, and I brought them here to my lord.
11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and the men who were with him did the same.
12 And they wept and lamented and fasted until night, for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the edge of the sword.
13 And David said to that young man whom he had brought him the news, Where are you from? And he answered, I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.
14 And David said to him, How were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to kill the Lord’s anointed?
15 Then David called one of his men and said to him, Go and kill him. And he smote him, and he died.
16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy own mouth testified against thee, saying, I slew the LORD’s anointed.
17 And David lamented Saul and Jonathan his son with this lament,
18 and said that it should be taught to the children of Judah. Behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.
19 The glory of Israel has perished from your heights! How the mighty have fallen!
20 Do not announce it in Gath, Nor give the news in the streets of Ashkelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised leap for joy.
21 Mountains of Gilboa, Let neither dew nor rain fall on you, nor be lands of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was cast aside, Saul’s shield, as if it had not been anointed with oil.
22 Without the blood of the dead, without the fat of the mighty, Jonathan’s bow did not turn back, Nor did Saul’s sword return empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and dear; Inseparable in their life, they were not separated in their death either; They were lighter than eagles, stronger than lions.
24 Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, Who dressed you in scarlet with delights, Who adorned your clothes with ornaments of gold.
25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of battle! Jonathan, dead on your heights!
26 I have anguish for you, my brother Jonathan, because you were very sweet to me. Your love was more wonderful to me than the love of women.
27 How the mighty have fallen, The weapons of war have perished!
1 After this it came to pass that David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord answered him: Go up. David said again: Where shall I go up? And he said to him, To Hebron.
2 David went up there, and with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite, and Abigail, who was the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
3 David also took with him the men who had been with him, each one with his family; who dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
4 And the men of Judah came and there anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, Those of Jabesh Gilead are they that buried Saul.
5 Then David sent messengers to those of Jabesh Gilead, saying to them: Blessed are you of the Lord, who have shown this mercy to your lord, to Saul, by burying him.
6 Now therefore may the Lord be with you mercy and truth; and I will also do good to you for what you have done.
7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be brave; Since your lord Saul is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.
8 But Abner the son of Ner, general of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him to Mahanaim,
9 and made him king over Gilead, over Gesuri, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all. Israel.
10 Ish-bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only those from the house of Judah followed David.
11 And the number of days that David reigned in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12 Abner the son of Ner went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul,
13 and Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and found them by the pool of Gibeon; and they stood, some on one side of the pool, and others on the other side.
14 And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men arise now, and maneuver before us. And Joab said, Arise.
15 Then they arose and passed over in equal numbers, twelve of Benjamin from Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve of David’s servants.
16 And each one laid hold of the head of his adversary, and thrust his sword into the side of his adversary, and they fell together; therefore that place was called Helcat-hazurim, which is in Gibeon.
17 The battle was hotly contested that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s servants.
18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. This Asahel was fleet of foot like a gazelle of the field.
19 And Asahel followed after Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left.
20 And Abner looked back, and said, Are you not Asahel? And he answered: Yes.
21 Then Abner said to him, Turn to the right or to the left, and lay hold of one of the men, and take his spoil for yourself. But Asahel would not depart from following him.
22 And Abner said again to Asahel, Depart from after me; Why should I hurt you until I knock you down? How then would I lift up my face before Joab your brother?
23 And since he did not want to leave, Abner struck him with the head of the spear through the fifth rib, and the spear came out through his back, and he fell there and died in that same place. And all who came to that place where Asahel had fallen and was dead stopped.
24 But Joab and Abishai followed Abner; And the sun set when they came to the hill of Amma, which is before Gia, by the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25 And the sons of Benjamin gathered together after Abner, forming one army; and they stopped at the top of the hill.
26 And Abner cried out to Joab, saying, Will the sword consume forever? Don’t you know that the end will be bitterness? How long will you not tell the people to turn back from persecuting his brothers?
27 And Joab answered, As God lives, if you had not spoken, the people would have stopped following their brothers this morning.
28 Then Joab blew the horn, and all the people stopped, and pursued Israel no more, nor fought any more.
29 And Abner and his men journeyed through the Arabah all that night, and after crossing the Jordan they crossed through all Bitron and came to Mahanaim.
30 Joab also returned from pursuing Abner, and gathering all the people, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel.
31 But David’s servants struck down three hundred and sixty men of Benjamin and Abner, and they died.
32 Then they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men walked all that night, and it dawned on them in Hebron.
1 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; But David was getting stronger, and the house of Saul was getting weaker.
2 And sons were born to David in Hebron; His firstborn was Amnon of Ahinoam the Jezreelite;
3 his second Kileab, from Abigail the wife of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom son of Maacah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah son of Abital;
5 the sixth, Itream, of Eglah, wife of David. These were born to David in Hebron.
6 As there was war between the house of Saul and that of David, it came to pass that Abner made efforts for the house of Saul.
7 And Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, daughter of Aja; And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Why have you come to my father’s concubine?
8 And Abner was very angry at the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? Today I have shown mercy to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; And today you make me responsible for this woman’s sin?
9 May God do so to Abner and more, if I do not do so to him, as the Lord has sworn to David,
10 by transferring the kingdom from the house of Saul, and establishing the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.
11 And he could not answer a word to Abner, because he feared him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers to David from his side, saying, Whose land is it? And they said to him: Make a covenant with me, and behold, my hand will be with you to return all Israel to you.
13 And David said, Good; I will make a covenant with you, but one thing I ask of you: Do not come to see me without first bringing Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.
14 After this David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, saying, Restore to me my wife Michal, whom I married to me for a hundred Philistine foreskins.
15 Then Ish-bosheth sent from her and took her away from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish.
16 And her husband went with her, following her and weeping to Bahurim. And Abner said to him, Go, return. Then he turned.
17 And Abner spoke to the elders of Israel, saying, For some time now you sought to make David king over you.
18 Now therefore do it; For the LORD has spoken to David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will deliver my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.
19 Abner also spoke to those of Benjamin; And Abner also went to Hebron to tell David everything that seemed good to the people of Israel and to all the house of Benjamin.
20 So Abner came to David at Hebron, and twenty men with him; and David made a feast for Abner and those who had come with him.
21 And Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign as your heart desires. David then sent Abner away, and he departed in peace.
22 And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from the field, and they brought with them great booty. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had already sent him away, and he had departed in peace.
23 And when Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner has come to the king, and he has sent him away, and he departed in peace.
24 Then Joab came to the king and said to him, What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; Why then did you let him go?
25 You know Abner son of Ner. He has not come except to deceive you, and to find out your going out and your coming in, and to know everything you do.
26 And Joab went out from the presence of David, and he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sira, without David knowing it.
27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the middle of the gate to speak with him secretly; and there, in revenge for the death of Asahel his brother, he struck him by the fifth rib, and he died.
28 When David later heard this, he said, I and my kingdom are innocent before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.
29 Let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house; May there never be missing from the house of Joab one who suffers from a discharge, nor one who is a leper, nor one who walks with a staff, nor one who dies by the sword, nor one who lacks bread.
30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed Asael their brother in the battle of Gibeon.
31 Then David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David was behind the coffin.
32 And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice, and he wept at Abner’s tomb; and all the people also wept.
33 And when the king lamented Abner himself, he said, Should Abner die as a villain dies?
34 Your hands were not tied, nor were your feet bound with fetters; You fell like those who fall before bad men. And all the people cried over him again.
35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat before the day was over. But David swore, saying, May God do so to me, and more, if before the sun goes down I taste bread, or anything else.
36 All the people knew this, and it pleased them; because everything the king did pleased all the people.
37 And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not from the king to kill Abner the son of Ner.
38 The king also said to his servants: Do you not know that a prince and great man has fallen today in Israel?
39And I am weak today, although anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are very hard for me; The Lord repays him who does evil, according to his wickedness.
1 When Saul’s son heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron, his hands weakened, and all Israel was terrified.
2 And Saul’s son had two men, captains of bands of marauders; The name of one was Baanah, and the name of the other was Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin (for Beeroth was also numbered with Benjamin,
3 for the Beerothites had fled to Githaim, and are living there as strangers to this day.) .
4 And Jonathan son of Saul had a son with crippled feet. He was five years old when the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him and fled; And as he hurriedly fled, the child fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
5 So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baana, went and entered the heat of the day into the house of Ish-bosheth, who was taking a nap in his chamber.
6 And behold, the porter of the house had been cleaning wheat, but she fell asleep; And that was how Rechab and Baana, her brother, entered the house.
7 When they entered the house, where Ish-bosheth was sleeping on his bed in his chamber; and they wounded him and killed him, and cut off his head, and having taken it, they walked all night along the road to the Arabah.
8 And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul your enemy, who sought to kill you; and the Lord has avenged this day my lord the king, against Saul and his descendants.
9 And David answered Rechab and his brother Baana, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, As the Lord lives, he has redeemed my soul from all trouble,
10 for when one told me news, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, imagining that he brought good news, I arrested him, and I killed him in Ziklag in payment for the news.
11 How much more to the evil men who killed a righteous man in his house, and on his bed? Now then, shall I not require his blood at your hands, and take you from the land?
12 Then David commanded his servants, and they killed them, and cut off their hands and feet, and hung them over the pool at Hebron. Then they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and spoke, saying, Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
2 And even before now, when Saul reigned over us, it was you who led Israel out to war, and brought them back again. Furthermore, the Lord has said to you: You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be prince over Israel.
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king in Hebron, and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 Then the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who lived in that land; who spoke to David, saying: You shall not enter here, for even the blind and the lame will drive you out (meaning: David cannot enter here).
7 But David took the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David.
8 And David said that day, Whoever smites the Jebusites, let him go up the canal and smite the lame and blind, whom David’s soul hates. For this reason it was said: Blind or lame shall not enter the house.
9 And David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David; and he built all around from Milo inward.
10 And David advanced and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.
11 Hiram king of Tire also sent ambassadors to David, and cedar wood, and carpenters, and stonemasons for the walls, who built David’s house.
12 And David understood that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that he had enlarged his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
14 These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Samua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,
16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to look for David; and when David heard it, he went down to the fortress.
18 And the Philistines came and spread throughout the valley of Rephaim.
19 Then David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand? And the LORD said to David, Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand.
20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there, and said, The Lord broke my enemies before me, like a mighty stream. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.
21 And they left their idols there, and David and his men burned them.
22 And the Philistines came again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
23 And David inquired of the LORD, and he said unto him, Do not go up, but go around them, and thou shalt come unto them in front of the balsam trees.
24 And when you hear a noise like marching through the tops of the balsam trees, then you will move; for the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.
25 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and he smote the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.
1 David again gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
2 And David arose and departed from Baalah of Judah with all the people that he had with him, to bring up from there the ark of God, upon which was called the name of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
3 They put the ark of God on a new cart, and carried it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, guided the new chariot.
4 And when they brought him from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, with the ark of God, Ahio went before the ark.
5 And David and all the house of Israel danced before the Lord with all kinds of instruments of beech wood; with harps, psalteries, tambourines, flutes and cymbals.
6 When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah stretched out his hand to the ark of God and held it; because the oxen stumbled.
7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there for that rashness, and he fell there dead by the ark of God.
8 And David was grieved because the Lord had smitten Uzzah, and that place was called Perez-uzzah, to this day.
9 And David feared the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
10 So David would not bring the ark of the Lord to the city of David; and David brought her to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
11 And the ark of the Lord was in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his house.
12 It was told King David, saying, The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that he has, because of the ark of God. Then David went and carried the ark of God with joy from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David.
13 And when those who carried the ark of God had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fatted ram.
14 And David danced with all his strength before the Lord; And David was dressed in a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel led the ark of the Lord with joy and with the sound of a trumpet.
16 When the ark of the LORD came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
17 So they brought in the ark of the Lord, and put it in its place in the middle of a tent that David had pitched for it; And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.
19 And he distributed to all the people, and to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and to women, to each one a loaf, and a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. And all the people went, each one to his house.
20 Then David returned to bless his house; And Michal came out to meet David, and he said: How honored has the king of Israel become today, uncovering himself today before the maids of his servants, as anyone undresses without decorum!
21 Then David said to Michal, It was before the LORD, who chose me over your father and all your house, to make me prince over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will dance before the Lord.
22 And I will become even more vile than this time, and I will be low in your sight; but I will be honored before the maids of whom you have spoken.
23 And Michal daughter of Saul never had children until the day of her death.
1 Now when the king was living in his house, after the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of God is between curtains
3 And Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.
4 It came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
5 Go and say to my servant David, Thus says the LORD: Will you build me a house in which I may dwell?
6 Indeed I have not lived in houses from the day I brought the children of Israel out of Egypt until this day, but I have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 And in all that I have walked with all the children of Israel, have I spoken a word to any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? ?
8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the fold, from behind the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel;
9 And I have been with you in all that you have walked, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you, and I have given you a great name, like the name of the great ones that are in the earth.
10 Furthermore, I will appoint a place for my people Israel and plant them, so that they may live in their place and be removed no more, nor will the wicked afflict them any more, as at the beginning,
11 since the day I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Likewise Jehovah makes you know that he will make you a house.
12 And when your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up after you one of your offspring, who will come from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. And if he does evil, I will punish him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men;
15 But my mercy will not depart from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom will be established forever before your face, and your throne will be established forever.
17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, thus spoke Nathan to David.
18 And King David came in and stood before the Lord, and said, Lord Jehovah, who am I, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hither?
19And even this seemed little to you, Lord Jehovah, since you have also spoken of the house of your servant in the future. Is this how man proceeds, Lord Jehovah?
20 And what else can David add when talking to you? For you know your servant, Lord Jehovah.
21 You have done all these great things by your word and according to your heart, making them known to your servant.
22 Therefore you have exalted yourself, Jehovah God; for there is none like you, nor is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
23 And who is like your people, like Israel, a unique nation on earth? For God was to rescue him as his people, and to give him a name, and to do great things in his favor, and terrible works for your land, for the love of your people whom you rescued for yourself from Egypt, from the nations, and from their gods.
24 For you established your people Israel as your people forever; and you, O Jehovah, went to them as God.
25 Now therefore, Jehovah God, confirm forever the word which you have spoken concerning your servant and his house, and do according to what you have said.
26 May your name be magnified forever, and it may be said: The Lord of hosts is God over Israel; and may the house of your servant David be established before you.
27 For you, Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel, revealed in the hearing of your servant, saying, I will build you a house. For this reason your servant has found courage in his heart to make this supplication before you.
28 Now therefore, Jehovah God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good to your servant.
29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, so that it may remain before you forever, for you, Jehovah God, have said so, and with your blessing your servant’s house will be blessed forever.
1 After this, it came to pass that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metegama out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 He also defeated those of Moab, and measured them with a line, making them lie on the ground; and he measured two cords to kill them, and a whole cord to preserve their lives; and the Moabites were servants of David, and paid tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadad = Ezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to recover his territory at the Euphrates River.
4 And David took from them one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; And David hamstrung the horses of all the chariots, but left enough for a hundred chariots.
5 And the Syrians came from Damascus to help Hadad-ezer king of Zobah; and David smote twenty-two thousand men of the Syrians.
6 Then David placed a garrison in Syria at Damascus, and the Syrians were made servants of David, subject to tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
7 And David took the golden shields that the servants of Hadadezer had brought, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8 Also from Beta and Berotai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large quantity of bronze.
9 Then when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadad-ezer,
10 Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to greet him peacefully and to bless him, because he had fought with Hadadezer and had won; because Toi was an enemy of Hadadezer. And Jehoram had in his hand utensils of silver, gold, and bronze;
11 Which King David dedicated to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations that he had subdued;
12 of the Syrians, of the Moabites, of the Ammonites, of the Philistines, of the Amalekites, and of the spoils of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 Thus David gained fame. When he returned from defeating the Syrians, he destroyed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
14 And he garrisoned Edom; He placed a garrison throughout all Edom, and all the Edomites were servants to David. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and equity to all his people.
16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was general of his army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
17 Zadok son of Ahitob and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was a scribe;
18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and the sons of David were the princes.
1 David said, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s house to whom I will show mercy for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 And there was a servant of Saul’s house, whose name was Ziba, whom they called to come to David. And the king said to him, Are you Ziba? And he answered: Your servant.
3 The king said to him, Is there no one left from the house of Saul, to whom I may show mercy to God? And Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan left, crippled in his feet.
4 Then the king asked him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
6 And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and bowed down. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered: Behold your servant.
7 And David said to him, Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show you mercy for Jonathan your father’s sake, and I will restore to you all the lands of Saul your father; and you will always eat at my table.
8 And he bowed down and said, Who is your servant, that you look at a dead dog like me?
9 Then the king called Ziba Saul’s servant, and said to him, All that belonged to Saul and all his house, I have given to your lord’s son.
10 You, then, will till his fields, you with your children and your servants, and store the fruits, so that your master’s son may have bread to eat; but Mephibosheth your master’s son will always eat at my table. And Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so shall your servant do. Mephibosheth, said the king, will eat at my table, like one of the king’s sons.
12 And Mephibosheth had a little son, whose name was Micaiah. And all the family of the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.
13 And Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table; and he was crippled in both feet.
1 After this, the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place.
2 And David said, I will show mercy to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed mercy to me. And David sent his servants to comfort him for his father. But when David’s servants had come to the land of the children of Ammon,
3 the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun his lord, Do you think that David has sent you comforters to honor your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search and inspect the city, to destroy it?
4 Then Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half their beards, cut off their clothes in half down to their buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When this was told to David, he sent to meet them, because they were extremely ashamed; and the king ordered them to say: Stay in Jericho until your beard grows again, and then return.
6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they had become hateful to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, from the king of Maacah a thousand men. , and from Ish-tob twelve thousand men.
7 When David heard this, he sent Joab with all the army of the mighty men.
8 And the sons of Ammon went out and arrayed themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate; but the Syrians of Zobah, Rehob, Ishtob, and Maacah were standing apart in the field.
9 So Joab saw that the battle was coming before him in front and in the rear, and he selected all the chosen men of Israel, and formed himself in battle array against the Syrians.
10 Then he handed the rest of the army into the hand of Abishai his brother, and lined them up to meet the Ammonites.
11 And he said, If the Syrians are stronger than me, you will help me; And if the children of Ammon are stronger than you, I will help you.
12 Be strong, and let us be strong for our people, and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah do what seems good to him.
13 And Joab, and the people that were with him, approached to fight against the Syrians; but they fled before him.
14 Then the Ammonites, seeing that the Syrians had fled, fled before Abishai and took refuge in the city. So Joab returned from fighting against the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
15 But the Syrians, seeing that they had been defeated by Israel, gathered again.
16 And Hadad-ezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam, with Shobach, general of the army of Hadadezer, as leader.
17 When it was told to David, he gathered all Israel, and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam; and the Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought against him.
18 But the Syrians fled before Israel; And David killed of the Syrians seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen; He also wounded Shobak, general of the army, who died there.
19 So when all the kings who helped Hadadezer saw how they had been defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served him; and from then on the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
1 It came to pass in the following year, at the time when kings go out to war, that David sent Joab, and with him his servants and all Israel, and they destroyed the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah; but David stayed in Jerusalem.
2 And it came to pass one day, at evening, that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the royal house; And he saw from the roof a woman who was bathing, who was very beautiful.
3 David sent to ask about that woman, and they said to him, This is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite.
4 And David sent messengers, and he took it; and she came to him, and he slept with her. Then she purified herself from her uncleanness, and returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived, and sent to David to tell her, saying, I am with child.
6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him about the health of Joab, and about the health of the people, and about the state of the war.
8 Then David said to Uriah, Go down to your house and wash your feet. And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and a present was sent to him from the royal table.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 And they told David this, saying, Uriah has not come down to his house. And David said to Uriah, Have you not come on your way? Why then did you not go down to your house?
11 And Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah are under tents, and my lord Joab, and my lord’s servants, are in the field; And was I to enter my house to eat and drink, and to sleep with my wife? For the life of you, and for the life of your soul, I will not do such a thing.
12 And David said to Uriah, Stay here today, and tomorrow I will send you away. And Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13 And David invited him to eat and drink with him, until he became drunk. And he went out in the evening to sleep in his bed with the servants of his master; but he did not go down to his house.
14 When morning came, David wrote a letter to Joab, which he sent by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying: Put Uriah in front, in the thickest part of the battle, and withdraw from him, so that he may be wounded and die.
16 So it was that when Joab besieged the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the bravest men were.
17 And immediately those of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the army of David’s servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war.
19And he commanded the messenger, saying: When you have finished telling the king all the matters of the war,
20 If the king becomes angry and says to you, “Why did you come too close to the city to fight?” Didn’t you know what they usually throw from the wall?
21 Who struck Abimelech son of Jerobaal? Did not a woman throw a piece of a millstone off the wall, and she died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall? Then you will say to him: Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.
22 The messenger went, and when he arrived, he told David everything that Joab had sent him to do.
23 And the messenger said to David, The men who came out against us into the field prevailed against us, so we drove them back to the entrance of the gate;
24 But the archers shot at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s servants died; and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.
25 And David said to the messenger, Thus you shall say to Joab: Do not be sorry for this, for the sword consumes, now to one, now to another; reinforce your attack against the city, until you surrender it. And you encourage him.
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27 And when she had mourned, she sent David for her and brought her to her house; and she became his wife, and she bore him a son. But this thing that David had done was displeasing in the sight of the Lord.
1 The Lord sent Nathan to David; And coming to him, he said: There were two men in a city, one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had many sheep and cattle;
3 But the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought and raised, and which had grown up with him and his children together, eating from her morsel and drinking from his cup, and sleeping in her breast. of the; and he had her like a daughter.
4 And there came one on the way to the rich man; and he did not want to take some of his sheep and his herd to cook for the traveler who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s sheep and prepared it for him who had come to him.
5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, he who did such a thing is worthy of death.
6 And he must pay four times as much for the lamb, because he did such a thing, and he had no mercy.
7 Then Nathan said to David, You are that man. Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul,
8 and I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives in your bosom; Furthermore I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if this were not enough, he would have added much more to you.
9 Why then did you despise the word of the Lord, doing evil in his sight? You wounded Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and took his wife as your wife, and you killed him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Therefore now the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me, and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, who will lie with your wives in the sight of the sun.
12 Because you did it in secret; but I will do this before all Israel and in the full sun.
13 Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord also has forgiven your sin; you will not die.
14 But because by this matter you have caused the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, the son who is born to you will surely die.
15 And Nathan returned to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became seriously ill.
16 Then David prayed to God for the child; And David fasted, and he went in, and spent the night lying on the ground.
17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, nor did he eat bread with them.
18And on the seventh day the child died; And David’s servants were afraid to let him know that the child was dead, saying among themselves, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hear our voice; How much more will he grieve if we tell him that the child has died?
19 But David, seeing his servants talking among themselves, understood that the child was dead; Therefore David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they answered: He is dead.
20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes, and entered into the house of the LORD, and worshiped. Then he came to his house and asked, and they gave him bread, and he ate.
21 And his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? For the child, while still living, you fasted and cried; and when he was dead, you arose and ate bread.
22 And he answered, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, saying, Who knows whether God will have mercy on me, and the child will live?
26 Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 Then Joab sent messengers to David, saying, I have laid siege to Rabbah, and have taken the city of water.
28 Now therefore gather together the remaining people, and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.
29 And David gathered all the people, and went against Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30 And he removed the crown from the head of his king, which weighed a talent of gold, and had precious stones; and it was placed on David’s head. And he took very great booty out of the city.
31 He also brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws, with iron threshers and iron axes, and also made them work in the brick kilns; and he did the same to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David returned with all the people to Jerusalem.
26 Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27 Then Joab sent messengers to David, saying, I have laid siege to Rabbah, and have taken the city of water.
28 Now therefore gather together the remaining people, and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.
29 And David gathered all the people, and went against Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30 And he removed the crown from the head of his king, which weighed a talent of gold, and had precious stones; and it was placed on David’s head. And he took very great booty out of the city.
31 He also brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws, with iron threshers and iron axes, and also made them work in the brick kilns; and he did the same to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David returned with all the people to Jerusalem.
1 It came to pass after this that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her.
2 And Amnon was distressed to the point of being sick because of her sister Tamar, for since she was a virgin, it seemed to Amnon that it would be difficult to do anything to her.
3 And Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of Shimea, David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very clever man.
4 And he said to him, Son of the king, why do you grow weak day by day like this? Won’t you find out to me? And Amnon answered him, I love Tamar the sister of Absalom my brother.
5 And Jonadab said to him, Lie down on your bed, and pretend that you are sick; And when your father comes to visit you, say to him: Please let my sister Tamar come and feed me, and prepare some food before me, so that when I see it I may eat it from her hand.
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended that he was sick; and the king came to visit him. And Amnon said to the king, I pray you, let my sister Tamar come and make two flakes before me, so that I may eat from her hand.
7 And David sent Tamar to her house, saying, Go now to your brother Amnon’s house, and make him eat.
8 And Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying down; and he took flour, and kneaded it, and made flakes before him and baked them.
9 Then she took the pan, and brought them out before him; but he did not want to eat. And Amnon said, Drive them all out of here. And everyone left there.
10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the bedroom, so that I may eat from your hand. And Tamar took the flakes which he had prepared, and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bedroom.
11 And when she put them before her so that she might eat of them, he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, my sister, lie with me.
12 She then answered him: No, my brother, do not do violence to me; because it should not be done like that in Israel. Don’t do such a vile thing.
13 For where would I go with my dishonor? And even you would be esteemed as one of the wicked in Israel. So now I beg you to speak to the king, for he will not deny you to me.
14 But he would not listen to her, but being able to overcome her, he forced her, and he lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with such great hatred that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And she said to Amnon, Arise, and go.
16 And she answered him, There is no reason; This is a greater evil of throwing me away than what you have done to me. But he would not listen to her,
17 but called her servant who was serving him, and said to her, “Throw this one out of here, and close her door behind her.”
18And she was wearing a dress of different colors, a dress worn by the virgin daughters of kings. So her servant cast her out, and he shut the door behind her.
19 Then Tamar took ashes and sprinkled them on her head, and tore the colorful clothes in which she was dressed, and putting her hand on her head, he went away shouting.
20 And his brother Absalom said to him, Has your brother Amnon been with you? Well, be silent now, my sister; your brother is; Do not let your heart be distressed by this. And Tamar remained disconsolate in the house of her brother Absalom.
21 And when King David heard all this, he was very angry.
22 But Absalom spoke neither evil nor good to Amnon; although Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
23 It came to pass after two years that Absalom had shearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.
24 And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold, thy servant now have shearers; I pray that the king and his servants come with your servant.
25 And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be a burden to you. And although he persisted with him, he did not want to go, but he blessed him.
26 Then Absalom said, If not, please let Amnon my brother come with us. And the king answered him: Why should he go with you?
27 But because Absalom was bothering him, he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.
28 And Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Look, I pray you, when Amnon’s heart is glad with wine; and when I said, Smite Amnon, then kill him, and fear not, for I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous.
29 And Absalom’s servants did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded them. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each one mounted his mule, and fled.
30 While they were still on the road, a rumor reached David, saying: Absalom has killed all the king’s sons, and none of them is left.
31 Then David arose and tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground, and all his servants who were with him also tore his clothes.
32 But Jonadab, son of Shimea, David’s brother, spoke and said, Let my lord not say that they have killed all the king’s young sons, for only Amnon has been killed; for by Absalom’s command this had been determined from the day that Amnon forced his sister Tamar.
33 Therefore now let not my lord the king put in his heart that rumor that says, All the king’s sons have been killed; for only Amnon has been killed.
34 And Absalom fled. Meanwhile, the young man who was on watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming along the road behind him from the side of the mountain.
35 And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king’s sons are coming; This is what your servant has said.
36 When he had finished speaking, behold, the king’s sons came and lifted up their voices and wept. And also the king himself and all his servants wept with very great lamentations.
37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Amiud, king of Geshur. And David wept for his son every day.
38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and stayed there three years.
39 And king David desired to see Absalom; for he was already comforted about Amnon, who was dead.
1 When Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart was inclined towards Absalom,
2 Joab sent to Tekoa, and took from there a cunning woman, and said to her, I pray you, pretend to mourn, and put on mourning clothes, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but present yourself as a woman who has been mourning for a long time for someone who has died;
3 and you will go in to the king, and you will speak to him in this way. And Joab put the words in his mouth.
4 So the woman of Tekoa came to the king, and he fell on her face to the ground, and she bowed, and she said, Help, O king!
5 The king said to him: What have you got? And she answered: I am indeed a widow, and my husband is dead.
6 Your maidservant had two sons, and the two quarreled in the field; and there being no one to separate them, she struck one of them and killed him.
7 And behold, the whole family has risen up against your servant, saying, Hand over him who killed his brother, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed, and also kill the heir. Thus they will extinguish the ember that is left for me, leaving my husband no name or relic on earth.
8 Then the king said to the woman, Go home, and I will give orders concerning you.
9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king: My lord, king, evil be upon me and upon my father’s house; but the king and his throne be blameless.
10 And the king said, Whoever speaks against you, bring him to me, and he will touch you no more.
11 Then she said: I pray you, O king, remember the Lord your God, so that the avenger of blood may not increase the damage, and destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord lives, not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.
12 And the woman said, Please allow your maidservant to speak a word to my lord the king. And he said: Speak.
13 Then the woman said, Why then have you thought such a thing against the people of God? For by speaking this word the king makes himself guilty, because the king does not bring back his exile.
14 For we surely die, and are like waters poured out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; Nor does God take away life, but provides means not to distance the exiled from Himself.
15 And the fact that I have come now to say this to the king my lord is because the people terrified me; and your servant said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps he will do what his servant says.
16 For the king will hear, to deliver his servant out of the hand of the man who wants to destroy me and my son together, from the inheritance of God.
17Your servant therefore says: Now let the answer of my lord the king be a consolation, for my lord the king is like an angel of God to discern between good and evil. So the Lord your God be with you.
18 Then David answered and said to the woman, I pray you, do not conceal from me anything that I ask you. And the woman said: Let my lord the king speak.
19 And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with you in all these things? The woman answered and said: As your soul lives, my lord king, there is no turning to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for your servant Joab, he commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
20 To change the appearance of things Joab your servant has done this; but my lord is wise according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know what is on earth.
21 Then the king said to Joab, Behold, I do this; Go and bring back young Absalom.
22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground and bowed, and when he had blessed the king, he said: Today your servant understands that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, for the king has done what his servant has done. saying.
23 Then Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24 But the king said, Go to his house, and see not my face. And Absalom returned to his house, and he did not see the king’s face.
25 And there was none in all Israel so praised for his beauty as Absalom; From the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no defect in him.
26 When he cut his hair (which he did at the end of each year, because it caused him discomfort, and so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head two hundred shekels of royal weight.
27 And three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a woman of beautiful countenance.
28 And Absalom was in Jerusalem for two years, and he did not see the face of the king.
29 And Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but he would not come; and he sent even the second time, and he would not come.
30 Then he said to his servants, Behold, Joab’s field is beside mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set fire to the field.
31 Then Joab arose and came to Absalom’s house, and said to him, Why have your servants set fire to my field?
32 And Absalom said to Joab, Behold, I have sent for you, telling you to come hither, to send you to the king to say, Why did I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to still be there. I see now the king’s face; and if there is sin in me, kill me.
33 So Joab came to the king and told him. Then he called Absalom, who came to the king, and bowed his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.
1 It came to pass after this, that Absalom got chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
2 And Absalom arose early in the morning, and stood on the side of the road by the gate; And anyone who had a lawsuit and came to the king for judgment, Absalom called him and said to him, What city are you from? And he answered: Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.
3 Then Absalom said to him, See, your words are good and just; but you have no one to hear you from the king.
4 And Absalom said, “Who would make me a judge in the land, so that all those who have a dispute or business would come to me, and I would give them justice!”
5 And it came to pass, that when any man came near to bow down to him, he stretched out his hand and took him, and kissed him.
6 In this way he did with all the Israelites who came to the king for judgment; and thus Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
7 At the end of four years, it came to pass that Absalom said to the king, Please allow me to go to Hebron to pay my vow which I have promised to the Lord.
8 For your servant made a vow when he was in Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord brings me back to Jerusalem, I will serve the Lord.
9 And the king said to him, Go in peace. And he arose, and went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent messengers to all the tribes of Israel, saying, When you hear the sound of the trumpet, you will say, Absalom reigns in Hebron.
11 And two hundred men from Jerusalem, whom he had invited, went with Absalom, who went in his simplicity, knowing nothing.
12 And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he called Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city of Gilo. And the conspiracy became powerful, and the people who followed Absalom increased.
13 And a messenger came to David, saying, The heart of all Israel goes after Absalom.
14 Then David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee, for we will not be able to escape from Absalom; Make haste to depart, lest he hasten overtake us, and cast evil upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.
15 And the king’s servants said to the king, Behold, your servants are ready for whatever our lord the king decides.
16 The king then went out, with all his family following him. And the king left ten concubines to guard the house.
17 So the king went out with all the people who followed him, and they stopped at a distant place.
18And all his servants passed by him, with all the Cerethites and Pelethites; And all the Gittites, six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath, went before the king.
19 And the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why are you also coming with us? Go back and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner, and also banished from your place.
20 Yesterday you came, and today must I make you move to go with us? As for me, I will go where I can go; you return, and bring back your brothers; May Jehovah show you permanent love and faithfulness.
21 And Ittai answered the king, saying, As God lives, and as my lord the king lives, whether in death or in life, wherever my lord the king is, there your servant will also be.
22 Then David said to Ittai, Come, therefore, and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed by, and all his men, and all his family.
23 And the whole country wept with a loud voice; Then all the people crossed the brook Kidron; The king also crossed over, and all the people crossed over to the road that goes to the desert.
24 And behold, Zadok also went, and with him all the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of God; and they set up the ark of the covenant of God. And Abiathar went up after all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 But the king said to Zadok, Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will cause me to return, and he will let me see his tabernacle.
26 And if I say, I have no pleasure in you; Here I am, do with me what seems good to you.
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, Are you not the seer? He returns in peace to the city, and with you your two sons; Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar.
28 Look, I will stop at the fords of the desert until an answer comes from you to warn me.
29 Then Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem, and stayed there.
30 And David went up the hill of Olives; and he brought her up crying, his head covered and his feet bare. Also all the people that he had with him, each one covered his head, and were crying as they went up.
31 And they told David, saying, Ahithophel is among those who conspired with Absalom. Then David said, Now hinder, O Lord, the counsel of Ahithophel.
32 When David came to the top of the mountain to worship God there, behold, Hushai the archite came out to meet him, his clothes were torn, and earth was on his head.
33 And David said to him, If you pass over with me, you will be a burden to me.
34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘King, I will be your servant; As until now I have been your father’s servant, so I will now be your servant; then you will make void the advice of Ahithophel.
35 Will Zadok and Abiathar the priests not be there with you? Therefore, whatever you hear in the king’s house, you must report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
36 And behold, their two sons are with them, Ahimaaz of Zadok and Jonathan of Abiathar; Through them you will send me notice of everything you hear.
37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came to the city; and Absalom entered Jerusalem.
1 When David had passed a little beyond the top of the mountain, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth came out to meet him with a pair of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves, one hundred bunches of raisins, one hundred loaves of figs. dried, and a skin of wine.
2 And the king said to Ziba, What is this? And Ziba answered, The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the bread and raisins for the servants to eat, and the wine for those who grow weary in the desert to drink.
3 And the king said, Where is your lord’s son? And Ziba answered the king, Behold, he has remained in Jerusalem, for he has said, Today the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my father.
4 Then the king said to Ziba, Behold, let all that Mephibosheth has be yours. And Siba answered, bowing down: My Lord, King, may I find favor in your sight.
5 And king David came to Bahurim; And behold, one of the family of the house of Saul came out, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera; and he went out cursing,
6 and throwing 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.
7 And Shimei said, cursing him, Away, away, bloodthirsty and perverse man!
8 The LORD has given you the payment of all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom; and here you are surprised in your wickedness, because you are a bloodthirsty man.
9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me pass, and I will take his head.
10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? If he curses like this, it is because Jehovah has told him to curse David. Who then will say to him: Why do you do so?
11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my son who has come forth from my womb is stalking my life; how much more now a son of Benjamin? Let him curse, for Jehovah has told him so.
12 Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction, and the LORD will give me good for his curses today.
13 And while David and his men were on the road, Shimei went along the side of the mountain before him, walking and cursing, and throwing stones before him, and scattering dust.
14 And the king and all the people who were with him came weary, and rested there.
15 And Absalom and all his people, the men of Israel, entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
16 Now it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to meet Absalom, Hushai said, Long live the king, long live the king!
17 And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this your gratitude to your friend? Why didn’t you go with your friend?
18 And Hushai said to Absalom, No, but of him whom the LORD chooses, and this people, and all the men of Israel, of him will I be, and with him I will remain.
19 And who was I to serve? Isn’t it his son? As I have served before your father, so will I serve before you.
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give your advice as to what we should do.
21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go unto your father’s concubines, whom he left to keep the house; and all the people of Israel will hear that you have become hateful to your father, and thus the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.
22 Then they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom came to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23 And the advice that Ahithophel gave in those days was as if the word of God was consulted. Such was all the advice of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom.
1 Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, I will now choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and follow David this night,
2 and I will fall upon him while he is tired and weak of hands; I will make him afraid, and all the people who are with him will flee, and I will kill the king alone.
3 Thus I will bring back all the people to you (for you seek only the life of one man); and when they have returned, all the people will be at peace.
4 This advice seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
5 And Absalom said, Call also now Hushai the archite, that we may also hear what he will say.
6 When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, Thus says Ahithophel; Will we follow his advice, or not? Says you.
7 Then Hushai said to Absalom, The advice that Ahithophel has given this time is not good.
8 And Hushai added: You know that your father and his men are brave men, and that they are in bitterness of spirit, like the bear in the field when her cubs have been taken from her. Furthermore, your father is a man of war, and he will not spend the night with the people.
9 Behold he will now be hidden in some cave, or in another place; And if at first some of your people fall, whoever hears it will say, The people who follow Absalom have been defeated.
10 And even the mighty man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely faint; For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are mighty.
11 Therefore I advise that all Israel gather to you, from Dan to Beersheba, in multitude like the sand that is on the seashore, and that you yourself go to battle.
12 Then we will attack him wherever he is, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the earth, and we will not leave one of him and of all those who are with him.
13 And if he takes refuge in any city, all Israel will take ropes to that city, and we will drag it to the brook, until not a stone is found there.
14 Then Absalom and all Israel said, The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel. For Jehovah had commanded that the wise counsel of Ahithophel be thwarted, so that Jehovah would bring evil upon Absalom.
15 Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel advise Absalom and the elders of Israel; and in this way I advised.
16 Therefore, send immediately and tell David, saying, Do not stay this night at the fords of the desert, but cross the Jordan immediately, so that the king and all the people who are with him may not be destroyed.
17 And Jonathan and Ahimaaz were by the well of Rogel, and a servant went and warned them, because they could not show themselves coming to the city; and they went and told King David.
18 But they were seen by a young man, who told Absalom; However, the two hurried on, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, into which they went.
19 And the woman of the house took a blanket, and he spread it over the mouth of the well, and spread the threshed grain on it; and nothing was known about the matter.
20 Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman’s house and said to him, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman answered them: They have already crossed the ford of the waters. And when they searched for them and did not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
21 And after they had gone, they came out of the well and went away, and told King David, saying, Arise and make haste to cross the waters, for Ahithophel has given such counsel against you.
22 Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and crossed the Jordan before daybreak; There was not even one missing who did not cross the Jordan.
23 But Ahithophel, seeing that his advice had not been followed, saddled his donkey, and arose and went to his house to his city; and after putting his house in order, he hanged himself, and so he died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.
24 And David came to Mahanaim; and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the people of Israel.
25 And Absalom appointed Amasa commander of the army in Joab’s place. Amasa was the son of a man of Israel named Ithra, who had come to Abigail daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah mother of Joab.
26 And he camped Israel with Absalom in the land of Gilead.
27 After David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahas, of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, Machir the son of Ammiel, of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
28 brought beds, cups, to David and to the people who were with him. , clay vessels, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, roasted chickpeas,
29 honey, butter, sheep, and cow’s cheese, so that they could eat; because they said: The people are hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert.
1 So David reviewed the people he had with him, and appointed over them leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds.
2 And David sent to the people, a third under the command of Joab, a third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, and a third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, I also will go out with you.
3 But the people said, Thou shalt not go out; because if we flee, they will not pay attention to us; and even if half of us die, they will take no notice of us; but you are now worth as much as ten thousand of us. It will be better, then, if you give us help from the city.
4 Then the king said to them, I will do what seems good to you. And the king stood at the entrance of the gate, while all the people went out, hundreds by hundreds and thousands by thousands.
5 And the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Treat young Absalom kindly for my sake. And all the people heard when the king gave orders concerning Absalom to all the captains.
6 So the people went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.
7 And there the people of Israel fell before David’s servants, and there was a great slaughter of twenty thousand men there on that day.
8 And the battle spread throughout the whole country; and there were more who destroyed the forest that day than those who destroyed the sword.
9 And Absalom met David’s servants; And Absalom was riding on a mule, and the mule entered under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head became entangled in the oak, and Absalom was suspended between heaven and earth; and the mule on which he was riding passed ahead.
10 When one saw it, he told Joab, saying, Behold, I have seen Absalom hanging from an oak tree.
11 And Joab answered the man who told him: And when you saw it, why did you not immediately kill him there by throwing him to the ground? It would have pleased me to give you ten shekels of silver, and a belt.
12 The man said to Joab, Even if you weighed me a thousand shekels of silver, I would not stretch out my hand against the king’s son; for we heard when the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, See that no one touch the young Absalom.
13 On the other hand, I would have betrayed my life, since nothing is hidden from the king, and you yourself would be against it.
14 And Joab said, I will not waste my time with you. And taking three darts in his hand, he thrust them into the heart of Absalom, who was still alive in the midst of the oak.
15 And ten young men of Joab’s armor surrounded and wounded Absalom, and finished killing him.
16Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the people turned back from following Israel, because Joab stopped the people.
17 Then they took Absalom and threw him into a large hole in the forest, and raised a very large heap of stones over him. and all Israel fled, every one to his tent.
18 And in his lifetime Absalom had taken and set up a pillar, which is in the king’s valley; for he had said: I have no son who preserves the memory of my name. And he called that pillar by his name, and so it has been called Absalom’s Pillar, to this day.
19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, Shall I now run and tell the king that the Lord has defended his cause from the hand of his enemies?
20 Joab answered: Today you will not bring the news; you will wear them another day; You will not give the news today, because the king’s son is dead.
21 And Joab said to an Ethiopian, Go, and tell the king what you have seen. And the Ethiopian bowed before Joab, and he ran.
22 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, Be that as it may, I will now run after the Ethiopian. And Joab said: My son, why should you run, if you will not receive a reward for the news?
23 But he answered, Be that as it may, I will run. Then he said to him: Run. So Ahimaaz ran along the road of the plain, and passed before the Ethiopian.
24 And David sat between the two doors; and the watchman had gone to the roof above the gate in the wall, and lifting up his eyes, he looked, and saw one running alone.
25 Then the watchman called out and told the king. And the king said: If he comes alone, he brings good news. As he approached,
26 he saw another running at the watchtower; And the watchman called to the porter, saying, Behold another man running alone. And the king said: This also is a messenger.
27 And the watchman said again, The running of the first seems to me like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king answered: That is a good man, and he comes with good news.
28 Then Ahimaaz said with a loud voice to the king, Peace. And he bowed himself to the ground before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord your God, who hath delivered up the men that had lifted up their hands against my lord the king.
29 And the king said, Is young Absalom well? And Ahimaaz answered, I saw a great commotion when Joab sent the king’s servant and me your servant; but I don’t know what it was.
30 And the king said, Come in, and stand there. And he passed by, and stood.
31 Then the Ethiopian came and said, Let my lord the king receive tidings, that today the Lord has defended your cause from the hand of all those who rose up against you.
32 The king then said to the Ethiopian, Is young Absalom well? And the Ethiopian answered: Like that young man, be the enemies of my lord the king, and all those who rise up against you for evil.
33 Then the king was troubled, and went up to the gate room, and wept; And as he went, he said thus: My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!
1 They told Joab: Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom.
2 And that day victory turned into mourning for all the people; because he heard the people say that day that the king was grieving for his son.
3 And the people entered the city secretly that day, as shamed people who have fled from battle usually enter secretly.
4 But the king, covering his face, cried out with a loud voice: My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!
5 Then Joab came to the king in the house, and said, Today you have shamed the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your wives. life of your concubines,
6 loving those who hate you, and hating those who love you; because today you have declared that you care nothing about your princes and servants; For today you have made it clear to me that if Absalom lived, even if we were all dead, then you would be happy.
7 Rise therefore now, and go forth and speak kindly to your servants; because I swear by Jehovah that if you do not come out, there will not be a man left with you tonight; and this will be worse for you than all the evils that have befallen you from your youth until now.
8 Then the king arose and sat at the door, and it was told to all the people, saying, Behold, the king is sitting at the door. And all the people came before the king; But Israel had fled, each one to his tent.
9 And all the people disputed in all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king has delivered us from the hand of our enemies, and he has saved us from the hand of the Philistines; and now he has fled from the country for fear of Absalom.
10 And Absalom, whom we had anointed over us, has died in the battle. Why then are you silent about bringing back the king?
11 And king David sent Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak to the elders of Judah, and say to them, Why will you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king to make him return home?
12 You are my brothers; you are my bones and my flesh. Why then will you be the last to bring back the king?
13 Likewise you will say to Amasa: Are you not also my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and even more, if you are not general of the army before me forever, instead of Joab.
14 Thus he inclined the heart of all the men of Judah, as that of one man, to send and say to the king, Return, you and all your servants.
15 So the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to take him over the Jordan.
16 And Shimei the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, who was from Bahurim, hastened and went down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
17 With him came a thousand men from Benjamin; Likewise Ziba, a servant of Saul’s house, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, who crossed the Jordan before the king.
18 And they crossed the ford to pass over to the king’s family, and to do as he pleased. Then Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he had crossed the Jordan,
19 and said to the king, Let not my lord blame me for iniquity, nor remember the evils that your servant did on the day that my lord the king went out. from Jerusalem; let the king not keep them in his heart.
20 For I, your servant, acknowledge that I have sinned, and I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king.
21 Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei, who cursed the Lord’s anointed, die for this?
22 David then said, What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? Will anyone die today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?
23 And the king said to Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king swore it to him.
24 Mephibosheth son of Saul also came down to meet the king; He had not washed his feet, nor cut his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king left until the day he returned in peace.
25 And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, Mephibosheth, why did you not go with me?
26 And he said, My lord, King, my servant deceived me; for your servant had said, Saddle me an ass, and I will mount it, and go to the king; because your servant is lame.
27 But he has slandered your servant before my lord the king; but my lord the king is like an angel of God; So do what seems good to you.
28 For all my father’s house was worthy of death before my lord the king, and you placed your servant among those invited to your table. What right, then, do I have to cry out more to the king?
29 And the king said to him, Why more words? I have determined that you and Ziba divide the lands.
30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, Let him take them all, since my lord the king has returned in peace to his house.
31 Barzilai the Gileadite also came down from Rogelim, and crossed the Jordan with the king, to accompany him to the other side of the Jordan.
32 Barzillai was very old, eighty years old, and he had given provisions to the king when he was in Mahanaim, because he was a very rich man.
33 And the king said to Barzillai, Come with me, and I will sustain you with me in Jerusalem.
34 But Barzilai said to the king, How many more years must I live, before I go up with the king to Jerusalem?
35 I am eighty years old this day. Will I be able to distinguish between what is pleasant and what is not? Will your servant now take pleasure in what he eats or drinks? Will I hear the voice of male and female singers more? Why then should your servant be a burden to my lord the king?
36 Your servant will go a little beyond the Jordan with the king; Why should the king give me such a great reward?
37 I beseech you, let your servant return, and let him die in my city, near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimam; Let him go to my lord the king, and do to him what seems good to you.
38 And the king said, Well, Chimam come with me, and I will do with him as you see fit; and whatever you ask of me, I will do it.
39 And all the people crossed the Jordan; and after the king had also passed by, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned to his house.
40 The king then passed on to Gilgal, and Chimam passed with him; and all the people of Judah accompanied the king, and also half of the people of Israel.
41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto him, Why have the men of Judah, our brethren, taken thee, and made the king and his family, and all the servants of David, pass over the Jordan? with the?
42And all the men of Judah answered all the men of Israel, Because the king is our kinsman. But why are you angry about that? Have we eaten anything from the king? Have we received any gifts from him?
43 Then the men of Israel answered and said to those of Judah, We have ten shares in the king, and more in David himself than you. Why, then, have you thought little of us? Did we not speak first, regarding bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were more violent than those of the men of Israel.
1 And it came to pass that there was a wicked man there, named Sheba the son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin, who blew the trumpet, and said, We have no share in David, nor any inheritance with the son of Jesse. Every man to his tent, Israel!
2 So all the men of Israel abandoned David, following Sheba the son of Bicri; but those of Judah followed their king from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
3 And when David came to his house in Jerusalem, the king took the ten concubines that he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion, and gave them food; But he never came to them again, but they remained locked up until they died, in perpetual widowhood.
4 Then the king said to Amasa, Summon the men of Judah to me within three days, and be present here.
5 So Amasa went to summon those of Judah; but he stopped longer than the time allotted to him.
6 And David said to Abishai, Sheba the son of Bichri will now do us more harm than Absalom; So take your master’s servants and go after him, lest he find fortified cities for himself and cause us trouble.
7 Then Joab’s men, and the Cerethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after him; They left Jerusalem to go after Sheba son of Bicri.
8 And while they were near the big stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came out to meet them. And Joab was girded with his garment, and upon it he had a belt fastened to his loins with a dagger in its scabbard, which fell from him as he advanced.
9 Then Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with you, my brother? And Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard with his right hand, to kiss him.
10 And Amasa did not care for the dagger that was in Joab’s hand; and he wounded him with it in the fifth rib, and spilled its entrails on the ground, and he fell dead without giving him a second blow. Then Joab and his brother Abishai went in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.
11 And one of Joab’s men stood by him, saying, Whoever loves Joab and David, let him follow Joab.
12 And Amasa lay wallowing in her blood in the middle of the road; and everyone who passed by, when they saw him, stopped; And when the man saw that all the people were standing still, he took Amasa away from the road to the field, and threw a garment over him.
13 After he had been removed from the way, all those who followed Joab passed on to go after Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 And he passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and all Barim; and they gathered together, and followed him also.
15 And they came and besieged it at Abel-beth-maacah, and set up a bulwark against the city, and it was besieged; and all the people who were with Joab worked to break down the wall.
16 Then a wise woman cried out in the city, saying, Hear, hear; I beseech you, tell Joab to come here, so that I may speak with him.
17 When he came to her, the woman said, Are you Joab? And he answered: I am. She said to him: Hear the words of your servant. And he answered: I hear.
18 Then she spoke again, saying: In ancient times they used to say, Whoever asks, let him ask in Abel; and thus they concluded any matter.
19 I am of the peaceful and faithful of Israel; but you seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you destroy Jehovah’s inheritance?
20 Joab answered, saying, Never such, never such befall me, that I destroy or destroy.
21 It is not so: but a man from Mount Ephraim, whose name is Sheba the son of Bichri, has raised his hand against King David; Deliver only that one, and I will leave the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head will be thrown down to you from the wall.
22 The woman then went to all the people with her wisdom; and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, each one to his tent. And Joab returned to the king to Jerusalem.
23 So Joab was left over the entire army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the Cherethites and Pelethites,
24 and Adoram over the taxes, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder.
25 Sheva was a scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests,
26 and Ira the Jairite was also David’s priest.
1 There was a famine in the days of David for three consecutive years. And David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD said to him, It is because of Saul, and because of that house of blood, that he slew the Gibeonites.
2 Then the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (The Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the rest of the Amorites, to whom the children of Israel had sworn an oath; but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.)
3 He said, Therefore, David to the Gibeonites: What shall I do for you, or what satisfaction shall I give you, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
4 And the Gibeonites answered him, We have no quarrel over silver or gold with Saul and his house; nor do we want any man of Israel to die. And he said to them: Whatever you say, I will do.
5 They said to the king, “From that man who destroyed us, and who plotted against us to destroy us, leaving nothing of us in all the territory of Israel,
6 give us seven of his sons, so that we may hang them before the Lord in Gibeah Saul, the chosen one of Jehovah. And the king said: I will give them.
7 And the king forgave Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
8 But the king took two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aja, whom she had had by Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had had by Adriel the son of Barzilai the Meholathite,
9 and he delivered them into the hand of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord; and so those seven died together, who were killed in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
10 Then Rizpah the daughter of Aja took a sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of the harvest until she rained water from heaven on them; and she did not allow any bird of the air to land on them by day, nor wild beasts of the field by night.
11 And David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aja, Saul’s concubine, was doing.
12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabez Gilead, who had stolen them from the square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines killed Saul in Gilboa;
13 and he brought from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they also collected the bones of the hanged.
14 And they buried the bones of Saul and those of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin, in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father; and they did everything that the king had commanded. And God was kind to the land after this.
15 The Philistines again made war against Israel, and David and his servants went down with him, and fought with the Philistines; and David grew tired.
16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was girded with a new sword, tried to kill David;
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck down the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, From now on you will never go out with us into battle, lest you extinguish the lamp of Israel.
18 Afterwards there was another second war in Gob against the Philistines; then Sibecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants.
19 There was war again in Gob against the Philistines, in which Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim of Bethlehem killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like the roller of a loom.
20 Afterwards there was another war in Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had twelve fingers on his hands, and another twelve on his feet, twenty-four for all; and he was also a descendant of the giants.
21 He challenged Israel, and Jonathan, son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
22 These four were descendants of the giants in Gath, who fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
1 David spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said: The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer;
3 My God, my strength, I will trust in him; My shield, and the fort of my salvation, my high refuge; my savior; You freed me from violence.
4 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I will be saved from my enemies.
5 Waves of death surrounded me, And torrents of wickedness terrified me.
6 The bands of Sheol surrounded me; They laid snares of death upon me.
7 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried unto my God; He heard my voice from his temple, and my cry reached his ears.
8 The earth was shaken and trembled, and the foundations of the heavens were shaken; They shuddered, because he became indignant.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire came from his mouth; Coals were lit by him.
10 And he bowed the heavens, and came down; And there was darkness under his feet.
11 And he rode on a cherub, and flew; He flew on the wings of the wind.
12 He put darkness around him for the hiding place; Darkness of waters and dense clouds.
13 By the brightness of his presence burning coals were kindled.
14 And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave his voice;
15 He sent his arrows, and scattered them; And he cast lightning, and destroyed them.
16 Then the torrents of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were revealed; To the rebuke of the Lord, By the breath of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He sent from above and took me; He brought me out of many waters.
18 He delivered me from a powerful enemy, And from those who hated me, although they were stronger than I.
19 They assaulted me in the day of my destruction; But the Lord was my support,
20 And he brought me out to a spacious place; He delivered me, because he was pleased with me.
21 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanliness of my hands he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not turned away wickedly from my God.
23 For all his decrees were before me, and I have not departed from his statutes.
24 I was upright toward him, And I have kept myself from my wickedness;
25 Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanliness of my hands in his sight.
26 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful, And righteous towards the upright man.
27 You will show yourself clean towards the clean, and you will be rigid towards the wicked.
28 For you save the afflicted people, But your eyes are on the proud to bring them down.
29 You are my lamp, O Lord; My God will illuminate my darkness.
30 With you I will destroy armies, and with my God I will assault walls.
31 As for God, his way is perfect, and the word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to all those who wait for him.
32 For who is God but Jehovah alone? And what rock is there apart from our God?
33 God is the one who girds me with strength, And who clears my path;
34 Who makes my feet like deer’s feet, And makes me stand on my heights;
35 Who trains my hands for battle, So that the bronze bow bends with my arms.
36 You also gave me the shield of your salvation, and your kindness has made me great.
37 You have enlarged my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped.
38 I will pursue my enemies and destroy them, and I will not return until I have destroyed them.
39 I will consume them and smite them, so that they will not rise; They will fall under my feet.
40 For you girded me with strength for the fight; You have humbled my enemies under me,
41 And you have made my enemies turn their backs on me, So that I would destroy those who hate me.
42 They cried out, and there was no one to save them; Even to Jehovah, but he did not hear them.
43 I ground them like dust of the earth; Like mud from the streets I stepped on them and crushed them.
44 You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You kept me to be head of nations; A town that I didn’t know will help me.
45 The children of strangers will submit to me; When they hear about me, they will obey me.
46 The strangers will weaken, And they will come out trembling from their confinements.
47 Long live the Lord, and blessed be my rock, and magnified be the God of my salvation.
48 May God avenge my grievances, And he subdues peoples under me;
49 He who delivers me from enemies, And even he exalts me above those who rise up against me; You freed me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will confess you among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing to your name.
51 He gloriously saves his king, And he shows mercy to his anointed one, To David and to his descendants forever.
1 These are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, That man who was lifted up, The anointed of the God of Jacob, The sweet singer of Israel, said:
2 The Spirit of the Lord has spoken through me, And his word has been on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel has said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: There will be a righteous one who rules among men, Who rules in the fear of God.
4 It will be like the morning light, Like the brightness of the sun on a cloudless morning, Like the rain that causes grass to sprout from the ground.
5 My house is not like that with God; However, he has made a perpetual covenant with me, Ordered in all things, and it will be kept, Although he has not yet made All my salvation and my desire flourish.
6 But the wicked will all be like thorns plucked up, which no one takes with his hand;
7 But whoever wants to touch them Arms himself with iron and a spear shaft, And they are completely burned in their place.
8 These are the names of David’s mighty men: Joseb-basebet the Tachmonite, chief of the captains; This was Adino the Eznite, who killed eight hundred men on one occasion.
9 After him, Eleazar son of Dodo, an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men who were with David when they challenged the Philistines who had gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had departed.
10 He arose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was tired, and his hand clung to the sword. That day Jehovah gave a great victory, and the people turned after him just to collect the spoils.
11 After him was Shammah the son of Age, an Ararite. The Philistines had gathered at Lehi, where there was a small field full of lentils, and the people had fled before the Philistines.
12 He then stood in the middle of that field and defended it, and killed the Philistines; and Jehovah gave a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty leaders went down and came at harvest time to David in the cave of Adullam; and the camp of the Philistines was in the valley of Rephaim.
14 David was then in the strong place, and there was a garrison of the Philistines in Bethlehem.
15 And David said earnestly, Would that he would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!
16 Then the three mighty men broke into the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate; and they took it, and brought it to David; but he would not drink it, but poured it out for Jehovah, saying,
17 Far be it from me, O Jehovah, that I should do this. Should I drink the blood of the men who went in danger of their lives? And he didn’t want to drink it. The three brave did that.
18 And Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was the chief of the thirty. This man raised his spear against three hundred, whom he slew, and gained renown with the three.
19 He was the most renowned of the thirty, and became their leader; but he did not equal the first three.
20 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a mighty man, great in prowess, of Cabseel. He killed two lions of Moab; and he himself went down and killed a lion in the middle of a den when it was snowing.
21 He also killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he came down upon him with a club, and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.
22 This was what Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and he gained renown with the three mighty men.
23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he was not equal to the first three. And David made him head of his personal guard.
24 Asahel the brother of Joab was of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
25 Sama the Harodite, Elica the Harodite,
26 Heles the Paltite, Ira the son of Iches the Tekoite,
27 Abiezer the Anathotite, Mebunai the Hushathite,
28 Salmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophatite,
29 Heleb the son of Baana the Netophatite, Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hidai from the brook of Gaash,
31 Abi-albon the Arbatite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
32 Eliaba the Shaalbonite, Jonathan of the children of Jashen,
33 Sama the Ararite, Ahijam the son of Sarar the Ararite ,
34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel, the Gilonite,
35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
36 Igal the son of Nathan, of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
37 Selech the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah ,
38 Ira the Hittite, Gareb the Hittite,
39 Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven for all.
1 The anger of the LORD was again kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, Go, take a census of Israel and Judah.
2 And the king said to Joab, the general of the army that was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and take a census of the people, that I may know the number of the people.
3 Joab answered the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, and let my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king take pleasure in this?
4 But the king’s word prevailed over Joab and over the captains of the army. So Joab went out with the captains of the army from before the king to take a census of the people of Israel.
5 And they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and next to Jazer.
6 Then they went to Gilead and to the low land of Hodshi; and from there to Danjaan and the surrounding areas of Sidon.
7 Then they went to the fortress of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and went out into the Negev of Judah at Beersheba.
8 After they had traveled throughout the land, they returned to Jerusalem after nine months and twenty days.
9 And Joab gave the census of the people to the king; And those of Israel were eight hundred thousand strong men who drew the sword, and those of Judah five hundred thousand men.
10 After David had numbered the people, he weighed on their heart; And David said to the LORD, I have sinned grievously by doing this; but now, O Lord, I pray you, take away the sin of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.
11 And in the morning, when David had risen, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
12 Go and say to David, Thus says the LORD: I offer you three things; You will choose one of them, so that I can do it.
13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, Do you want seven years of famine to come upon you in your land? Or that you flee for three months from your enemies and that they pursue you? or that three days there will be pestilence in your land? Think now, and see what I will answer to him who sent me.
14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; Let us now fall into the hand of Jehovah, for his mercies are many, but let me not fall into the hands of men.
15 And the LORD sent the plague upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time; And of the people, from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men died.
16 And when the angel stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented of that evil, and said to the angel who destroyed the people: Enough now; stop your hand And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And David said to the LORD, when he saw the angel destroying the people, I have sinned, I have done evil; what did these sheep do? I pray that your hand may be turned against me, and against my father’s house.
18 And Gad came to David that day, and said unto him, Go up, and build an altar to the Lord in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19 David went up, according to the word of Gad, as the Lord had commanded;
20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. Then Arauna came out and bowed before the king, face to the ground.
21 And Araunah said, Why does my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the slaughter of the people may cease.
22 And Araunah said to David, Take and offer my lord the king whatever seems good to him; Behold, oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing floors and the yokes of the oxen for firewood.
23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king. Then Araunah said to the king: Jehovah your God be kind to you.
24 And the king said to Araunah, No, but for a price I will buy it from you; for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing. Then David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings; and the LORD heard the supplications of the land, and the plague ceased in Israel.
