⁴ and that the Lord may keep his promise^(A) to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully^(B) before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

⁵ “Now you yourself know what Joab^(A) son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner^(B) son of Ner and Amasa^(C) son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.

¹⁵ “As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord.

¹⁸ “Very well,” Bathsheba replied, “I will speak to the king for you.”