2 Samuel 19:15-43

New King James Version

¹⁵ Then the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to ^(A)Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to escort the king ^(B)across the Jordan. ¹⁶ And ^(C)Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷ There were a thousand men of ^(D)Benjamin with him, and ^(E)Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Jordan before the king. ¹⁸ Then a ferryboat went across to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good.

David’s Mercy to Shimei

Now Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he had crossed the Jordan. ¹⁹ Then he said to the king, ^(F)“Do not let my lord ^[a]impute iniquity to me, or remember what ^(G)wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king left Jerusalem, that the king should ^(H)take it to heart. ²⁰ For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Therefore here I am, the first to come today of all ^(I)the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”

²¹ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, ^(J)because he ^(K)cursed the Lord’s anointed?”

²² And David said, ^(L)“What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? ^(M)Shall any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?” ²³ Therefore ^(N)the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore to him.

David and Mephibosheth Meet

²⁴ Now ^(O)Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace. ²⁵ So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, ^(P)“Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”

²⁶ And he answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,’ because your servant is lame. ²⁷ And ^(Q)he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, ^(R)but my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes. ²⁸ For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king. ^(S)Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to ^[b]cry out anymore to the king?”

²⁹ So the king said to him, “Why do you speak anymore of your matters? I have said, ‘You and Ziba divide the land.’ ”

³⁰ Then Mephibosheth said to the king, “Rather, let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house.”

David’s Kindness to Barzillai

³¹ And ^(T)Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan. ³² Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And ^(U)he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man. ³³ And the king said to Barzillai, “Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”

³⁴ But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? ³⁵ I am today ^(V)eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king? ³⁶ Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward? ³⁷ Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant ^(W)Chimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.”

³⁸ And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you.” ³⁹ Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed over, the king ^(X)kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.

The Quarrel About the King

⁴⁰ Now the king went on to Gilgal, and ^[c]Chimham went on with him. And all the people of Judah escorted the king, and also half the people of Israel. ⁴¹ Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, “Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and ^(Y)brought the king, his household, and all David’s men with him across the Jordan?”

⁴² So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is ^(Z)a close relative of ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?”

⁴³ And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, “We have ^(AA)ten shares in the king; therefore we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us—were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?”

Yet ^(AB)the words of the men of Judah were ^[d]fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.