Absalom Kills Amnon

²³ Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers^(A) were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there.

⁴ While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(A) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(B) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(C) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(D) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(E) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^(F)

¹⁰ He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab^(A) raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs^(B) and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

²⁵ Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

¹⁹ He has sacrificed^(A) great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

⁹ Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel.^(A) He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons,^(B) and all the royal officials of Judah,

³⁶ When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high^(A) spirits and very drunk.^(B) So she told^(C) him nothing at all until daybreak.

⁷ “‘Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat^(A) them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing.