2 Samuel 16:5-14

Living Bible

⁵ As David and his party passed Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei, the son of Gera, a member of Saul’s family. ⁶ He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded them!

^7-8 “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for murdering King Saul and his family; you stole his throne and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom! At last you will taste some of your own medicine, you murderer!”

⁹ “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai demanded. “Let me go over and strike off his head!”

¹⁰ “No!” the king said. “If the Lord has told him to curse me, who am I to say no? ¹¹ My own son is trying to kill me, and this Benjaminite is merely cursing me. Leave him alone, for no doubt the Lord has told him to do it. ¹² And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses.”

¹³ So David and his men continued on, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air. ¹⁴ The king and all those who were with him were weary by the time they reached Bahurim, so they stayed there awhile and rested.