2 Samuel 16:5-14

Evangelical Heritage Version

⁵ King David came to Bahurim. There he was confronted by a man from the family of the house of Saul. His name was Shimei son of Gera. He was rushing out and calling down curses. ⁶ He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, as well as at all the people and all the warriors on David’s right and on his left. ⁷ This is what Shimei said as he cursed: “Get out! Get out, you bloody, worthless man! ⁸ The Lord has avenged upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, whom you replaced as king. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. Just look at you now, sunk in disaster, because you are a bloody man.”

⁹ Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me go over and take off his head.”

¹⁰ The king said, “What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who can say, ‘Why have you done this?’” ¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and to all his followers, “Listen to me! My son, who came from my own body, is seeking my life. How much more now, this Benjaminite! Leave him alone. Let him curse. Perhaps the Lord has told him to do so. ¹² Perhaps the Lord will look on my misery and will return something good to me in exchange for his cursing this day.”

¹³ So David and his men kept traveling down the road, and Shimei kept following along, on the side of the hill opposite him, walking along, cursing, throwing stones, and flinging dirt at him.

¹⁴ The king and all the people who were with him traveled until they became exhausted, and then they stopped in order to recover.