Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They passed by toward the water,” the woman replied to them. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a big disturbance, but I don’t know what it was.”

The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” The Cushite replied, “May what has become of the young man happen to the enemies of my lord the king and to all who rise up against you with evil intent.”

Abishai son of Zeruiah asked, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”

When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Mephibosheth, why didn’t you come with me?”

Suddenly, all the men of Israel came to the king. They asked him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and transport the king and his household across the Jordan, along with all of David’s men?”

Joab asked Amasa, “Are you well, my brother?” Then with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.

When he had come near her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. “Listen to the words of your servant,” she said to him. He answered, “I’m listening.”

He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on the Lord’s inheritance?”

The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for money from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.” “Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.

So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, think it over and decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”