Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the people of Judah remained loyal to David.

David’s Sons Born in Hebron

These are the sons who were born to David in Hebron: The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel.

(Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.)

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all.

He was very old—eighty years of age—and very wealthy. He was the one who had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim.

“No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem.

I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king.