Beginning
King David Weeps for Absalom
19 And it was told to Joab that the king was weeping and he mourned over Absalom, 2 so the victory turned to mourning on that day for all the army, because they had heard that day, “The king is grieving over his son.” 3 The army came secretly[a] into the city on that day because the army was disgraced when they fled in the battle, 4 and because the king had covered his face and cried with a loud voice, “My son, Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son.”
5 Then Joab came to the king’s house and said, “Today you have humiliated the faces of all of your servants who have saved your life this day, and the life of your sons and your daughters, the life of your wives, and the life of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. Indeed, you have made clear this day that you have no regard for your commanders or officers, for I have realized today that were Absalom alive, and all of us were dead, then that would have been right in your eyes! 7 So then, get up and go out and speak kindly to your servants,[b] for I swear by Yahweh, if you do not go out, no man will lodge this night with you, and this disaster will be greater for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your childhood until now!” 8 So the king got up and he sat in the gate, and they told all the army, “Look, the king is sitting in the gate.” Then all the army came before the king; whereas all of Israel had fled, each to his tent.
David Returns from Exile
9 Then it happened that all the people were disputing among all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies, and he saved us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom. 10 Now Absalom whom we anointed as king over us has died in the battle; so then, why are you taking no action to restore the king?” 11 Then King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah: ‘Why are you last to bring back the king to his house? The talk of all Israel has come to the king in his house. 12 My brothers, you are my bones and you are my flesh. Why should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 To Amasa you shall say: ‘Are you not my bones and my flesh? May God punish me[c] if you are not the commander of my army before me forever, in place of Joab.’” 14 So he turned the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and they sent word to the king, “Return, you and all your servants.”
15 Then the king returned and he came to the Jordan; Judah had come to Gilgal to come to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan. 16 Then Shimei the son of Gera, the son of the Benjaminite, who was from Bahurim quickly came down with the men of Judah to meet King David, 17 and a thousand men were with him from Benjamin. Too, Ziba the servant of the household of Saul and fifteen of his sons and twenty of his servants were with him, and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. 18 The crossing took place[d] to bring the household of the king over and to do good in his eyes. Then Shimei the son of Gera fell before the king when he crossed over the Jordan, 19 and he said to the king, “May not my lord hold me guilty, and may you not remember how your servant did wrong on the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, by taking it to heart! 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; look, I have come this day as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” 21 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah responded and said, “Because of this, should not Shimei be put to death, for he cursed the anointed one of Yahweh?” 22 Then David said, “What is it to me or to you, sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary today? Should anyone be put to death in Israel? Do I not know today that I am king over Israel?” 23 Then the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die,” and so the king swore to him.
24 Now, Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet nor trimmed his moustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in peace. 25 It happened that when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not come with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 Then he said, “My lord the king, my servant deceived me, for your servant had said, ‘Let me saddle the donkey that I may ride on her and go with the king,’ for your servant is lame. 27 But he slandered against your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like the angel of God; do as you see fit..”[e] 28 For there was no one in all the house of my father who were not doomed to death[f] before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. Do I have any righteousness any longer except to cry out to the king?” 29 Then the king said to him, “Why should you speak any more about the matter? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” 30 Then Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take the whole thing, since my lord the king has come safely[g] to his house.”
31 Then Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and crossed with the king over the Jordan to escort him through the Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was very old, eighty years old.[h] Now he had provided the king with food while he was staying at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. 33 The king said to Barzillai, “You cross over with me, and I will provide for you to dwell with me in Jerusalem.” 34 Then Barzillai said to the king, “What are the days of the years of my life, that I should go with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am eighty years old today. Can I discern between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be a burden any longer to my lord the king? 36 Your servant shall go over the Jordan with the king a little way, but why should the king recompense me with this reward? 37 Please let your servant return, and let me die in my city in the tomb of my father and my mother. Here is your servant Kimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him that which is good in your eyes.” 38 The king said, “Let Kimham go over with me, and I will do for him the good in your eyes, and all that you desire of me I will do for you.”
39 Then all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed and kissed Barzillai and blessed him; then he returned to his place. 40 The king went over to Gilgal, and Kimham went over with him. All the people of Judah went over with the king, and half of the people of Israel too. 41 Suddenly, all the men of Israel were coming to the king. They said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, with all the men of David?” 42 Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is my close relative! Why are you this angry over this matter? Have we by any means eaten anything from the king? Did we take by any means anything that was not ours?”[i] 43 Then the people of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “I have ten times as much[j] in the king, moreover in David I have more than you. Why did you treat me with contempt by not giving me first chance[k] to bring back my king?” But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the word of the men of Israel.
Sheba Leads a Revolt
20 Now a man of wickedness was found there whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. He blew the horn and said, “There is no share for us in David, and there is no inheritance for us in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel!” 2 Then all the men of Israel went up from following after David, following instead after Sheba the son of Bicri, but the men of Judah stuck to their king from the Jordan up to Jerusalem. 3 David went up to his house in Jerusalem, then the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to look after the house, and he put them under confinement.[l] However, he provided for them, but he did not sleep with them.[m] So they were confined until the day of their death, like a lifetime of widowhood.
Joab Assassinates Amasa
4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon for me the men of Judah within three days, and be here yourself.”[n] 5 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he tarried more than the appointed time which he had set for him. 6 Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bicri will do us more harm than Absalom. You take the servants of your lord and pursue after him, lest he find fortified cities for himself and escape from us.” 7 Then the men of Joab, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty warriors went out after him; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri. 8 They were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, and Amasa came before them. Joab was dressed in his military clothing,[o] with a utility belt on him and a sword strapped to his waist in its scabbard. Now he went out, and it fell out. 9 Then Joab said to Amasa, “Is it peace, O you my brother?” Then the right hand of Joab took hold of the beard of Amasa as if to kiss him. 10 Now Amasa was not on his guard against the sword that was in Joab’s hand, and he struck him with it into the stomach, and his entrails poured out to the ground. He did not strike him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bicri. 11 A young man stood over him, from the young men of Joab, and he said, “Whoever takes delight in Joab and whoever is for David, follow after Joab.” 12 Now Amasa was wallowing in the blood in the middle of the highway; when the man saw that all the people stood there, he turned Amasa over from the highway into the field, and he threw a garment over him because he had seen that all who had come by him had stopped. 13 After he was removed from the highway, all the men passed by after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bicri.
Wisdom from a Woman under Siege
14 (He[p] had passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maacah; now all of the Berites had been treated badly, so they also followed after him.) 15 And they came and besieged him in Abel Beth Maacah. They threw up a siege ramp against the city, and they stood against the ramparts. And all the army who were with Joab were battering to cause the wall to fall. 16 Then a wise woman from the city called out, “Listen, listen! Please speak to Joab to come near here so that I may speak to you.” 17 Then he came near to her, and the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” And he said, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “I am listening.” 18 Then she said, “In former times, they would always say,[q] ‘By all means, let them inquire in Abel,’ and so they settled things. 19 I am one of the faithful representatives of Israel. You are seeking to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow the inheritance of Yahweh?” 20 Then Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow or I should destroy. 21 That is not the matter. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name is Sheba the son Bicri, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Give only him to us, and I will depart from the city.” The woman said to Joab, “Look, his head is being thrown down to you over the wall.” 22 The woman went to all of the people with her wise plan, so they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bicri and threw it to Joab. Then he blew the horn and dispersed from the city, each to his tent. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. 23 Now Joab was over all the army of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Carites and over the Pelethites. 24 Adoram was over the forced labor, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder. 25 Shiya was secretary, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests. 26 Also Ira the Jairite was priest for David.
The Famine Brings Justice
21 There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David inquired of Yahweh,[r] and Yahweh said, “The bloodguilt is on Saul and on his household, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not from the Israelites;[s] they were from the remainder of the Amorites. Now the Israelites[t] had sworn to them,[u] but Saul tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the Israelites[v] and Judah. 3 So David asked the Gibeonites, “What can I do for you, and with what can I make amends that you may bless the inheritance of Yahweh?” 4 Then the Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter for us of[w] silver or gold with Saul or with his household. It is not for us to put to death anyone in Israel.” He asked, “What are you saying that I should do for you all?” 5 Then they said to the king, “The man who consumed us and who plotted against us so that we were destroyed from existing in all of the territory of Israel, 6 let seven men from his sons be given over to us, and we will execute them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of Yahweh.” Then the king said, “I will give them over.” 7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the sworn oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 So the king took two of the sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, namely Armoni and Mephibosheth, and five of the sons of Michal the daughter of Saul whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 9 He gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they executed them on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, and the seven fell together. Now they were put to death in the days of the harvest, at the beginning of the harvest of barley.
10 Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took the sackcloth, and she spread it for herself on the rock at the beginning of the harvest until water gushed forth on them from heaven, but she did not allow the birds of heaven to rest on them by day nor the animals of the field by night. 11 David was told about what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 So David left and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the rulers of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where the Philistines hung them when[x] the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.
Battles with the Philistines Recounted
15 There was war again for the Philistines with Israel, and David and his servants with him went down, and they fought the Philistines, and David grew weary. 16 Now Yishbi in Nob, who was among the descendents of Raphah[y] (now the weight of his spearhead was three hundredweight of bronze, and he was newly armed), said that he would kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and he attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall not go out with us any longer to the battle, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.”
18 It happened afterward that there was again battle at Gob with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph who was among the descendants of the Raphah.
19 There was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. And Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath[z] the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like the beam of a weaver.
20 Once again there was battle at Gath, and there was a man of great size.[aa] The fingers of his hand and the toes of his feet were six and six, twenty-four in number. He was also born to the Raphah. 21 He taunted Israel but Jonathan the son of Shimei, the brother of David, killed him. 22 These four were born for the Raphah in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
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