Bible in 90 Days

¹¹ This is what the Lord says, “I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble to you. You yourself will see it happen! I will take your wives from you and I will give them to someone else. He will have sex with them in the daytime, for everyone to see. ¹² What you did, you did secretly. But I will cause this to happen in the light of day, so that all Israel can see it.” ’

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’

Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has forgiven your sin. He will not punish you with death. ¹⁴ But you did not respect the Lord when you did this bad thing. Because of that, your baby son will certainly die.’ ¹⁵ Then Nathan went home.

David's son dies

After that, the Lord caused the child of Uriah's wife to become very ill. ¹⁶ David asked the Lord to make his child well again. He lay on the floor of his house all night and he ate no food. ¹⁷ His palace officers stood around him. They tried to help him to get up from the ground. But he refused and he would not eat anything with them.

¹⁸ On the seventh day, the child died. David's officers were afraid to tell him. They thought, ‘Even when the child was alive, David refused to listen to us. So what will happen if we tell him that the child is dead? He might try to hurt himself.’

¹⁹ But David saw that his officers were speaking secretly to each other. So he realized that the child had died. He asked them, ‘Is the child dead?’

They replied, ‘Yes, he is dead.’

²⁰ Then David got up from the ground and he washed himself. He put special oil on his body and he dressed himself in clean clothes. Then he went into the Lord's house to worship him. After that, he went back to his palace. He asked his servants to bring some food and he ate it.

²¹ His officers said to him, ‘We do not understand what you are doing. While the child was still alive, you refused to eat food and you wept. But now that the child is dead you are no longer weeping. You are moving around and you are eating. Why?’

²² David replied, ‘While the child was still alive, I wept and I did not eat anything. I thought that perhaps the Lord would be kind to me. I thought that he might let the child live. ²³ But now the child is dead. Even if I fast and I pray, I cannot bring him back to me. One day, I will go to the place where he is. But he will never come back here to me.’

²⁴ Then David went to comfort his wife, Bathsheba. He had sex with her as his wife. Later, she gave birth to a son. David gave him the name ‘Solomon’. The Lord loved the child, ²⁵ so he sent a message to David with Nathan, the prophet. He told David to call his son Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him.^[a]

David wins Rabbah

²⁶ At this time, Joab was attacking Rabbah, the Ammonite city. He had taken from the enemy the king's strong place in the city. ²⁷ Joab sent men to take this message to David: ‘I have attacked Rabbah. Now I have taken the place that holds the city's water. ²⁸ So you should bring the other soldiers of our army to make their camp here. Then you can attack the city and you can take it for us. If you do not do that, I will take the city myself. Then the city will have my name instead of yours.’

²⁹ So David brought all the soldiers of the army together. He led them to Rabbah. They attacked the city and they won against it. ³⁰ He took the crown off the Ammonite king's head. The crown was made of gold. It weighed 34 kilograms. There was a valuable jewel fixed on it. David's men then put the crown on David's head. David also took a lot of valuable things from the city. ³¹ He brought the people out from the city to do hard work for him. He made them cut wood with saws, and use iron tools and axes. He also made them work at the brick ovens. He did the same thing to the people of all the other Ammonite cities.

Then David and all his army returned to Jerusalem.

Amnon and Tamar

13 David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister. Her name was Tamar. After some time, David's son Amnon began to love Tamar very much.^{[b] 2} Amnon was very upset because he loved his sister Tamar so much. He became ill because of this. Tamar had never had sex with any man, so Amnon knew that it would be difficult to get near her.

³ Amnon had a friend called Jonadab. He was the son of David's brother, Shimeah. Jonadab was a clever man. ⁴ He said to Amnon, ‘You are the king's son! So why do you seem so sad every morning? Tell me about your trouble.’

Amnon said to him, ‘I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.’

⁵ Jonadab told him, ‘Go and lie down on your bed. Pretend that you are ill. Your father will come to see you. Then you can say to him, “Please send my sister Tamar in here to give me something to eat. I will watch her as she prepares the food. Then she can use her own hand to feed me.” ’

⁶ So Amnon lay down on his bed. He pretended that he was ill. When the king came in to see him, Amnon said to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in here. I want her to cook some little cakes while I watch her. Then she can feed me herself.’

⁷ David sent a message to Tamar in the palace. He told her, ‘Go to your brother Amnon's house. Prepare some food for him to eat there.’ ⁸ So Tamar went to Amnon's house. He was lying down on his bed. She took some flour and water and she mixed them together. She made the cakes while he watched her. Then she baked them.

⁹ Then she put the cakes on a plate and she put them in front of him. But he refused to eat them. Instead, Amnon said, ‘Everyone must go out and leave me alone here.’ So everyone left him alone with Tamar.

¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, ‘Bring the food here into my bedroom. Then you can use your own hand to feed me.’

So Tamar took the cakes that she had made. She brought them to Amnon in his bedroom. ¹¹ But when she offered the cakes to him, he took hold of her. He said to her, ‘Come here, my sister! Come into bed with me.’

¹² Tamar answered him, ‘Do not do this, my brother! Do not make me ashamed. Nobody in Israel would do such a wicked thing. Do not be so foolish! ¹³ Think about me. I would have to hide because of my shame. And people would say that you are the worst fool in Israel. No, you should speak to the king. I am sure that he will let you marry me.’

¹⁴ But Amnon refused to listen to her. He was stronger than she was. So he took hold of her and he had sex with her.

¹⁵ After that, Amnon hated Tamar very much. He now hated her more strongly than he had loved her. He said to her, ‘Go away from here!’

¹⁶ But Tamar replied, ‘No, I will not go! If you send me away, that would be even worse. It would be more evil that what you have already done to me.’

But Amnon refused to listen to her. ¹⁷ He called out to his own special servant. He told him, ‘Throw this woman out of my house! Then lock the door after she has gone.’ ¹⁸ So the servant took her out and then he locked the door. Tamar was wearing a beautiful long dress. All the king's daughters who were not yet married wore beautiful dresses like that. ¹⁹ Now Tamar put ashes on her head. She tore the beautiful dress that she was wearing. She covered her head with her hands. She wept loudly as she went home.

²⁰ When her brother Absalom saw her, he said, ‘Has your brother Amnon done this to you? Now be quiet. Remember that he is your brother. So do not be too upset.’

After that, Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house. She was sad and lonely.

²¹ When King David heard about what had happened, he was very angry. ²² But Absalom would not say anything to Amnon, good or bad. He hated Amnon because he had brought shame on his sister, Tamar.

Absalom kills Amnon

²³ Two years later, Absalom's men were cutting the wool from his sheep. They were in Baal Hazor, near to Ephraim's land. Absalom asked all the king's sons to meet him there. ²⁴ Then he went to the king and he said, ‘My men have started to cut the wool from my sheep. Please will your and your officers come and join us at this happy time?’

²⁵ King David replied to Absalom, ‘No, my son, we should not all go. It would cause you too much trouble.’

Absalom asked him again, but the king still refused to go. Instead, he asked God to bless Absalom.

²⁶ So Absalom said, ‘If you will not come with me, please let my brother Amnon come.’

The king said, ‘Why do you want him to go with you?’ ²⁷ But Absalom asked the king more strongly. So the king agreed to send Amnon and all his other sons.

²⁸ Absalom then told his servants, ‘When Amnon has drunk a lot of wine I will tell you, “Knock him down!” Then you must kill him immediately. Do not be afraid. I am the one who is commanding you to do this. So be strong and brave.’

²⁹ So Absalom's men killed Amnon, as Absalom had told them to do. Then all the king's other sons got on their mules. They quickly rode away.

³⁰ While they were still on the way home, David heard news about what had happened. Someone told him, ‘Absalom has attacked all the king's sons. Not one son is still alive.’ ³¹ The king was very upset. He stood up and he tore his clothes. Then he lay down on the ground. All his servants were standing around him. They had torn their clothes, too.

³² But Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah, said, ‘My lord, do not think that they have killed all your sons. Only Amnon is dead. Absalom has decided to do this since Amnon brought shame on his sister Tamar. ³³ My lord the king, you should not believe the report that all your sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.’

³⁴ While this was happening, Absalom had run away.

There was an officer standing on the wall of Jerusalem to watch. When he looked, he saw a big group of people who were coming from the west. They were coming down the hill on the road from Horonaim. He went to the king and he told him the news.

³⁵ Jonadab said to the king, ‘See, the king's sons are coming now, as I said they would.’

³⁶ As he said that, the king's sons arrived. They were weeping loudly. The king and all his servants were also weeping. King David continued to weep for his son Amnon every day.

³⁷ Absalom ran away to Ammihud's son, Talmai, the king of Geshur. ³⁸ He stayed in Geshur for three years.

³⁹ By this time, King David had stopped being so upset about Amnon's death. He wanted very much to see Absalom again.

The woman from Tekoa

14 Zeruiah's son, Joab, knew how much the king wanted to see Absalom. ² So he sent a message to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He said to her, ‘Pretend that you are upset because of someone's death. Dress in funeral clothes. Do not use any perfume on your body. You must seem like a woman who has been sad for a long time. ³ Then go to the king to speak to him.’ Then Joab told her the words that she should speak to the king.

⁴ So the woman from Tekoa went to the king. She bent her body down low with her face towards the ground. She gave honour to the king. Then she said, ‘Please help me, sir!’

⁵ The king asked her, ‘What is your trouble?’^[c]

She said, ‘My husband is dead, sir, and I am a widow. ⁶ I had two sons. One day, they were fighting in the fields. There was nobody near to stop them. One son knocked down the other son and killed him. ⁷ Now all my relatives have turned against me. They want to take my son from me, because he killed his brother. They say that he must die. That is the punishment that he deserves. But if they do that, I will have no son. My husband will have no descendants, so the name of our family will not continue.’

⁸ The king said to the woman, ‘Go to your home. I will make sure that your son is safe.’

⁹ Then the woman said to the king, ‘My lord the king, I pray that nobody will think that you have done anything wrong. They should call me guilty, but not you or your family.’

¹⁰ The king replied, ‘If anyone says anything against you, bring him to me. After that, he will not cause you any more trouble.’

¹¹ Then the woman said, ‘Sir, please stop my relative from punishing my son with death. I do not want this son to die as well as my other son. Please promise me in the name of the Lord your God that it will not happen.’

The king replied, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, I promise that nobody will touch even one hair of your son's head.’

¹² Then the woman said, ‘Please sir, there is one other thing that I want to tell you.’

King David said, ‘Tell me.’

¹³ The woman said, ‘I think that you have done a wrong thing like this against God's own people. You have not let your own son return to his home. He still lives in a foreign city. Because of what you have said to me, you show that you yourself are guilty. ¹⁴ We must all die one day. When that happens, we are like water that is poured on the ground. We cannot pick it up again. But God does not remove our lives from us. Instead, he finds a way to bring us back to him when we have gone far away.

¹⁵ My lord the king, I have told you this because the people have made me afraid. I thought to myself, “I will speak to the king. I do not deserve it, but perhaps he will do what I ask him to do. ¹⁶ Perhaps he will listen to me. Perhaps he will save me from the man who wants to destroy both me and my son. That man wants to take away from us the land that God gave to us.”

¹⁷ Now I can say, “I know that the promise of my lord the king will keep me safe. The king can judge things like an angel of God. He knows what is right and what is wrong.” I pray that the Lord your God will be with you!’

¹⁸ Then the king said to the woman, ‘Now I want to ask you a question. You must not hide the truth from me.’

She replied, ‘Ask me anything, sir.’

¹⁹ The king asked her, ‘Is it Joab who has told you to do this?’

The woman answered, ‘My lord the king, as surely as you live, I cannot hide the truth from you. Yes, it was your servant Joab who told me what to do. He gave me the words to say. ²⁰ He did it because he wanted things to be different. But you, my lord, are as wise as one of God's angels. You know everything that happens in our land.’

²¹ Then the king spoke to Joab. He said, ‘I have decided to do what you want. Go and bring back the young man Absalom.’

²² Joab bent his body down low with his face towards the ground. He thanked the king. He said, ‘Now I know that you are pleased with me. You have agreed to do what I have asked you to do.’

Joab brings Absalom back to Jerusalem

²³ Then Joab went to Geshur. He brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴ But the king said, ‘Absalom must go to live in his own house. I do not want him to come to see me.’

So Absalom did not go to see the king. Instead, he went to live in his own house.

²⁵ Everyone in Israel praised Absalom. They all thought that he was the most handsome man in the whole country. His body was perfect, from head to toe. ²⁶ Once every year he cut his hair because it became too heavy. Each time, the hair that he cut off weighed about 2 kilograms.

²⁷ Absalom had three sons and one daughter. Her name was Tamar. She was a very beautiful woman.

²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never saw the king. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent a message to Joab. He asked Joab to come to him. He wanted Joab to go to the king on his behalf. But Joab refused to come to Absalom. So then Absalom sent another message, but Joab still refused to come. ³⁰ Then Absalom said to his servants, ‘Joab has a field that is next to mine. Some barley is growing in it. Go and light a fire there, so that it all burns.’ So Absalom's servants went to Joab's field and they did that.

³¹ Then Joab did go to Absalom's house. He asked Absalom, ‘Why did your servants take fire and burn my field?’

³² Absalom replied, ‘You did not come when I sent messages to you. I wanted you to take a message to the king on my behalf. I wanted to ask the king, “Why have you brought me from Geshur to Jerusalem? It would have been better for me to stay there!” Now I want to go to see the king myself. If he thinks that I am guilty, then he can punish me with death.’

³³ So Joab went to the king. He told the king what Absalom had said. King David then sent his men to bring Absalom to him. When Absalom arrived, he bent his body down low in front of the king, with his face towards the ground. The king was happy and he kissed Absalom.

Absalom turns against King David

15 Some time later, Absalom bought a chariot and some horses. He had 50 men who ran in front of the chariot to give him honour. ² Every day, he got up early in the morning. Then he went to stand at the side of the road near the city's gate. He called out to anyone who was bringing a problem for the king to judge. He would ask them, ‘Which town have you come from?’ Then the man would tell Absalom which tribe of Israel he belonged to. ³ Then Absalom would say, ‘I am sure that you are right. You deserve to receive justice. But the king has not given any of his officers authority to listen to you.’ ⁴ Absalom would also say, ‘I think that I should have authority to be a judge in Israel. Then when people have a problem to take to court, they could come to me. I would make sure that they receive justice.’

⁵ When anyone bent his body down low to give honour to Absalom, Absalom would reach out and pull the man towards him. He would kiss the man. ⁶ Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to Jerusalem to ask the king for justice. In that way, Absalom turned the people of Israel so that they became faithful to him.

⁷ After four years, Absalom said to the king, ‘Please let me go to Hebron. I need to make a sacrifice to the Lord, as I promised to do. ⁸ When I was living at Geshur with the Arameans, I made this promise: “If the Lord brings me back to live in Jerusalem, I will go to Hebron and I will worship him there.” ’

⁹ The king said, ‘Yes, you may go.’ So Absalom left Jerusalem and he went to Hebron.

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent his men to go secretly to all the tribes of Israel. They took this message to the people: ‘When you hear the noise of trumpets, then you must shout, “Absalom has become king in Hebron.” ’

¹¹ 200 men had gone with Absalom from Jerusalem. He had asked them to go with him as his friends. They trusted him and they did not know about his ideas. ¹² Absalom offered his sacrifices as he had promised to do. But at the same time he sent men to fetch Ahithophel from Giloh, where he lived. Ahithophel was King David's advisor. More and more people agreed to join Absalom and turn against David. So Absalom was becoming more powerful.

David runs away from Jerusalem

¹³ Somebody brought this message to David: ‘The Israelites are now faithful to Absalom instead of you.’

¹⁴ So David said to the officers who were with him in Jerusalem, ‘We must go! We must run away! If we do not do that, no one will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he will quickly catch us here. Then he will destroy us and our whole city!’

¹⁵ The king's officers answered, ‘Our lord the king, we will do anything that you decide is right.’

¹⁶ So the king left home. He took all his servants and family with him. But he left ten of his slave wives to take care of the palace. ¹⁷ As King David and all his people were leaving, they stopped at the last house on the edge of Jerusalem. ¹⁸ All his officers and his personal guards, the Kerethites and Pelethites, went on past him. There were also 600 men who had come with him from Gath. All these people were leaving Jerusalem with the king.

¹⁹ Then the king asked Ittai, who came from Gath, ‘Why are you coming with us? Go back into the city and join with Absalom, the new king. You have come from another country and you live here as a foreigner. ²⁰ It seems like only a few days since you arrived here. There is no reason for you to travel with us. I do not even know where we are going! So you should go back. Take your men with you. I pray that the Lord will keep you safe with his faithful love.’

²¹ But Ittai replied to the king, ‘As surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, I promise that I will go with you, sir. Wherever you go, I will be there with you. My lord the king, I will stay with you, even if it brings death.’

²² So David said to Ittai, ‘Go on ahead of me.’ So Ittai, with all his men and their families, went on ahead of David.

²³ As David and his men left the city, all the people who saw them wept loudly. The king went across the Kidron Valley and his men followed him. They travelled along the road towards the desert.

²⁴ Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, were with them. The Levites were also there, and they were carrying God's Covenant Box. They put it down on the ground while all the people left the city. After all the people had passed, they picked it up again.

²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, ‘Take the Covenant Box back into the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, he will bring me back here again. The Lord will let me see the Covenant Box again, as well as his home. ²⁶ But if he is not pleased with me, then he must do to me whatever he decides is right.’

²⁷ Then the king said to Zadok the priest, ‘You do not know what will happen. So go safely back into the city, both you and Abiathar. Take your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan with you. ²⁸ I will wait at the place in the desert where we go across the river. I will wait there until I receive a message from you.’ ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar took the Covenant Box back into Jerusalem. They stayed there.

David sends Hushai to Jerusalem

³⁰ But David continued to go up the Mount of Olives.^[d] He was weeping as he went. He had covered his head and he was not wearing any shoes on his feet. All the people with him also covered their heads and they wept as they went up the hill. ³¹ Someone told David that his advisor, Ahithophel, had now joined with Absalom and his men. So David prayed, ‘Lord, please cause Ahithophel to give them foolish advice.’

³² David arrived at the top of the hill. It was a place where people worshipped God. Hushai, who was an Arkite, met him there. He had torn his clothes and he had dirt on his head.^{[e] 33} David said, ‘If you come with me, you will be no help to me. ³⁴ Instead, go back into the city. You should say to Absalom, “I accept you as king and I will be your servant. I was once your father's servant, but now I will be your servant.” Then you will be able to speak against Ahithophel's advice. ³⁵ The priests, Zadok and Abiathar, will be there with you. Tell them any news that you hear in the king's palace. ³⁶ Their two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, are with them. Send them to me to tell me any news that you hear.’

³⁷ So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem at the same time that Absalom was coming into the city.

David and Ziba

16 When David had passed beyond the top of the Mount of Olives, he met Mephibosheth's servant Ziba.^[f] Ziba was waiting there for him with two donkeys. The donkeys were ready for people to ride them. They also carried 200 loaves of bread, 100 blocks of raisins, 100 blocks of figs and a leather bag of wine.

² The king asked Ziba, ‘Why have you brought all these things?’

Ziba answered, ‘The donkeys are for the king's family to ride. The bread and the fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine will help people who become weak when you travel through the desert.’

³ The king asked, ‘Where is your master's grandson?’^[g]

Ziba answered, ‘He is staying in Jerusalem. He thinks that the Israelites will now give back to him his grandfather Saul's kingdom.’

⁴ Then the king said to Ziba, ‘Everything that Mephibosheth had will now belong to you.’

Ziba said, ‘Thank you, sir. I hope that you will always be pleased with me.’

Shimei curses David

⁵ King David and his people arrived near Bahurim town.^[h] Gera's son Shimei came out to meet David. He was a relative of Saul. Shimei cursed David in a loud voice as he came towards him. ⁶ He threw stones at David and at the king's officers. There was a big group of people and brave soldiers all around David. ⁷ Shimei said, ‘Go away! Get out of here! You are a murderer, a wicked man! ⁸ The Lord has punished you because of all the people that you killed from Saul's family. You made yourself king, instead of Saul. But now the Lord has given the kingdom to your son, Absalom. All this trouble has come to you because you are a murderer!’

⁹ Then Zeruiah's son, Abishai, said to the king, ‘This man is only a useless dog! He must not curse you, my lord the king. I should go and cut off his head!’

¹⁰ The king said, ‘No! You sons of Zeruiah should not tell me what to do! Perhaps he is cursing me because the Lord has said to him, “Curse David.” Then we cannot say that he is wrong to curse me.’

¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and to all his officers, ‘My own son is trying to kill me. Now this man from Benjamin's tribe wants to do the same thing. The Lord has told him to do this, so do not stop him cursing me. ¹² Perhaps the Lord will understand my trouble. He may see how Shimei is cursing me and he may bless me instead.’

¹³ David and his men continued to walk along the road. Shimei walked along the side of the hill, near the road. As he went, he cursed David and he threw stones and dirt at David and his people. ¹⁴ When King David and all the people who were with him reached the Jordan River, they were tired and weak. So they rested there.

Ahithophel gives advice to Absalom

¹⁵ So Absalom and all the Israelites who were with him arrived in Jerusalem. Ahithophel came with him. ¹⁶ David's friend, Hushai the Arkite, had also come there. He went to Absalom and he said to him, ‘May the king live for ever! May the king live for ever!’

¹⁷ Absalom asked Hushai, ‘Why have you not been faithful to your friend David? Why did you not go with him?’

¹⁸ Hushai replied, ‘No, I will serve you. You are the king that the Lord has chosen. And all these people and the men of Israel have chosen you too. So I will stay with you. ¹⁹ I served your father when he was king. So now it is surely right for me to serve you, his son.’

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, ‘What do you think that we should do now? What is your advice?’

²¹ Ahithophel answered, ‘Sleep with your father's slave wives that are here. He left them to take care of his palace. Then all the people in Israel will know that you have insulted your father. They will know that he must now hate you. That will help your own men to be strong.’

²² So they put up a tent for Absalom on the roof of the palace. There he had sex with his father's slave wives, and all the Israelites could see him.

²³ In those days, people thought that Ahithophel's words were as good as a message from God. So Absalom trusted Ahithophel as his advisor, as David had done too.

Hushai and Ahithophel give advice to Absalom

17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, ‘Please let me choose 12,000 men so that I can go and attack David tonight. ² Now he will be very tired and weak. So when we attack him, he will be frightened. All his soldiers will run away. But I will kill only the king. ³ Then I will bring all his army back to you. If we kill this one man that you want to destroy, then all the people will return safely.’

⁴ This seemed a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders of Israel.

⁵ But Absalom said, ‘Send Hushai the Arkite to me. We should hear what advice he gives us.’

⁶ When Hushai arrived, Absalom said to him, ‘This is Ahithophel's advice. What do you think we should do? If you think differently, what advice do you give us?’

⁷ Hushai replied to Absalom, ‘This time Ahithophel's idea is not good. ⁸ You know your father and his men. They are all strong fighters. They are as dangerous as a mother bear when you take away her babies. Remember that your father has fought many battles. He will not stay all night among his soldiers. ⁹ By this time he is hiding in a cave or in some other safe place. He might attack your soldiers first and kill some of them. When somebody hears the news, he will say, “They have destroyed Absalom's army!” ¹⁰ Then your bravest soldiers will be very frightened, even if they are as brave as lions. Everyone in Israel knows that your father is a fighter. And they know that the men with him are brave.

¹¹ This is my advice to you. Bring together all the soldiers in Israel. Tell them to come from everywhere in the land, from Dan to Beersheba. There will be as many of them as the sand on the shore of the sea. Then you yourself should lead the whole army into the battle. ¹² In this way we can attack David in any place that we find him. We will suddenly be all around him, like dew that covers the ground. He and his men will all die. Not even one of them will still be alive. ¹³ If he escapes into a city, we can completely destroy the city. Our soldiers will use ropes to pull it all down into the valley!’

¹⁴ Absalom and all Israel's leaders said, ‘Hushai's idea is better than Ahithophel's idea.’ This happened because the Lord did not let the people accept Ahithophel's advice. His idea was a good one, but the Lord had decided to cause trouble for Absalom.

¹⁵ Then Hushai went to the priests Zadok and Abiathar. He said to them, ‘This was Ahithophel's advice to Absalom and Israel's leaders. But this was my advice. ¹⁶ So now quickly send a report to David. Warn him that he must not stay tonight at the place in the desert where the road crosses the river. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately, together with all the people who are with him. If not, Absalom and his army may catch them all and destroy them.’

Jonathan and Ahimaaz take the message to David

¹⁷ Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel.^[i] They did not go into the city because they did not want anyone to see them there. So a female servant would take messages to them. Then they would take the messages to King David. ¹⁸ But this time a young man did see them. He told Absalom where they were. So they quickly left En Rogel and they went to a man's house in Bahurim. He had a well in his yard and they climbed down into it. ¹⁹ His wife took a lid and she put it over the top of the well. Then she put some grain on it. Nobody knew that the men were hiding there.

²⁰ Absalom's men came to the house. They asked the woman, ‘Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?’

The woman answered, ‘They went across the stream.’ Absalom's men looked everywhere for them, but they did not find them. So they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well. Then they took the message to David. They said to him, ‘You must go across the river immediately. Ahithophel has told Absalom how he can catch you here.’

²² So David and all the people who were with him went across the Jordan River. When dawn came, they had all gone across to the other side.

Ahithophel kills himself

²³ Ahithophel realized that Absalom had not agreed to his advice. So he got on his donkey and he went home to his own town. He told his family what he needed to tell them. Then he hanged himself. He died and his family buried him in his father's grave.

Three friends help David

²⁴ David arrived at Mahanaim with his men. Absalom and Israel's army went across the Jordan River. ²⁵ Joab had been the leader of Israel's army. But now Absalom had chosen Amasa as leader instead of Joab. Amasa's father, Jether, was a descendant of Ishmael. He had married Abigail. She was Nahash's daughter and a sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. ²⁶ Absalom and Israel's army made their camp in Gilead region.

²⁷ When David arrived in Mahanaim, three men came to help him. One man was Nahash's son Shobi. He was from the Ammonites' town, Rabbah. The other men were Ammiel's son Makir, from Lo-Debar, and Barzillai from Rogelim in Gilead. ²⁸ They brought beds and pots and cups for David's people. They also brought food for David and his people to eat. There was wheat, barley, flour and cooked grain. They also brought beans, lentils, ²⁹ honey, cream, sheep and cheese made from cows' milk. They said, ‘The people have travelled through the desert. So they must be tired, thirsty and hungry.’

Absalom dies

18 David brought together all the men who were with him. He chose some officers to lead groups of 1,000 soldiers, and some to lead groups of 100 soldiers. ² David sent his army out in three groups. Joab led one group. Joab's brother Abishai, Zeruiah's son, led another group. Ittai from Gath led the third group. The king said to them all, ‘I myself will go with you into battle.’

³ But the men replied, ‘No, you must not go with us. If we have to run away quickly, it will not matter to Absalom's men. Even if they kill half of our soldiers, it will not seem important to them. What they really want is to kill you. You are worth 10,000 of us. You must stay here in the city. Then you can send help to us if we need it.’

⁴ The king said to them, ‘I will do whatever you think is good.’ So he stood beside the gate of the city while his army marched out. They marched out in their groups of hundreds and of thousands. ⁵ The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, ‘Because the young man Absalom is my son, do not hurt him.’ All the soldiers heard David give this command to the three officers.

⁶ David's army marched out to fight Israel's army. They fought the battle in the forest of Ephraim. ⁷ David's soldiers won the fight against Israel's soldiers. Many soldiers died in the battle that day. There were 20,000 dead men. ⁸ They fought the battle everywhere in the forest and around it. The forest itself caused the death of more men than the battle did.

⁹ During the battle, Absalom was riding on his mule and he met some of David's soldiers. His mule carried him under a big oak tree. The tree's branches caught Absalom's hair so that he hung there above the ground. His mule ran off and left him there.

¹⁰ One of David's men saw what had happened. He told Joab, ‘I have seen Absalom. He is hanging from an oak tree.’

¹¹ Joab said to the man who told him the news, ‘You saw him there, did you? So why did you not kill him? I would have given you ten silver coins and a brave soldier's belt.’

¹² But the man replied, ‘I would never hurt the king's son, even for a gift of 1,000 silver coins. We all heard the king give this command to you, Abishai and Ittai. He said, “Keep the young man Absalom safe, because he is my son.” ¹³ If I had killed Absalom, my own life would be in danger. The king knows everything that happens! You would not have tried to save me from the king's punishment.’

¹⁴ Joab said, ‘I cannot stay here while you talk like this.’ So he took three spears and he went to the tree where Absalom was hanging. While Absalom was still alive, Joab pushed the spears into Absalom's heart. ¹⁵ Then ten of Joab's own guards came around Absalom. They knocked him down and they killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab made a sound with his trumpet to stop the battle. So his soldiers stopped chasing after Israel's soldiers. ¹⁷ They took Absalom's dead body and they threw it into a deep hole in the forest. They made a big heap of stones over the body.

All the Israelite soldiers ran back to their homes.

¹⁸ While Absalom was alive, he had built a tall pillar in the King's Valley. He built it so that people would remember him. He thought, ‘I have no son, so my family's name will not continue.’ He put his own name on the pillar, so people still call it Absalom's Pillar.

David hears about Absalom's death

¹⁹ Zadok's son Ahimaaz said to Joab, ‘Let me run to give the king the good news. I will tell him that the Lord has saved him from the power of his enemies.’

²⁰ Joab said, ‘No, it will not be good news for the king. His son is dead. You must not take this news today. Another day there will be good news for you to take to him, but not today.’

²¹ Then Joab spoke to a servant who came from Ethiopia, ‘Go now to the king. Tell him what you have seen.’ The man bent down in front of Joab and then he ran off with the message.

²² Zadok's son Ahimaaz spoke to Joab again. He said, ‘I am not afraid of what may happen to me. Please let me run after the Ethiopian man.’

But Joab replied, ‘Why do you want to go as well? The king will not give you any gift for this news.’

²³ Ahimaaz said, ‘But I do want to go, whatever happens.’

So Joab said, ‘Run after him, then!’

So Ahimaaz ran fast along a road in the Jordan Valley. He arrived near Mahanaim before the Ethiopian man.

²⁴ David was sitting between the two gates of Mahanaim city.^[j] A man went up to the top of the wall, on the roof above the gate. He was watching the road. As he looked, he saw a man who was running towards the city. He was running alone. ²⁵ So the man on the wall shouted a message to the king, to say what he had seen.

The king said, ‘If the man is alone, he is bringing good news.’ The man who was running towards the city came much nearer.

²⁶ Then the man on the wall saw another man who was running towards the city. He called down to the guard at the city's gate, ‘Look! There is another man who is running alone!’

The king said, ‘He will bring good news, too.’

²⁷ The man on the wall said, ‘The first man is running like Zadok's son, Ahimaaz.’

The king said, ‘He is a good man. I am sure that he brings good news.’

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz shouted to the king, ‘All is well!’ He bent down low in front of the king, with his face towards the ground. He said, ‘Praise the Lord your God! He has put your enemies under your power. They turned against you, my lord the king, but they have lost the fight.’

²⁹ The king asked, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’

Ahimaaz answered, ‘When Joab sent me, your servant, I saw that many people had come together. There was a lot of noise, but I do not know what was happening.’

³⁰ The king said, ‘Stand over there and wait.’ So Ahimaaz moved away and he waited.

³¹ Then the Ethiopian man arrived. He said, ‘My lord the king, listen to this good news! Today the Lord has helped you to win the fight. He has kept you safe from all the people who turned against you.’

³² The king asked the Ethiopian man, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’

The man replied, ‘My lord the king, I hope that your enemies and all those who want to hurt you would be as dead as he is!’

³³ The king became very upset. He went upstairs to the room above the gate. He wept loudly. As he went, he cried, ‘My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! It would be better if I had died instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!’

Joab warns King David

19 Someone told Joab that the king was very sad and he was weeping because Absalom was dead. ² All the people heard the news that the king was very sad about his son's death. King David's army had won the battle, so everyone should have been very happy. But instead, they were all sad. ³ The soldiers came very quietly back into Mahanaim city. It seemed like they were ashamed because they had run away from the battle. ⁴ The king covered his face and he cried, ‘Absalom, Absalom! My son, my son!’

⁵ Then Joab went to see the king in his room. He said to the king, ‘Today you have made your men feel ashamed. But the army has saved your life today. We have saved the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your slave wives. ⁶ You seem to love the people who hate you. And you seem to hate the people who love you! You have shown today that your officers and soldiers are not important to you. It seems that you would be happy if Absalom were still alive, and all the rest of us were dead. ⁷ Now go out and speak to your soldiers. Thank them that they have fought well. If you do not do that, none of your men will remain here tonight. I tell you in the Lord's name, that will certainly happen. That would bring worse trouble to you than anything that has happened in your whole life.’

⁸ So the king went out from his room. He went to sit by the city's gate. People heard the news, ‘The king is sitting by the gate.’ So they all came there to listen to him.

David returns to Jerusalem as king

At this time, the Israelite soldiers had run back to their own homes. ⁹ People in all the Israelite tribes were quarrelling with each other. They were saying, ‘King David saved us from the power of the Philistines and all our other enemies. But now Absalom has chased him out of our land. ¹⁰ We chose Absalom to be our king, but now he has died in the battle. We should surely go and bring David back to be our king again.’

¹¹ Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. He told them, ‘Go to the leaders of Judah and say to them, “Surely, you should not be the last tribe to bring the king back to his palace? He knows what the people in all Israel are saying about him. ¹² You are my brothers! I belong to your family. So you should not be the last people to bring me back as your king.” ¹³ Also, say to Amasa, “We belong to the same family. I promise you that I will now make you the leader of my army, instead of Joab. I ask God to punish me if I do not do that for you.” ’

¹⁴ Because of this message, all the people of Judah's tribe agreed to serve David as their king. They sent this message to the king: ‘Return to us, together with all your officers.’ ¹⁵ So the king left Mahanaim to return to Jerusalem.

When David arrived at the Jordan River, the people of Judah had come to Gilgal to meet him there. They wanted to help him to cross the river.

¹⁶ Gera's son, Shimei, came there quickly with the people of Judah to meet King David. He was from Bahurim and he belonged to Benjamin's tribe. ¹⁷ He brought 1,000 men from his own tribe with him. Ziba, the servant of Saul's family, also came with his 15 sons and 20 servants. They all hurried to the Jordan River to meet the king. ¹⁸ They crossed the river where the water was not deep. They were ready to help the king and his people come across. They were ready to do whatever the king wanted.

When Shimei had gone across the Jordan River, he bent down low to the ground in front of the king. ¹⁹ He said to the king, ‘Please forgive me for my sin. Do not punish me. I insulted you, my lord, on the day when you left Jerusalem. Please forget about what I did. ²⁰ I am your servant. I know that I did a bad thing. So I have come to meet you today. From all the descendants of Joseph, I am the first person to come to meet you here, my lord the king.’^[k]

²¹ Then Abishai, Zeruiah's son, said, ‘We should kill Shimei. He cursed you, the Lord's chosen king, so he deserves to die.’

²² David replied, ‘No! You sons of Zeruiah should not tell me what to do! Have you become my enemy? You should realize that today I have become king over all Israel. So we should not punish anyone with death.’

²³ The king made a strong promise to Shimei. He said to Shimei, ‘You will not die because of this.’

David is kind to Mephibosheth

²⁴ Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, also came from Jerusalem to meet the king. Since David had left Jerusalem, Mephibosheth had not washed his feet, cut his beard or washed his clothes. ²⁵ When he arrived from Jerusalem to meet the king, David asked him, ‘Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?’

²⁶ He said, ‘My lord the king, as you know, I cannot walk properly. So I said to my servant, “Prepare a donkey for me to ride, so that I can leave Jerusalem with the king.” But Ziba, my servant, deceived me. ²⁷ And he has told you lies about me. But you are like an angel of God. I know that you will do what you think is right. ²⁸ I know that you, my lord the king, would have been right to kill all my grandfather's family. We all deserved that punishment. But instead, you asked me to eat meals at your table. So it would not be right for me to ask you to do anything more for me.’

²⁹ The king said, ‘You have said enough about this. I have decided that you and Ziba will share the fields that belonged to your grandfather, Saul.’

³⁰ Mephibosheth said to the king, ‘That is not important to me. Ziba can take them all. You have returned home safely. That is what makes me happy.’

David and Barzillai

³¹ Barzillai, the man from Gilead, came from Rogelim to meet the king at the Jordan River. He wanted to help the king to come across the river and to continue his journey. ³² But Barzillai was a very old man, 80 years old. He had taken care of David when David was living in Mahanaim. He had helped David with many gifts, because he was a very rich man. ³³ King David said to him, ‘Come with me to live in Jerusalem. I will take care of you while you are with me there.’

³⁴ Barzillai answered the king, ‘I will not live many more years. Why should I go to live in Jerusalem with the king? ³⁵ I am already 80 years old. I can no longer tell what is nice or what is bad. I cannot taste what I eat and drink. I cannot still hear people's voices when they sing. I would only cause trouble to you, my lord the king. ³⁶ I will come across the river and I will travel a short way with you. But I cannot accept your kind gift. ³⁷ Let me return to my own town, sir. Then I will die there. They can bury me near the grave of my father and my mother. Look! Here is my son, Kimham. Let him go with you, my lord the king. Please do for him whatever you think is right.’

³⁸ The king said, ‘Kimham can go with me. I will do for him whatever you think is good. I will also help you in any way that you choose.’

³⁹ So all the people went across the Jordan River with the king. The king kissed Barzillai and he asked God to bless him. Then Barzillai returned to his home.

⁴⁰ The king went across the river to Gilgal. Kimham went with him.^[l] All Judah's army and half of Israel's soldiers helped the king to cross the river.

The men from Israel are angry with the men from Judah

⁴¹ Then all the men of Israel's tribes came to the king. They complained, ‘Why did our brothers, the men of Judah's tribe, take you for themselves? Why were they the only people who could help the king to cross the Jordan River? They helped you and your family and your soldiers to cross, and we had no part in it.’

⁴² The men of Judah's tribe replied, ‘We did it because the king belongs to our own family. Do not be angry about it. The king did not pay for the food that we ate. We have not taken any of his things for ourselves.’

⁴³ The men of Israel's tribes replied, ‘In Israel we are ten tribes, and Judah is only one tribe. So he is our king ten times more than he is your king! So why have you tried to insult us? We were the first people to say that we should bring the king back to Jerusalem.’

But the words that the men of Judah spoke were much stronger than the words of the men of Israel.

Sheba causes trouble for David

20 There was a wicked man there in Gilgal. His name was Sheba. He was Bicri's son, who belonged to Benjamin's tribe.^[m] He made a loud noise with a trumpet and then he shouted, ‘Israelite people, we have nothing to do with Jesse's son, David! We do not belong to his kingdom! So we should all return to our homes.’

² So the Israelites left David in Gilgal, and they went with Bicri's son, Sheba. But the men of Judah's tribe stayed with David. They helped him on his journey all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

³ David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. Then he took the ten slave wives that he had left there to take care of his palace. Now he made them live in their own house, with guards to keep them safe. He gave them everything that they needed, but he did not sleep with them. They lived there on their own. They lived like widows until they died.

David sends Amasa to fetch all the men from Judah

⁴ The king said to Amasa, ‘Bring all the men of Judah's tribe here to me. Three days from now, I will meet with them. You must also be here yourself.’

⁵ Amasa went to fetch Judah's men, but he did not return in three days.^[n]

⁶ Then David said to Abishai, ‘Bicri's son, Sheba, will cause us more trouble than Absalom did. Take my soldiers and chase after him. If you do not catch him, his people will hide in towns with strong walls. Then he will escape from us.’

⁷ So Abishai took Joab's soldiers, as well as the king's personal guards, the Pelethites and the Kerethites. He and all the king's soldiers marched out from Jerusalem to find Sheba. ⁸ When they arrived at the big rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing his soldier's clothes. He had a long knife that was tied to his belt. As Joab went towards Amasa, the knife fell to the ground.

⁹ Joab said to Amasa, ‘How are you, my brother?’ He took hold of Amasa's beard with his right hand. He pretended that he wanted to kiss him. ¹⁰ But Amasa did not see the knife in Joab's other hand. Joab pushed the knife into Amasa's stomach. His inside parts poured out onto the ground. He died immediately. Joab did not have to hit him again.

Then Joab and his brother Abishai continued to chase after Sheba.

¹¹ One of Joab's soldiers stood beside Amasa's dead body. He shouted, ‘If you are fighting for Joab and for King David, you must follow Joab!’ ¹² Amasa's dead body was lying in the road. His blood was all around it. All the soldiers who came there stopped when they saw the body. So the man pulled Amasa's dead body off the road into a field. He covered it with a cloth. ¹³ After he had removed Amasa's dead body from the road, the soldiers all followed Joab. They continued to chase after Bicri's son, Sheba.

¹⁴ Sheba travelled through the land of all Israel's tribes. He arrived at Abel Beth Maakah.^[o] All the people of Bicri's clan also came to the city. They joined Sheba there. ¹⁵ Then Joab's soldiers arrived and they started to attack Abel Beth Maakah. They made their camp all around the city. They built heaps of earth against the city's walls. They started to dig holes through the walls to cause them to fall down. ¹⁶ Then a wise woman stood on the wall and she shouted to them, ‘Listen! Listen to me! Tell Joab to come near so that I can speak to him!’

¹⁷ So Joab went towards her. The woman asked him, ‘Are you Joab?’

He answered, ‘Yes, I am.’

She said to him, ‘Please listen to what I have to say.’

‘I am listening, so tell me,’ he replied.

¹⁸ Then she said, ‘A long time ago, people said, “If you want an answer to your problem, go to Abel city.” So that is what people did when they had problems. ¹⁹ The people of this city like to live in peace. We are faithful to our nation, Israel. Have you decided to destroy such an important city in Israel? Why do you want to destroy a city that belongs to the Lord?’

²⁰ Joab answered her, ‘That is stupid! I would never do that! I am not trying to destroy anything. ²¹ That is not what we want. But there is a man in your city whose name is Sheba. He is Bicri's son and he comes from the hill country of Ephraim. He has turned against King David. If you will give me this one man, I will go away from your city. I will not destroy it.’

The woman said to Joab, ‘Wait there! I will throw his head to you from the wall.’

²² Then the woman spoke to all the people in the city. She told them her wise advice. So they cut off Sheba's head and they threw it off the wall to Joab.

Then Joab made a loud noise with his trumpet. So his soldiers went away from the city. Each of them went to his own home. Joab returned to King David in Jerusalem.

David's officers

²³ Joab was the officer who led all Israel's army.

Jehoiada's son Benaiah was the leader of the king's personal guards.^[p]

²⁴ Adoniram ruled over the men who had to work for the king.

Ahilud's son Jehoshaphat wrote a report of everything that the king did.

²⁵ Sheva was the royal secretary.

Zadok and Abiathar were the priests.

²⁶ Ira from Jair was David's special priest.

The Gibeonites punish Saul's descendants

21 While David was king, there was a famine in Israel for three years. So David asked the Lord what had caused this trouble. The Lord said, ‘Saul's family is guilty of murder, because Saul killed many of the Gibeonites.’

² The Gibeonites were not descendants of Israel. They were the only Amorite people who still lived. The Israelites had promised not to kill them.^[q] But Saul thought that he should kill them. He thought that this would help Israel and Judah to rule their land.

Now King David told the Gibeonites to come to speak with him. ³ He asked them, ‘What can I do to help you? How can I make things right between us? I want you to bring the Lord's blessing to his people again.’

⁴ The Gibeonites answered David, ‘We do not want Saul's family to give us money or gold. And it would not be right for us to kill anyone in Israel.’

So David asked them, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’

⁵ They answered the king, ‘You know that Saul tried to destroy us. That man wanted to kill all of our family who were living in Israel. ⁶ So we want you to give us seven of his male descendants. Then we will kill them. We will hang their bodies at the place where people worship the Lord in Gibeah. That was Saul's town, the man that the Lord had chosen to be king.’

The king said, ‘I will give them to you.’

⁷ The king did not give Jonathan's son Mephibosheth to them. He was kind to Mephibosheth because of David's promise to Jonathan, Saul's son. David had made that promise in the Lord's name. ⁸ Instead, the king took Saul's two sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth. Aiah's daughter Rizpah was their mother. He also took the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab. Adriel, the son of Barzillai from Meholath, was their father. ⁹ He gave them to the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites hanged them on a hill where people worshipped the Lord. All seven of them died together. That happened at the time when the barley harvest was beginning.

¹⁰ Aiah's daughter, Rizpah, put sackcloth on a rock and she sat on it. She stayed there to watch her sons' bodies, from the harvest time until the heavy rain came. During that time, she stopped the birds from eating the bodies in the daytime. At night, she kept the wild animals away.

¹¹ They told David what Saul's slave wife, Rizpah, had done. ¹² Then David went to fetch the bones of Saul and Saul's son Jonathan from the people at Jabesh Gilead. Their men had secretly taken their bodies from the open place in Beth Shan. The Philistines had killed Saul on Gilboa mountain and they had hung their bodies there.^{[r] 13} Now David brought the bones of Saul and Jonathan back from Jabesh Gilead. He also picked up the bones of the seven men that the Gibeonites had killed.

¹⁴ People buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan in the grave of Saul's father, Kish. The grave was in Zela, in land that belonged to Benjamin's tribe. The king had told them everything that they should do. After they had done all these things, God answered their prayers for their country.

Wars against the Philistines

¹⁵ Now the Philistines had started to attack the Israelites again. David went with his soldiers to fight against the Philistines. He became very tired. ¹⁶ A descendant of Rapha who was called Ishbi-Benob said that he would kill David. He had a bronze spear that weighed 3½ kilograms and he had a new sword. ¹⁷ But Zeruiah's son Abishai saved David. Abishai knocked down the Philistine and he killed him. So David's men said very strongly, ‘Our king, you must never again come out with us to fight a battle. You are like Israel's light. We do not want your life to finish.’^[s]

¹⁸ Some time after that, the Israelites fought a battle against the Philistines at Gob. In that battle, Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, a descendant of Rapha.

¹⁹ In another battle against the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan, the son of Jaare-Oregim from Bethlehem, killed Goliath from Gath. Goliath's spear was very thick and heavy, like a big tree.

²⁰ There was another battle at Gath. Another descendant of Rapha fought against the Israelites there. He was a very large man. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. ²¹ He shouted to insult the Israelite soldiers. So Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shimeah, killed him.

²² Those four Philistines were descendants of Rapha and they lived in Gath. David and his soldiers killed all of them.^[t]

David sings to praise God^[u]

22 David wrote this song when the Lord saved him from the power of his enemies when Saul was king.

² This is what he sang: