Bible in 90 Days

¹¹ “Thus says the Lord: See, I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and will give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² Although you did it secretly, I will do this thing before all of Israel, and under the sun.”

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”

¹⁵ Then Nathan went to his house. The Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had born for David, and he became sick. ¹⁶ David entreated God on behalf of the child. He fasted for a period, and he would go in and lie throughout the night on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his house stood beside him to rouse him from the ground, but he was not willing, nor would he consume food with them.

¹⁸ The child died on the seventh day, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child had died. They said, “When the child was alive, we would speak to him, but he would not acknowledge our voices. Now how can we say to him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do harm.”

¹⁹ When David noticed that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?”

They said, “He is dead.”

²⁰ So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his garments. Then he entered the house of the Lord and worshipped. He then went in to his own house. When he asked, they set down food for him and ate.

²¹ His servants said to him, “What is this thing you have done? You fasted and wept for the sake of the living child, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”

²² He explained, “As long as the child was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, so that the child may live.’ ²³ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

The Birth of Solomon

²⁴ Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife. He went to her and lay with her, so that she conceived a son. They named him Solomon, and the Lord loved him. ²⁵ So He sent a word by way of the prophet Nathan that he should be named Jedidiah for the sake of the Lord.

²⁶ Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and assumed control of the royal city. ²⁷ So Joab sent messengers to David and reported, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have occupied the water supply of the city. ²⁸ Now gather the remainder of the people, lay siege to the city, and take it. Otherwise, I myself will capture the city, and it will be called by my name.”

²⁹ So David gathered all of the people and they went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. ³⁰ David took the crown of their king from his head, and its weight was a talent^[a] of gold and precious stone. It was placed upon the head of David. He brought out large quantities of plunder from the city. ³¹ He brought out the people who were in it, and he put them to work with saws, and iron picks, and iron axes, and sent them to work in the brick kiln. Thus he did to all of the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all of the people returned to Jerusalem.

Amnon and Tamar

13 After this, Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her.

² It depressed Amnon to the point of falling ill that Tamar his sister was a virgin, but it was impossible for Amnon to pursue her.

³ Now Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, and Jonadab was a very crafty individual. ⁴ He asked him, “Why are you, the son of the king, so sullen morning after morning? Will you not tell me?”

Amnon told him, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of Absalom my brother.”

⁵ Jonadab instructed him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please allow Tamar, my sister, to come and prepare some food for me. She should make the food here, so that when I see it, I may eat it from her hand.’ ”

⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come here to make a couple of cakes, so that I may be nourished from her hand.”

⁷ Then David sent word to Tamar at the house, “Please go to the house of Amnon your brother, and prepare food for him.” ⁸ So Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother, where he was lying. She took the dough, kneaded it, and made the cakes before him. Then she baked them. ⁹ Then she took the baking tray and served the cakes to him, but he refused to eat.

Amnon said, “Send everyone away.” So they all left him. ¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes that she had made and brought them in the bedroom to Amnon her brother. ¹¹ When she brought them close for him to eat, he took hold of her and said, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”

¹² She pled with him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not to be done in Israel. Do not carry out this awful thing. ¹³ As for me, where could I escape my disgrace? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” ¹⁴ But he refused to listen to her. So, being stronger than her, he overpowered her and lay with her.

¹⁵ Then Amnon hated her greatly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away.”

¹⁶ She said to him, “No, because this great offense of dismissing me is worse than the other which you did to me.”

But he refused to listen to her. ¹⁷ He called his personal servant and said, “Send this woman out from me, and secure the door behind her.” ¹⁸ Now she was wearing a long robe, because the virgin daughters of the king were clothed in such garments. So his servant put her out and secured the door behind her. ¹⁹ So Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and left, wailing as she went.

²⁰ Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Keep silent for now, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take this thing to heart.” So Tamar stayed in the house of Absalom, her brother, a desolate woman.

²¹ When King David heard about these things, he was very angry. ²² And Absalom would not speak with Amnon, either pleasantly or angrily; but Absalom hated Amnon because he had raped his sister Tamar.

Absalom Kills Amnon

²³ Two full years later, the sheepshearers of Absalom were in Baal Hazor, near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all of the sons of the king. ²⁴ Then Absalom came to the king and requested, “Your servant has sheepshearers; will the king and his servants kindly go with your servant?”

²⁵ The king said to Absalom, “No, my son, we must not all go or we will be a burden to you.” When he urged him, he refused to go, but gave him his blessing.

²⁶ Absalom said, “If not, allow my brother Amnon to go with us.”

But the king replied to him, “Why should he go with you?” ²⁷ But Absalom urged him until he sent Amnon and all of the king’s sons along with him.

²⁸ Now, Absalom had commanded his servant, “Look for Amnon to become carefree on account of the wine. Then I will say to you, ‘Strike Amnon, and kill him.’ Do not be afraid, for am not I myself commanding you? Be strong and brave.” ²⁹ So, the servants of Absalom did to Amnon that which Absalom had commanded. Then the sons of the king arose, each mounting his mule, and fled.

³⁰ While they were on the way, the report reached David: “Absalom struck down all of the sons of the king, and there is not one of them remaining.” ³¹ Then the king arose, tore his garments, and lay on the ground, while all of his servants who were standing nearby tore their garments.

³² But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, “My lord should not think that they have killed all of the servants who are the king’s sons. Amnon alone is dead, for this has been determined from the day he raped Tamar, his sister, by the very declaration of Absalom. ³³ Now, my lord the king should not take this matter to heart, thinking that all of the king’s sons are dead. Instead Amnon alone is dead.”

³⁴ Absalom fled.

Now when the servant who was keeping watch looked up, he saw many people coming on the road beyond him, around the hill.

³⁵ So Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons are coming. As your servant spoke, so it is.”

³⁶ As soon as he had finished speaking, the sons of the king arrived, lifted their voices, and wept. The king and all of his servants also wept loudly.

³⁷ Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur, but David mourned over his son every day.

³⁸ When Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he was there for three years. ³⁹ Then King David longed to go out to Absalom, for he was consoled over the death of Amnon.

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah recognized that the king’s mind was on Absalom. ² So Joab sent a request to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He instructed her, “Act as if you are observing mourning rites. Put on mourning garments, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning over the dead like this for many days. ³ Then come to the king and speak to him in this manner.” Thus Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴ As the Tekoan woman spoke to the king, she fell on her face toward the ground and bowed low. Then she said, “Help me, O king.”

⁵ The king said to her, “What troubles you?”

She responded, “Alas, I am a widow, and my husband is dead. ⁶ Furthermore, your servant had two sons. The two of them were fighting in the field, but there was no one to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the entire family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, so that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he killed, and we will destroy the heir also.’ So they will extinguish my remaining ember, and leave my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”

⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.”

⁹ The Tekoan woman responded to the king, “May guilt rest upon me and the house of my father, my lord the king, and may the king and his throne be blameless.”

¹⁰ The king said, “Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and he will not cause you harm again.”

¹¹ Then she said, “May the king remember the Lord your God so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, lest they exterminate my son.”

He said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son will fall to the ground.”

¹² Then the woman said, “Allow your servant to speak a word to my lord the king.”

So he said, “Speak.”

¹³ The woman said, “Why have you planned like this against the people of God? The king’s speaking this word is like a self-conviction, for the king has not brought back his own banished one. ¹⁴ We will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; He devises plans so that His banished ones will not be cast out from Him.

¹⁵ “So now I have come to speak to my lord the king about this matter because the people have made me afraid. So, I thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps the king will perform the request of his servant. ¹⁶ For the king may accept my request to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son from the inheritance of God.’

¹⁷ “So, your servant thought, ‘May the word of my lord the king provide rest. For like the angel of God, my lord the king discerns good from evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’ ”

¹⁸ Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not conceal from me anything that I ask you.”

The woman said, “May my lord the king please speak.”

¹⁹ The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all of this?”

The woman answered and said, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, there is no turning right or left from anything that you spoke, my lord the king, for your servant Joab is the very one who commanded me and placed all of these words in my mouth. ²⁰ In order to change this situation, your servant Joab did this thing; but my lord is wise, as with the wisdom of the angel of God, so as to discern everything happening in the land.”

²¹ Then the king said to Joab, “This is what I will do. Go and bring back the young man Absalom.”

²² Then Joab fell with his face to ground and bowed low and blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, since the king has granted the request of his servant.”

²³ Then Joab arose and went to Geshur, and he brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴ The king said, “Let him turn to his own house. He shall not come into my presence.” So Absalom turned to his house and did not come into the king’s presence.

David Forgives Absalom

²⁵ In all of Israel, there was no man as handsome as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, there was not a blemish on him. ²⁶ When he cut the hair of his head (and at the end of every year he cut it, for it was heavy on him), he weighed the hair from his head at two hundred shekels,^[b] according to the king’s standard.

²⁷ There were born to Absalom three sons and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two full years without coming into the king’s presence. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent a message to Joab, requesting that he send him to the king, but he was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message, but still he was not willing to come. ³⁰ Then he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go, set it on fire.” So the servants of Absalom set the field on fire.

³¹ Then Joab arose, came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my plot of land on fire?”

³² Absalom said to Joab, “I sent a message to you, saying: Come, so that I may send you to the king, asking, ‘Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.’ Now, let me go before the king, and if there is still guilt with me, may he put me to death.”

³³ So Joab came and reported this to him. Then he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king, bowed low to him, his face on the ground before the king; then the king kissed Absalom.

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 After this Absalom acquired for himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run before him. ² Absalom would go early and stand beside the way into the gate. When any man who had a dispute concerning which he had come to the king for a judgment approached, Absalom would call to him and say, “Which city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claim is good and right, but there is no one to hear you on behalf of the king.” ⁴ Absalom would continue, “If I were appointed a judge in the land, then every man who had a claim could come and I would give him justice.”

⁵ When a man would approach to bow before him, he would reach out, embrace him, and kiss him. ⁶ Absalom acted this way toward every Israelite who came to the king for a judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ After forty years, Absalom said to the king, “Please allow me to go fulfill my vow that I made to the Lord in Hebron. ⁸ For your servant made a vow when I was dwelling in Geshur in Aram, saying: If indeed the Lord will bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.”

⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

¹⁰ But Absalom sent scouts throughout all of the tribes of Israel, saying, “When you hear the sound of the horn, say: Absalom has become king in Hebron.” ¹¹ Now two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, invited and unsuspecting; they did not know anything. ¹² Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, the advisor of David, from his city Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. Now the conspiracy was strong, for the number of people with Absalom was continually growing.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³ A messenger came to David and said, “The hearts of the men of Israel are following Absalom.”

¹⁴ David said to all of his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Get up. We must flee or there will be no escape from Absalom for us. Hurry up and leave, or he will soon reach us and bring disaster upon us, striking the city with the edge of the sword.”

¹⁵ The king’s servants said to the king, “Whatever our lord the king decides, we are your servants.”

¹⁶ So the king left with his entire house after him, but he left behind ten women, concubines, to watch over the house. ¹⁷ So the king left with all of the people after him, and they came to a stop at the furthest house. ¹⁸ Now all his servants passed on beside him, all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king.

¹⁹ The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Go back and dwell with the king, for you are a foreigner and, moreover, exiled from your own place. ²⁰ You came only yesterday. Shall I cause you to go roaming around with us today? I am going where I go. Go back, and take back your brothers with you. Mercy and truth be with you.”

²¹ Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives and as lives my lord the king, only in the place where my lord the king is, whether for death or for life, there alone will your servant be.”

²² So David said to Ittai, “Go on, pass by.” So Ittai the Gittite passed by, along with all of his men and all of the children and elderly who were with him.

²³ The whole land wept with a loud voice as all the people passed by. Now the king was crossing over the brook Kidron, and all of the people were crossing over on the road to the wilderness.

²⁴ And also Zadok and all of the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar came up until all of the people had finished passing from the city.

²⁵ The king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back to the city. If I have found favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and allow me to see both it and its resting place. ²⁶ But if He should say now, ‘I take no delight in you,’ here I am. May He do to me what seems good to Him.”

²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace with your two sons, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word from you comes to inform me.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

³⁰ David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and he went barefoot. Then all of the people who were with him each covered his head and went up, weeping as they went. ³¹ Now it was reported to David that Ahithophel was conspiring with Absalom, and David said, “O Lord, make the advice of Ahithophel folly.”

³² When David came to the summit where he would worship God, Hushai the Arkite approached him with his coat torn and dirt on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you pass on with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city, you may say to Absalom, ‘I am your servant, O king, as I was a servant of your father. As I was then, so now I am your servant,’ so as to counter the advice of Ahithophel. ³⁵ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be with you there? You shall report everything that you hear from the king’s house to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Their two sons Ahimaaz the son of Zadok and Jonathan the son of Abiathar will be there with them. You shall send word of everything that you hear to me by their hand.”

³⁷ So Hushai, the friend of David, came to the city as Absalom entered Jerusalem.

David and Ziba

16 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of saddled donkeys carrying two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and one skin of wine.

² The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these things?”

Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the household of the king to ride. The bread and the summer fruit are for the servants to eat. The wine is for those who become weary in the wilderness to drink.”

³ The king said, “And where is your master’s son?”

Ziba said to the king, “He is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today they will return to me the house of Israel and my father’s kingdom.’ ”

⁴ Then David said to Ziba, “Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”

Ziba replied, “I bow before you. May I find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

Shimei Curses David

⁵ When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of Saul came out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he came out continuously cursing. ⁶ He threw stones at David and all of the servants of King David, as well as all of the people and all of the warriors who were at his right and left. ⁷ Shimei said when he cursed: “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you scoundrel! ⁸ The Lord has returned upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. And the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. You are taken in your own evil, because you are a man of blood.”

⁹ Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “How can this dead dog curse my lord the king! Let me go over and remove his head.”

¹⁰ The king responded, “What do you have against me, sons of Zeruiah? Suppose that he curses because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who shall then say, ‘Why do you do so?’ ”

¹¹ David then said to Abishai and to all of his servants, “My son who came from my own body seeks my life, and now also this Benjamite. Leave him alone and let him curse if the Lord has so instructed him. ¹² Perhaps today the Lord will look upon my guilt and return kindness instead of his cursing.”

¹³ So David and his men continued on the road, and Shimei went along on the hillside beside them, cursing, throwing stones, and flinging dust at them as he went. ¹⁴ The king and all of the people who were with him arrived at their destination exhausted, but he refreshed himself there.

The Advice of Ahithophel and Hushai

¹⁵ Now Absalom and all of the Israelite people entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. ¹⁶ When Hushai the Arkite, the friend of David, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷ Then Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this the extent of your commitment to your friend? Why have you not gone with your friend?”

¹⁸ Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whom the Lord, this people, and all men of Israel have chosen, his I will be and with him I will remain. ¹⁹ Furthermore, whom shall I serve? Should it not be his son? As I served your father, so shall I be with you.”

²⁰ Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?”

²¹ Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Lie with your father’s concubines, whom he left to watch over the palace. When all Israel hears that you have made yourself abhorred by your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.” ²² So they set up a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all of Israel.

²³ In those days, the advice that Ahithophel gave was as when one inquired a word from God. Such was all of the advice of Ahithophel, whether that which he gave to David or to Absalom.

17 Ahithophel also said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men so that I may arise and pursue David tonight. ² I will overtake him while he is weary and weak and strike him with terror; all of the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike only the king, ³ and I will return all of the people to you. When all return except the man whom you are seeking, all of the people will be at peace.” ⁴ The advice pleased Absalom and all of the elders of Israel.

⁵ So Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Arkite so that we may hear what he has to say as well.” ⁶ When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “This is what Ahithophel had advised. Should we do this thing? If not, you should tell us.”

⁷ Hushai said to Absalom, “At this time, the advice that Ahithophel has given is not good.” ⁸ Moreover, Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are warriors, and they have been provoked like a bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is a veteran of warfare. He will not spend the night with the people. ⁹ Even now, he has hidden himself in a ravine or some other place, and when one of them falls in the first attack, whoever hears will say, ‘It was a defeat for the people who follow Absalom.’ ¹⁰ Then even the valiant one, whose heart is like that of a lion, will completely despair, for all of Israel knows that your father is a warrior, and those who are with him are brave.

¹¹ “Therefore my advice is for all of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, to be completely gathered to you like the multitude of the sand along the shoreline and for you to go to battle in person. ¹² We will come upon him in one of the places where he may be found, and we will fall upon him like the dew upon the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will remain, not a single one. ¹³ If he withdraws into a city, then all of Israel will bring ropes to that city. We will raze it until it is a valley, until there cannot be found there even a pebble.”

¹⁴ Then Absalom and all of the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than the advice of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had decided to undermine the prudent advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring calamity to Absalom.

Hushai Warns David to Escape

¹⁵ Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to do one thing, but I advised them to do another thing. ¹⁶ Now quickly send someone to report to David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but instead cross over. Otherwise, the king and all of the people who are with him will be swallowed up.’ ”

¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En Rogel. A servant girl would go report to them, and they would go report to King David, because they could not be seen entering the city. ¹⁸ But a young man saw them and reported this to Absalom. So the two of them went quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it. ¹⁹ The wife took a covering and spread it over the opening of the well. Then she scattered grain over it so that nothing could be discerned.

²⁰ The servants of Absalom came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

She said, “They crossed over the brook of water.” When they searched, they could not find them. So they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ After they left, they came up from the well, went, and reported to King David. They said to David, “Arise and quickly cross over the water because thus has Ahithophel advised against you.” ²² So David and all of the people who were with him arose and crossed over the Jordan. By daybreak, there was not one left who had not crossed over the Jordan.

²³ When Ahithophel realized that his advice was not followed, he saddled his donkey and returned to his house in his own city. He gave instruction to his household, then he hanged himself and died; he was interred in the tomb of his father.

Absalom’s Death

²⁴ David came to Mahanaim as Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and every Israelite with him. ²⁵ Now Absalom had placed Amasa over the army in the place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab. ²⁶ Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim ²⁸ brought bedding, metal bowls, ceramic vessels, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, ²⁹ honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the livestock for David and the people who were with him to eat and use. For they said, “The people are hungry, exhausted, and thirsting in the wilderness.”

18 David mustered the people who were with him, and he set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. ² Then David dispatched the people, one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, and one-third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. Then David said to the people, “I myself will go out with you.”

³ But the people said, “You should not go, for if we retreat, they will not be concerned about us. Even if half of us die, they will not be concerned about us. But now you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore, it would be better to assist us from the city.”

⁴ The king said to them, “I will do what seems best to you.”

So the king stood beside the gate while all of the people went out by hundreds and thousands. ⁵ The king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom.” All of the people heard the king instruct the commanders concerning Absalom.

⁶ So the people went out toward Israel in the field, but the fighting occurred in the forest of Ephraim. ⁷ The people of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David. That day the defeat was extensive, twenty thousand men. ⁸ The fighting spread across the land, and the people consumed by the forest were more numerous than those consumed by the sword that day.

⁹ Absalom was encountered by some of the servants of David. Now Absalom was riding on his mule. When the mule went under the branches of a very large tree, his head was caught in the tree. He was left in midair while the mule that was under him kept going.

¹⁰ One man saw him and reported it to Joab, saying, “I saw Absalom hanging in a tree.”

¹¹ Joab said to the man who was reporting to him, “What? You saw him? Why did you not strike him on the spot, sending him to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels^[c] of silver and a belt.”

¹² The man said to Joab, “Not even if I had felt the weight of a thousand shekels^[d] of silver in my hand would I have laid a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai saying: Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom! ¹³ Otherwise, I would have worked falsehood against my own life. For nothing is hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.”

¹⁴ Then Joab said, “I will not waste any more time with you.” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the tree. ¹⁵ Then ten young men, armor bearers for Joab, gathered around and struck down Absalom, killing him.

¹⁶ When Joab blew the horn, the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab held back the people. ¹⁷ Then they took Absalom, disposed of him in a large pit in the forest, and piled over him a very large heap of stones. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his home.

¹⁸ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a memorial stone in the Valley of the King, for he said, “I have no son by whom my name may be remembered.” So he named the memorial stone after himself; and to this day, it is called the monument of Absalom.

David Mourns

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Allow me to run and bring the news to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.”

²⁰ But Joab said to him, “You will not be a man who bears news today; you may bear news another day. Today you will not bear news because the king’s son is dead.”

²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, report to the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab, then ran off.

²² Ahimaaz again said to Joab, “Whatever may happen, let me run also, after the Cushite.”

Then Joab said, “Why is it that you want to run, my son? There is no messenger’s reward for you to obtain.”

²³ “Whatever happens, I want to run.”

So he said to him, “Run.” So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and passed the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gate, to the city wall. He lifted his eyes and saw a man running by himself. ²⁵ The watchman called and told the king.

The king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he came ever closer.

²⁶ Then the watchman saw another man running. The watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Look there is another man running alone.”

The king said, “He also is bringing news.”

²⁷ The watchman said, “I think that the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz.”

The king said, “He is a good man and comes with good news.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called to the king and said, “All is well.” He bowed down to the ground before the king and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God who has handed over the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.”

²⁹ The king said, “Is it well for the young man Absalom?”

Ahimaaz said, “I saw a great commotion when Joab sent the servant of the king, your servant, but I do not know what it was.”

³⁰ The king said, “Step aside and stand here.” So he stepped aside and stood in position.

³¹ Then the Cushite came and said, “Good news for my lord the king, for today the Lord has delivered you from those who rose up against you.”

³² The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well for the young man Absalom?”

The Cushite said, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who would rise up against you to do harm become as the young man is.”

³³ The king was deeply moved and went up to the upper chamber of the gate and wept. As he went he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! If only I could have given my death in your stead, Absalom, my son, my son!”

19 It was reported to Joab that the king was weeping and mourning over Absalom. ² The victory that day was turned into mourning for all of the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” ³ So the people entered the city by stealth that day, as a people who have been disgraced steal away when they flee from battle. ⁴ The king covered his face and called with a loud voice, “My son Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵ Then Joab came to the king in his house and said, “Today you have shamed the faces of all of your servants who saved your life today, as well as the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, ⁶ by loving those who hated you and hating those who love you. You have shown today that commanders and servants are nothing to you. I know that if Absalom were alive instead today and all of us were dead, then this would be right in your eyes. ⁷ Now go out and speak reassuringly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord that if you do not go out, no man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than any calamity that has come against you from your youth until now.”

⁸ So the king arose and took his seat in the gate, and the people were all told, “The king is sitting in the gate.” So all the people came before the king, but the children of Israel had fled, each to his tent.

David Returns to Jerusalem

⁹ Now all of the people began to quarrel throughout all of 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 on account of Absalom. ¹⁰ But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now why are you idle to bring back the king?”

¹¹ Then David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Israel, saying, ‘Why are you last to bring the king back to his house when the word of all Israel has come to the king, to his house? ¹² You are my brother. You are my bone and my flesh. Why are you last to bring back the king?’ ¹³ Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do to me, and more so, if you are not commander of the army before me from now on in the place of Joab.’ ”

¹⁴ He swayed the heart of every man of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent a message to the king: “Return, you and all of your servants.”

¹⁵ So the king returned and came as far as the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring the king across the Jordan. ¹⁶ Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hastened to go down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷ With him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king. ¹⁸ They crossed the ford to bring the household of the king across and to do what was pleasing in his eyes.

Shimei the son of Gera fell before the king as he was crossing the Jordan, ¹⁹ and he said to the king, “Do not regard me as guilty, my lord, or remember how your servant went astray the day when my lord the king went out from Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart. ²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, I have come this day, first from all of the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king.”

²¹ Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the anointed of the Lord?”

²² David said, “What do you sons of Zeruiah have against me that you should become an adversary to me today? Should any man in Israel be put to death today? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?” ²³ The king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” The king gave him his oath.

²⁴ Then Mephibosheth the son of Saul went down to meet the king. He had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in peace. ²⁵ When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”

²⁶ He said, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle the mule for myself in order to ride on it and go with the king,’ because your servant is lame. ²⁷ But he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Still my lord the king is as the angel of God, so do what seems best to you. ²⁸ For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What right do I have to cry out any more to the king?”

²⁹ The king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I say that you and Ziba shall divide the field.”

³⁰ Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take everything, since my lord the king has come safely to his house.”

³¹ Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim in order to see the king across the Jordan. ³² Barzillai was very old, eighty years old. But he sustained the king during his stay in Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man. ³³ The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me and I will sustain you with me in Jerusalem.”

³⁴ Barzillai said to the king, “How many days are left in my life that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? ³⁵ I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is pleasant from what is harmful? Can your servant taste what I eat and what I drink? Can I still hear the voices of men and women who sing? Why, then, should your servant be a burden to my lord the king? ³⁶ Your servant is merely crossing over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with this reward? ³⁷ Now allow your servant to return, that I may die in my own city with the grave of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Kimham. He will cross over with my lord the king. Do for him what seems best to you.”

³⁸ The king said, “Kimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems best to you. Whatever you require of me, I will do for you.”

³⁹ All of the people crossed over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him and he returned to his own place.

⁴⁰ The king passed on to Gilgal, and Kimham went on with him; all of the people of Judah and half of the people of Israel passed on with the king.

⁴¹ Now all of the men of Israel were coming to the king and said to the king, “Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his household across the Jordan, and all of the men of David with him?”

⁴² All of the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative. Why are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Has he given any gift to us?”

⁴³ And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “We have ten shares in the king. Therefore we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?”

But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.

Sheba Rebels Against David

20 There happened to be a worthless man there whose name was Sheba the son of Bikri, a Benjamite. He sounded the trumpet and said,

² So every man of Israel withdrew from following David and followed after Sheba the son of Bikri, but the men of Judah stayed with their king, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem.

³ When the king came to his house in Jerusalem, he took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep watch over the house, and he placed them in custody. He provided for them but did not go in to them. They were shut up until the day of their deaths, living as in widowhood.

⁴ Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon for me the men of Judah in three days, then present yourself here.” ⁵ So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the deadline determined for him.

⁶ So David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bikri will cause more harm for us than Absalom. You take your lord’s servants and pursue after him. Otherwise, he will find fortified cities and escape from our sight.” ⁷ The men of Joab went out after him, along with the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all of the warriors; and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of Bikri.

⁸ When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was dressed in his battle armor, and fastened on it was a belt with a sword in its sheath at the waist. As he went forward, it fell out.

⁹ Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” and he took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. ¹⁰ Amasa was not on guard against the sword in the hand of Joab, and he struck him in the midsection spilling his entrails on the ground. He died without being struck a second time. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bikri.

¹¹ Now one of the young men of Joab stood by him and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” ¹² Now Amasa was wallowing in his own blood in the middle of the path. When the man saw that all of the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the path to the field and threw a covering over him, when he observed that everyone who passed by would stop. ¹³ Once he removed him from the path, all of the men passed by, following Joab in pursuit of Sheba the son of Bikri.

¹⁴ He passed through all of the tribes of Israel toward Abel Beth Maakah, also passing by all of the Bikrites. Once assembled, they also came after him. ¹⁵ They came and besieged him in Abel Beth Maakah. They constructed a siege ramp against the city, standing it against the rampart. As all of the people who were with Joab were battering the city wall in order to bring it down, ¹⁶ a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Say to Joab, ‘Come closer so that I may speak with you.’ ” ¹⁷ When he came near, the woman said, “Are you Joab?”

He said, “I am.”

She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant,” and he said, “I’m listening.”

¹⁸ She said, “In former times, they would say, ‘Let them inquire carefully in Abel,’ and thus they would resolve an issue. ¹⁹ I am a trustworthy and faithful one of Israel. You are attempting to destroy a city, even a mother, in Israel. Why do you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?”

²⁰ Joab responded, “Far be it, far be it from me to swallow up or destroy. ²¹ That is not true. But a man from the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bikri by name, has lifted his hand against King David. Only deliver him, and I will depart from the city.”

And the woman said to Joab, “His head will be thrown to you over the wall.”

²² The woman, with her wisdom, came to all of the people in the city, and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bikri. When they threw it to Joab, he blew the horn, and they dispersed from the city, each going to his own tent. Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

David’s Officials

²³ Now Joab was over the entire army of Israel. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites. ²⁴ Adoniram was over conscripted labor. Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary. ²⁵ Sheva was scribe. Zadok and Abiathar were priests, ²⁶ and also Ira the Jairite was priest to David.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David called upon the Lord. The Lord said, “There is blood guilt upon Saul and upon his house because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

² So the king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not from the children of Israel. Instead they were a remnant of the Amorites. Although the children of Israel had made a pact with them, Saul attempted to destroy them in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. ³ David said to the Gibeonites, “What must I do for you, and with what may I appease you that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?”

⁴ The Gibeonites said to him, “We have no concern for silver or gold from Saul or his household, nor is it for us to put any man in Israel to death.”

He said to them, “What are you saying I should do for you?”

⁵ They said to the king, “Regarding the man who put an end to us and planned to exterminate us from the entire territory of Israel, ⁶ let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us, and we will hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of the Lord.”

The king said, “I will hand them over.”

⁷ But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul on account of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. ⁸ So the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth, whom she had born to Saul, and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. ⁹ He delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord; the seven of them fell together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, in the beginning of the barley harvest.

¹⁰ Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of the harvest until the rains poured on them from heaven. She did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the animals of the field by night. ¹¹ When it was reported to David that which Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, ¹² David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh Gilead who had secretly taken them from the plaza in Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them the day the Philistines struck down 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 those who had been hanged.

¹⁴ They interred the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish, his father. They did everything that the king commanded. After that God was entreated regarding the land.

Wars With the Philistines^(A)

¹⁵ Now once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down and his servants with him to fight the Philistines, and David grew weary. ¹⁶ Now Ishbi-Benob, who was among the descendants of the giant and was girded with new weaponry, had a spear weighing three hundred bronze shekels and had said that he would strike David down. ¹⁷ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David made an oath with him, saying, “You shall no longer come out with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸ Now afterwards there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbekai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among the descendants of the giant.

¹⁹ Once again, there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob. On this occasion, Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite struck down Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam.

²⁰ Once again, there was war at Gath. There was a man of stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number. Now he also was born to the giant. ²¹ When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, struck him down.

²² Now these four were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

David’s Song of Deliverance^(B)

22 Now on the day the Lord delivered him from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul, David spoke to the Lord the words of this song. ² He said: