Old/New Testament
14 ¶ Now Joab, the son of Zeruiah, perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom.
2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought an astute woman from there and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner and put on mourning apparel and do not anoint thyself with oil, but be as a woman that has mourned for a long time for someone who is dead
3 and come to the king and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance and said, Save me, O king.
5 And the king said unto her, What ails thee? And she answered, I am a widow woman, and my husband is dead.
6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and the two strove together in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.
7 And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew, and we will destroy the heir also. So they shall quench my coal which is left and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.
8 And the king said unto the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give a command concerning thee.
9 And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me and on my father’s house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.
10 And the king said, Whoever speaks against thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
11 Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou will not allow the avengers {Heb. redeemers} of blood to increase the damage by destroying my son. And he said, As the LORD lives, not one hair of thy son shall fall to the earth.
12 Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
13 And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this word as one who is guilty in that the king does not bring home again his banished.
14 For it is certain that we die and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither does God respect any person; yet he does devise means that his outcasts not be expelled from him.
15 Now, therefore, that I have come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. But thy handmaid said to herself, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the word of his handmaid.
16 For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.
17 Then thy handmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king bring rest; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil; and let the LORD thy God be with thee.
18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
19 And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, By the life of thy soul, my lord the king, I can not turn to the right hand or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for thy slave Joab, he commanded me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid;
20 to bring about this form of speech thy slave Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know that which is done in the earth.
21 ¶ Then the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing; go, therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.
22 And Joab fell to the ground on his face and worshipped and blessed the king, and Joab said, Today thy slave knows that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the word of his slave.
23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24 But the king said, Let him go to his own house and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and did not see the king’s face.
25 And in all Israel there was no one to be so greatly praised as Absalom for his beauty; from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26 And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year’s end that he shaved it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore, he shaved it), the hair of his head weighed two hundred shekels after the king’s weight.
27 And unto Absalom there were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar, who was a beautiful woman to behold.
28 ¶ So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem and did not see the king’s face.
29 Therefore, Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him; and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
30 Therefore, he said unto his slaves, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s slaves set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab arose and came to Absalom unto his house and said unto him, Why have thy slaves set my field on fire?
32 And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I have sent for thee, saying, Come here, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why have I come from Geshur? It would have been better for me to have been there still. Now, therefore, let me see the king’s face; and if there is any iniquity in me, let him kill me.
33 So Joab came to the king and told him. Then he called Absalom, who came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.
15 ¶ And it came to pass after this that Absalom prepared himself chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him.
2 And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate; and when anyone that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto them and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy slave is of one of the tribes of Israel.
3 And Absalom would say unto them, See, thy matters are good and just; but there is no one delegated by the king to hear thee.
4 And Absalom would say, Oh, that I were made judge in the land, that everyone who has any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!
5 And it was so, that when anyone came near unto him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him.
6 And Absalom did according to this manner with all Israel that came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts of those of Israel.
7 ¶ And at the end of a predetermined period of forty years, it came to pass that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go to Hebron and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD.
8 For thy slave vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.
9 And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron.
10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the shofar, then ye shall say, Absalom reigns in Hebron.
11 And two hundred men of Jerusalem went with Absalom, that were invited by him, and they went in their integrity, without knowing anything.
12 Absalom also sent for Ahithophel, the Gilonite, of David’s counsel, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom.
13 ¶ And the word came to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.
14 Then David said unto all his slaves that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee, for we shall not otherwise escape from Absalom; make speed to depart lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
15 And the king’s slaves said unto the king, Behold, thy slaves are ready to do whatever my lord the king shall choose.
16 And the king went forth and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, who were concubines, to keep the house.
17 And the king went forth and all the people after him and stopped in a place that was far off.
18 And all his slaves passed to his side, and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had come on foot with him from Gath, went before the king.
19 Then the king said to Ittai, the Gittite, Why dost thou also go with us? Return to thy place and abide with the king; for thou art a stranger and also an exile.
20 Whereas thou didst come but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I go where I go, return thou and take back thy brethren; mercy and truth are in thee.
21 And Ittai answered the king and said, As the LORD lives and as my lord the king lives, for life or for death, wherever my lord the king shall be, there also will thy slave be.
22 Then David said to Ittai, Go, therefore, and pass. And Ittai, the Gittite, passed and all his men and all the little ones that were with him.
23 And all those of the land wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed the brook Kidron; and then the king also passed, and all the people passed unto the way of the wilderness.
24 ¶ And behold Zadok also and with him all the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of God, and they set down the ark of God. And Abiathar went up after all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 But the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city; if I shall find grace in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again and show me both it and his tabernacle.
26 But if he should say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here I am, let him do to me as seems good unto him.
27 The king said also unto Zadok, the priest, Art not thou a seer? Return into the city in peace and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz, thy son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar.
28 See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness until you send word to me.
29 Then Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem, and they remained there.
30 And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet and wept as he went up and had his head covered, and he went barefoot. And all the people that were with him covered each one his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
31 ¶ And it was told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. Then David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into folly.
32 And it came to pass that when David came to the top of the mount to worship God there, behold, Hushai, the Archite came to meet him, with his coat rent and earth upon his head,
33 Unto whom David said, If thou pass on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me;
34 but if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy slave, O king as I have been thy father’s slave until now, so will I now also be thy slave; then thou may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me.
35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, there with thee? Therefore, it shall be that whatever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests.
36 Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send unto me everything that you hear.
37 So Hushai, David’s special companion came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
17 ¶ Then he said unto the disciples, It is impossible that offenses will not come, but woe unto the one through whom they come!
2 It would be better for him if a millstone turned by an ass were placed around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother should trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 And if he trespasses against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turns again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him.
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamore tree, Pluck thyself up by the root, and plant thyself in the sea, and it would obey you.
7 But which of you, having a slave plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by when he is come from the field, Go and sit down at the table?
8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup and gird thyself and serve me until I have eaten and drunken, and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
9 Does he thank that slave because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.
10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable slaves: we have done that which was our duty to do.
11 ¶ And it came to pass as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, ten men that were lepers met him, who stood afar off
13 and lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 When he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed.
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God
16 and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 Were there not found any returning to give glory to God, except this stranger?
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go; thy faith has saved thee.
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