1.1
And it came to pass after Saul was dead, that David returned from
smiting Amalec, and David abode two days in Sekelac.
1.2 And it came to pass on the third day, that,
behold, a man came from the camp, from the people of Saul, and his
garments were rent, and earth [was] upon his head: and it came to pass
when he went in to David, that he fell upon the earth, and did
obeisance to him.
1.3 And David said to him, Whence comest thou?
and he said to him, I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.
1.4 And David said to him, What [is] the
matter? tell me. And he said, The people fled out of the battle, and
many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and Jonathan his
son are dead.
1.5 And David said to the young man who brought
him the tidings, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are
dead?
1.6 And the young man that brought the tidings,
said to him, I happened accidentally to be upon mount Gelbue; and,
behold, Saul was leaning upon his spear, and, behold, the chariots and
captains of horse pressed hard upon him.
1.7 And he looked behind him, and saw me, and called me; and I said, Behold, [here am] I.
1.8 And he said to me, Who art thou? and I said, I am an Amalekite.
1.9 And he said to me, Stand, I pray thee, over
me, and slay me, for a dreadful darkness has come upon me, for all my
life [is] in me.
1.10 So I stood over him and slew him, because I knew
he would not live after he was fallen; and I took the crown that was
upon his head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and I have
brought them hither to my lord.
1.11 And David laid hold of his garments, and rent
them; and all the men who were with him rent their garments.
1.12 And they lamented, and wept, and fasted till
evening, for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Juda,
and for the house of Israel, because they were smitten with the sword.
1.13 And David said to the young man who brought the
tidings to him, Whence art thou? and he said, I am the son of an
Amalekite sojourner.
1.14 And David said to him, How was it thou wast not
afraid to lift thy hand to destroy the anointed of the Lord?
1.15 And David called one of his young men, and said, Go and fall upon him: and he smote him, and he died.
1.16 And David said to him, Thy blood [be] upon thine
own head; for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have
slain the anointed of the Lord.
1.17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son.
1.18 And he gave orders to teach it the sons of Juda: behold, it is written in the book of Right.
1.19 Set up a pillar, O Israel, for the slain that died upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
1.20 Tell it not in Geth, and tell it not as glad
tidings in the streets of Ascalon, lest the daughters of the
Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
1.21 Ye mountains of Gelbue, let not dew no rain
descend upon you, nor fields of first-fruits [be upon you], for there
the shield of the mighty ones has been grievously assailed; the shield
of Saul was not anointed with oil.
1.22 From the blood of the slain, and from the fat of
the mighty, the bow of Jonathan returned not empty; and the sword of
Saul turned not back empty.
1.23 Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and the
beautiful, were not divided: comely [were they] in their life, and in
their death they were not divided: [they were] swifter than eagles, and
they were stronger than lions.
1.24 Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed
you with scarlet together with your adorning, who added golden
ornaments to your apparel.
1.25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the
battle! O Jonathan, even the slain ones upon thy high places!
1.26 I am grieved for thee, my brother Jonathan; thou
wast very lovely to me; thy love to me was wonderful beyond the love of
women.
1.27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
2.1
And it came to pass after this that David enquired of the Lord, saying,
Shall I go up into one of the cities of Juda? and the Lord said to him,
Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? and he said, To Chebron.
2.2 And David went up thither to Chebron, [he]
and both his wives, Achinaam the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of
Nabal the Carmelite,
2.3 and the men that were with him, every one and his family; and they dwelt in the cities of Chebron.
2.4 And the men of Judea come, and anoint David
there to reign over the house of Juda; and they reported to David,
saying, The men of Jabis of the country of Galaad have buried Saul.
2.5 And David sent messengers to the rulers of
Jabis of the country of Galaad, and David said to them, Blessed be ye
of the Lord, because ye have wrought this mercy toward your lord, even
toward Saul the anointed of the Lord, and ye have buried him and
Jonathan his son.
2.6 And now may the Lord deal in mercy and
truth towards you: and I also will requite towards you this good deed,
because ye have done this.
2.7 And now let your hands be made strong, and
be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and moreover the house of
Juda have anointed me to be king over them.
2.8 But Abenner, the son of Ner, the
commander-in-chief of Saul's army, took Jebos the son of Saul, and
brought him up from the camp to Manaem
2.9 and made him king over the land of Galaad,
and over Thasiri, and over Jezrael, and over Ephraim, and over
Benjamin, and over all Israel.
2.10 Jebosthe, Saul's son [was] forty years old, when
he reigned over Israel; and he reigned two years, but not over the
house of Juda, who followed David.
2.11 And the days which David reigned in Chebron over the house of Juda were seven years and six months.
2.12 And Abenner the son of Ner went forth, and the
servants of Jebosthe the son of Saul, from Manaem to Gabaon.
2.13 And Joab the son of Saruia, and the servants of
David, went forth from Chebron, and met them at the fountain of Gabaon,
at the same place: and these sat down by the fountain on this side, and
those by the fountain on that side.
2.14 And Abenner said to Joab, Let now the young men arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
2.15 And there arose and passed over by number twelve
of the children of Benjamin, belonging to Jebosthe the son of Saul, and
twelve of the servants of David.
2.16 And they seized every one the head of his
neighbour with his hand, and his sword [was thrust] into the side of
his neighbour, and they fall down together: and the name of that place
was called The portion of the treacherous ones, which is in Gabaon.
2.17 And the battle was very severe on that day; and
Abenner and the men of Israel were worsted before the servants of David.
2.18 And there were there the three sons of Saruia,
Joab, and Abessa, and Asael: and Asael was swift in his feet as a roe
in the field.
2.19 And Asael followed after Abenner, and turned not
to go to the right hand or to the left from following Abenner.
2.20 And Abenner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asael himself? and he said, I am.
2.21 And Abenner said to him, Turn thou to the right
hand or to the left, and lay hold for thyself on one of the yung men,
and take to thyself his armour: but Asel would not turn back from
following him.
2.22 And Abenner said yet again to Asael, Stand aloof
from me, lest I smite thee to the ground? and how should I lift up my
face to Joab?
2.23 And what does this mean? return to Joab thy
brother? But he would not stand aloof; and Abenner smites him with the
hinder end of the spear on the loins, and the spear went out behind
him, and he falls there and dies on the spot: and it came to pass that
every one that came to the place where Asael fell and died, stood still.
2.24 And Joab and Abessa pursued after Abenner, and
the sun went down: and they went as far as the hill of Amman, which is
in the front of Gai, by the desert way of Gabaon.
2.25 And the children of Benjamin who followed
Abenner gather themselves together, and they formed themselves into one
body, and stood on the top of a hill.
2.26 And Abenner called Joab, and said, Shall the
sword devour perpetually? knowest thou not that it will be bitter at
last? How long then wilt thou refuse to tell the people to turn from
following our brethren?
2.27 And Joab said, As the Lord lives, if thou hadst
not spoken, even from the morning the people had gone up every one from
following his brother.
2.28 And Joab sounded the trumpet, and all the people
departed, and did not pursue after Israel, and did not fight any longer.
2.29 And Abenner and his men departed at evening,
[and went] all that night, and crossed over Jordan, and went along the
whole adjacent [country], and they come to the camp.
2.30 And Joab returned from following Abenner, and he
assembled all the people, and there were missing of the people of
David, nineteen men, and Asael.
2.31 And the servants of David smote of the children
of Benjamin, of the men of Abenner, three hundred and sixty men
belonging to him.
2.32 And they take up Asael, and bury him in the tomb
of his father in Bethleem. And Joab and the men with him went all the
night, and the morning rose upon them in Chebron.
3.1
And there was war for a long time between the house of Saul and the
house of David; and the house of David grew continually stronger; but
the house of Saul grew continually weaker.
3.2 And sons were born to David in Chebron: and
his first-born was Ammon the son of Achinoom the Jezraelitess.
3.3 And his second son [was] Daluia, the son of
Abigaia the Carmelitess; and the third, Abessalom the son of Maacha the
daughter of Tholmi the king of Gessir.
3.4 And the fourth [was] Ornia, the son of Aggith, and the fifth [was] Saphatia, the son of Abital.
3.5 And the sixth [was] Jetheraam, the son of
Aegal the wife of David. These were born to David in Chebron.
3.6 And it came to pass while there was war
between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abenner was
governing the house of Saul.
3.7 And Saul had a concubine, Respha, the
daughter of Jol; and Jebosthe the son of Saul said to Abenner, Why hast
thou gone in to my father's concubine?
3.8 And Abenner was very angry with Jebosthe
for this saying; and Abenner said to him, Am I a dog's head? I have
this day wrought kindness with the house of Saul thy father, and with
his brethren and friends, and have not gone over to the house of David,
and dost thou this day seek a charge against me concerning injury to a
woman?
3.9 God do thus and more also to Abenner, if as the Lord swore to David, so do I not to him this day;
3.10 to take away the kingdom from the house of Saul,
and to raise up the throne of David over Israel and over Juda from Dan
to Bersabee.
3.11 And Jebosthe could not any longer answer Abenner a word, because he feared him.
3.12 And Abenner sent messengers to David to Thaelam
where he was, immediately, saying, Make thy covenant with me, and,
behold, my hand [is] with thee to bring back to thee all the house of
Israel.
3.13 And David said, With a good will I will make
with thee a covenant: only I demand one condition of thee, saying, Thou
shalt not see my face, unless thou bring Melchol the daughter of Saul,
when thou comest to see my face.
3.14 And David sent messengers to Jebosthe he son of
Saul, saying, Restore me my wife Melchol, whom I took for a hundred
foreskins of the Philistines.
3.15 And Jebosthe sent, and took her from her husband, [even] from Phaltiel the son of Selle.
3.16 And her husband went with her weeping behind her
as far as Barakim. And Abenner said to him, Go, return; and he returned.
3.17 And Abenner spoke to the elders of Israel, saying, In former days ye sought David to reign over you;
3.18 and now perform [it]: for the Lord has spoken
concerning David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save
Israel out of the hand of all their enemies.
3.19 And Abenner spoke in the ears of Benjamin: and
Abenner went to speak in the ears of David at Chebron, all that seemed
good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of the house of Benjamin.
3.20 And Abenner came to David to Chebron, and with
him twenty men: and David made for Abenner and his men with him a
banquet of wine.
3.21 And Abenner said to David, I will arise now, and
go, and gather to my lord the king all Israel; and I will make with him
a covenant, and thou shalt reign over all whom thy soul desires. And
David sent away Abenner, and he departed in peace.
3.22 And, behold, the servants of David and Joab
arrived from their expedition, and they brought much spoil with them:
and Abenner was not with David in Chebron, because he had sent him
away, and he had departed in peace.
3.23 And Joab and all his army came, and it was
reported to Joab, saying, Abenner the son of Ner is come to David, and
David has let him go, and he has departed in peace.
3.24 And Joab went in to the king, and said, What
[is] this [that] thou hast done? behold, Abenner came to thee; and why
hast thou let him go, and he has departed in peace?
3.25 Knowest thou not the mischief of Abenner the son
of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy
coming in, and to know all things that thou doest?
3.26 And Joab returned from David, and sent
messengers to Abenner after [him]; and they bring him back from the
well of Seiram: bu David knew [it] not.
3.27 And he brought back Abenner to Chebron, and Joab
caused him to turn aside from the gate to speak to him, laying wait for
him: and he smote him there in the loins, and he died for the blood of
Asael the brother of Joab.
3.28 And David heard [of it] afterwards, and said, I
and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord even for ever of the blood
of Abenner the son of Ner.
3.29 Let it fall upon the head of Joab, and upon all
the house of his father; and let there not be wanting of the house of
Joab one that has an issue, or a leper, or that leans on a staff, or
that falls by the sword, or that wants bread.
3.30 For Joab and Abessa his brother laid wait
continually for Abenner, because he slew Asael their brother at Gabaon
in the battle.
3.31 And David said to Joab and to all the people
with him, Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and
lament before Abenner. And king David followed the bier.
3.32 And they bury Abenner in Chebron: and the king
lifted up his voice, and wept at his tomb, and all the people wept for
Abenner.
3.33 And the king mourned over Abenner, and said, Shall Abenner die according to the death of Nabal?
3.34 Thy hands were not bound, and thy feet [were]
not [put] in fetters: [one] brought [thee] not near as Nabal; thou
didst fall before children of iniquity.
3.35 And all the people assembled to weep for him.
And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet
day: and David swore, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I eat
bread or any thing else before the sun goes down.
3.36 And all the people took notice, and all things
that the king did before the people were pleasing in their sight.
3.37 So all the people and all Israel perceived in
that day, that it was not of the king to slay Abenner the son of Ner.
3.38 And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that a great prince is this day fallen in Israel?
3.39 And that I am this day a [mere] kinsman [of
his], and [as it were] a subject; but these men the sons of Saruia are
too had for me: the Lord reward the evil-doer according to his
wickedness.
4.1
And Jebosthe the son of Saul heard that Abenner the son of Ner had died
in Chebron; and his hands were paralyzed, and all the men of Israel
grew faint.
4.2 And Jebosthe the son of Saul had two men
that were captains of bands: the name of the one [was] Baana, and the
name of the other Rechab, sons of Remmon the Berothite of the children
of Benjamin; for Beroth was reckoned to the children of Benjamin.
4.3 And the Berothites ran away to Gethaim, and were sojourners there until this day.
4.4 And Jonathan Saul's son [had] a son lame of
his feet, five years old, and he was [in the way] when the news of Saul
and Jonathan his son came from Jezrael, and his nurse took him up, and
fled; and it came to pass as he hasted and retreated, that he fell, and
was lamed. And his name [was] Memphibosthe.
4.5 And Rechab and Baana the sons of Remmon the
Berothite went, and they came in the heat of the day into the house of
Jebosthe; and he was sleeping on a bed at noon.
4.6 And, behold, the porter of the house
winnowed wheat, and he slumbered and slept: and the brothers Rechab and
Baana went privily into the house:
4.7 And Jebosthe was sleeping on his bed in his
chamber: and they smite him, and slay him, and take off his head: and
they took his head, and went all the night by the western road.
4.8 And they brought the head of Jebosthe to
David to Chebron, and they said to the king, Behold the head of
Jebosthe the son of Saul thy enemy, who sought thy life; and the Lord
has executed for my lord the king vengeance on his enemies, as [it is]
this day: even on Saul thy enemy, and on his seed.
4.9 And David answered and Rechab and Baana his
brother, the sons of Remmon the Berothite, and said to them, [As] the
Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all affliction;
4.10 he that reported to me that Saul was dead, even
he was as one bringing glad tidings before me: but I seized him and
slew him in Sekelac, to whom I ought, [as he thought], to have given a
reward or his tidings.
4.11 And now evil men have slain a righteous men in
his house on his bed: now then I will require his blood of your hand,
and I will destroy you from off the earth.
4.12 And David commanded his young men, and they slay
them, and cut off their hands and their feet; and they hung them up at
the fountain in Chebron: and they buried the head of Jebosthe in the
tomb of Abenezer the son of Ner.
5.1
And all the tribes of Israel come to David to Chebron, and they said to
him, Behold, we [are] thy bone and thy flesh.
5.2 And heretofore Saul being king over us,
thou was he that didst lead out and bring in Israel: and the Lord said
to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be for a
leader to my people Israel.
5.3 And all the elders of Israel come to the
king to Chebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Chebron
before the Lord; and they anoint David king over all Israel.
5.4 David [was] thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5.5 Seven years and six months he reigned in
Chebron over Juda, and thirty-three years he reigned over all Israel
and Juda in Jerusalem.
5.6 And David and his men, departed to
Jerusalem, to the Jebusite that inhabited the land: and it was said to
David, Thou shalt not come in hither: for the blind and the lame
withstood him, saying, David shall not come in hither.
5.7 And David took first the hold of Sion: this [is] the city of David.
5.8 And David said on that day, Every one that
smites the Jebusite, let him attack with the dagger both the lame and
the blind, and those that hate the soul of David. Therefore they say,
The lame and the blind shall not enter into the house of the Lord.
5.9 And David dwelt in the hold, and it was
called the city of David, and he built the city itself round about from
the citadel, and [he built] his own house.
5.10 And David advanced and became great, and the Lord Almighty [was] with him.
5.11 And Chiram king of Tyre sent messengers to
David, and cedar wood, and carpenters, and stone-masons: and they built
a house for David.
5.12 And David knew that the Lord had prepared him to
be king over Israel, and that his kingdom was exalted for the sake of
his people Israel.
5.13 And David took again wives and concubines out of
Jerusalem, after he came from Chebron: and David had still more sons
and daughters born to him.
5.14 And these [are] the names of those that were
born to him in Jerusalem; Sammus, and Sobab, and Nathan, and Solomon.
5.15 And Ebear, and Elisue, and Naphec, and Jephies.
5.16 And Elisama, and Elidae, and Eliphalath, Samae,
Jessibath, Nathan, Galamaan, Jebaar, Theesus, Eliphalat, Naged, Naphec,
Janathan, Leasamys, Baalimath, Eliphaath.
5.17 And the Philistines heard that David was
anointed king over Israel; and all the Philistines went up to seek
David; and David heard of it, and went down to the strong hold.
5.18 And the Philistines came, and assembled in the valley of the giants.
5.19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I
go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into my
hands? and the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will surely deliver the
Philistines into thine hands.
5.20 And David came from Upper Breaches, and smote
the Philistines there: and David said, The Lord has destroyed the
hostile Philistines before me, as water is dispersed; therefore the
name of that place was called Over Breaches.
5.21 And they leave there their gods, and David and his men with him took them.
5.22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and assembled in the valley of Giants.
5.23 And David enquired of the Lord: and the Lord
said, Thou shalt not go up to meet them: turn from them, and thou shalt
meet them near the place of weeping.
5.24 And it shall come to pass when thou hearest the
sound of a clashing together from the grove of weeping, then thou shalt
go down to them, for then the Lord shall go forth before thee to make
havoc in the battle with the Philistines.
5.25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and
smote the Philistines from Gabaon as far as the land of Gazera.
6.1 And David again gathered all the young men of Israel, about seventy thousand.
6.2 And David arose, and went, he and all the
people that were with him, and some of the rulers of Juda, on an
expedition [to a distant place], to bring back thence the ark of God,
on which the name of the Lord of Host who dwells between the cherubs
upon it is called.
6.3 And they put the ark of the Lord on a new
waggon, and took it out of the house of Aminadab who lived on the hill,
and Oza and his brethren the sons of Aminadab drove the waggon with the
ark.
6.4 And his brethren went before the ark.
6.5 And David and the children of Israel [were]
playing before the Lord on well-tuned instruments mightily, and with
songs, and with harps, and with lutes, and with drums, and with
cymbals, and with pipes.
6.6 And they come as far as the threshing floor
of Nachor: and Oza reached forth his hand to the ark of God to keep it
steady, and took hold of it; for the ox shook it out of its place.
6.7 And the Lord was very angry with Oza; and
God smote him there: and he died there by the ark of the Lord before
God.
6.8 And David was dispirited because the Lord
made a breach upon Oza; and that place was called the breach of Oza
until this day.
6.9 And David feared the Lord in that day, saying, How shall the ark of the Lord come in to me?
6.10 And David would not bring in the ark of the
covenant of the Lord to himself into the city of David: and David
turned it aside into the house of Abeddara the Gethite.
6.11 And the ark of the Lord lodged in the house of
Abeddara the Gethite three months, and the Lord blessed all the house
of Abeddara, and all his possessions.
6.12 And it was reported to king David, saying, The
Lord has blessed the house of Abeddara, and all that he has, because of
the ark of the Lord. And David went, and brought up the Ark of the Lord
from the house of Abeddara to the city of David with gladness.
6.13 And there were with him bearing the ark seven bands, and for a sacrifice a calf and lambs.
6.14 And David sounded with well-tuned instruments
before the Lord, and David [was] clothed with a fine long robe.
6.15 And David and all the house of Israel brought up
the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of a trumpet.
6.16 And it came to pass as the ark arrived at the
city of David, that Melchol the daughter of Saul looked through the
window, and saw king David dancing and playing before the Lord; and she
despised him in her heart.
6.17 And they bring the ark of the Lord, and set it
in its place in the midst of the tabernacle which David pitched for it:
and David offered whole-burnt-offerings before the Lord, [and]
peace-offerings.
6.18 And David made an end of offering the
whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in
the name of the Lord of Hosts.
6.19 And he distributed to all the people, even to
all the host of Israel from Dan to Bersabee, both men and women, to
every one a cake of bread, and a joint of meat, and a cake from the
frying-pan: and all the people departed every one to his home.
6.20 And David returned to bless his house. And
Melchol the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and saluted him,
and said, How was the king of Israel glorified to-day, who was to-day
uncovered in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the
dancers wantonly uncovers himself!
6.21 And David said to Melchol, I will dance before
the Lord. Blessed [be] the Lord who chose me before thy father, and
before all his house, to make me head over his people, even over
Israel: therefore I will play, and dance before the Lord.
6.22 And I will again uncover myself thus, and I will
be vile in thine eyes, and with the maid-servants by whom thou saidst
that I was not had in honour.
6.23 And Melchol the daughter of Saul had no child till the day of her death.
7.1
And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had
given him an inheritance on every side [free] from all his enemies
round about him;
7.2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet,
Behold now, I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of the Lord dwells
in the midst of a tent.
7.3 And Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that [is] in thine heart, for the Lord [is] with thee.
7.4 And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying,
7.5 Go, and say to my servant David, Thus says
the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in.
7.6 For I have not dwelt in a house from the
day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt to this day,
but I have been walking in a lodge and in a tent,
7.7 wheresoever I went with all Israel. Have I
ever spoken to any of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to tend
my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of Cedar?
7.8 And now thus shalt thou say to my servant
David, Thus says the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheep-cote,
that thou shouldest be a prince over my people, over Israel.
7.9 And I was with thee wheresoever thou
wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies before thee, and I made thee
renowned according to the renown of the great ones on the earth.
7.10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel,
and will plant them, and they shall dwell by themselves, and shall be
no more distressed; and the son of iniquity shall no more afflict them,
as he [has done] from the beginning,
7.11 from the days when I appointed judges over my
people Israel: and I will give thee rest from all thine enemies, and
the Lord will tell thee that thou shalt build a house to him.
7.12 And it shall come to pass when thy days shall
have been fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will
raise up thy seed after thee, even thine own issue, and I will
establish his kingdom.
7.13 He shall build for me a house to my name, and I will set up his throne even for ever.
7.14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me
a son. And when he happens to transgress, then will I chasten him with
the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men.
7.15 But my mercy I will not take from him, as I took it from those whom I removed from my presence.
7.16 And his house shall be made sure, and his
kingdom for ever before me, and his throne shall be set up for ever.
7.17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
7.18 And king David came in, and sat before the Lord,
and said, Who am I, O Lord, my Lord, and what [is] my house, that thou
hast loved me hitherto?
7.19 Whereas I was very little before thee, O Lord,
my Lord, yet thou spokest concerning the house of thy servant for a
long time to [to come]. And [is] this the law of man, O Lord, my Lord?
7.20 And what shall David yet say to thee? and now thou knowest thy servant, O Lord, my Lord.
7.21 And thou hast wrought for thy servant's sake,
and according to thy heart thou hast wrought all this greatness, to
make it known to thy servant,
7.22 that he may magnify thee, O my Lord; for there
is no one like thee, and there is no God, but thou among all of whom we
have heard with our ears.
7.23 And what other nation in the earth [is] as thy
people Israel? whereas God was his guide, to redeem for himself a
people to make thee a name, to do mightily and nobly, so that thou
shouldest cast out nations an [their] tabernacles from the presence of
thy people, whom thou didst redeem for thyself out of Egypt?
7.24 And thou has prepared for thyself thy people
Israel to be a people for ever, and thou, Lord, art become their God.
7.25 And now, O my Lord, the Almighty Lord God of
Israel, confirm the word for ever which thou hast spoken concerning thy
servant and his house: and now as thou hast said,
7.26 Let thy name be magnified for ever.
7.27 Almighty Lord God of Israel, thou hast uncovered
the ear of thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore
thy servant has found [in] his heart to pray this prayer to thee.
7.28 And now, O Lord my Lord, thou art God; and thy
words will be true, and thou hast spoken these good things concerning
thy servant.
7.29 And now begin and bless the house of thy
servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord,
my Lord, hast spoken, and te house of thy servant shall be blessed with
thy blessing so as to continue for ever.
8.1
And it came to pass after this, that David smote the Philistines, and
put them to flight, and David took the tribute from out of the hand of
the Philistines.
8.2 And David smote Moab, and measured them out
with lines, having laid them down on the ground: and there were two
lines for slaying, and two lines he kept alive: and Moab became
servants to David, yielding tribute.
8.3 And David smote Adraazar the son of Raab
king of Suba, as he went to extend his power to the river Euphrates.
8.4 And David took a thousand of his chariots,
and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David
houghed all his chariot [horses], and he reserved to himself a hundred
chariots.
8.5 And Syria of Damascus comes to help
Adraazar king of Suba, and David smote twenty-two thousand men
belonging to the Syrian.
8.6 And David placed a garrison in Syria near
Damascus, and the Syrians became servants and tributaries to David: and
the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.
8.7 And David took the golden bracelets which
were on the servants of Adraazar king of Suba, and brought them to
Jerusalem. And Susakim king of Egypt took them, when he went up to
Jerusalem in the days of Roboam son of Solomon.
8.8 And king David took from Metebac, and from
the choice cities of Adraazar, very much brass: with that Solomon made
the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the lavers, and all the furniture.
8.9 And Thou the king of Hemath heard that David had smitten all the host of Adraazar.
8.10 And Thou sent Jedduram his son to king David, to
ask him of his welfare, and to congratulate him on his fighting against
Adraazar and smiting him, for he was an enemy to Adraazar: and in his
hands were vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass.
8.11 And these king David consecrated to the Lord,
with the silver and with the gold which he consecrated out of all the
cities which he conquered,
8.12 out of Idumea, and out of Moab, and from the
children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalec, and from
the spoils of Adraazar son of Raab king of Suba.
8.13 And David made [himself] a name: and when he
returned he smote Idumea in Gebelem to [the number of] eighteen
thousand.
8.14 And he set garrisons in Idumea, even in all
Idumea: and all the Idumeans were servants to the king. And the Lord
preserved David wherever he went.
8.15 And David reigned over all Israel: and David wrought judgment and justice over all his people.
8.16 And Joab the son of Saruia [was] over the host;
and Josaphat the son of Achilud [was keeper] of the records.
8.17 And Sadoc the son of Achitob, and Achimelech son of Abiathar, [were] priests; and Sasa [was] the scribe,
8.18 and Banaeas son of Jodae [was] councillor, and
the Chelethite and the Phelethite, and the sons of David, were princes
of the court.
9.1
And David said, Is there yet any one left in the house of Saul, that I
may deal kindly with him for Jonathan's sake?
9.2 And there was a servant of the house of
Saul, and his name was Siba: and they call him to David; and the king
said to him, Art thou Siba? and he said, I [am] thy servant.
9.3 And the king said, Is there yet a man left
of the house of Saul, that I may act towards him with the mercy of God?
and Siba said to the king, There is yet a son of Jonathan, lame [of]
his feet.
9.4 And the king said, Where [is] he? and Siba
said to the king, Behold, [he is] in the house of Machir the son of
Amiel of Lodabar.
9.5 And king David went, and took him out of the house of Machir the son Amiel of Lodabar.
9.6 And Memphibosthe the son of Jonathan the
son of Saul comes to the king David, and he fell upon his face and did
obeisance to him: and David said to him, Memphibosthe: and he said,
Behold thy servant.
9.7 And David said to him, Fear not, for I will
surely deal mercifully with thee for the sake of Jonathan thy father,
and I will restore to thee all the land of Saul the father of thy
father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
9.8 And Memphibosthe did obeisance, and said,
Who am I thy servant, that thou hast looked upon a dead dog like me?
9.9 And the king called Siba the servant of
Saul, and said to him, All that belonged to Saul and to all his house
have I given to the son of thy lord.
9.10 And thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall
till the land for him; and thou shalt bring in bread to the son of thy
lord, and he shall eat bread: and Memphibosthe the son of thy lord
shall eat bread continually at my table. Now Siba had fifteen sons and
twenty servants.
9.11 And Siba said to the king, According to all that
my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And
Memphibosthe did eat at the table of David, as one of the sons of the
king.
9.12 And Memphibosthe had a little son, and his name
[was] Micha: and all the household of Siba [were] servants to
Memphibosthe.
9.13 And Memphibosthe dwelt in Jerusalem, for he
continually ate at the table of the king; and he was lame in both his
feet.
10.1
And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon
died, and Annon his son reigned in his stead.
10.2 And David said, I will shew mercy to Annon the
son of Naas, as his father dealt mercifully with me. And David sent to
comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants; and the
servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon.
10.3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said to
Annon their lord, [Is it] to honour thy father before thee that David
has sent comforters to thee? Has not David rather sent his servants to
thee that they should search the city, and spy it out and examine it?
10.4 And Annon took the servants of David, and shaved
their beards, and cut off their garments in the midst as far as their
haunches, and sent them away.
10.5 And they brought David word concerning the men;
and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonoured: and the
king said, Remain in Jericho till your beards have grown, and [then] ye
shall return.
10.6 And the children of Ammon saw that the people of
David were ashamed; and the children of Ammon sent, and hired the
Syrians of Baethraam, and the Syrians of Suba, and Roob, twenty
thousand footmen, and the king of Amalec with a thousand men, and Istob
with twelve thousand men.
10.7 And David heard, and sent Joab and all his host, [even] the mighty men.
10.8 And the children of Ammon went forth, and set
the battle in array by the door of the gate: [those] of Syria, Suba,
and Roob, and Istob, and Amalec, being by themselves in the field.
10.9 And Joab saw that the front of the battle was
against him from that which was opposed in front and from behind, and
he chose out [some] of all the young men of Israel, and they set
themselves in array against Syria.
10.10 And the rest of the people he gave into the hand of
Abessa his brother, and they set the battle in array opposite to the
children of Ammon.
10.11 And he said, If Syria be too strong for me, then
shall ye help me: and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee,
then will we be ready to help thee.
10.12 Be thou courageous, and let us be strong for our
people, and for the sake of the cities of our God, and the Lord shall
do that which is good in his eyes.
10.13 And Joab and his people with him advanced to battle against Syria, and they fled from before him.
10.14 And the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were
fled, and they fled from before Abessa, and entered into the city: and
Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
10.15 And the Syrians saw that they were worsted before Israel, and they gathered themselves together.
10.16 And Adraazar sent and gathered the Syrians from the
other side of the river Chalamak, and they came to Aelam; and Sobac the
captain of the host of Adraazar [was] at their head.
10.17 And it was reported to David, and he gathered all
Israel, and went over Jordan, and came to Aelam: and the Syrians set
the battle in array against David, and fought with him.
10.18 And Syria fled from before Israel, and David
destroyed of Syria seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen,
and he smote Sobac the captain of his host, and he died there.
10.19 And all the kings the servants of Adraazar saw that
they were put to the worse before Israel, and they went over to Israel,
and served them: and Syria was afraid to help the children of Ammon any
more.
11.1
And it came to pass when the time o the year for kings going out [to
battle] had come round, that David sent Joab, and his servants with
him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and
besieged Rabbath: but David remained at Jerusalem.
11.2 And it came to pass toward evening, that David
arose off his couch, and walked on the roof of the king's house, and
saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to
look upon.
11.3 And David sent and enquired about the woman: and
[one] said, [Is] not this Bersabee the daughter of Eliab, the wife of
Urias the Chettite?
11.4 And David sent messengers, and took her, and
went in to her, and he lay with her: and she was purified from her
uncleanness, and returned to her house.
11.5 And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
11.6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Urias the Chettite; and Joab sent Urias to David.
11.7 And Urias arrived and went in to him, and David
asked him how Joab was, and how the people were, and how the war went
on.
11.8 And David said to Urias, Go to thy house, and
wash thy feet: and Urias departed from the house of the king, and a
portion [of meat] from the king followed him.
11.9 And Urias slept at the door of the king with the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
11.10 And they brought David word, saying, Urias has not
gone down to his house. And David said to Urias, Art thou not come from
a journey? why hast thou not gone down to thy house?
11.11 And Urias said to David, The ark, and Israel, and
Juda dwell in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are
encamped in the open fields; and shall I go into my house to eat and
drink, and lie with my wife? how [should I o this? as] thy soul lives,
I will not do this thing.
11.12 And David said to Urias, Remain here to-day also, and
to-morrow I will let thee go. So Urias remained in Jerusalem that day
and the day following.
11.13 And David called him, and he ate before him and
drank, and he made him drunk: and he went out in the evening to lie
upon his bed with the servants of his lord, and went not down to his
house.
11.14 And the morning came, and David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Urias.
11.15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Station Urias in
front of the severe [part] of the fight, and retreat from behind him,
so shall he be wounded and die.
11.16 And it came to pass while Joab was watching against
the city, that he set Urias in a place where he knew that valiant men
were.
11.17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with
Joab: and some of the people of the servants of David fell, and Urias
the Chettite died also.
11.18 And Joab sent, and reported to David all the events of the war, so as to tell them to the king.
11.19 And he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast finished reporting all the events of the war to the king,
11.20 then it shall come to pass if the anger of the king
shall arise, and he shall say to thee, Why did ye draw nigh to the city
to fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from off the wall?
11.21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerobaal son of Ner?
did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from above the
wall, and he died in Thamasi? why did ye draw near to the wall? then
thou shalt say, Thy servant Urias the Chettite is also dead.
11.22 And the messenger of Joab went to the king to
Jerusalem, and he came and reported to David all that Joab told him,
all the affairs of the war. And David was very angry with Joab, and
said to the messenger, Why did ye draw nigh to the wall to fight? knew
ye not that ye would be wounded from off the wall? Who smote Abimelech
the son of Jerobaal? did not a woman cast upon him a piece of millstone
from the wall, and he died I Thamasi? why did ye draw near to the wall?
11.23 And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed
against us, and they came out against us into the field, and we came
upon them even to the door of the gate.
11.24 And the archers shot at thy servants from off the
wall, and some of the king's servants died, and thy servant Urias the
Chettite is dead also.
11.25 And David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say
to Joab, Let not the matter be grievous in thine eyes, for the sword
devours one way at one time and another way at another: strengthen
thine array against the city, and destroy it, and strengthen him.
11.26 And the wife of Urias heard that Urias her husband was dead, and she mourned for her husband.
11.27 And the time of mourning expired, and David sent and
took her into his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son:
but the thing which David did was evil in the eyes of the Lord.
12.1
And the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David; and he went in to him,
and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other
poor.
12.2 And the rich [man] had very many flocks and herds.
12.3 But the poor [man had] only one little ewe lamb,
which he had purchased, and preserved, and reared; an it grew up with
himself and his children in common; it ate of his bread and drank of
his cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.
12.4 And a traveller came to the rich man, and he
spared to take of his flocks and of his herds, to dress for the
traveller that came to him; and he took the poor man's lamb, and
dressed it for the man that came to him.
12.5 And David was greatly moved with anger against
the man; and David said to Nathan, [As] the Lord lives, the man that
did this thing shall surely die.
12.6 And he shall restore the lamb seven-fold, because he has not spared.
12.7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man that
has done this. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee to be
king over Israel, and I rescued thee out the hand of Saul;
12.8 and I gave thee the house of the lord, and the
wives of thy lord into thy bosom, and I gave to thee the house of
Israel and Juda; and if that had been little, I would have given thee
yet more.
12.9 Why hast thou set at nought the word of the
Lord, to do that which is evil in his eyes? thou hast slain Urias the
Chettite with the sword, and thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife,
and thou hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
12.10 Now therefore the sword shall not depart from thy
house for ever, because thou has set me at nought, and thou hast taken
the wife of Urias the Chettite, to be thy wife.
12.11 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up against
thee evil out of thy house, and I will take thy wives before thine
eyes, and will give them to thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy
wives in the sight of this sun.
12.12 For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel, and before the sun.
12.13 And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the
Lord. And Nathan said to David, And the Lord has put away thy sin; thou
shalt not die.
12.14 Only because thou hast given great occasion of
provocation to the enemies of the Lord by this thing, thy son also that
is born to thee shall surely die.
12.15 And Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord smote
the child, which the wife of Urias the Chettite bore to David, and it
was ill.
12.16 And David enquired of God concerning the child, and
David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground.
12.17 And the elders of his house arose [and went] to him
to raise him up from the ground, but he would not [rise], nor did he
eat bread with them.
12.18 And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child
died: and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child
was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive we spoke
to him, and he hearkened not to our voice; and thou should we tell him
that the child is dead?-- so would he do [himself] harm.
12.19 And David understood that his servants were
whispering, and David perceived that the child was dead: and David said
to his servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is dead.
12.20 Then David rose up from the earth, and washed, and
anointed himself, and changed his raiment, and went into the house of
God, and worshipped him; and went into his own house, and called for
bread to eat, and they set bread before him and he ate.
12.21 And his servants said to him, What [is] this thing
that thou hast done concerning the child? while it was yet living thou
didst fast, and weep, and watch: and when the child was dead thou didst
rise up, and didst eat bread, and drink.
12.22 And David said, While the child yet lived, I fasted
and wept; for I said, Who knows if the Lord will pity me, and the child
live?
12.23 But now it is dead, why should I fast thus? shall I
be able to bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not
return to me.
12.24 And David comforted Bersabee his wife, and he went in
to her, and lay with her; and she conceived and bore a son, and he
called his named Solomon, and the Lord loved him.
12.25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name Jeddedi, for the Lord's sake.
12.26 And Joab fought against Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
12.27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbath, and taken the city of waters.
12.28 And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp
against the city, an take it beforehand; lest I take the city first,
and my name be called upon it.
12.29 And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbath, and fought against it, and took it.
12.30 And he took the crown of Molchom their king from off
his head, and the weight of it was a talent of gold, with precious
stones, and it was upon the head of David; and he carried forth very
much spoil of the city.
12.31 And he brought forth the people that were in it, and
put them under the saw, and under iron harrows, and axes of iron, and
made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus he did to all the
cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned
to Jerusalem.
13.1
And it happened after this that Abessalom the son of David had a very
beautiful sister, and her name [was] Themar; and Amnon the son of David
loved her.
13.2 And Amnon was distressed even to sickness,
because of Themar his sister; for she was a virgin, and it seemed very
difficult for Amnon to do anything to her.
13.3 And Amnon had a friend, and his name [was]
Jonadab, the son of Samaa the brother of David: and Jonadab [was] a
very cunning man.
13.4 And he said to him, What ails thee that thou art
thus weak? O son of the king, morning by morning? wilt thou not tell
me? and Ammon said, I love Themar the sister of my brother Abessalom.
13.5 And Jonadab said to him, Lie upon thy bed, and
make thyself sick, and thy father shall come in to see thee; and thou
shalt say to him, Let, I pray thee, Themar my sister come, and feed me
with morsels, and let her prepare food before my eyes, that I may see
and eat at her hands.
13.6 So Ammon lay down, and made himself sick; and
the king came in to see him: and Amnon said to the king, Let, I pray
thee, my sister Themar come to me, and make a couple of cakes in my
sight, and I will eat them at her hand.
13.7 And David sent to Themar to the house, saying, Go now to thy brother's house, and dress him food.
13.8 And Themar went to the house of her brother
Amnon, and he [was] lying down: and she took the dough and kneaded it,
and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
13.9 And she took the frying pan and poured them out
before him, but he would not eat. And Amnon said, Send out every man
from about me. And they removed every man from about him.
13.10 And Amnon said to Themar, Bring in the food into the
closet, and I will eat of thy hand. And Themar took the cakes which she
had made, and brought them to her brother Amnon into the chamber.
13.11 And she brought [them] to him to eat, and he caught
hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister.
13.12 And she said to him, Nay, my brother, do not humble
me, for it ought not to be so done in Israel; do not this folly.
13.13 And I, whither shall I remove my reproach? and thou
shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. And now, speak, I pray thee, to
the king, for surely he will not keep me from thee.
13.14 But Amnon would not hearken to her voice; and he prevailed against her, and humbled her, and lay with her.
13.15 Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred; for the
hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he
had loved her, for the last wickedness was greater than the first: and
Amnon said to her, Rise, and be gone.
13.16 And Themar spoke to him concerning this great
mischief, greater, [said she], than the other that thou didst me, to
send me away: but Amnon would not hearken to her voice.
13.17 And he called his servant who had charge of the
house, and said to him, Put now this [woman] out from me, and shut the
door after her.
13.18 And she had on her a variegated robe, for so were the
king's daughters that were virgins attired in their apparel: and his
servant led her forth, and shut the door after her.
13.19 And Themar took ashes, and put them on her head; and
she rent the variegated garment that was upon her: and she laid her
hands on her head, and went crying continually.
13.20 And Abessalom her brother said to her, Has thy
brother Amnon been with thee? now then, my sister, be silent, for he is
thy brother: be not careful to mention this matter. So Themar dwelt as
a widow in the house of her brother Abessalom.
13.21 And king David heard of all these things, and was
very angry; but he did not grieve the spirit of his son Amnon, because
be loved him, for he was his first-born.
13.22 And Abessalom spoke not to Amnon, good or bad,
because Abessalom hated Amnon, on account of his humbling his sister
Themar.
13.23 And it came to pass at the end of two whole years,
that they were shearing [sheep] for Abessalom in Belasor near Ephraim:
and Abessalom invited all the king's sons.
13.24 And Abessalom came to the king, and said, Behold, thy
servant has a sheep-shearing; let now the king and his servants go with
thy servant.
13.25 And the king said to Abessalom, Nay, my son, let us
not all go, and let us not be burdensome to thee. And he pressed him;
but he would not go, but blessed him.
13.26 And Abessalom said to him, And if not, let I pray
thee, my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should
he go with thee?
13.27 And Abessalom pressed him, and he sent with him Amnon
and all the king's sons; and Abessalom made a banquet like the banquet
of the king.
13.28 And Abessalom charged his servants, saying, Mark when
the heart of Amnon shall be merry with wine, and I shall say to you,
Smite Amnon, and slay him: fear not; for is it not I that command you?
Be courageous, and be valiant.
13.29 And the servants of Abessalom did to Amnon as
Abessalom commanded them: and all the sons of the king rose up, and
they mounted every man his mule, and fled.
13.30 And it came to pass, when they were in the way, that
a report came to David, saying, Abessalom has slain all the king's
sons, and there is not one of them left.
13.31 Then the king arose, and rent his garments, and lay
upon the ground: and all his servants that were standing round him rent
their garments.
13.32 And Jonadab the son of Samaa brother of David,
answered and said, Let not my Lord the king say that he has slain all
the young men the sons of the king, for Amnon only of them all is dead;
for he was appointed [to death] by the mouth of Abessalom from the day
that he humbled his sister Themar.
13.33 And now let not my lord the king take the matter to
heart, saying, All the king's sons are dead: for Amnon only of them is
dead.
13.34 And Abessalom escaped: and the young man the
watchman, lifted up his eyes, and looked; and, behold, much people went
in the way behind him from the side of the mountain in the descent: and
the watchman came and told the king, and said, I have seen men by the
way of Oronen, by the side of the mountain.
13.35 And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king' sons
are present: according to the word of thy servant, so has it happened.
13.36 And it came to pass when he had finished speaking,
that, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voices and
wept: and the king also and all his servants wept with a very great
weeping.
13.37 But Abessalom fled, and went to Tholmi son of Emiud
the king of Gedsur to the land of Chamaachad: and king David mourned
for his son continually.
13.38 So Abessalom fled, and departed to Gedsur, and was there three years.
13.39 And king David ceased to go out after Abessalom, for he was comforted concerning Amnon, touching his death.
14.1 And Joab the son of Saruia knew that the heart of the king was toward Abessalom.
14.2 And Joab sent to Thecoe, and took thence a
cunning woman, and said to her, Mourn, I pray thee, and put on mourning
apparel, and anoint thee not with oil, and thou shalt be as a woman
mourning for one that is dead thus for many days.
14.3 And thou shalt go to the king, and speak to him
according to this word. And Joab put the words in her mouth.
14.4 So the woman of Thecoe went in to the king and
fell upon her face to the earth, and did him obeisance, and said, Help,
O king, help.
14.5 And the king said to her, What is the matter
with thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is
dead.
14.6 And moreover thy handmaid had two sons, and they
fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them; and
the one smote the other his brother, and slew him.
14.7 And behold the whole family rose up against
thine handmaid, and they said, Give up the one that smote his brother,
and we will put him to death for the life of his brother, whom he slew,
and we will take away even your heir: so they will quench my coal that
is left, so as not to leave my husband remnant or name on the face of
the earth.
14.8 And the king said to the woman, Go in peace to thy house, and I will give commandment concerning thee.
14.9 And the woman of Thecoe said to the king, On me,
my lord, O king, and on my father's house [be] the iniquity, and the
king and his throne [be] guiltless.
14.10 And the king said, Who was it that spoke to thee?
thou shalt even bring him to me, and [one] shall not touch him any more.
14.11 And she said, Let now the king remember concerning
his Lord God in that the avenger of blood is multiplied to destroy, and
let them not take away my son. And he said, [As] the lord lives, not a
hair of thy son shall fall to the ground.
14.12 And the woman said, Let now thy servant speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
14.13 And the woman said, Why hast thou devised this thing
against the people of God? or [is] this word out of the king's mouth as
a transgression, so that the king should not bring back his banished?
14.14 For we shall surely die, and be as water poured upon
the earth, which shall not be gathered up, and God shall take the life,
even as he devises to thrust forth from him his outcast.
14.15 And now whereas I came to speak this word to my lord
the king, [the reason is] that the people will see me, and thy handmaid
will say, Let one now speak to my lord the king, if peradventure the
king will perform the request of his handmaid;
14.16 for the king will hear. Let him rescue his handmaid
out of the hand of the man that seeks to cast out me and my son from
the inheritance of God.
14.17 And the woman said, If now the word of my lord the
king be gracious,-- [well]: for as an angel of God, so [is] my lord the
king, to hear good and evil: and the Lord thy God shall be with thee.
14.18 And the king answered, and said to the woman, Hide
not from me, I pray thee, the matter which I ask thee. And the woman
said, Let my lord the king by all means speak.
14.19 And the king said, [Is] not the hand of Joab in all
this matter with thee? and the woman said to the king, [As] thy soul
lives, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the
left from all that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab
himself charged me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine
handmaid.
14.20 In order that this form of speech might come about
[it was] that thy servant Joab has framed this matter: and my lord is
wise as [is] the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are
in the earth.
14.21 And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done to
thee according to this thy word: go, bring back the young man Abessalom.
14.22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and did
obeisance, and blessed the king: and Joab said, To-day thy servant
knows that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, for my
lord the king has performed the request of his servant.
14.23 And Joab arose, and went to Gedsur, and brought Abessalom to Jerusalem.
14.24 And the king said, Let him return to his house, and
not see my face. And Abessalom returned to his house, and saw not the
king's face.
14.25 And there was not a man in Israel so very comely as
Abessalom: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head
there was no blemish in him.
14.26 And when he polled his head, (and it was at the
beginning of every year that he polled it, because it grew, heavy upon
him,) even when he polled it, he weighed the hair of his head, two
hundred shekels according to the royal shekel.
14.27 And there were born to Abessalom three sons and one
daughter, and her name was Themar: she was a very beautiful woman, and
she becomes the wife of Roboam son of Solomon, and she bears to him
Abia.
14.28 And Abessalom remained in Jerusalem two full years, and he saw not the king's face.
14.29 And Abessalom sent to Joab to bring him in to the
king, and he would not come to him: and he sent to him the second time,
and he would not come.
14.30 And Abessalom said to his servants, Behold, Joab's
portion in the field [is] next to mine, and he has in it barley; go and
set it on fire. And the servants of Abessalom set the field on fire:
and the servants of Joab come to him with their clothes rent, and they
said to him, The servants of Abessalom have set the field on fire.
14.31 And Joab arose, and came to Abessalom into the house,
and said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire?
14.32 And Abessalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee,
saying, Come hither, and I will send thee to the king, saying, Why did
I come out of Gedsur? it would have been better for me to have remained
there: and now, behold, I have not seen the face of the king; but if
there is iniquity in me, then put me to death.
14.33 And Joab went in to the king, and brought him word:
and he called Abessalom, and he went in to the king, and did him
obeisance, and fell upon his face to the ground, even in the presence
of the king; and the king kissed Abessalom.
15.1
And it came to pass after this that Abessalom prepared for himself
chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
15.2 And Abessalom rose early, and stood by the side
of the way of the gate: and it came to pass that every man who had a
cause, came to the king for judgment, and Abessalom cried to him, and
said to him, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant [is] of
one of the tribes of Israel.
15.3 And Abessalom said to him, See, thy affairs
[are] right and clear, yet thou hast no one [appointed] of the king to
hear thee.
15.4 And Abessalom said, O that one would make me a
judge in the land; then every man who had a dispute or a cause would
come to me, and I would judge him!
15.5 And it came to pass when a man came near to do
him obeisance, that he stretched out his hand, and took hold of him,
and kissed him.
15.6 And Abessalom did after this manner to all
Israel that came to the king for judgement; and Abessalom gained the
hearts of the men of Israel.
15.7 And it came to pass after forty years, that
Abessalom said to his father, I will go now, and pay my vows, which I
vowed to the Lord in Chebron.
15.8 For thy servant vowed a vow when I dwelt at
Gedsur in Syria, saying, If the Lord should indeed restore me to
Jerusalem, then will I serve the Lord.
15.9 And the king said to him, Go in peace. And he arose and went to Chebron.
15.10 And Abessalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of
Israel, saying, When ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then shall ye
say, Abessalom is become king in Chebron.
15.11 And there went with Abessalom two hundred chosen men
from Jerusalem; and they went in their simplicity, and knew not
anything.
15.12 And Abessalom sent to Achitophel the Theconite, the
counsellor of David, from his city, from Gola, where he was
sacrificing: and there was a strong conspiracy; and the people with
Abessalom were increasingly numerous.
15.13 And there came a messenger to David, saying, the heart of the men of Israel is gone after Abessalom.
15.14 And David said to all his servants who were with him
in Jerusalem, Rise, and let us flee, for we have no refuge from
Abessalom: make haste and go, lest he overtake us speedily, and bring
evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
15.15 And the king's servants said to the king, In all
things which our lord the king chooses, behold [we are] thy servants.
15.16 And the king and all his house went out on foot: and
the king left ten women of his concubines to keep the house.
15.17 And the king and all his servants went out on foot; and abode in a distant house.
15.18 And all his servants passed on by his side, and every
Chelethite, and every Phelethite, and they stood by the olive tree in
the wilderness: and all the people marched near him, and all his court,
and all the men of might, and all the men of war, six hundred: and they
were present at his side: and every Chelethite, and every Phelethite,
and all the six hundred Gittites that came on foot out of Geth, and
they went on before the king.
15.19 And the king said to Ethi, the Gittite, Why dost thou
also go with us? return, and dwell with the king, for thou art a
stranger, and thou has come forth as a sojourner out of thy place.
15.20 Whereas thou camest yesterday, shall I to-day cause
thee to travel with us, and shalt thou [thus] change thy place? thou
didst come forth yesterday, and to-day shall I set thee in motion to go
along with us? I indeed will go whithersoever I may go: return then,
and cause thy brethren to return with thee, and may the Lord deal
mercifully and truly with thee.
15.21 And Ethi answered the king and said, [As] the Lord
lives and as my lord the king lives, in the place wheresoever my lord
shall be, whether it be for death or life, there shall thy servant be.
15.22 And the king said to Ethi, Come and pass over with
me. So Ethi the Gittite and the king passed over, and all his servants,
and all the multitude with him.
15.23 And all the country wept with a loud voice. And all
the people passed by over the brook of Kedron; and the king crossed the
brook Kedron: and all the people and the king passed on toward the way
of the wilderness.
15.24 And behold also Sadoc, and all the Levites were with
him, bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Baethar: and they
set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had
passed out of the city.
15.25 And the king said to Sadoc, Carry back the ark of God
into the city: if I should find favour in the eyes of the Lord, then
will he bring me back, and he will shew me it and its beauty.
15.26 But if he should say thus, I have no pleasure in
thee; behold, [here] I am, let him do to me according to that which is
good in his eyes.
15.27 And the king said to Sadoc the priest, Behold, thou
shalt return to the city in peace, and Achimaas thy son, and Jonathan
the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you.
15.28 Behold, I continue in arms in Araboth of the desert, until there come tidings from you to report to me.
15.29 So Sadoc and Abiathar brought back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, and it continued there.
15.30 And David went up by the ascent of [the mount of]
Olives, ascending and weeping, and had his head covered, and went
barefooted: and all the people that were with him covered [every] man
his head; and they went up, ascending and weeping.
15.31 And it was reported to David, saying, Achitophel also
[is] among the conspirators with Abessalom. And David said, O Lord my
God, disconcert, I pray thee, the counsel of Achitophel.
15.32 And David came as far as Ros, where he worshipped
God: and behold, Chusi the chief friend of David came out to meet him,
having rent his garment, and earth [was] upon his head.
15.33 And David said to him, If thou shouldest go over with me, then wilt thou be a burden to me;
15.34 but if thou shall return to the city, and shalt say
to Abessalom, Thy brethren are passed over, and the king thy father is
passed over after me: and now I am thy servant, O king, suffer me to
live: at one time even of late I was the servant of thy father, and now
I [am] thy humble servant-- so shalt thou disconcert for me, the
counsel of Achitophel.
15.35 And, behold, [there are] there with thee Sadoc and
Abiathar the priests; and it shall be that every word that thou shalt
hear of the house of the king, thou shalt report it to Sadoc and
Abiathar the priests.
15.36 Behold, [there are] there with them their two sons,
Achimaas the son of Sadoc, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar; and by
them ye shall report to me every word which ye shall hear.
15.37 So Chusi the friend of David went into the city, and Abessalom was lately gone into Jerusalem.
16.1
And David passed on a little way from Ros; and, behold, Siba the
servant of Memphibosthe [came] to meet him; and he had a couple of
asses laden, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred [bunches
of] raisins, and a hundred [cakes of] dates, and bottle of wine.
16.2 And the king said to Siba, What meanest thou by
these? and Siba, said, The asses [are] for the household of the king to
sit upon, and the loaves and the dates [are] for the young men to eat,
and the wine [is] for them that are faint in the wilderness to drink.
16.3 And the king said, And where [is] the son of thy
master? and Siba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem; for
he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of
my father.
16.4 And the king said to Siba, Behold, all
Memphibosthe's property [is] thine. And Siba did obeisance and said, My
lord, O king, let me find grace in thine eyes.
16.5 And king David came to Baurim; and, behold,
there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul,
and his name [was] Semei the son of Gera. He came forth and cursed as
he went,
16.6 and cast stones at David, and at all the
servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were
on the right and left hand of the king.
16.7 And thus Semei said when he cursed him, Go out, go out, thou bloody man, and man of sin.
16.8 The Lord has returned upon thee all the blood of
the house of Saul, because thou hast reigned in his stead; and the Lord
has given the kingdom into the hand of Abessalom thy son: and, behold,
thou [art taken] in thy mischief, because thou [art] a bloody man.
16.9 And Abessa the son of Saruia said to the king,
Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over now and
take off his head.
16.10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye
sons of Saruia? even let him alone, and so let him curse, for the Lord
has told him to curse David: and who shall say, Why hast thou done thus?
16.11 And David said to Abessa and to all his servants,
Behold, my son who came forth out of my bowels seeks my life; still
more now may the son of Benjamin: let him curse, because the Lord has
told him.
16.12 If by any means the Lord may look on my affliction, thus shall he return me good for his cursing this day.
16.13 And David and all the men with him went on the way:
and Semei went by the side of the hill next to him, cursing as he went,
and casting stones at him, and sprinkling him with dirt.
16.14 And the king, and all the people with him, came away and refreshed themselves there.
16.15 And Abessalom and all the men of Israel went into Jerusalem, and Achitophel with him.
16.16 And it came to pass when Chusi the chief friend of
David came to Abessalom, that Chusi said to Abessalom, Let the king
live.
16.17 And Abessalom said to Chusi, [Is] this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not forth with thy friend?
16.18 And Chusi said to Abessalom, Nay, but following whom
the Lord, and this people, and all Israel have chosen,-- his will I be,
and with him I will dwell.
16.19 And again, whom shall I serve? should I not in the
presence of his son? As I served in the sight of thy father, so will I
be in thy presence.
16.20 And Abessalom said to Achitophel, Deliberate among yourselves concerning what we should do.
16.21 And Achitophel said to Abessalom, Go in to thy
father's concubines, whom he left to keep his house; and all Israel
shall hear that thou hast dishonoured thy father; and the hands of all
that are with thee shall be strengthened.
16.22 And they pitched a tent for Abessalom on the roof,
and Abessalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all
Israel.
16.23 And the counsel of Achitophel, which he counseled in
former days, [was] as if one should enquire of the word of God: so
[was] all the counsel of Achitophel both to David and also to Abessalom.
17.1
And Achitophel said to Abessalom, Let me now choose out for myself
twelve thousand men, and I will arise and follow after David this night:
17.2 and I will come upon him when he [is] weary and
weak-handed, and I will strike him with terror; and all the people with
him shall flee, and I will smite the king only of all.
17.3 And I will bring back all the people to thee, as
a bride returns to her husband: only thou seekest the life of one man,
and all the people shall have peace.
17.4 And the saying [was] right in the eyes of Abessalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
17.5 And Abessalom said, Call now also Chusi the
Arachite, and let us hear what [is] in his mouth, even in his also.
17.6 And Chusi went in to Abessalom, and Abessalom
spoke to him, saying, After this manner spoke Achitophel: shall we do
according to his word? but if not, do thou speak.
17.7 And Chusi said to Abessalom, This counsel which Achitophel has counseled this one time [is] not good.
17.8 And Chusi said, Thou knowest thy father and his
men, that they are very mighty, and bitter in their spirit, as a
bereaved bear I the field, [[and as a wild boar in the plain]]: and thy
father [is] a man of war, and will not give the people rest.
17.9 For, behold, he is now hidden in one of the
hills or in some [other] place: and it shall come to pass when he falls
upon them at the beginning, that [some one] will certainly hear, and
say, There has been a slaughter among the people that follow after
Abessalom.
17.10 Then even he [that is] strong, whose heart is as the
heart of a lion,-- it shall utterly melt: for all Israel knows that thy
father [is] mighty, and they that are with him [are] mighty men.
17.11 For thus I have surely given counsel, that all Israel
be generally gathered to thee from Dan even to Bersabee, as the sand
that is upon the sea-shore for multitude: and that thy presence go in
the midst of them.
17.12 And we will come upon him in one of the places where
we shall find him, and we will encamp against him, as the dew falls
upon the earth; and we will not leave of him and of his men so much as
one.
17.13 And if he shall have taken refuge with his army in a
city, then shall all Israel take ropes to that city, and we will draw
it even into the river, that there may not be left there even a stone.
17.14 And Abessalom, and all the men of Israel said, The
counsel of Chusi the Arachite [is] better than the counsel of
Achitophel. For the Lord ordained to disconcert the good counsel of
Achitophel, that the Lord might bring all evil upon Abessalom.
17.15 And Chusi the Arachite said to Sadoc and Abiathar the
priests, Thus and thus Achitophel counseled Abessalom and the elders of
Israel; and thus and thus have I counseled.
17.16 And now send quickly and report to David, saying,
Lodge not this night in Araboth of the wilderness: even go and make
haste, lest [one] swallow up the king, and all the people with him.
17.17 And Jonathan and Achimaas stood by the well of Rogel,
and a maid-servant went and reported to them, and they go and tell king
David; for they might not be seen to enter into the city.
17.18 But a young man saw them and told Abessalom: and the
two went quickly, and entered into the house of a man in Baurim; and he
had a well in his court, and they went down into it.
17.19 And a woman took a covering, and spread it over the
mouth of the well, and spread out ground corn upon it to dry, and the
thing was not known.
17.20 And the servants of Abessalom came to the woman into
the house, and said, Where [are] Achimaas and Jonathan? and the woman
said to them, They are gone a little way beyond the water. And they
sought and found them not, and returned to Jerusalem.
17.21 And it came to pass after they were gone, that they
came up out of the pit, and went on their way; and reported to king
David, and said to David, Arise ye and go quickly over the water, for
thus has Achitophel counseled concerning you.
17.22 And David rose up and all the people with him, and
they passed over Jordan till the morning light; there was not one
missing who did not pass over Jordan.
17.23 And Achitophel saw that his counsel was not followed,
and he saddled his ass, and rose and departed to his house into his
city; and he gave orders to his household, and hanged himself, and
died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
17.24 And David passed over to Manaim: and Abessalom crossed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
17.25 And Abessalom appointed Amessai in the room of Joab
over the host. And Amessai was the son of a man whose name was Jether
of Jezrael: he went in to Abigaia the daughter of Naas, the sister of
Saruia the mother of Joab.
17.26 And all Israel and Abessalom encamped in the land of Galaad.
17.27 And it came to pass when David came to Manaim, that
Uesbi the son of Naas of Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and Machir son
of Amiel of Lodabar, and Berzelli the Galaadite of Rogellim,
17.28 brought ten embroidered beds, (with double
coverings,) and ten caldrons, and earthenware, and wheat, and barley,
and flour, and meal, and beans, and pulse,
17.29 and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheeses of
kine: and they brought them to David and to his people with him to eat;
for [one] said, The people [is] faint and hungry and thirsty in the
wilderness.
18.1 And David numbered the people with him, and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.
18.2 And David sent away the people, the third part
under the hand of Joab, and the third part under the hand of Abessa the
son of Saruia, the brother of Joab, and the third part under the hand
of Ethi the Gittite. And David said to the people, I also will surely
go out with you.
18.3 And they said, Thou shalt not go out: for if we
should indeed flee, they will not care for us; and if half of us should
die, they will not mind us; for thou [art] as ten thousand of us: and
now [it is] well that thou shalt be to us an aid to help us in the city.
18.4 And the king said to them, Whatsoever shall seem
good in your eyes I will do. And the king stood by the side of the
gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.
18.5 And the king commanded Joab and Abessa and Ethi,
saying, Spare for my sake the young man Abessalom. And all the people
heard the king charging all the commanders concerning Abessalom.
18.6 And all the people went out into the wood against Israel; and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim.
18.7 And the people of Israel fell down there before
the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter in that day,
[even] twenty thousand men.
18.8 And the battle there was scattered over the face
of all the land: and the wood consumed more of the people than the
sword consumed among the people in that day.
18.9 And Abessalom went to meet the servants of
David: and Abessalom was mounted on his mule, and the mule came under
the thick boughs of a great oak; and his head was entangled in the oak,
and he was suspended between heaven and earth; and the mule passed on
from under him.
18.10 And a man saw it, and reported to Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Abessalom hanging in an oak.
18.11 And Joab said to the man who reported it to him, And,
behold, thou didst see him: wh didst thou not smite him there to the
ground? and I would have given thee ten [pieces] of silver, and a
girdle.
18.12 And the man said to Joab, Were I even to receive a
thousand shekels of silver, I would not lift my hand against the king's
son; for in our ears the king charged thee and Abessa and Ethi, saying,
Take care of the young man Abessalom for me,
18.13 so as to do no harm to his life: and nothing of the
matter will be concealed from the king, and thou wilt set thyself
against me.
18.14 And Joab said, I will begin this; I will not thus
remain with thee. And Joab took three darts in his hand, and thrust
them into the heart of Abessalom, while he was yet alive in the heart
of the oak.
18.15 And ten young men that bore Joab's armour compassed Abessalom, and smote him and slew him.
18.16 And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab spared the people.
18.17 And he took Abessalom, and cast him into a great
cavern in the wood, into a deep pit, and set up over him a very great
heap of stones: and all Israel fled every man to his tent.
18.18 Now Abessalom while yet alive had taken and set up
for himself the pillar near which he was taken, and set it up so as to
have the pillar in the king's dale; for he said he had no son to keep
his name in remembrance: and he called the pillar, Abessalom's hand,
until this day.
18.19 And Achimaas the son of Sadoc said, Let me run now
and carry glad tidings to the king, for the Lord has delivered him from
the hand of his enemies.
18.20 And Joab said to him, Thou [shalt] not [be] a
messenger of glad tidings this day; thou shalt bear them another day;
but on this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is
dead.
18.21 And Joab said to Chusi, Go, report to the king all
that thou hast seen. And Chusi did obeisance to Joab, and went out.
18.22 And Achimaas the son of Sadoc said again to Joab,
Nay, let me also run after Chusi. And Joab said, Why wouldest thou thus
run, my son? attend, thou hast no tidings for profit if thou go.
18.23 And he said, Why should I not run? and Joab said to
him, Run. And Achimaas ran along the way of Kechar, and outran Chusi.
18.24 And David was sitting between the two gates: and the
watchman went up on the top of the gate of the wall, and lifted up his
eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone before him.
18.25 And the watchman cried out, and reported to the king.
And the king said, If he be alone, [there are] good tidings in his
mouth. And the man came and drew near.
18.26 And the watchman saw another man running: and the
watchman cried at the gate, and said, And look, another man running
alone. And the king said, He also brings glad tidings.
18.27 And the watchman said, I see the running of the first
as the running of Achimaas the son of Sadoc. And the king said, He [is]
a good man, and will come to [report] glad tidings.
18.28 And Achimaas cried out and said to the king, Peace.
And he did obeisance to the king with his face to the ground, and said,
Blessed [be] the Lord thy God, who has delivered up the men that lifted
up their hands against my lord the king.
18.29 And the king said, [Is] the young man Abessalom safe?
and Achimaas said, I saw a great multitude [at the time] of Joab's
sending the king's servant and thy servant, and I knew not what was
there.
18.30 And the king said, Turn aside, stand still here. And he turned aside, and stood.
18.31 And, behold, Chusi came up, and said to the king, Let
my lord the king hear glad tidings, for the Lord has avenged thee this
day upon all them that rose up against thee.
18.32 And the king said to Chusi, Is it well with the young
man Abessalom? and Chusi said, Let the enemies of my lord the king, and
all whosoever have risen up against him for evil, be as that young man.
18.33 And the king was troubled, and went to the chamber
over the gate, and wept: and thus he said as he went, My son Abessalom,
my son, my son Abessalom; would God I had died for thee, [even] I [had
died] for thee, Abessalom, my son, my son!
19.1 And they brought Joab word, saying, Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Abessalom.
19.2 And the victory was turned that day into
mourning to all the people, for the people heard say that day, The king
grieves after his son.
19.3 And the people stole away that day to go into
the city, as people steal away when they are ashamed as they flee in
the battle.
19.4 And the king hid his face: and the king cried with a loud voice, My son Abessalom! Abessalom my son!
19.5 And Joab went in to the king, into the house,
and said, Thou hast this day shamed the faces of all thy servants that
have delivered thee this day, and [have saved] the lives of thy sons
and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and of thy concubines,
19.6 forasmuch as thou lovest them that hate thee,
and hatest them that love thee; and thou hast this day declared, that
thy princes and thy servants are nothing [in thy sight]: for I know
this day, that if Abessalom were alive, [and] all of us dead to-day,
then it would have been right in thy sight.
19.7 And now arise, and go forth, and speak
comfortably to thy servants; for I have sworn by the Lord, that unless
thou wilt go forth to-day, there shall not a man remain with thee this
night: and know for thyself, this thing [will] indeed [be] evil to thee
beyond all the evil that has come upon thee from thy youth until now.
19.8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate: and
all the people reported, saying, Behold, the king sits in the gate. And
all the people went in before the king to the gate; for Israel had fled
every man to his tent.
19.9 And all the people disputed among all the tribes
of Israel, saying, King David delivered us from all our enemies, and he
rescued us from the hand of the Philistines: and now he has fled from
the land, and from his kingdom, and from Abessalom.
19.10 And Abessalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in
battle: and now why are ye silent about bringing back the king? And the
word of all Israel came to the king.
19.11 And king David sent to Sadoc and Abiathar the
priests, saying, Speak to the elders of Israel, saying, Why are ye the
last to bring back the king to his house? whereas the word of all
Israel is come to the king to his house.
19.12 Ye [are] my brethren, ye [are] my bones and my flesh: why are ye the last to bring back the king to his house?
19.13 And ye shall say to Amessai, [Art] thou not my bone
and my flesh? and now God do so to me, and more also, if thou shalt not
be commander of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
19.14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Juda as that
of one man; and they sent to the king, saying, Return thou, and all thy
servants.
19.15 And the king returned, and came as far s Jordan. And
the men of Juda came to Galgala on their way to meet the king, to cause
the king to pass over Jordan.
19.16 And Semei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Baurim,
hasted and went down with the men of Juda to meet king David.
19.17 And a thousand men of Benjamin [were] with him, and
Siba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons with him,
and his twenty servants with him: and they went directly down to Jordan
before the king,
19.18 and they performed the service of bringing the king
over; and there went over a ferry-boat to remove the household of the
king, and to do that which was right in his eyes. And Semei the son of
Gera fell on his face before the king, as he went over Jordan;
19.19 and said to the king, Let not my lord now impute
iniquity, and remember not all the iniquity of thy servant in the day
in which my lord went out from Jerusalem, so that the king should mind
it.
19.20 For thy servant knows that I have sinned: and,
behold, I am come to-day before all Israel and the house of Joseph, to
go down and meet my lord the king.
19.21 And Abessai the son of Saruia answered and said,
Shall not Semei therefore be put to death, because he cursed the Lord's
anointed?
19.22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons
of Saruia, that ye as it were lie in wait against me this day? to-day
no man in Israel shall be put to death, for I know not if I this day
reign over Israel.
19.23 And the king said to Semei, Thou shalt not die: and the king swore to him.
19.24 And Memphibosthe the son of Saul's son went down to
meet the king, and had not dressed his feet, nor pared his nails, nor
shaved himself, neither had he washed his garments, from the day that
the king departed, until the day when he arrived in peace.
19.25 And it came to pass when he went into Jerusalem to
meet the king, that the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with
me, Memphibosthe?
19.26 And Memphibosthe said to him, My lord, O king, my
servant deceived me; for thy servant said to him, Saddle me the ass,
and I will ride upon it, and go with the king; for thy servant [is]
lame.
19.27 And he has dealt deceitfully with thy servant to my
lord the king: but my lord the king [is] as an angel of God, and do
thou that which is good in thine eyes.
19.28 For all the house of my father were but as dead men
before my lord the king; yet thou hast set thy servant among them that
eat at thy table: and what right have I any longer even to cry to the
king?
19.29 And the king said to him, Why speakest thou any
longer of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Siba shall divide the land.
19.30 And Memphibosthe said to the king, Yea, let him take
all, since my lord the king has come in peace to his house.
19.31 And Berzelli the Galaadite came down from Rogellim,
and crossed over Jordan with the king, that he might conduct the king
over Jordan.
19.32 And Berzelli was a very old man, eighty years old;
and he had maintained the king when he dwelt in Manaim; for he was a
very great man.
19.33 And the king said to Berzelli, Thou shalt go over
with me, and I will nourish thine old age with me in Jerusalem.
19.34 And Berzelli said to the king, How many [are] the
days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to
Jerusalem?
19.35 I am this day eighty years old: can I then
distinguish between good and evil? Can thy servant taste any longer
what I eat or drink? can I any longer hear the voice of singing men or
singing women? and wherefore shall thy servant any longer be a burden
to my lord the king?
19.36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why does the king return me this recompense?
19.37 Let, I pray thee, thy servant remain, and I will die
in my city, by the tomb of my father and of my mother. And, behold, thy
servant Chamaam shall go over with my lord the king; and do thou to him
as it seems good in thine eyes.
19.38 And the king said, Let Chamaam go over with me, and I
will do to him what is good in my sight; and whatsoever thou shalt
choose at my hand, I will do for thee.
19.39 And all the people went over Jordan, and the king
went over; and the king kissed Berzelli, and blessed him; and he
returned to his place.
19.40 And the king went over to Galgala, and Chamaam went
over with him: and all the men of Juda went over with the king, and
also half the people of Israel.
19.41 And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king,
and said to the king, Why have our brethren the men of Juda stolen thee
away, and caused the king and all his house to pass over Jordan, and
all the men of David with him?
19.42 And all the men of Juda answered the men of Israel,
and said, Because the king is near of kin to us: and why were you thus
angry concerning this matter? have we indeed eaten of the king's food?
or has he given us a gift, or has he sent us a portion?
19.43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Juda, and
said, We have ten parts in the king, and we are older than you, we have
also an interest in David above you: and why have ye thus insulted us,
and why was not our advice taken before that of Juda, to bring back our
king? And the speech of the men of Juda was sharper than the speech of
the men of Israel.
20.1
And there was a transgressor [so] called there, and his name was Sabee,
a Benjamite, the son of Bochori: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We
have no portion in David, neither have we [any] inheritance in the son
of Jessae: to thy tents, O Israel, every one.
20.2 And all the men of Israel went up from following
David after Sabee the son of Bochori: but the men of Juda adhered to
their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.
20.3 And David went into his house at Jerusalem: and
the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep
the house, and he put them in a place of custody, and maintained them,
and went not in to them; and they were kept living as widows, till the
day of their death.
20.4 And the king said to Amessai, Call to me the men of Juda for three days, and do thou be present here.
20.5 And Amessai went to call Juda, and delayed beyond the time which David appointed him.
20.6 And David said to Amessai, Now shall Sabee the
son of Bochori do us more harm than Abessalom: now then take thou with
thee the servants of thy lord, and follow after him, lest he find for
himself strong cities, so will he blind our eyes.
20.7 And there went out after him Amessai and the men
of Joab, and the Cherethites, and the Phelethites, and all the mighty
men: and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sabee the son of
Bochori.
20.8 And they [were] by the great stone that is in
Gabaon: and Amessai went in before them: and Joab had upon him a
military cloak over his apparel, and over it he was girded with a
dagger fastened upon his loins in its scabbard: and the dagger came
out, it even came out and fell.
20.9 And Joab said to Amessai, Art thou in health,
[my] brother? and the right hand of Joab took hold of the beard of
Amessai to kiss him.
20.10 And Amessai observed not the dagger that was in the
hand of Joab: and Joab smote him with it on the loins, and his bowels
were shed out upon the ground, and he did not repeat the blow, and he
died: and Joab and Abessai his brother pursued after Sabee the son of
Bochori.
20.11 And there stood over him one of the servants of Joab,
and said, Who [is] he that is for Joab, and who [is] on the side of
David following Joab?
20.12 And Amessai [was] weltering in blood in the midst of
the way. And a man saw that all the people stood still; and he removed
Amessai out of the path into a field, and he cast a garment upon him,
because he saw every one that came to him standing still.
20.13 And when he was quickly removed from the road, every
man of Israel passed after Joab to pursue after Sabee the son of
Bochori.
20.14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel,
and to Bethmacha; and all in Charri too were assembled, and followed
after him.
20.15 And they came and besieged him in Abel and Phermacha:
and they raised a mound against the city and it stood close to the
wall; and all the people with Joab proposed to throw down the wall.
20.16 And a wise woman cried from the wall, and said, Hear,
hear; say, I pray ye, to Joab, Draw near hither, and I will speak to
him.
20.17 And he drew nigh to her, and the woman said to him,
Art thou Joab? and he said, I [am]. And she said to him, Hear the words
of thy handmaid; and Joab said, I do hear.
20.18 And she spoke, saying, Of old time they said thus,
Surely one was asked in Abel, and Dan, whether the faithful in Israel
failed in what they purposed; they will surely ask in Abel, even in
like manner, whether they have failed.
20.19 I am a peaceable one of the strong ones in Israel;
but thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother city in Israel: why
dost thou seek to ruin the inheritance of the Lord?
20.20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should ruin or destroy.
20.21 Is not the case thus, that a man of mount Ephraim,
Sabee, son of Bochori by name, has even lifted up his hand against king
David? Give him only to me, and I will depart from the city. And the
woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the
wall.
20.22 And the woman went in to all the people, and she
spoke to all the city in her wisdom; and they took off the head of
Sabee the son of Bochori; and took it away and threw it to Joab: and he
blew the trumpet, and the people separated from the city away from him,
every man to his tent: and Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
20.23 And Joab [was] over all he forces of Israel: and
Banaias the son of Jodae [was] over the Cherethites and over the
Phelethites.
20.24 And Adoniram [was] over the tribute: and Josaphath the son of Achiluth [was] recorder.
20.25 And Susa [was] scribe: and Sadoc and Abiathar [were] priests.
20.26 Moreover Iras the [son of] Iarin was priest to David.
21.1
And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after
year; and David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, [There
is] guilt upon Saul and his house because of his bloody murder, whereby
he slew the Gabaonites.
21.2 And King David called the Gabaonites, and said
to them;-- (now the Gabaonites are not the children of Israel, but
[are] of the remnant of the Amorite, and the children of Israel had
sworn to them: but Saul sought to smite them in his zeal for the
children of Israel and Juda.)
21.3 And David said to the Gabaonites, What shall I
do to you? and wherewithal shall I make atonement, that ye may bless
the inheritance of the Lord?
21.4 And the Gabaonites said to him, We have no
[question about] silver or gold with Saul and with his house; and there
is no man for us to put to death in Israel.
21.5 And he said, What say ye? speak, and I will do
it for you. And they said to the king, The man who would have made an
end of us, and persecuted us, who plotted against us to destroy us, let
us utterly destroy him, so that he shall have no standing in all the
coasts of Israel.
21.6 Let one give us seven men of his sons, and let
us hang them up in the sun to the Lord in Gabaon of Saul, as chosen out
for the Lord. And the king said, I will give [them].
21.7 But the king spared Memphibosthe son of Jonathan
the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them,
even between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
21.8 And the king took the two sons of Respha the
daughter of Aia, whom she bore to Saul, Hermonoi and Memphibosthe, and
the five sons of Michol daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Esdriel son
of Berzelli the Moulathite.
21.9 And he gave them into the hand of the
Gabaonites, and they hanged them up to the sun in the mountain before
the lord: and they fell, even the seven together: moreover they were
put to death in the days of harvest at the commencement, in the
beginning of barley-harvest.
21.10 And Respha the daughter of Aia took sackcloth, and
fixed it for herself on the rock in the beginning of barley harvest,
until water dropped upon them out of heaven: and she did not suffer the
birds of the air to rest upon them by day, nor the beasts of the field
by night.
21.11 And it was told David what Respha the daughter of Aia
the concubine of Saul had done, [[and they were faint, and Dan, the son
of Joa of the offspring of the giants overtook them.]]
21.12 And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the
bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of the sons of Jabis Galaad,
who stole them from the street of Baethsan; for the Philistines set
them there in the day in which the Philistines smote Saul in Gelbue.
21.13 And he carried up thence the bones of Saul and the
bones of Jonathan his son, and gathered the bones of them that had been
hanged.
21.14 And they buried the bones of Saul and the bones of
Jonathan his son, and the bones of them that had been hanged, in the
land of Benjamin in the hill, in the sepulchre of Cis his father; and
they did all things that the king commanded: and after this God
hearkened to [the prayers of] the land.
21.15 And there was yet war between the Philistines and
Israel: and David went down and his servants with him, and they fought
with the Philistines, and David went.
21.16 And Jesbi, who was of the progeny of Rapha, and the
head of whose spear [was] three hundred shekels of brass in weight, who
also was girt with a club, even he thought to smite David.
21.17 And Abessa the son of Saruia helped him and smote the
Philistine, and slew him. Then the men of David swore, saying, Thou
shalt not any longer go out with us to battle, and thou shalt not
quench the lamp of Israel.
21.18 And after this there was a battle again with the
Philistines in Geth: then Sebocha the Astatothite slew Seph of the
progeny of Rapha.
21.19 And there was a battle in Rom with the Philistines;
and Eleanan son of Ariorgim the Bethleemite slew Goliath the Gittite;
and the staff of his spear [was] as a weaver's beam.
21.20 And there was yet a battle in Geth: and there was a
man of stature, and the fingers of his hands and the toes of his feet
[were] six on each, four and twenty in number: and he also was born to
Rapha.
21.21 And he defied Israel, and Jonathan son of Semei brother of David, smote him.
21.22 These four were born descendants of the giants in
Geth, the family of Rapha; and they fell by the hand of David, and by
the hand of his servants.
22.1
And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, in the day in which
the Lord rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the
hand of Saul.
22.2 And the song was thus: O Lord, my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
22.3 my God; he shall be to me my guard, I will trust
in him: [he is] my protector, and the horn of my salvation, my helper,
and my sure refuge; thou shalt save me from the unjust man.
22.4 I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I shall be saved from my enemies.
22.5 For the troubles of death compassed me, the floods of iniquity amazed me:
22.6 the pangs of death surrounded me, the agonies of death prevented me.
22.7 When I am afflicted I will call upon the Lord,
and will cry to my God, and he shall hear my voice out of his temple,
and my cry shalt come into his ears.
22.8 And the earth was troubled and quaked, and the
foundations of heaven were confounded and torn asunder, because the
Lord was wroth with them.
22.9 There went up a smoke in his wrath, and fire out of his mouth devours: coals were kindled at it.
22.10 And he bowed the heavens, and came down, and [there was] darkness under his feet.
22.11 And he rode upon the cherubs and did fly, and was seen upon the wings of the wind.
22.12 And he made darkness his hiding-place; his tabernacle
round about him was the darkness of waters, he condensed it with the
clouds of the air.
22.13 At the brightness before him coals of fire were kindled.
22.14 The Lord thundered out of heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice.
22.15 And he sent forth arrows, and scattered them, and he flashed lightning, and dismayed them.
22.16 And the channels of the sea were seen, and the
foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuke of the Lord, at
the blast of the breath of his anger.
22.17 He sent from above and took me; he drew me out of many waters.
22.18 He delivered me from my strong enemies, from them that hated me, for they were stronger than I.
22.19 The days of my affliction prevented me; but the Lord was my stay.
22.20 And he brought me into a wide place, and rescued me, because he delighted in me.
22.21 And the Lord recompensed me according to my
righteousness; even according to the purity of my hands did he
recompense me.
22.22 Because, I kept the ways of the Lord, and did not wickedly depart from my God.
22.23 For all his judgments and his ordinances [were] before me: I departed not from them.
22.24 And I shall be blameless before him, and will keep myself from my iniquity.
22.25 And the Lord will recompense me according to my
righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands in his eye-sight.
22.26 With the holy thou wilt be holy, and with the perfect man thou will be perfect,
22.27 and with the excellent thou wilt be excellent, and with the froward thou will be froward.
22.28 And thou wilt save the poor people, and wilt bring down the eyes of the haughty.
22.29 For thou, Lord, [art] my lamp, and the Lord shall shine forth to me in my darkness.
22.30 For by thee shall I run [as] a girded man, and by my God shall I leap over a wall.
22.31 As for the Mighty One, his way [is] blameless: the
word of the Lord [is] strong [and] tried in the fire: he is a protector
to all that put their trust in him.
22.32 Who [is] strong, but the Lord? and who will be a Creator except our God?
22.33 [It is] the Mighty One who strengthens e with might, and has prepared my way without fault.
22.34 He makes my feet like hart's feet, and sets me upon the high places.
22.35 He teaches my hands to war, and has broken a brazen bow by my arm.
22.36 And thou hast given me the shield of my salvation, and thy propitious dealing has increased me,
22.37 so as to make room under me for my going, and my legs did not totter.
22.38 I will pursue my enemies, and will utterly destroy them; and I will not turn again till I have consumed them.
22.39 And I will crush them, and they shall not rise; and they shall fall under my feet.
22.40 And thou shalt strengthen me with power for the war;
thou shalt cause them that rise up against me to bow down under me.
22.41 And thou hast caused mine enemies to flee before me, even them that hated me, and thou hast slain them.
22.42 They shall cry, and there shall be no helper; to the Lord, but he hearkens not to them.
22.43 And I ground them as the dust of the earth, I beat them small as the mire of the streets.
22.44 And thou shalt deliver me from the striving of the
peoples, thou shalt keep me [to be] the head of the Gentiles: a people
which I knew not served me.
22.45 The strange children feigned [obedience] to me; they hearkened to me as soon as they heard.
22.46 The strange children shall be cast away, and shall be overthrown out of their hiding places.
22.47 The Lord lives, and blessed [be] my guardian, and my God, my strong keeper, shall be exalted.
22.48 The Lord who avenges me [is] strong, chastening the nations under me,
22.49 and bringing me out from my enemies: and thou shalt
set me on high from among those that rise up against me: thou shalt
deliver me from the violent man.
22.50 Therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name.
22.51 He magnifies the salvation of his king, and works
mercy for his anointed, even for David and for his seed for ever.
23.1
And these [are] the last words of David. Faithful [is] David the son of
Jessae, and faithful the man whom the Lord raised up to be the anointed
of the God of Jacob, and beautiful [are] the psalms of Israel.
23.2 The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word [was] upon my tongue.
23.3 The God of Israel says, A watchman out of Israel
spoke to me a parable: I said among men, How will ye strengthen the
fear of the anointed?
23.4 And in the morning light of God, let the sun
arise in the morning, from the light of which the Lord passed on, and
as it were from the rain of the tender grass upon the earth.
23.5 For my house [is] not so with the Mighty One:
for he has made an everlasting covenant with me, ready, guarded at
every time; for all my salvation and all my desire [is], that the
wicked should not flourish.
23.6 All these [are] as a thorn thrust forth, for they shall not be taken with the hand,
23.7 and a man shall not labour among them; and [one
shall have] that which is fully armed with iron, and the staff of a
spear, an he shall burn them with fire, and they shall be burnt in
their shame.
23.8 These [are] the names of the mighty men of
David: Jebosthe the Chananite is a captain of the third [part]: Adinon
the Asonite, he drew his sword against eight hundred soldiers at once.
23.9 And after him Eleanan the son of his uncle, son
of Dudi who was among the three mighty men with David; and when he
defied the Philistines they were gathered there to war, and the men of
Israel went up.
23.10 He arose an smote the Philistines, until his hand was
weary, and his hand clave to the sword: and the Lord wrought a great
salvation in that day, and the people rested behind him only to strip
[the slain].
23.11 And after him Samaia the son of Asa the Arachite: and
the Philistines were gathered to Theria; and there was there a portion
of ground full of lentiles; and the people fled before the Philistines.
23.12 And he stood firm in the midst of the portion, and
rescued it, and smote the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great
deliverance.
23.13 And three out of the thirty went down, and came to
Cason to David, to the cave of Odollam; and [there was] an army of the
Philistines, and they encamped in the valley of Raphain.
23.14 And David [was] then in the strong hold, and the garrison of the Philistines [was] then in Bethleem.
23.15 And David longed, and said, Who will give me water to
drink out of the well that is in Bethleem by the gate? now the band of
the Philistines [was] then in Bethleem.
23.16 And the three mighty men broke through the host of
the Philistines, and drew water out of the well that was in Bethleem in
the gate: and they took it, and brought it to David, and he would not
drink it, but poured it out before the Lord.
23.17 And he said, O Lord, forbid that I should do this,
that I should drink of the blood of the men who went at [the risk of]
their lives: and he would not drink it. These things did these three
mighty men.
23.18 And Abessa the brother of Joab the son of Saruia, he
[was] chief among the three, and he lifted up his spear against three
hundred whom he slew; and he had a name among three.
23.19 Of those three [he was] most honourable, and he
became a chief over them, but he reached not to the [first] three.
23.20 And Banaeas the son of Jodae, he was abundant in
[mighty] deeds, from Cabeseel, and he smote the two sons of Ariel of
Moab: and he went down and smote a lion in the midst of a pit on a
snowy day.
23.21 He smote an Egyptian, a wonderful man, and in the
hand of the Egyptian [was] a spear as the side of a ladder; and he went
down to him with a staff, and snatched the spear from the Egyptian's
hand, and slew him with his own spear.
23.22 These things did Banaeas the son of Jodae, and he had a name among the three mighty men.
23.23 He was honourable among the [second] three, but he
reached not to the [first] three: and David made him his reporter. And
these [are] the names of King David's mighty men.
23.24 Asael Joab's brother; he [was] among the thirty. Eleanan son of Dudi his uncle in Bethleem.
23.25 Saema the Rudaean.
23.26 Selles the Kelothite: Iras the son of Isca the Thecoite.
23.27 Abiezer the Anothite, of the sons of the Anothite.
23.28 Ellon the Aoite; Noere the Netophatite.
23.29 Esthai the son of Riba of Gabaeth, son of Benjamin
the Ephrathite; Asmoth the Bardiamite; Emasu the Salabonite:
23.30 Adroi of the brooks.
23.31 Gadabiel son of the Arabothaeite.
23.32 the sons of Asan, Jonathan;
23.33 Samnan the Arodite; Amnan the son of Arai the Saraurite.
23.34 Aliphaleth the son of Asbites, the son of the Machachachite; Eliab the son of Achitophel the Gelonite.
23.35 Asarai the Carmelite the son of Uraeoerchi.
23.36 Gaal the son of Nathana. The son of much valour, [the son] of Galaaddi. Elie the Ammanite.
23.37 Gelore the Bethorite, armour-bearer to Joab, son of Saruia.
23.38 Iras the Ethirite. Gerab the Ethenite.
23.39 Urias the Chettite: thirty-seven in all.
24.1
And the Lord caused his anger to burn forth again in Israel, and
[Satan] stirred up David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and
Juda.
24.2 And the king said to Joab commander of the host,
who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel and Juda,
from Dan even to Bersabee, and number the people, and I will know the
number of the people.
24.3 And Joab said to the king, Now may the Lord add
to the people a hundred-fold as many as they are, and [may] the eyes of
my lord the king see it: but why does my lord the king desire this
thing?
24.4 Nevertheless the word of the king prevailed
against Joab an the captains of the host: And Joab and the captains of
the host went out before the king to number the people of Israel.
24.5 And they went over Jordan, and encamped in
Aroer, on the right of the city which is in the midst of the valley of
Gad and Eliezer.
24.6 And they came to Galaad, and into the land of
Thabason, which is Adasai, and they came to Danidan and Udan, and
compassed Sidon.
24.7 And they came to Mapsar of Tyre, and to all the
cities of the Evite and the Chananite: and they came by the South of
Juda to Bersabee.
24.8 And they compassed the whole land; and they
arrived at Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
24.9 And Joab gave in the number of the census of the
people to the king: and Israel consisted of eight hundred thousand men
of might that drew sword; and the men of Juda, five hundred thousand
fighting men.
24.10 And the heart of David smote him after he had
numbered the people; and David said to the Lord, I have sinned
grievously, O Lord, [in] what I have now done: remove, I pray thee, the
iniquity of thy servant, for I have been exceedingly foolish.
24.11 And David rose early in the morning, and the word of
the Lord came to the prophet Gad, the seer, saying, Go, and speak to
David, saying,
24.12 Thus saith the Lord, I bring [one of] three things
upon thee: now choose thee one of them, and I will do [it] to thee.
24.13 And Gad went in to David, and told him, and said to
him, Choose [one of these things] to befall thee, whether there shall
come upon thee [for] three years famine in thy land; or that thou
shouldest flee three months before thine enemies, and they should
pursue thee; or that there should be [for] three days mortality in thy
land. Now then decide, and see what answer I shall return to him that
sent me.
24.14 And David said to Gad, On every side I am much
straitened: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his
compassions [are] very many; and let me not fall into the hands of man.
24.15 So David chose for himself the mortality: and [they
were] the days of wheat-harvest; and the Lord sent a pestilence upon
Israel from morning till noon, and the plague began among the people;
and there died of the people from Dan even to Bersabee seventy thousand
men.
24.16 And the angel of the Lord stretched out his hand
against Jerusalem to destroy it, and the Lord repented of the evil, and
said to the angel that destroyed the people, [It is] enough now,
withhold thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the
threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite.
24.17 And David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel
smiting the people, and he said, Behold, it is I that have done wrong,
but these sheep what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be upon
me, and upon my father's house.
24.18 And Gad came to David in that day, and said to him,
Go up, and set up to the Lord and altar in the threshing-floor of Orna
the Jebusite.
24.19 And David went up according to the word of Gad, as the Lord commanded him.
24.20 And Orna looked out, and saw the king and his
servants coming on before him: and Orna went forth, and did obeisance
to the king with his face to the earth.
24.21 And Orna said, Why has my lord the king come to his
servant? and David said, To buy of thee the threshing-floor, in order
to build an altar to the Lord that the plague may be restrained from
off the people.
24.22 And Orna said to David, Let my lord the king take and
offer to the Lord that which is good in his eyes: behold, [here are]
oxen for a whole-burnt-offering, and the wheels and furniture of the
oxen for wood.
24.23 Orna gave all to the king: and Orna said to the king, The Lord thy God bless thee.
24.24 And the king said to Orna, Nay, but I will surely buy
it of thee at a fair price, and I will not offer to the Lord my God a
whole-burnt-offering for nothing. So David purchased the
threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
24.25 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and
offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and Solomon made
an addition to the altar afterwards, for it was little at first. And
the Lord hearkened to the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.