meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Prophets/II Samuel/English/The Koren Jerusalem Bible.txt"}
text: II Samuel
  שמואל ב
  The Koren Jerusalem Bible
  
  
  II Samuel
  
  
  
  
  
  Now it came to pass after the death of Sha᾽ul, when David was returned from the slaughter of ῾Amaleq, and David had remained two days in Żiqlag;
  it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Sha᾽ul, with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and bowed down.
  And David said to him, From where dost thou come? And he said to him, Out of the camp of Yisra᾽el am I escaped.
  And David said to him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Sha᾽ul and Yehonatan his son are dead also.
  And David said to the young man that told him, How dost thou know that Sha᾽ul and Yehonatan his son are dead?
  And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Sha᾽ul leaned upon his spear: and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.
  And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, Here I am.
  And he said to me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an ῾Amaleqite.
  He said to me again, Stand, I pray thee, beside me, and slay me: for the agony has seized me, and yet I still have life in me.
  So I stood beside him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.
  Then David took hold of his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
  and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Sha᾽ul, and for Yehonatan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Yisra᾽el; because they were fallen by the sword.
  And David said to the lad that told him, From where art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an ῾Amaleqite.
  And David said to him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch out thy hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?
  And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
  And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed.
  And David lamented with this lamentation over Sha᾽ul and over Yehonatan his son,
  and he said: (To teach the children of Yehuda the use of the bow; behold, it is written in the book, Yashar.)
  The beauty, O Yisra᾽el, is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
  Tell it not in Gat, publish it not in the streets of Ashqelon; lest the daughters of the Pelishtim rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
  Mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Sha᾽ul, as though not anointed with oil.
  From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Yehonatan turned not back, and the sword of Sha᾽ul returned not empty.
  Sha᾽ul and Yehonatan were loved and dear in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
  Daughters of Yisra᾽el, weep over Sha᾽ul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
  How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Yehonatan, slain on thy high places.
  I am distressed for thee, my brother Yehonatan: very dear hast thou been to me: thy love to me was wonderful, more than the love of women.
  How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war cast away.
  
  
  
  And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Yehuda? And the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And he said, To Ĥevron.
  So David went up there, and his two wives also, Aĥino῾am the Yizre῾elite, and Avigayil, Naval’s wife, the Karmelite.
  And David brought up his men that were with him, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Ĥevron.
  And the men of Yehuda came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Yehuda. And they told David, saying, That the men of Yavesh-gil῾ad were they that buried Sha᾽ul.
  And David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-gil῾ad, and said to them, Blessed are you of the Lord, that you have shown this loyal love to your lord, to Sha᾽ul, and have buried him.
  And now may the Lord do lovingkindness and truth to you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because you have done this thing.
  Therefore now let your hands be strong, and be valiant: for your master Sha᾽ul is dead, and also the house of Yehuda have anointed me king over them.
  But Avner the son of Ner, captain of Sha᾽ul’s host, took Ish-boshet the son of Sha᾽ul, and brought him over to Maĥanayim;
  and made him king over Gil῾ad, and over the Ashuri, and over Yizre῾el, and over Efrayim, and over Binyamin, and over all Yisra᾽el.
  Ish-boshet Sha᾽ul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Yisra᾽el, and he reigned two years. But the house of Yehuda followed David.
  And the time that David was king in Ĥevron over the house of Yehuda was seven years and six months.
  And Avner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-boshet the son of Sha᾽ul, went out from Maĥanayim to Giv῾on.
  And Yo᾽av the son of Żeruya, and the servants of David, went out, and they met together by the pool of Giv῾on: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
  And Avner said to Yo᾽av, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Yo᾽av said, Let them arise.
  Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Binyamin, belonging to Ish-boshet the son of Sha᾽ul, and twelve of the servants of David.
  And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: so that place was called Ĥelqat-hażżurim, which is in Giv῾on.
  And there was a very sore battle that day; and Avner was beaten, and the men of Yisra᾽el, before the servants of David.
  And there were three sons of Żeruya there, Yo᾽av, and Avishay and ῾Asa᾽el: and ῾Asa᾽el was as light of foot as a wild gazelle.
  And ῾Asa᾽el pursued after Avner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Avner.
  Then Avner looked behind him, and said, Art thou ῾Asa᾽el? And he answered, I am.
  And Avner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take his armour. But ῾Asa᾽el would not turn aside from following him.
  And Avner said again to ῾Asa᾽el, Turn aside from following me: why should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Yo᾽av thy brother?
  But he refused to turn aside: so Avner smote him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that all those who came to the place where ῾Asa᾽el fell down and died, stood still.
  Yo᾽av also and Avishay pursued after Avner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Amma, that lies before Giaĥ by the way of the wilderness of Giv῾on.
  And the children of Binyamin gathered themselves together after Avner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of a hill.
  Then Avner called to Yo᾽av, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, till thou bid the people return from following their brethren?
  And Yo᾽av said, As God lives, if thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone up every one from following his brother.
  So Yo᾽av blew the shofar, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Yisra᾽el no more, neither fought they any more.
  And Avner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over the Yarden, and went through all Bitron, and they came to Maĥanayim.
  And Yo᾽av returned from following Avner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there were nineteen of David’s servants missing, and ῾Asa᾽el.
  But the servants of David had smitten of Binyamin, and of Avner’s men, three hundred and sixty men, and they died.
  And they took up ῾Asa᾽el, and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bet-leĥem. And Yo᾽av and his men marched all night, and they came to Ĥevron at break of day.
  
  
  
  Now there was a long warfare between the house of Sha᾽ul and the house of David: but David became stronger and stronger, and the house of Sha᾽ul became weaker and weaker.
  And to David sons were born in Ĥevron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Aĥino῾am the Yizre῾elite;
  and his second, Kil᾽av, of Avigayil the wife of Naval the Karmelite; and the third, Avshalom the son of Ma῾akha the daughter of Talmay king of Geshur;
  and the fourth, Adoniyya the son of Ĥaggit; and the fifth, Shefatya the son of Avital;
  and the sixth, Yitre῾am, by ῾Egla David’s wife. These were born to David in Ĥevron.
  And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Sha᾽ul and the house of David, that Avner made himself strong among the house of Sha᾽ul.
  And Sha᾽ul had a concubine, whose name was Riżpa, the daughter of Ayya: and Ish-boshet said to Avner, Why hast thou gone in to my father’s concubine?
  Then was Avner very angry over the words of Ish-boshet, and said, Am I a dog’s head, of Yehuda? I show kindness this day to the house of Sha᾽ul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, by not delivering thee into the hand of David, nevertheless thou chargest me today with a fault concerning this woman.
  So do God to Avner, and more also, unless I do for David as the Lord has sworn to David;
  to transfer the kingdom from the house of Sha᾽ul, and to set up the throne of David over Yisra᾽el and over Yehuda, from Dan to Be᾽er-sheva.
  And he could not answer Avner a word again, because he feared him.
  And Avner sent messengers to David from his place, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring all Yisra᾽el round to thee.
  And he said, It is well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Mikhal Sha᾽ul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face.
  And David sent messengers to Ish-boshet Sha᾽ul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Mikhal, whom I betrothed to me for a hundred foreskins of the Pelishtim.
  And Ish-boshet sent, and took her from her husband, from Palti᾽el, the son of Layish.
  And her husband went along with her weeping behind her to Baĥurim. Then said Avner to him, Go, return. And he returned.
  And Avner had communication with the elders of Yisra᾽el saying, You sought for David in times past to be king over you:
  now then do it: for the Lord has spoken concerning David, saying, It shall be in the hand of my servant David to save my people Yisra᾽el out of the hand of the Pelishtim, and out of the hand of all their enemies.
  And Avner also spoke in the ears of Binyamin: and Avner went also to speak in the ears of David in Ĥevron all that seemed good to Yisra᾽el, and to the whole house of Binyamin.
  So Avner came to David to Ĥevron, and twenty men with him. And David made Avner and the men that were with him a feast.
  And Avner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Yisra᾽el to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with thee, and that thou mayst reign over all that thy heart desires. And David sent Avner away; and he went in peace.
  And, behold, the servants of David and Yo᾽av came from pursuing a troop, and brought in a great plunder with them: but Avner was not with David in Ĥevron; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace.
  When Yo᾽av and all the host that was with him were come, they told Yo᾽av, saying, Avner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
  Then Yo᾽av came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Avner came to thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?
  Thou knowst Avner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.
  And when Yo᾽av was come out from David, he sent messengers after Avner, and they brought him back from the well of Sira: but David knew it not.
  And when Avner was returned to Ĥevron, Yo᾽av took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there in the belly, that he died, for the blood of ῾Asa᾽el his brother.
  And afterwards when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for ever from the blood of Avner the son of Ner:
  let it rest on the head of Yo᾽av, and on all his father’s house; and let the house of Yo᾽av never lack such as are afflicted with an issue, or with żara῾at, or that go on crutches, or fall by the sword, or lack bread.
  So Yo᾽av and Avishay his brother slew Avner, because he had slain their brother ῾Asa᾽el at Giv῾on in the battle.
  And David said to Yo᾽av, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Avner. And king David himself followed the bier.
  And they buried Avner in Ĥevron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Avner; and all the people wept.
  And the king lamented over Avner, and said, Should Avner die as a churl dies.
  Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falls before the wicked thou didst fall. And all the people wept again over him.
  And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day, but David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, till the sun be down.
  And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatever the king did pleased all the people.
  For all the people and all Yisra᾽el understood that day that the slaying of Avner the son of Ner did not come from the king.
  And the king said to his servants, Know you not that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Yisra᾽el.
  And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Żeruya are too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
  
  
  
  And when Sha᾽ul’s son heard that Avner was dead in Ĥevron, his hands were feeble, and all Yisra᾽el were terrified.
  And Sha᾽ul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Ba῾ana, and the name of the other Rekhav, the sons of Rimmon a Be᾽erotite, of the children of Binyamin: (for Be᾽erot also is reckoned to Binyamin:
  and the Be᾽erotites fled to Gittayim, and were sojourners there until this day.)
  And Yehonatan, Sha᾽ul’s son, had a son whose feet were lame. He was five years old when the tidings came of Sha᾽ul and Yehonatan out of Yizre῾el, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mefivoshet.
  And the sons of Rimmon the Be᾽eroti, Rekhav and Ba῾ana, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-boshet, who was lying down for his midday rest.
  And they came into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him in the belly: and Rekhav and Ba῾ana his brother escaped.
  For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and went away through the ῾Arava all night.
  And they brought the head of Ish-boshet to David to Ĥevron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-boshet the son of Sha᾽ul thy enemy, who sought thy life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Sha᾽ul and of his seed.
  And David answered Rekhav and Ba῾ana his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Be᾽eroti, and said to them, As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
  when one told me, saying, Behold, Sha᾽ul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Żiqlag, which was the reward I gave him for his tidings:
  how much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
  And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Ĥevron. But they took the head of Ish-boshet, and buried it in the tomb of Avner in Ĥevron.
  
  
  
  Then came all the tribes of Yisra᾽el to David to Ĥevron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
  Also in time past, when Sha᾽ul was king over us, thou wast he that didst lead Yisra᾽el out and didst bring them back;    and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt be a shepherd for my people Yisra᾽el, and thou shalt be a prince over Yisra᾽el.
  So all the elders of Yisra᾽el came to the king to Ĥevron; and king David made a covenant with them in Ĥevron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Yisra᾽el.
  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
  In Ĥevron he reigned over Yehuda seven years and six months: and in Yerushalayim he reigned thirty three years over all Yisra᾽el and Yehuda.
  And the king and his men went to Yerushalayim to the Yevusi, the inhabitants of the land: who spoke to David, saying, Unless thou remove even the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in here: thinking, David cannot come in here.
  Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Żiyyon: that is the city of David.
  And David said on that day, Whoever smites the Yevusi, and gets up to the aqueduct, and smites the lame and the blind (that are hated of David’s soul) – therefore the saying, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.
  So David dwelt in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built round about from the Millo and inward.
  And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.
  And Ĥiram king of Żor sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David a house.
  And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Yisra᾽el, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Yisra᾽el’s sake.
  And David took more concubines and wives of Yerushalayim, after he had come from Ĥevron: and more sons and daughters were born to David.
  And these are the names of those that were born to him in Yerushalayim; Shammua, and Shovav, and Natan and Shelomo,
  and Yivĥar, and Elishua, and Nefeg, and Yafia,
  and Elishama, and Elyada, and Elifelet.
  But when the Pelishtim heard that they had anointed David king over Yisra᾽el, all the Pelishtim came up to seek David, and David heard of it, and went down to the stronghold.
  And the Pelishtim came and spread themselves in the valley of Refa᾽im.
  And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Pelishtim? wilt Thou deliver them into my hand?    And the Lord said to David, Go up: for I will surely deliver the Pelishtim into thy hand.
  And David came to Ba῾al-perażim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord has broken down my enemies before me, like the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Ba῾al-perażim.
  And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.
  And the Pelishtim came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Refa᾽im.
  And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but make a circuit behind them, and come upon them over against the bakha trees.
  And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the bakha trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the camp of the Pelishtim.
  And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Pelishtim from Geva until the approaches of Gezer.
  
  
  
  Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Yisra᾽el, thirty thousand.
  And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Ba῾ale-yehuda, to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who dwells upon the keruvim.
  And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Avinadav who was in Giv῾a: and ῾Uzza and Aĥyo, the sons of Avinadav, drove the new cart.
  And they brought it out of the house of Avinadav which was at Giv῾a, accompanying the ark of God: and Aĥyo went before the ark.
  And David and all the house of Yisra᾽el played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of cypress wood, on lyres, and on lutes, and on timbrels, and on rattles, and on cymbals.
  And when they came to Nakhon’s threshingfloor, ῾Uzza put out his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.
  And the anger of the Lord burned against ῾Uzza; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
  And David was displeased, because the Lord had burst out against ῾Uzza: and he called the name of the place Pereż-῾uzza to this day.
  And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?
  So David would not remove the ark of the Lord to him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of ῾Oved-edom the Gitti.
  And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of ῾Oved-edom the Gitti three months: and the Lord blessed ῾Oved-edom, and all his household.
  And it was told king David, saying, The Lord has blessed the house of ῾Oved-edom, and all that he has, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of ῾Oved-edom into the city of David with gladness.
  And when they that bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
  And David leaped about before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen efod.
  So David and all the house of Yisra᾽el brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the shofar.
  And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Mikhal, Sha᾽ul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David dancing and leaping before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
  And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
  And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.
  And he made a distribution among all the people, among the whole multitude of Yisra᾽el, both men and women, to everyone a cake of bread, and a good piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed everyone to his house.
  Then David returned to bless his household. And Mikhal the daughter of Sha᾽ul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Yisra᾽el today, in that he uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the low fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!
  And David said to Mikhal, It was before the Lord, who chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of the Lord, over Yisra᾽el. Therefore will I play before the Lord,
  and I will yet be more lightly esteemed than this, holding myself lowly: and of the maidservants of whom thou hast spoken, of them shall I be had in honour.
  And Mikhal the daughter of Sha᾽ul had no child to the day of her death.
  
  
  
  And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
  that the king said to Natan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtain.
  And Natan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for the Lord is with thee.
  And it came to pass that night,    that the word of the Lord came to Natan, saying,
  Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord, shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?
  For I have not dwelt in any house since that time that I brought up the children of Yisra᾽el out of Miżrayim, even to this day, but I have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
  In all the places where I have walked with all the children of Yisra᾽el, did I speak a word with any of the rulers of Yisra᾽el, whom I commanded as shepherds of my people Yisra᾽el, saying, Why do you not build me a house of cedar?
  Now therefore so shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Yisra᾽el:
  and I was with thee wherever thou didst go, and have cut off all thy enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like the name of the great men that are on the earth.
  Moreover I have appointed a place for my people Yisra᾽el, and planted them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be troubled no more; neither shall the children of wickedness torment them any more, as at the beginning,
  and as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Yisra᾽el; but I will give thee rest from all thy enemies, and the Lord tells thee that he will make thee a house.
  And when the days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall issue from thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
  He shall build a house for my name, and I will make firm the throne of his kingdom for ever.
  I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with such plagues as befall the sons of Adam:
  but my covenant love shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Sha᾽ul, whom I put away before thee.
  And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be firm for ever.
  According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Natan speak to David.
  Then king David went in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me thus far?
  And this was yet a small thing in Thy sight, O Lord God; but Thou hast also spoken of Thy servant’s house continuing for a great while to come. And does any man deserve such a course, O Lord God!
  And what can David say more to Thee? for Thou, Lord God, knowst Thy servant.
  For Thy word’s sake, and according to Thy own heart, hast Thou done all these great things, to make Thy servant know them.
  Therefore Thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like Thee, neither is there any god besides Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
  And what one nation in the earth is like Thy people, like Yisra᾽el, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make himself a name, and to do like the great things and terrible which Thou didst for Thy land, by driving out from before Thy people, whom Thou didst redeem to Thee from Miżrayim, the nations and their gods?
  For Thou hast confirmed to Thyself Thy people Yisra᾽el to be a people to Thee for ever: and Thou, Lord, art become their God.
  And now, O Lord God, the word that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as Thou hast said,
  And let Thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Yisra᾽el: and let the house of Thy servant David be established before Thee.
  For Thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Yisra᾽el, hast revealed to Thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore has Thy servant found it in his heart to pray this prayer to Thee.
  And now, O Lord God, Thou art the God, and let Thy words come true, as Thou hast promised this goodness to Thy servant:
  therefore now let it please Thee to bless the house of Thy servant, that it may continue for ever before Thee: for Thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with Thy blessing let the house of Thy servant be blessed for ever.
  
  
  
  And after that it came to pass, that David smote the Pelishtim, and subdued them: and David took Meteg-amma out of the hand of the Pelishtim.
  And he smote Mo᾽av, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so Mo᾽av became David’s servants, and brought tribute.
  David smote also Hadad῾ezer, the son of Reĥov, king of Żova, as he went to extend his dominion at the river Perat.
  And David took from him one thousand, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David lamed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them enough for a hundred chariots.
  And when Aram of Dammeseq came to the help of Hadad῾ezer king of Żova, David slew of Aram twenty two thousand men.
  Then David put garrisons in Aram of Dammeseq: and Aram became servants to David, and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
  And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadad῾ezer, and brought them to Yerushalayim.
  And from Betaĥ, and from Berotay, cities of Hadad῾ezer, king David took very much brass.
  When To῾i king of Ĥamat heard that David had smitten all the army of Hadad῾ezer,
  then To῾i sent Yoram his son to king David, to greet him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadad῾ezer, and smitten him: for Hadad῾ezer had wars with To῾i. And Yoram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
  which also king David did dedicate to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all the nations which he had conquered;
  from Aram, and Mo᾽av, and the children of ῾Ammon, and from the Pelishtim, and ῾Amaleq, and of the spoil of Hadad῾ezer, son of Reĥov, king of Żova.
  And David got him a name when he returned from smiting Aram in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand men.
  And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all Edom became David’s servants. And the Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
  And David reigned over all Yisra᾽el; and David executed judgment and justice to all his people.
  And Yo᾽av the son of Żeruya was over the army; and Yehoshafat the son of Aĥilud was recorder;
  and Żadoq the son of Aĥituv, and Aĥimelekh the son of Evyatar, were the priests; and Seraya was the scribe;
  and Benayahu the son of Yehoyada, and the Kereti, and the Peleti, and the sons of David were ministers of state.
  
  
  
  And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Sha᾽ul; that I may show him loyal love for Yehonatan’s sake?
  And there was of the house of Sha᾽ul a servant whose name was Żiva. And when they had called him to David, the king said to him, Art thou Żiva? And he said, Thy servant is he.
  And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Sha᾽ul that I may show the love of God to him? And Żiva said to the king, Yehonatan has yet a son, who is lame on his feet.
  And the king said to him, Where is he? And Żiva said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Makhir, the son of ῾Ammi᾽el, in Lo-devar.
  Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Makhir, the son of ῾Ammi᾽el, from Lo-devar.
  Now when Mefivoshet, the son of Yehonatan, the son of Sha᾽ul, was come to David, he fell on his face, and bowed down to the ground. And David said, Mefivoshet. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
  And David said to him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee loyal love for Yehonatan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Sha᾽ul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
  And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?
  Then the king called to Żiva, Sha᾽ul’s servant, and said to him, I have given to thy master’s son all that belonged to Sha᾽ul and to all his house.
  Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the produce, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: though Mefivoshet thy master’s son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Żiva had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
  Then said Żiva to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mefivoshet, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
  And Mefivoshet had a young son, whose name was Mikha. And all that dwelt in the house of Żiva were servants to Mefivoshet.
  So Mefivoshet dwelt in Yerushalayim: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame in both his feet.
  
  
  
  And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of ῾Ammon died, and Ĥanun his son reigned in his stead.
  Then said David, I will show loyal love to Ĥanun the son of Naĥash, as his father showed love to me. And David sent to comfort him for his father’s death by the hand of his servants. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of ῾Ammon.
  And the princes of the children of ῾Ammon said to Ĥanun their lord, Thinkst thou that David honours thy father, that he has sent comforters to thee? has not David rather sent his servants to thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?
  So Ĥanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, to their buttocks, and sent them away.
  When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Remain at Yeriĥo until your beards are grown, and then return.
  And when the children of ῾Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the children of ῾Ammon sent and hired Aram of Bet-reĥov, and Aram of Żova, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Ma῾akha a thousand men, and of Ish-tov twelve thousand men.
  And when David heard of it, he sent Yo᾽av, and all the host of the warriors.
  And the children of ῾Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate: and Aram of Żova, and of Reĥov, and Ish-tov, and Ma῾akha were by themselves in the open country.
  When Yo᾽av saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Yisra᾽el, and put them in array against Aram:
  and the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Avshay his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of ῾Ammon.
  And he said, If Aram proves too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of ῾Ammon are too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.
  Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord do that which seems good in his eyes.
  And Yo᾽av drew near, and the people that were with him, to the battle against Aram: and they fled before him.
  And when the children of ῾Ammon saw that Aram were fled, then fled they also before Avishay, and entered the city. So Yo᾽av returned from the children of ῾Ammon, and came to Yerushalayim.
  And when Aram saw that they were beaten before Yisra᾽el, they gathered themselves together.
  And Hadad῾ezer sent, and brought out those of Aram that were beyond the river: and they came to Ĥelam; and Shovakh the captain of the host of Hadad῾ezer went before them.
  And when it was told David, he gathered all Yisra᾽el together, and passed over the Yarden, and came to Ĥelam. And Aram set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.
  And Aram fled before Yisra᾽el; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of Aram, and forty thousand horse-men, and smote Shovakh the captain of their host, who died there.
  And when all the kings that were servants to Hadad῾ezer saw that they were beaten before Yisra᾽el, they made peace with Yisra᾽el, and served them. So Aram feared to help the children of ῾Ammon any more.
  
  
  
  And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Yo᾽av, and his servants with him, and all Yisra᾽el, and they ravaged the children of ῾Ammon, and besieged Rabba. But David tarried still at Yerushalayim.
  And it came to pass one evening, that David arose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very fair to look upon.
  And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bat-sheva, the daughter of Eli῾am, the wife of Uriyya the Ĥittite?
  And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; for she had purified herself from her uncleanness, and then she returned to her house.
  And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
  And David sent to Yo᾽av, saying, Send me Uriyya the Ĥittite. And Yo᾽av sent Uriyya to David.
  And when Uriyya was come to him, David asked how Yo᾽av did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
  And David said to Uriyya, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriyya departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a portion of food from the king.
  But Uriyya slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
  And when they had told David, saying, Uriyya went not down to his house, David said to Uriyya, Didst thou not come from a journey? why then didst thou not go down to thy house?
  And Uriyya said to David, The ark, and Yisra᾽el, and Yehuda, dwell in booths; and my lord Yo᾽av, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul lives, I will not do this thing.
  And David said to Uriyya, Remain here today also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriyya remained in Yerushalayim that day, and the morrow.
  And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
  And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Yo᾽av, and sent it by the hand of Uriyya.
  And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set Uriyya in the forefront of the hottest battle, and withdraw from him, so that he may be hit, and die.
  And it came to pass, when Yo᾽av besieged the city, that he assigned Uriyya to a place where he knew that fighting men were.
  And the men of the city went out, and fought with Yo᾽av: and some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriyya the Ĥittite died also.
  Then Yo᾽av sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
  and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war to the king,
  and if so be that the king’s anger be roused, and he say to thee, Why did you approach so near to the city when you did fight? knew you not that they would shoot from the wall?
  Who smote Avimelekh the son of Yerubbeshet? did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Teveż? why did you go so near the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriyya the Ĥittite is dead also.
  So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Yo᾽av had sent him for.
  And the messenger said to David, Indeed, the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were engaged with them right up to the entrance of the gate.
  And the shooters shot from the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and thy servant Uriyya the Ĥittite is dead also.
  Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Yo᾽av, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
  And when the wife of Uriyya heard that Uriyya her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
  And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.
  
  
  
  And the Lord sent Natan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
  The rich man had very many flocks and herds:
  but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and reared: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own bread, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.
  And there came a traveller to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to prepare it for the wayfaring man that was come to him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared it for the man that was come to him.
  And David’s anger burned greatly against the man; and he said to Natan, As the Lord lives, the man that has done this is worthy to die:
  and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
  And Natan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus says the Lord God of Yisra᾽el, I anointed thee king over Yisra᾽el, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Sha᾽ul;
  and I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Yisra᾽el and of Yehuda; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given thee as much again.
  Why hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriyya the Ĥittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of ῾Ammon.
  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriyya the Ĥittite to be thy wife.
  Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them to thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Yisra᾽el, and before the sun.
  And David said to Natan, I have sinned against the Lord.    And Natan said to David, The Lord also has commuted thy sin; thou shalt not die.
  Howbeit because by this deed thou hast greatly blasphemed the Lord, the child also that is born to thee shall surely die.
  And Natan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriyya’s wife bore to David, and it was very sick.
  David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the ground.
  And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the ground: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
  And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice; how then shall we tell him that the child is dead, and he will do himself a mischief?
  But when David saw that his servants whispered, David understood that the child was dead: therefore David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
  Then David arose from the ground, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and bowed down: then he came to his own house, and asked them to set bread before him, and he did eat.
  Then his servants said to him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
  And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell? God may be gracious to me, and the child may live?
  But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not come back to me.
  And David comforted Bat-sheva his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Shelomo: and the Lord loved him.
  And he sent by the hand of Natan the prophet; and he called his name Yedidya, for the Lord’s sake.
  And Yo᾽av fought against Rabba of the children of ῾Ammon, and took the royal city.
  And Yo᾽av sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabba, and have taken the water town.
  Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
  And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabba, and fought against it, and took it.
  And he took their king’s crown from off his head (and its weight was a talent of gold, with the precious stones) and it was set on David’s head. And he brought out the plunder of the city in great abundance.
  And he brought out the people who were there, and set them to saws, and harrows of iron, and axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus did he to all the cities of the children of ῾Ammon. So David and all the people returned to Yerushalayim.
  
  
  
  And it came to pass after this, that Avshalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
  And Amnon was so distressed that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon found it hard to contrive any thing with regard to her.
  But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Yonadav, the son of Shim῾a David’s brother: and Yonadav was a very subtle man.
  And he said to him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, so wasted, from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Avshalom’s sister.
  And Yonadav said to him, Lie down on thy bed, and feign to be sick: and when thy father comes to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me bread and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.
  So Amnon lay down, and feigned to be sick: and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.
  Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.
  So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
  And she took a pan, and poured it out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Cause everyone to leave me. So everyone left him.
  And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
  And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, Come lie with me, my sister.
  And she answered him, No, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Yisra᾽el; do not do this shameful deed.
  And I, where should I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the base men in Yisra᾽el. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.
  But he would not hearken to her voice; and being stronger than she, violated her, and lay with her.
  Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone.
  And she said to him, Do not add this greater wrong of sending me away to the other that thou didst do to me. But he would not hearken to her.
  Then he called his servant that ministered to him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.
  And she had a long sleeved robe upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.
  And Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her long sleeved garment that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, crying aloud as she went.
  And Avshalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon thy brother been with thee? but keep silence, my sister: he is thy brother; take not this thing to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Avshalom’s house.
  But when king David heard of all these things, he was very angry.
  And Avshalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Avshalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.
  And it came to pass after two full years, that Avshalom had sheepshearers in Ba῾al-ĥażor, which is near Efrayim: and Avshalom invited all the king’s sons.
  And Avshalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant has sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.
  And the king said to Avshalom, No, my son let us not all now go, lest we be a burden to thee. And he pressed him: but he would not go, and he blessed him.
  Then said Avshalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee?
  But Avshalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.
  Now Avshalom had commanded his lads, saying, Mark now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and I say to you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.
  And the servants of Avshalom did to Amnon as Avshalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man rode on his mule, and fled.
  And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that the report came to David, saying, Avshalom has slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left.
  Then the king arose, and tore his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.
  And Yonadav, the son of Shim῾a David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the command of Avshalom has this been ordained, from the day that he violated his sister Tamar.
  Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead.
  But Avshalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came many people by the way of the hill side behind him.
  And Yonadav said to the king, Behold, the king’s sons come: as thy servant said, so it is.
  And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voices and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.
  But Avshalom fled, and went to Talmay, the son of ῾Ammihud, king of Gesher. And David mourned for his son every day.
  So Avshalom fled, and went to Gesher, and was there three years.
  And king David longed to go out to Avshalom: for he was comforted concerning the death of Amnon.
  
  
  
  Now Yo᾽av the son of Żeruya perceived that the king’s heart was towards Avshalom.
  And Yo᾽av sent to Teqo῾a, and fetched from there a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and do not anoint thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:
  and come to the king, and speak in this manner to him. So Yo᾽av put the words in her mouth.
  And when the woman of Teqo῾a spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and bowed herself, and said, Help, O king.
  And the king said to her, What ails thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, for my husband is dead.
  And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
  And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they have said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband a name or a remainder upon the earth.
  And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.
  And the woman of Teqo῾a said to the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.
  And the king said, Whoever says anything to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
  Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God, that the revenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
  Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
  And the woman said, Why then hast thou continued such a thing against the people of God? the king speaks this thing as one that is guilty, in that the king does not fetch home again his banished one:
  for we shall surely die, and shall be as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither does God take away life, but devises means, that none of us be banished.
  Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.
  For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.
  Then thy handmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee.
  Then the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
  And the king said, Is the hand of Yo᾽av with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul lives, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken: for thy servant Yo᾽av, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid:
  to turn this matter the other way, has thy servant Yo᾽av done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are on the earth.
  And the king said to Yo᾽av, Behold now, thou hast done this thing: go therefore, bring back the young man Avshalom.
  And Yo᾽av fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Yo᾽av said, To day thy servant knows that I have found favour in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.
  So Yo᾽av arose and went to Geshur, and brought Avshalom to Yerushalayim.
  And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Avshalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.
  But in all Yisra᾽el there was none so much praised as Avshalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
  And when he shaved his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he cut it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he cut it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.
  And to Avshalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of fair appearance.
  So Avshalom dwelt two years in Yerushalayim, and did not see the king’s face.
  Therefore Avshalom sent for Yo᾽av, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
  Therefore he said to his servants, See, Yo᾽av’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire. And Avshalom’s servants set the field on fire.
  Then Yo᾽av arose, and came to Avshalom to his house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire?
  And Avshalom answered Yo᾽av, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come here, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it would be better for me to be there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.
  So Yo᾽av came to the king, and told him: and he called for Avshalom, and he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Av-shalom.
  
  
  
  And it came to pass after this, that Avshalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
  And Avshalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Avshalom called to him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he would say, Thy servant is of such a one of the tribes of Yisra᾽el.
  And Avshalom would say to him, See, thy pleas are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.
  Avshalom would say moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, and every man who has any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!
  And when any man came near to him to bow down to him, he put out his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
  And in this manner did Avshalom to all Yisra᾽el that came to the king for judgment: so Avshalom stole the hearts of the men of Yisra᾽el.
  And it came to pass after forty years, that Avshalom said to the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord, in Ĥevron.
  For thy servant vowed a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Aram, saying, If the Lord shall bring me back indeed to Yerushalayim, then I will do service to the Lord.
  And the king said to him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Ĥevron.
  But Avshalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Yisra᾽el, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the Shofar, then you shall say, Avshalom reigns in Ĥevron.
  And with Avshalom went two hundred men out of Yerushalayim, that were invited; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew nothing whatever.
  And Avshalom sent Aĥitofel the Giloni, David’s counsellor, from his city, from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy became strong, the people increasing continually with Avshalom.
  And there came a messenger to David saying, The hearts of the men of Yisra᾽el are after Avshalom.
  And David said to all his servants that were with him at Yerushalayim, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not escape from Avshalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
  And the king’s servants said to the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king shall choose.
  And the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, who were concubines, to keep the house.
  And the king went out, and all the people after him, and halted at the last house.
  And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Kereti, and the Peleti, and all the Gittim, six hundred men who came after him from Gat, passed on before the king.
  Then said the king to Ittay the Gittite, Why dost thou go also with us? return and stay with the king: for thou art a foreigner; and also an exile from thy place.
  Thou camest but yesterday, and should I this day make thee go up and down with us, seeing I go wherever I can? return thou, and take back thy brethren with thee in loyal kindness and truth.
  And Ittay answered the king, and said, As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
  And David said to Ittay, Go and pass over. And Ittay the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.
  And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the wadi Qidron, and all the people passed over, towards the way of the wilderness.
  And lo Żadoq also came, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Evyatar went up, until all the people had finished passing out of the city.
  And the king said to Żadoq, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back, and show me both it, and his habitation:
  but if he thus says, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seems good in his eyes.
  The king said to Żadoq the priest, Dost thou see? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Aĥima῾aż thy son, and Yehonatan the son of Evyatar.
  See, I will tarry in the plains of the wilderness, until there come word from you to bring me news.
  Żadoq therefore and Evyatar carried back the ark of God to Yerushalayim: and they stayed there.
  And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went.
  And one told David, saying, Aĥitofel is among the conspirators with Avshalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Aĥitofel into foolishness.
  And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the hill, where he bowed down to God, behold, Ĥushay the Arkite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:
  to whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me:
  but if thou return to the city, and say to Avshalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayst thou defeat for me the counsel of Aĥitofel.
  And hast thou not there with thee Żadoq and Evyatar the priests? therefore it shall be, that whatever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Żadoq and Evyatar the priests.
  Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Aĥima῾aż, Żadoq’s son, and Yehonatan, Evyatar’s son; and by them you shall send to me every thing that you can hear.
  So Ĥushay David’s friend came into the city, and Avshalom came to Yerushalayim.
  
  
  
  And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Żiva the servant of Mefivoshet met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.
  And the king said to Żiva, What dost thou mean by these? And Żiva said, The asses are for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.
  And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Żiva said to the king, Behold, he is staying in Yerushalayim: for he said, To day shall the house of Yisra᾽el restore to me the kingdom of my father.
  Then said the king to Żiva, Behold, all that belongs to Mefivoshet is thine. And Żiva said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find favour in thy sight, my lord, O king.
  And when king David came to Baĥurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Sha᾽ul, whose name was Shim῾i, the son of Gera: he came out, cursing as he came.
  And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and his left.
  And thus said Shim῾i when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou base man:
  the Lord has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Sha᾽ul whom thou hast usurped; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Avshalom thy son: and behold, thou art in evil plight because thou art a bloody man.
  Then said Avishay the son of Żeruya to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
  And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Żeruya? so let him curse, because the Lord has said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why hast thou done so?
  And David said to Avishay, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came out of my body, seeks my life: how much more now may this Benyeminite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord has bidden him.
  It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day.
  And as David and his men went by the way,    Shim῾i went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.
  And the king, and all the people that were with him, arrived in a weary state, and he refreshed himself there.
  And Avshalom, and all the people the men of Yisra᾽el came to Yerushalayim, and Aĥitofel with him.
  And it came to pass, when Ĥushay the Arkite, David’s friend, was come to Avshalom that Ĥushay said to Avshalom, God save the king, God save the king.
  And Avshalom said to Ĥushay, Is this thy loyalty to thy friend? why didst thou not go with thy friend?
  And Ĥushay said to Avshalom, No; but whom the Lord, and this people, and all the men of Yisra᾽el, choose, his will I be, and with him will I remain.
  And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father’s presence, so will I be in thy presence.
  Then said Avshalom to Aĥitofel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
  And Aĥitofel said to Avshalom, Go in to thy father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house: and all Yisra᾽el shall hear that thou art in bad odour with thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.
  So they spread Avshalom a pavilion on the top of the house; and Avshalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Yisra᾽el.
  And the counsel of Aĥitofel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man would inquire of the word of God: so was all the counsel of Aĥitofel both with David and with Avshalom.
  
  
  
  Moreover Aĥitofel said to Avshalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
  and I will come upon him while he is weary and weakhanded, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
  and I will bring back all the people to thee: when all return (after the death of the man whom thou seekest) all the people shall be in peace.
  And the saying pleased Avshalom well, and all the elders of Yisra᾽el.
  Then said Avshalom, Call now Ĥushay the Arkite also, and let us hear likewise what he says.
  And when Ĥushay was come to Avshalom, Avshalom spoke to him, saying, Aĥitofel has spoken after such and such a manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak thou.
  And Ĥushay said to Avshalom, The counsel that Aĥitofel has given is not good at this time.
  For, said Ĥushay, thou knowst thy father and his men, that they are warriors, and they are embittered, like a bear robbed of its cubs in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not spend the night with the people.
  Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them fall in the first attack, that whoever hears it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Avshalom.
  And even a warrior whose heart is like the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Yisra᾽el knows that thy father is a mighty man, and they who are with him are valiant men.
  Therefore I counsel that all Yisra᾽el should be gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Be᾽er-sheva, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.
  So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will encamp around him like the dew falling on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.
  Moreover, if he withdraw himself to some city, then shall all Yisra᾽el bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the nearest ravine, until there be not one small stone found there.
  And Avshalom and all the men of Yisra᾽el said, The counsel of Ĥushay the Arkite is better than the counsel of Aĥitofel.    For the Lord had ordained it to defeat the good counsel of Aĥitofel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Avshalom.
  Then said Ĥushay to Żadoq and to Evyatar the priests, Thus and thus did Aĥitofel counsel Avshalom and the elders of Yisra᾽el; and thus have I counselled.
  Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
  Now Yehonatan and Aĥima῾aż stayed by ῾En-rogal; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a maidservant went and told them; and they went and told king David.
  Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Avshalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in Baĥurim, and he had a well in his court; and they went down into it.
  And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn on it; and the thing was not known.
  And when Avshalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said to them, where are Aĥima῾aż and Yehonatan? And the woman said, They are gone over the channel of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Yerushalayim.
  And it came to pass, after they had departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said to David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus has Aĥitofel counselled against you.
  Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over the Yarden: by the morning light not one of them had failed to cross the Yarden.
  And when Aĥitofel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and went to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and strangled himself and died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.
  Then David came to Maĥanayim. And Avshalom passed over the Yarden, he and all the men of Yisra᾽el with him.
  And Avshalom placed ῾Amasa in charge of the army in place of Yo᾽av: and ῾Amasa was the son of a man named Yitra the Yisra᾽elite who had taken to himself Avigayil the daughter of Naĥash, sister of Żeruya, the mother of Yo᾽av.
  So Yisra᾽el and Avshalom encamped in the land of Gil῾ad.
  And it came to pass, when David had come to Maĥanayim, that Shovi the son of Naĥash of Rabba of the children of ῾Ammon, and Makhir the son of ῾Ammi᾽el of Lo-devar, and Barzillay the Gil῾adite of Rogelim,
  brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse,
  and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of cows’ milk for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people are hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
  
  
  
  And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
  And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Yo᾽av, and a third part under the hand of Avishay the son of Żeruya, Yo᾽av’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittay the Gittite.    And the king said to the people, I will surely go out with you myself also.
  But the people answered, Thou shalt not go out: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou shouldst be our help from the city.
  And the king said to them, What seems best in your eyes I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.
  And the king commanded Yo᾽av and Avishay and Ittay, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, with Avshalom. And all the people heard when the king charged all the captains concerning Avshalom.
  So the people went into the field against Yisra᾽el: and the battle was in the wood of Efrayim:
  and there the people of Yisra᾽el were beaten before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.
  For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
  And Avshalom met the servants of David. And Avshalom rode on a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
  And a certain man saw it, and told Yo᾽av, and said, Behold, I saw Avshalom hanging in the oak tree.
  And Yo᾽av said to the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.
  And the man said to Yo᾽av, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, yet I would not put out my hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Avishay and Ittay, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Avshalom.
  Otherwise I should have acted falsely against my own life: for there is nothing hidden from the king, and thou wouldst have stood aloof.
  Then said Yo᾽av, It is not proper for me to beg before you. And he took three darts in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Avshalom, who was still alive in the midst of the oak.
  And ten young men that bore Yo᾽av’s armour came round in a circle and smote Avshalom, and slew him.
  And Yo᾽av blew the shofar, and the people returned from pursuing after Yisra᾽el: for Yo᾽av held back the people.
  And they took Avshalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Yisra᾽el fled every one to his tent.
  Now Avshalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king’s valley: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called to this day, Avshalom’s monument.
  Then said Aĥima῾aż the son of Żadoq, Let me now run, and bring the news to the king, how the Lord has avenged him of his enemies.
  And Yo᾽av said to him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead.
  Then said Yo᾽av to the Kushite, Go and tell the king what thou hast seen. And the Kushite bowed himself to Yo᾽av, and ran.
  Then said Aĥima῾aż the son of Żadoq yet again to Yo᾽av, Nonetheless, let me, I pray thee, also run after the Kushite. And Yo᾽av said, Why wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no profitable tidings?
  Nevertheless, said he, let me run. And he said to him, Run. Then Aĥima῾aż ran by the way of the plain, and overtook the Kushite.
  And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
  And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is news in his mouth. And he came nearer and nearer.
  And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called to the gatekeeper, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also brings news.
  And the watchman said, To my view the running of the first is like the running of Aĥima῾aż the son of Żadoq. And the king said, He is a good man, and comes with good tidings.
  And Aĥima῾aż called, and said to the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, who has delivered up the men that raised their hand against my lord the king.
  And the king said, Is the young man Avshalom safe? And Aĥima῾aż answered, When Yo᾽av sent the king’s servant, and thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.
  And the king said to him, Turn round, and stand here. And he turned, and stood still.
  And, behold, the Kushite came; and the Kushite said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the Lord has avenged thee this day of all those who rose up against thee.
  And the king said to the Kushite, Is the young man Avshalom safe? And the Kushite answered, Let the enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.
  
  
  
  And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Avshalom, my son, my son Avshalom! would I had died instead of thee, O Avshalom, my son, my son!
  And it was told Yo᾽av, Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Avshalom.
  And the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.
  And the people went by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
  But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, O my son Avshalom, O Avshalom, my son, my son!
  And Yo᾽av came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
  in that thou lovest thy enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Avshalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.
  Now therefore arise, go out, and speak comfortably to thy servants: for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not out, not one will lodge with thee this night: and that will be worse to thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.
  Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, Behold, the king sits in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Yisra᾽el had fled every man to his tent.
  And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Yisra᾽el, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Pelishtim; and now he is fled out of the land from Avshalom.
  And Avshalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you not speak a word of bringing the king back?
  And king David sent to Żadoq and to Evyatar the priests, saying, Speak to the elders of Yehuda, saying, Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Yisra᾽el is already come to the king, to his house.
  You are my brethren, you are my bones and my flesh: why then are you the last to bring back the king?
  And say to ῾Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the place of Yo᾽av.
  And he turned the hearts of all the men of Yehuda, like one man; so that they sent this word to the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.
  So the king returned, and came to the Yarden. And Yehuda came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over the Yarden.
  And Shim῾i the son of Gera, the Benyeminite, who was of Baĥurim, hurried and came down with the men of Yehuda to meet king David.
  And there were a thousand men of Binyamin with him, and Żiva the servant of the house of Sha᾽ul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Yarden to meet the king.
  And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shim῾i the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he came over the Yarden;
  and he said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Yerushalayim, that the king should take it to his heart.
  For thy servant knows that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Yosef to go down to meet my lord the king.
  But Avishay the son of Żeruya answered and said, Shall not Shim῾i be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?
  And David said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Żeruya, that you should this day be a hindrance to me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Yisra᾽el, for do not I know that I am this day king over Yisra᾽el?
  Therefore the king said to Shim῾i, Thou shalt not die. And the king swore to him.
  And Mefiboshet the son of Sha᾽ul came down to meet the king, and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in peace.
  And it came to pass, when he was come to Yerushalayim to meet the king, that the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with me, Mefivoshet?
  And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, and I will ride on it, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame.
  And he slandered thy servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thy eyes.
  For all of my father’s house were but men guilty of death before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thy own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry out any more to the king?
  And the king said to him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Żiva shall divide the estate.
  And Mefivoshet said to the king, Let him even take all, seeing that my lord the king is come back in peace to his own house.
  And Barzillay the Gil῾adite came down from Rogelim, and went over the Yarden with the king, to conduct him over the Yarden.
  Now Barzillay was a very aged man, eighty years old: and he had provided the king with stores while he lay at Maĥanayim; for he was a very wealthy man.
  And the king said to Barzillay, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Yerushalayim.
  And Barzillay said to the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Yerushalayim?
  I am this day eighty years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? why then should thy servant be a further burden to my lord the king?
  Thy servant will go a little way over the Yarden with the king: and why should the king recompense me with such a reward?
  Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in my own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Khimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good in thy eyes.
  And the king answered, Khimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good in thy eyes: and whatever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.
  And all the people went over the Yarden. And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillay, and blessed him; and he returned to his own place.
  Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Khimham went on with him: and all the people of Yehuda conducted the king, and also half the people of Yisra᾽el.
  And, behold, all the men of Yisra᾽el came to the king, and said to the king, Why have our brethren the men of Yehuda stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over the Yarden?
  And all the men of Yehuda answered the men of Yisra᾽el, Because the king is near of kin to us: why then are you angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or has he given us any gift?
  And the men of Yisra᾽el answered the men of Yehuda, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than you: why then did you despise us, and was not our word first for bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Yehuda were fiercer than the words of the men of Yisra᾽el.
  
  
  
  And there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheva, the son of Bikhri, a Benyeminite: and he blew the shofar and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Yishay: every man to his tents, O Yisra᾽el.
  So every man of Yisra᾽el went up from after David and followed Sheva the son of Bikhri: but the men of Yehuda held fast to their king, from the Yarden as far as Yerushalayim.
  And David came to his house at Yerushalayim, and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them under guard, and provided for them, but went not in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, widows of a living husband.
  Then said the king to ῾Amasa, Muster to me the men of Yehuda within three days, and be thou here present.
  So ῾Amasa went to muster the men of Yehuda: but he was later than the set time which he had assigned to him.
  And David said to Avishay, Now shall Sheva the son of Bikhri do us more harm than did Avshalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get himself fortified cities, and escape us.
  And there went out after him Yo᾽av’s men, and the Kereti and the Peleti, and all the warriors: and they went out of Yerushalayim, to pursue after Sheva the son of Bikhri.
  When they were at the great stone which is in Giv῾on, ῾Amasa went before them. And Yo᾽av was girded with coat, his usual garment, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out.
  And Yo᾽av said to ῾Amasa, Art thou well, my brother? And Yo᾽av took ῾Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
  But ῾Amasa took no heed of the sword that was in Yo᾽av’s hand: so he smote him with it in the belly, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and he struck him not again; and he died.    So Yo᾽av and Avishay his brother pursued after Sheva the son of Bikhri.
  And one of Yo᾽av’s men stood by him, and said, He that favours Yo᾽av, and he that is for David, let him go after Yo᾽av.
  And ῾Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed ῾Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.
  When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Yo᾽av, to pursue after Sheva the son of Bikhri.
  And he went through all the tribes of Yisra᾽el to Avel, and to Bet-ma῾akha, and all the Berim: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.
  And they came and besieged him in Avel of Bet-ma῾akha, and they threw up a mound of earth against the city, and it stood up against the wall: and all the people that were with Yo᾽av battered the wall, to throw it down.
  Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, to Yo᾽av, Come near here; that I may speak with thee.
  And when he was come near to her, the woman said, Art thou Yo᾽av? And he answered, I am he. Then she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
  Then she spoke saying, Surely in early times they would have spoken saying, Let them ask Avel to yield, and so they would have ended the matter.
  I am of the peaceable and faithful in Yisra᾽el: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Yisra᾽el: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?
  And Yo᾽av answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
  The matter is not so: but a man of mount Efrayim, Sheva the son of Bikhri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Yo᾽av, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
  Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheva the son of Bikhri, and cast it out to Yo᾽av. And he blew on the shofar, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Yo᾽av returned to Yerushalayim to the king.
  Now Yo᾽av was over all the host of Yisra᾽el: and Benaya the son of Yehoyada was over the Kereti and the Peleti:
  and Adoram was over the tribute: and Yehoshafat the son of Aĥilu was recorder:
  and Sheva was scribe: and Żadoq and Evyatar were priests:
  and ῾Ira also the Ya᾽irite, was a minister of state to David.
  
  
  
  Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord.    And the Lord answered, It is for Sha᾽ul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Giv῾onim.
  And the king called the Giv῾onim, and said to them; (now the Giv῾onim were not of the children of Yisra᾽el, but of the remnant of the Emori; and the children of Yisra᾽el had sworn to them: and Sha᾽ul sought to slay them in his zeal for the children of Yisra᾽el and Yehuda.)
  Then David said to the Giv῾onim, What shall I do for you? and with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
  And the Giv῾onim said to him, We will have no silver nor gold of Sha᾽ul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Yisra᾽el. And he said, What you shall say, that will I do for you.
  And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Yisra᾽el,
  let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to the Lord in Giv῾at-sha’ul (whom the Lord did choose.)    And the king said, I will give them.
  But the king spared Mefivoshet, the son of Yehonatan the son of Sha᾽ul, because of the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Yehonatan the son of Sha᾽ul.
  But the king took the two sons of Riżpa the daughter of Ayya, whom she bore to Sha᾽ul, Armoni and Mefivoshet; and the five sons of Mikhal the daughter of Sha᾽ul, whom she bore to ῾Adri᾽el the son of Barzillay the Meĥolatite:
  and he delivered them into the hands of the Giv῾onim, and they hanged them on the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of the barley harvest.
  And Riżpa the daughter of Ayya took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
  And it was told David what Riżpa the daughter of Ayya, the concubine of Sha᾽ul, had done.
  And David went and took the bones of Sha᾽ul and the bones of Yehonatan his son from the men of Yavesh-gil῾ad, who had stolen them from the open place of Bet-shan, where the Pelishtim had hanged them, when the Pelishtim had slain Sha᾽ul in Gilboa:
  and he brought up from there the bones of Sha᾽ul and the bones of Yehonatan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
  And the bones of Sha᾽ul and Yehonatan his son they buried in the country of Binyamin in Żela, in the tomb of Qish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.
  Moreover the Pelishtim had yet war again with Yisra᾽el; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Pelishtim: and David became weary.
  And Yishbi-benov, who was of the sons of the Rafa, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels; (this was the weight of its brass) he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
  But Avishay the son of Żeruya came to his help, and smote the Pelishtian, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the lamp of Yisra᾽el.
  And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Pelishtim at Gov: then Sibbekhay the Ĥushatite slew Saf, who was of the sons of the Rafa.
  And there was again a battle in Gov with the Pelishtim, where Elĥanan the son of Ya῾are-oregim, the Bet-hallaĥmite slew Golyat the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
  And there was a further battle in Gat, where there was a champion, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the Rafa.
  And he taunted Yisra᾽el and Yehonatan the son of Shim῾i the brother of David slew him.
  These four were born to the Rafa in Gat, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
  
  
  
  And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Sha᾽ul:
  and he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
  the God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; Thou savest me from violence.
  I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies.
  When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
  the bonds of She᾽ol encircled me; the snares of death took me by surprise;
  in my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry entered into his ears.
  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because of his anger.
  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
  He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
  And he rode upon a keruv, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
  And he made darkness pavilions round about him, the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
  Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
  The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice,
  And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and confounded them.
  And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
  He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
  he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
  They surprised me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
  He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
  The Lord rewards me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands he recompenses me.
  For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
  For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.
  I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from my iniquity.
  Therefore the Lord recompenses me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eyesight.
  With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful, and with the upright man Thou wilt show Thyself upright.
  With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure; and with the perverse Thou wilt show Thyself subtle.
  And the afflicted people Thou wilt save: but Thy eyes are upon the haughty, that Thou mayst bring them down.
  For Thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord lightens my darkness.
  For by Thee I run through a troop: by my God I leap over a wall.
  As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: He is a shield to all them that trust in him.
  For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God?
  God is my strength and rampart; and he makes my way smooth.
  He makes my feet like hinds’ feet: and sets me upon my heights.
  He teaches my hands to war, and trains my arms to bend a bow of brass.
  Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy condescension makes me great.
  Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.
  I have pursued my enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.
  And I have consumed them, and crushed them, that they could not arise: they are fallen under my feet.
  For Thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast Thou subdued under me.
  Thou hast also made my enemies turn their backs on me, that I might destroy them that hate me.
  They looked, but there was none to save, to the Lord, but he answered them not.
  Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did tread them down.
  Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou wilt keep me to be head of many nations: a people whom I knew not shall serve me.
  Strangers shall submit themselves to me: they shall hear, they shall be obedient to me.
  Strangers shall fade away, and they shall come tottering from out of their close places.
  The Lord lives; and blessed is my rock; and exalted is the God of the rock of my salvation.
  It is God that avenges me, and that brings down the people under me,
  and that brings me out from my enemies: Thou also hast lifted me on high above them that rose up against me: Thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
  Therefore I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, among the nations, and I will sing praises to Thy name.
  He is the tower of salvation for His king: and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and to his seed for ever.
  
  
  
  Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Yishay said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Ya῾aqov, and the sweet singer of Yisra᾽el, said,
  The spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word is on my tongue.
  The God of Yisra᾽el said, the Rock of Yisra᾽el spoke to me, He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
  And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, in a morning without clouds; the grass springs out of the earth in the clear shining after rain;
  but is not my house firm with God? for he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure; for will he not make all my salvation, and all my desire, to prosper?
  But the wicked shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, that cannot be taken with hands:
  but the man that touches them shall be well accoutred with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.
  These are the names of David’s warriors; The Taĥkemonite, Yoshev-bashshevet, chief among the captains; the same was ῾Adino the Eżnite: (he raised his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.)
  And after him was El῾azar the son of Dodo the Aĥoĥite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Pelishtim that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Yisra᾽el were gone away.
  He arose and smote Pelishtim until his hand was weary, and his hand did cleave to the sword: and the Lord wrought a greater victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.
  And after him was Shamma the son of Age the Hararite. And the Pelishtim were gathered together into a troop, where there was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Pelishtim.
  But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Pelishtim: and the Lord wrought a great victory.
  And these three, chief of the thirty, went down, and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of ῾Adullam: and the troop of the Pelishtim pitched in the valley of Refa᾽im.
  And David was then in a fortress, and the garrison of the Pelishtim was then in Bet-leĥem.
  And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bet-leĥem, which is by the gate!
  And the three warriors broke through the camp of the Pelishtim, and drew water out of the well of Bet-leĥem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.
  And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that risked their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
  And Avishay, the brother of Yo᾽av, the son of Żeruya, was chief among the three. And he swung his spear over three hundred slain, and had a name among the three.
  Was he not the most honourable of the three? therefore he was their captain: but he attained not to the first three.
  And Benayahu the son of Yehoyada, the son of a valiant man, of Qavże᾽el, who had done many acts, he slew two lion-hearted men of Mo᾽av: and he went down and slew the lion in the midst of a pit in a time of snow:
  and he slew a Miżrian, a fine looking man: and the Miżrian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the hand of the Miżrian, and slew him with his own spear.
  These things Benayahu the son of Yehoyada did, and he had a name among the three mighty ones.
  He was renowned among the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard.
  ῾Asa᾽el the brother of Yo᾽av was one of the thirty; Elĥanan the son of Dodo of Bet-leĥem,
  Shamma the Ĥarodite, Eliqa the Ĥarodite,
  Ĥeleż the Paltite, ῾Ira the son of Iqqesh the Teqo῾ite.
  Avi῾ezer the ῾Anetotite, Mevunnay the Ĥushatite,
  Żalmon, the Aĥoĥite, Maharay the Netofatite,
  Ĥelev the son of Ba῾ana the Netofatite, Ittay the son of Rivay from Giv῾a of the sons of Binyamin,
  Benayahu the Pir῾atonite, Hidday of the wadis of Ga῾ash,
  Avi-῾alvon the ῾Arvatite, ῾Azmavet the Barĥumite,
  Elyaĥba the Sha῾alvonite, of the sons of Yashan, Yehonatan,
  Shamma the Hararite, Aĥi῾am the son of Sharar the Ararite,
  Elifelet, the son of Aĥasbay, the son of the Ma῾akhatite, Eli῾am the son of Aĥitofel the Gilonite
  Ĥeżray the Karmelite, Pa῾aray the Arbite,
  Yig᾽al the son of Natan of Żova, Bani the Gadite,
  Żeleq the ῾Ammonite, Naharay the Be᾽erotite, armourbearer of Yo᾽av son of Żeruya,
  ῾Ira the Yitrite, Garev the Yitrite,
  Uriyya the Ĥittite: thirty seven in all.
  
  
  
  And again the anger of the Lord burned against Yisra᾽el, and he incited David against them, saying, Go, number Yisra᾽el and Yehuda.
  For the king said to Yo᾽av the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Yisra᾽el, from Dan to Be᾽er-sheva, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.
  And Yo᾽av said to the king, Now the Lord thy God add to the people, as many more again, a hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why does my lord the king desire this thing?
  But the king’s word prevailed against Yo᾽av, and against the captains of the host. And Yo᾽av and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Yisra᾽el.
  And they passed over the Yarden, and camped in ῾Aro῾er, on the right side of the city that lies in the midst of the wadi of the tribe Gad, and toward Ya῾azer:
  then they came to Gil῾ad, and to the land of Taĥtim-ĥodshi; and they came to Dan-ya῾an, and round about to Żidon,
  and came to the fortress of Żor, and to all the cities of the Ĥivvi, and of the Kena῾ani; and they went out to the south of Yehuda, which is Be᾽er-sheva.
  So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Yerushalayim, at the end of nine months and twenty days.
  And Yo᾽av rendered the sum of the census of the people to the king: and there were in Yisra᾽el eight hundred thousand warriors, that drew the sword; and the men of Yehuda were five hundred thousand men.
  And David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people.    And David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that which I have done: and now, O Lord, take away, I pray Thee, the iniquity of Thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
  And when David was up in the morning,    the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
  Go and say to David, Thus says the Lord, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it to thee.
  So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come to thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
  And David said to Gad, I am in great distress: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
  So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Yisra᾽el from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Be᾽er-sheva seventy thousand men.
  And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Yerushalayim to destroy it, the Lord relented of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thy hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Aravna the Yevusi.
  And David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done perversely: but these sheep, what have they done? let Thy hand, I pray Thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
  And Gad came that day to David, and said to him, Go up, rear an altar to the Lord on the threshingfloor of Aravna the Yevusite.
  And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.
  And Aravna looked out, and saw the king and his servants coming on towards him: and Aravna went out, and bowed himself down before the king on his face to the ground.
  And Aravna said, Why is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
  And Aravna said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him: behold, here are oxen for the burnt offering, and threshing instruments and other equipment of the oxen for wood.
  All these things did the king Aravna give to the king.    And Aravna said to the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.
  And the king said to Aravna, No; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
  And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Yisra᾽el.