American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And Jehovah said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go: I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.
And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And Jehovah said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah.
And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
And Samuel did that which Jehovah spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
And he said, Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto Jehovah: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on {In 1 Chronicles 27:18, Elihu.}Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah's anointed is before him.
But Jehovah said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart.
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this.
Then Jesse made {In 2 Samuel 13:3, Shimeah. In 1 Chronicles 2:13, Shimea.}Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this.
And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Jehovah hath not chosen these.
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit {Hebrew: around.}down till he come hither.
And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal {Hebrew: fair of eyes.}of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look upon. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah {Or, terrified}troubled him.
And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
Let our lord now command thy servants, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
Then answered one of the young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and {Or, skilful}prudent in {Or, business}speech, and a comely person; and Jehovah is with him.
Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep.
And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a {Or, skin}bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armorbearer.
And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight.
And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongeth to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the vale of {Or, the terebinth}Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.
And the {Or, according to another reading, blade.}staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him.
And he stood and cried unto the {Hebrew: ranks (and so in verse 10, 21, 22, 26, &c.).}armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
And the Philistine said, I {Or, reproach}defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men.
And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
And David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.
Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren;
and bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, {Or, are}were in the vale of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the {Or, barricade}place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the {Or, battle ground}fight shouted for the battle.
And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to {Or, reproach}defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should {Or, reproach}defy the armies of the living God?
And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
And David said, What have I now done? {Or, Was it not but a word?}Is there not a cause?
And he turned away from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.
And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail {Or, within him}because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant was keeping his father's sheep; {Or, and therecome a lion and a bear…and I went out &c.}and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,
I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath {Or, reproached}defied the armies of the living God.
And David said, Jehovah that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and Jehovah shall be with thee.
And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the {Or, torrent bed}brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance.
And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast {Or, reproached}defied.
This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hand.
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their {Or, mighty man}champion was dead, they fled.
And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to {The Syriac and some editions of the Septuagint Version have, Gath.}Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to {Or, the two gates}Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.
And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.
Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
And David {Or, went out; whithersoever Saul sent him, he &c.}went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and {Or, prospered}behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the {Or, Philistines}Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with {Or, triangles Or, three-stringed instruments}instruments of music.
And the women {Or, answered one another}sang one to another as they played, and said,Saul hath slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands.
And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he {Or, raved}prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand;
and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
And David {Or, prospered}behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him.
And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him.
But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.
And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah's battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
And David said unto Saul, Who am I, and {Or, who are my kinsfolk}what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?
But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.
And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time.
And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.
And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.
And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired;
and David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.
And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was with David; and Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him.
And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David's enemy continually.
Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David {Or, prospered more than}behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much {Hebrew: precious.}set by.
After he had ended all his sayings in the ears of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
And a certain centurion's {Greek: bondservant.}servant, who was {Or, precious to him Or, honorable with him}dear unto him, was sick and at the point of death.
And when he heard concerning Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews; asking him that he would come and save his {Greek: bondservant.}servant.
And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him;
for he loveth our nation, and himself built us our synagogue.
And Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself; for I am not {Greek: sufficient.}worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof:
wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say {Greek: with a word.}the word, and my {Or, boy}servant shall be healed.
For I also am a man set under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my {Or, boy}servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
And when Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned and said unto the multitude that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the {Or, boy}servant whole.
And it came to pass {Many ancient authorities read on the next day.}soon afterwards, that he went to a city called Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great multitude.
Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, there was carried out one that was dead, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came nigh and touched the bier: and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.
And fear took hold on all: and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is arisen among us: and, God hath visited his people.
And this report went forth concerning him in the whole of Judæa, and all the region round about.
And the disciples of John told him of all these things.
And John calling unto him {Greek: certain two.}two of his disciples sent them to the Lord, saying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?
And when the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?
In that hour he cured many of diseases and {Greek: scourges.}plagues and evil spirits; and on many that were blind he bestowed sight.
And he answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have {Or, the gospel}good tidings preached to them.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
This is he of whom it is written, {Malachi 3:1.}Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John: yet he that is {Greek: lesser.}but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
And all the people when they heard, and the {See marginal note on chapter 3:12.}publicans, justified God, {Or, having been}being baptized with the baptism of John.
But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, {Or, not having been}being not baptized of him.
Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like?
They are like unto children that sit in the marketplace, and call one to another; who say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not weep.
For John the Baptist is come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a demon.
The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of {See marginal note on chapter 3:12.}publicans and sinners!
And wisdom {Or, was}is justified of all her children.
And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he entered into the Pharisee's house, and {Or, reclined at table}sat down to meat.
And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that he was {Or, reclining at table}sitting at meat in the Pharisee's house, she brought {Or, a flask}an alabaster cruse of ointment,
and standing behind at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and {Greek: kissed much.}kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee that had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were {Some ancient authorities read the prophet. See John 1:21, 25.}a prophet, would have perceived who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner.
And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Teacher, say on.
A certain lender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred {The word in the greek denotes a coin worth about eight pence half-penny, or nearly seventeen cents,}shillings, and the other fifty.
When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?
Simon answered and said, He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair.
Thou gavest me no kiss: but she, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to {Greek: kiss much.}kiss my feet.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
And they that {Greek: reclined.}sat at meat with him began to say {Or, among}within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins?
And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.
And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to slay thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:
and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and if I see aught, I will tell thee.
And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:
for he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a great {Hebrew: salvation.}victory for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice; wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As Jehovah liveth, he shall not be put to death.
And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.
And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.
And {Or, the spirit of Jehovah was evil toward Saul}an evil spirit from Jehovah was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand.
And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
And Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be slain.
So Michal let David down through the window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.
And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a {Or, quilt Or, network}pillow of goats' hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes.
And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
And when the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the {Or, quilt Or, network}pillow of goats' hair at the head thereof.
And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, so that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.
Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great {Or, cistern}well that is in Secu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.
And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and {Or, fell}lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
And he said unto him, Far from it; thou shalt not die: behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he {Hebrew: uncovered mine ear.}discloseth it unto me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father knoweth well that I have found favor in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
Then said Jonathan unto David, {Or, What doth thy soul desire, that I should do it for thee?}Whatsoever thy soul {Hebrew: saith.}desireth, I will even do it for thee.
And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
If thy father miss me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be wroth, then know that evil is determined by him.
Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee: but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee roughly?
And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
And Jonathan said unto David, Jehovah, the God of Israel, be witness: when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee?
Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and Jehovah be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I die not;
but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when Jehovah hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David's enemies.
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, {Or, by his love toward him}for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Then Jonathan said unto him, To-morrow is the new moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be {Hebrew: missed.}empty.
And when thou hast stayed three days, thou shalt go down {Hebrew: greatly.}quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself {Hebrew: in the day of the business. See chapter 19:2.}when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
And, behold, I will send the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take {Or, him}them, and come; for there is peace to thee and {Hebrew: not any thing.}no hurt, as Jehovah liveth.
But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way; for Jehovah hath sent thee away.
And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between thee and me for ever.
So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat food.
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was empty.
Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
And it came to pass on the morrow after the new moon, which was the second day, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to-day?
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem:
and he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he is not come unto the king's table.
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he {Or, is worthy to die Hebrew: is a son of death.}shall surely die.
And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore should he be put to death? what hath he done?
And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death.
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field {Or, to the place}at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.
And he said unto his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow {Hebrew: making it pass over him.}beyond him.
And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose {Hebrew: from beside the South.}out of a place toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place.
Now therefore what is under thy hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatsoever there is present.
And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.
And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, {Or, and it may be used as common bread: and especially since to-day it will be holy in respect of their vessels}though it was but a common journey; how much more then to-day shall their vessels be holy?
So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before Jehovah, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the {Or, mightiest}chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.
And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the vale of {Or, the terebinth}Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it; for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying,Saul hath slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands?
And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and {Or, made marks}scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was {Hebrew: bitter of soul.}discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold.
And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the stronghold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.
And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him: now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree {Or, on the height}in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.
And Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,
that all of you have conspired against me, and {Or, there was none that disclosed it to me when my son made &c.}there is none that discloseth to me when my son maketh a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or discloseth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who {Or, was set over}stood by the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
And he inquired of Jehovah for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who among all thy servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is taken into thy council, and is honorable in thy house?
Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth nothing of all this, less or more.
And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.
And the king said unto the {Hebrew: runners.}guard that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of Jehovah; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of Jehovah.
And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and he slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and asses and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
And one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain Jehovah's priests.
And David said unto Abiathar, I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.
Abide thou with me, fear not; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: for with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
A Psalm of David; {See 1 Samuel 21:10-15}when he {Or, feigned madness}changed his behavior before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.I will bless Jehovah at all times:His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in Jehovah:The meek shall hear thereof, and be glad.
Oh magnify Jehovah with me,And let us exalt his name together.
I sought Jehovah, and he answered me,And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto him, and were radiant;And their faces shall never be confounded.
This poor man cried, and Jehovah heard him,And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear him,And delivereth them.
Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good:Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him.
Oh fear Jehovah, ye his saints;For there is no want to them that fear him.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger;But they that seek Jehovah shall not want any good thing.
Come, ye children, hearken unto me:I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.
What man is he that desireth life,And loveth many days, that he may see good?
Keep thy tongue from evil,And thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good;Seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous,And his ears are open unto their cry.
The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil,To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard,And delivered them out of all their troubles.
Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous;But Jehovah delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones:Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked;And they that hate the righteous shall be {Or, held guilty}condemned.
Jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants;And none of them that take refuge in him shall be {Or, held guilty}condemned.
Maschil of David, when he was in the cave; a Prayer.I cry with my voice unto Jehovah;With my voice unto Jehovah do I make supplication.
I pour out my complaint before him;I show before him my trouble.
When my spirit {Or, fainted}was overwhelmed within me,Thou knewest my path.In the way wherein I walkHave they hidden a snare for me.
Look on my right hand, and see;For there is no man that knoweth me:Refuge hath failed me;No man careth for my soul.
I cried unto thee, O Jehovah;I said, Thou art my refuge,My portion in the land of the living.
Attend unto my cry;For I am brought very low:Deliver me from my persecutors;For they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison,That I may give thanks unto thy name:The righteous shall {Or, crown themselves because of me}compass me about;For thou wilt deal bountifully with me.
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when he fled from Saul, in the cave.Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me;For my soul taketh refuge in thee:Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge,Until these {Or, wickedness}calamities be overpast.
I will cry unto God Most High,Unto God that performeth all things for me.
He will send from heaven, and save me,When he that would swallow me up reproacheth; [SelahGod will send forth his lovingkindness and his truth.
My soul is among lions;I {Or, must lie}lie among them that are set on fire,Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows,And their tongue a sharp sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens;Let thy glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps;My soul is bowed down:They have digged a pit before me;They are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. [Selah
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:I will sing, yea, I will sing praises.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp:I myself {Or, will awake the dawn}will awake right early.
I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the peoples:I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
For thy lovingkindness is great unto the heavens,And thy truth unto the skies.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens;Let thy glory be above all the earth.
For the Chief Musician. Maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?The lovingkindness of God endureth continually.
Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness,Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Thou lovest evil more than good,And lying rather than to speak righteousness. [Selah
Thou lovest all devouring words, {Or, And the deceitful tongue}O thou deceitful tongue.
God will likewise {Or, break thee down}destroy thee for ever;He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent,And root thee out of the land of the living. [Selah
The righteous also shall see it, and fear,And shall laugh at him, saying,
Lo, this is the man that made not God his {Or, stronghold}strength,But trusted in the abundance of his riches,And strengthened himself in his wickedness.
But as for me, I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God:I trust in the lovingkindness of God for ever and ever.
I will give thee thanks for ever, because thou hast done it;And I will hope in thy name, for it is good, in the presence of thy saints.
For the Chief Musician. Maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?The lovingkindness of God endureth continually.
Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness,Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Thou lovest evil more than good,And lying rather than to speak righteousness. [Selah
Thou lovest all devouring words, {Or, And the deceitful tongue}O thou deceitful tongue.
God will likewise {Or, break thee down}destroy thee for ever;He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent,And root thee out of the land of the living. [Selah
The righteous also shall see it, and fear,And shall laugh at him, saying,
Lo, this is the man that made not God his {Or, stronghold}strength,But trusted in the abundance of his riches,And strengthened himself in his wickedness.
But as for me, I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God:I trust in the lovingkindness of God for ever and ever.
I will give thee thanks for ever, because thou hast done it;And I will hope in thy name, for it is good, in the presence of thy saints.
And they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing-floors.
Therefore David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And Jehovah said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
And David's men said unto him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
Then David inquired of Jehovah yet again. And Jehovah answered him, and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand.
And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath {The Septuagint Version has, sold.}delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
And David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.
Then said David, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, thy servant hath surely heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.
Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Jehovah, the God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And Jehovah said, He will come down.
Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver up me and my men into the hand of Saul? And Jehovah said, They will deliver thee up.
Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.
And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in {Or, Horesh}the wood.
And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into {Or, Horesh}the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.
And he said unto him, Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.
And they two made a covenant before Jehovah: and David abode in {Or, Horesh}the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in the strongholds in {Or, Horesh}the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of {Or, Jeshimon}the desert?
Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand.
And Saul said, Blessed be ye of Jehovah; for ye have had compassion on me.
Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his {Hebrew: foot.}haunt is, and who hath seen him there; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly.
See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me {Or, with a certainty Or, to a set place}of a certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out among all the {Or, families}thousands of Judah.
And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of {Or, Jeshimon}the desert.
And Saul and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.
But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have made a raid upon the land.
So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place {That is, The rock of divisions (or, escape).}Sela-hammahlekoth. {[Chapter 24:1 in Hebrew]}
And David went up from thence, and dwelt in the strongholds of En-gedi.
Maschil of David, when he was in the cave; a Prayer.I cry with my voice unto Jehovah;With my voice unto Jehovah do I make supplication.
I pour out my complaint before him;I show before him my trouble.
When my spirit {Or, fainted}was overwhelmed within me,Thou knewest my path.In the way wherein I walkHave they hidden a snare for me.
Look on my right hand, and see;For there is no man that knoweth me:Refuge hath failed me;No man careth for my soul.
I cried unto thee, O Jehovah;I said, Thou art my refuge,My portion in the land of the living.
Attend unto my cry;For I am brought very low:Deliver me from my persecutors;For they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison,That I may give thanks unto thy name:The righteous shall {Or, crown themselves because of me}compass me about;For thou wilt deal bountifully with me.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. Maschil of David; when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?Save me, O God, by thy name,And judge me in thy might.
Hear my prayer, O God;Give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me,And violent men have sought after my soul:They have not set God before them. [Selah
Behold, God is my helper:The Lord is {Or, with}of them that uphold my soul.
{Another reading is, The evil shall return.}He will requite the evil unto {Or, them that lie in wait for me}mine enemies:Destroy thou them in thy truth.
With a freewill-offering will I sacrifice unto thee:I will give thanks unto thy name, O Jehovah, for it is good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble;And mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies.
And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were {Or, sitting}abiding in the innermost parts of the cave.
And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.
And he said unto his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing unto my lord, Jehovah's anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is Jehovah's anointed.
So David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance.
And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearkenest thou to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?
Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that Jehovah had delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee; but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is Jehovah's anointed.
Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against thee, though thou {Or, layest wait for}huntest after my life to take it.
Jehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee.
As saith the proverb of the ancients, Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness; but my hand shall not be upon thee.
After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.
Jehovah therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and {Hebrew: give sentence for me.}deliver me out of thy hand.
And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rendered unto me good, whereas I have rendered unto thee evil.
And thou hast declared this day how that thou hast dealt well with me, forasmuch as when Jehovah had delivered me up into thy hand, thou killedst me not.
For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore Jehovah reward thee good for that which thou hast done unto me this day.
And now, behold, I know that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand.
Swear now therefore unto me by Jehovah, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house.
And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the stronghold.
And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
And there was a man in Maon, whose {Or, business was}possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:
and {Or, thus shall ye say, All hail! and peace be unto thee &c.}thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: thy shepherds have now been with us, and we {Hebrew: put them not to shame.}did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee: wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David.
And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and {Or, remained quiet}ceased.
And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master.
Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my {Hebrew: slaughter.}flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?
So David's young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words.
And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage.
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to {Hebrew: bless.}salute our master; and he railed at them.
But the men were very good unto us, and we were not {Hebrew: put to shame.}hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields:
they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house: for he is such a worthless fellow, that one cannot speak to him.
Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two {Or, skins}bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
And she said unto her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.
Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.
God do so {The Syriac and some editions of Septuagint version have, unto David.}unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one man-child.
And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.
And she fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid.
Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; {That is, Fool.}Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah hath withholden thee {Hebrew: from coming into blood.}from bloodguiltiness, and from {Hebrew: thine own hand saving thee.}avenging thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
And now this {Hebrew; blessing.}present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days.
And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of {Or, the living}life with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel,
that this shall be no {Hebrew: cause of staggering.}grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, {Or, so that thou shouldest shed &c.}either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.
And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me:
and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
For in very deed, as Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, who hath withholden me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one man-child.
So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said unto her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
And it came to pass about ten days after, that Jehovah smote Nabal, so that he died.
And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back his servant from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal hath Jehovah returned upon his own head. And David sent and spake concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.
And she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives.
Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to {In 2 Samuel 3:15, Paltiel.}Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?
Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before {Or, Jeshiman See chapter 23:19}the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come {Or, to a set place See chapter 23:23.}of a certainty.
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within {Or, barricade}the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within {Or, barricade}the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him.
Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time.
And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against Jehovah's anointed, and be guiltless?
And David said, As Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will smite him; {Or, either}or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.
Jehovah forbid that I should put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed: but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they gat them away: and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Jehovah was fallen upon them.
Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them;
and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.
This thing is not good that thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are {Hebrew: sons of death.}worthy to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord, Jehovah's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.
And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand?
Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Jehovah that hath stirred thee up against me, let him {Hebrew: smell.}accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah: for they have driven me out this day that I should {Or, have no share in}not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.
Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Jehovah: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
And David answered and said, Behold {Another reading is, the king's spear.}the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it.
And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; forasmuch as Jehovah delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed.
And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of Jehovah, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.
Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail. So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.
And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.
And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.
And David said unto Achish, If now I have found favor in thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the {Hebrew: field.}country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?
Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
And the number of the days that David dwelt in the {Hebrew: field.}country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.
And David and his men went up, and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the {Another reading is, Gizrites.}Girzites, and the Amalekites; for those nations were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
And David smote the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel; and he returned, and came to Achish.
And Achish said, {So Septuagint version and Vulgate}Against whom have ye made a raid to-day? And David said, Against the South of Judah, and against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.
And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell of us, saying, So did David, and so hath been his manner all the while he hath dwelt in the {Hebrew: field}country of the Philistines.
And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
For the Chief Musician; set to {That is, The silent dove of them that are afar off. Or, as otherwise read, The dove of the distant terebinths.}Jonath elem rehokim. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when the Philistines took him in Gath.Be merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up:All the day long he fighting oppresseth me.
{Or, They that lie in wait of me}Mine enemies would swallow me up all the day long;For they are many that fight proudly against me.
What time I am afraid,I will put my trust in thee.
In God (I will praise his word),In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid;What can flesh do unto me?
All the day long they wrest my words:All their thoughts are against me for evil.
They gather themselves together, they hide themselves,They mark my steps, {Or, Inasmuch as}Even as they have waited for my soul.
{Or, They think to escape}Shall they escape by iniquity?In anger cast down the peoples, O God.
Thou numberest my wanderings:Put thou my tears into thy bottle;Are they not in thy { Or, record}book?
Then shall mine enemies turn back in the day that I call:This I know, { Or, for}that God is for me.
In God (I will praise his word),In Jehovah (I will praise his word),
In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid;What can man do unto me?
Thy vows are upon me, O God:I will render thank-offerings unto thee.
For thou hast delivered my soul from death:Hast thou not delivered my feet from falling,That I may walk before GodIn the light of the { Or, life}living?
Wherefore he saith, {(?). Compare 1 Timothy 3:16.}Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.
And Samuel said unto Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I {Or, will visit}have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
Now go and smite Amalek, and {Hebrew: devote.}utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and {Or, strove}laid wait in the valley.
And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is before Egypt.
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and {Hebrew: devoted.}utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not {Hebrew: devoted.}utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they {Hebrew: devoted.}destroyed utterly.
Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel, saying,
It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And Samuel was wroth; and he cried unto Jehovah all night.
And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a {Hebrew: hand.}monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of Jehovah: I have performed the commandment of Jehovah.
And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have {Hebrew: devoted.}utterly destroyed.
Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
And Samuel said, {Or, Though thou be little….art thou not head of the tribes of Israel?}Though thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel;
and Jehovah sent thee on a journey, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?
And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have {Hebrew: devoted.}utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah.
And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
And as Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent.
And Samuel said unto him, Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.
And also the {Or, Victory Or, Glory}Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.
So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah.
Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him cheerfully. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.
Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; {Or, but}for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.
So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.And they told David, saying, The men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul.
And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of Jehovah, that ye have showed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.
And now Jehovah show lovingkindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.
Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be ye valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.
Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, had taken {In 1 Chronicles 8:33; 9:39, Eshbaal.}Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
and he made him king over Gilead, and over the {The Vulgate and Syriac have, Geshurites.}Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.
And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met {Hebrew: them together.}them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, 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: wherefore that place was called {That is, The field of the sharp knives.}Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
And the battle was very sore that day: and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot {Hebrew: as one of the roes thatare in the field.}as a wild roe.
And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.
Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Is it thou, Asahel? And he answered, It is I.
And Abner 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 thee his {Or, spoil See Judges 14:19.}armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.
And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?
Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the body, 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 as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.
But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill.
Then Abner called to Joab, 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, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?
And Joab said, As God liveth, if thou hadst not spoken, surely then {Hebrew: from the morning.}in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed every one his brother.
So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.
And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.
And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.
But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.
And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and the day brake upon them at Hebron.
Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: and David waxed stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his first-born was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner {Or, showed himself strong for}made himself strong in the house of Saul.
Now Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine?
Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head that belongeth to Judah? This day do I show kindness unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David; and yet thou chargest me this day with {Or, the fault of this woman }a fault concerning this woman.
God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as Jehovah hath sworn to David, I do not even so to him;
to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba.
And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
And Abner sent messengers to David {Or, where he was}on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.
And he said, 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 Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face.
And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.
And Ish-bosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from {In 1 Samuel 25:44, Palti.}Paltiel the son of Laish.
And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, Go, return: and he returned.
And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, In times past ye sought for David to be king over you:
now then do it; for Jehovah hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.
And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to the whole house of Benjamin.
So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast.
And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy soul desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.
And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from {Hebrew: the troop.}a foray, and brought in a great spoil with them: but Abner was not with David in Hebron; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace.
When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?
Thou knowest Abner 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 Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the {Or, cistern}well of Sirah: but David knew it not.
And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there in the body, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
And afterward, when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before Jehovah for ever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner:
let it fall upon the head of Joab, and upon all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth by the sword, or that lacketh bread.
So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David followed the bier.
And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.
And the king lamented for Abner, and said,Should Abner die as a fool dieth?
Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters:As a man falleth before the children of iniquity, so didst thou 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 sware, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or aught else, till the sun be down.
And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people.
So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner.
And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?
And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me: Jehovah reward the evil-doer according to his wickedness.
And when Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.
And Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin (for Beeroth also is reckoned to Benjamin:
and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been sojourners there until this day).
Now Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel; 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 {In 1 Chronicles 8:34; 9:40, Merib-baal.}Mephibosheth.
And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, as he took his rest at noon.
And {Or, there came…men fetching wheat}they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him in the body: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
Now when they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night.
And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, thine enemy, who sought thy life; and Jehovah hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
when one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, 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 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 beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.
Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was thou that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and Jehovah said to thee, Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shalt be {Or, leader}prince over Israel.
So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah: and they anointed David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spake unto David, saying, {Or, Thou shalt not come in hither, but the blind and the lame shall turn thee away}Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither.
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.
And David said on that day, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, {Or, and as for the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul –}and smite the lame and the blind, {Another reading is, that hate David's soul.}that are hated of David's soul. Wherefore they say, {Or, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house}There are the blind and the lame; he cannot come into the house.
And David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.
And David waxed greater and greater; for Jehovah, the God of hosts, was with him.
And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar-trees, and carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house.
And David perceived that Jehovah had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.
And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron; and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.
And these are the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,
and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
and Elishama, and {In 1 Chronicles 14:7, Beeliada.}Eliada, and Eliphelet.
And when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the stronghold.
Now the Philistines had come and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And Jehovah said unto David, Go up; for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into thy hand.
And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there; and he said, Jehovah hath {Or, broken forth upon mine enemies}broken mine enemies before me, like the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place {That is, The place of breakings forth}Baal-perazim.
And they left their images there; and David and his men took them away.
And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
And when David inquired of Jehovah, he said, Thou shalt not go up: make a circuit behind them, and come upon them over against the {Or, balsam-trees}mulberry-trees.
And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself; for then is Jehovah gone out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.
And David did so, as Jehovah commanded him, and smote the Philistines from {In 1 Chronicles 14:16, Gibeon.}Geba until thou come to Gezer.
And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle; for God is gone out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.
And David made him houses in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.
Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.
And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Jehovah unto its place, which he had prepared for it.
And David gathered together the sons of Aaron, and the Levites:
of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twenty;
of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty;
of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty;
of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred;
of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore;
of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve.
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,
and said unto them, Ye are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto the place that I have prepared for it.
For because ye bare it not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not according to the ordinance.
So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of Jehovah.
And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the voice with joy.
So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;
and with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers.
So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed with cymbals of brass to sound aloud;
and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth;
and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead.
And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over {Or, the carrying of the ark Hebrew: the lifting up.}the song: he instructed about {Or, the carrying of the ark Hebrew: the lifting up.}the song, because he was skilful.
And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.
And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and Nethanel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.
So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the house of Obed-edom with joy.
And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, that they sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams.
And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of {Or, the carrying of the ark Hebrew: the lifting up.}the song with the singers: and David had upon him an ephod of linen.
Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with psalteries and harps.
And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David dancing and playing; and she despised him in her heart.
And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God.
And when David had made an end of offering the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah.
And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a portion {Or, of wine}of flesh, and a cake of raisins.
And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of Jehovah, and to celebrate and to thank and praise Jehovah, the God of Israel:
Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, {In chapter 15:18, Jaaziel.}Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;
and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.
Then on that day did David {Or, make it the chief work}first ordain to give thanks unto Jehovah, by the hand of Asaph and his brethren.
O give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name;Make known his doings among the peoples.
Sing unto him, sing praises unto him; {Or, Meditate}Talk ye of all his marvellous works.
Glory ye in his holy name;Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
Seek ye Jehovah and his strength;Seek his face evermore.
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done,His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
O ye seed of Israel his servant,Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is Jehovah our God;His judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant for ever,The word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
The covenant which he made with Abraham,And his oath unto Isaac,
And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute,To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan,The {Hebrew: cord, or, line.}lot of your inheritance;
When ye were but a few men in number,Yea, very few, and sojourners in it;
And they went about from nation to nation,And from one kingdom to another people.
He suffered no man to do them wrong;Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
Saying, Touch not mine anointed ones,And do my prophets no harm.
Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth;Show forth his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,His marvellous works among all the peoples.
For great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised:He also is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are {Or, things of nought}idols:But Jehovah made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him:Strength and gladness are in his place.
Ascribe unto Jehovah, ye kindreds of the peoples,Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength;
Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name:Bring an offering, and come before him;Worship Jehovah {Or, in the beauty of holiness}in holy array.
Tremble before him, all the earth:The world also is established that it cannot be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;And let them say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;Let the field exult, and all that is therein;
Then shall the trees of the wood sing for joy before Jehovah;For he cometh to judge the earth.
O give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation,And gather us together and deliver us from the nations,To give thanks unto thy holy name,And to triumph in thy praise.
Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel,From everlasting even to everlasting.And all the people said, Amen, and praised Jehovah.
So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required;
and Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers;
and Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of Jehovah in the high place that was at Gibeon,
to offer burnt-offerings unto Jehovah upon the altar of burnt-offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of Jehovah, which he commanded unto Israel;
and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his lovingkindness endureth for ever;
and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.
And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.
Then on that day did David {Or, make it the chief work}first ordain to give thanks unto Jehovah, by the hand of Asaph and his brethren.
O give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name;Make known his doings among the peoples.
Sing unto him, sing praises unto him; {Or, Meditate}Talk ye of all his marvellous works.
Glory ye in his holy name;Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
Seek ye Jehovah and his strength;Seek his face evermore.
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done,His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
O ye seed of Israel his servant,Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is Jehovah our God;His judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant for ever,The word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
The covenant which he made with Abraham,And his oath unto Isaac,
And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute,To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan,The {Hebrew: cord, or, line.}lot of your inheritance;
When ye were but a few men in number,Yea, very few, and sojourners in it;
And they went about from nation to nation,And from one kingdom to another people.
He suffered no man to do them wrong;Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
Saying, Touch not mine anointed ones,And do my prophets no harm.
Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth;Show forth his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,His marvellous works among all the peoples.
For great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised:He also is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are {Or, things of nought}idols:But Jehovah made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him:Strength and gladness are in his place.
Ascribe unto Jehovah, ye kindreds of the peoples,Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength;
Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name:Bring an offering, and come before him;Worship Jehovah {Or, in the beauty of holiness}in holy array.
Tremble before him, all the earth:The world also is established that it cannot be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;And let them say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;Let the field exult, and all that is therein;
Then shall the trees of the wood sing for joy before Jehovah;For he cometh to judge the earth.
O give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation,And gather us together and deliver us from the nations,To give thanks unto thy holy name,And to triumph in thy praise.
Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel,From everlasting even to everlasting.And all the people said, Amen, and praised Jehovah.
And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.
And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah dwelleth under curtains.
And Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.
And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,
Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in:
for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, unto this day, but {Hebrew: have been.}have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.
In all places wherein I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?
Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the {Or, pasture}sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be {Or, leader}prince over my people Israel:
and I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth.
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first,
and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I {Or, have subdued}will subdue all thine enemies. Moreover I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house.
And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee;
but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever.
According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
Then David the king went in, and sat before Jehovah; and he said, Who am I, O Jehovah God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?
And this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; but thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Jehovah God.
What can David say yet more unto thee concerning the honor which is done to thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.
O Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things.
O Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
{Or, And who is like thy people Israel, a nation that is alone in the earth &c.}And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem unto himself for a people, to make thee a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou redeemedest out of Egypt?
For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, becamest their God.
And now, O Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, be established for ever, and do as thou hast spoken.
{Or, Yea, let it be established, and let thy name be magnified &c.}And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and the house of David thy servant is established before thee.
For thou, O my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee.
And now, O Jehovah, thou art God, and hast promised this good thing unto thy servant:
and now it hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Jehovah, hast blessed, and it is blessed for ever.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions;And my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,And done that which is evil in thy sight;That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest,And be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity;And in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts;And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness,That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,And blot out all mine iniquities.
Create {Or, for me}in me a clean heart, O God;And renew a {Or, stedfast}right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence;And take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;And uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;And sinners shall {Or, return}be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation;And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips;And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
For thou delightest not in sacrifice; {Or, that I should give it}else would I give it:Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then wilt thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,In burnt-offering and whole burnt-offering:Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
And Jehovah sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds;
but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own morsel, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this is {Hebrew: a son of death.}worthy to die:
and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
and I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added unto thee such and such things.
Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do that which is evil in his sight? thou hast smitten Uriah the Hittite 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 Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house; and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, 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 Israel, and before the sun.
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said unto David, Jehovah also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
And Nathan departed unto his house.And Jehovah struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto 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 earth.
And the elders of his house arose, and stood beside him, to raise him up from the earth: 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 spake unto him, and he hearkened not unto our voice: {Or, how then shall we tell him that the child is dead, so that he do himself some harm?}how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead!
But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel; and he came into the house of Jehovah, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
Then said his servants unto 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 knoweth whether Jehovah will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?
But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.
And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and {Another reading is, she called.}he called his name Solomon. And Jehovah loved him;
and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name {That is, Beloved of Jehovah.}Jedidiah, for Jehovah's sake.
Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yea, I have taken the city of waters.
Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and {Hebrew: my name be called upon it.}it be called after my name.
And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
And he took the crown of {Or, Malcam See Zephaniah 1:5}their king from off his head; and the weight thereof was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.
And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them {Or, to}under saws, and {Or, to}under harrows of iron, and {Or, to}under axes of iron, and {Or, with a slight change in the Hebrew text, made them labor at}made them pass through the {Or, brick-mould}brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
And Amnon was so vexed that he fell sick because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything unto her.
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother; and Jonadab was a very subtle man.
And he said unto him, Why, O son of the king, art thou thus lean {Hebrew: morning to morning,}from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and feign thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, Let my sister Tamar come, I pray thee, and give me bread to eat, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand.
So Amnon lay down, and feigned himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, Let my sister Tamar come, I pray thee, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.
Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him food.
So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took dough, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.
And she took the pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him.
And Amnon said unto 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 near unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come, lie with me, my sister.
And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not {Hebrew: humble.}force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.
And I, whither shall I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.
Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice; but being stronger than she, he forced her, and lay with her.
Then Amnon hated her with exceeding great hatred; for the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.
And she said unto him, {Or, Think not there is occasion for this great wrong in putting me forth, which is worse &c.}Not so, because this great wrong in putting me forth is worse than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.
Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.
And she had {Or, a long garment with sleeves}a garment of divers colors 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 rent her garment of divers colors that was on her; and she laid her hand on her head, and went her way, crying aloud as she went.
And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath {Hebrew: Aminon.}Amnon thy brother been with thee? but now hold thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; take not this thing to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.
And Absalom spake unto Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.
And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheep-shearers; let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant.
And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
But Absalom pressed him, and he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.
And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine; and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon, then kill him; fear not; have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that the tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.
Then the king arose, and rent his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.
And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead; for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced 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 Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the hill-side behind him.
And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king's sons are 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 voice, and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept {Hebrew: with a very great weeping.}very sore.
But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai the son of {Another reading is, Aminihud.}Ammihur, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.
And Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, I pray thee, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead:
and go in to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.
And when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.
And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, Of a truth I am a widow, and 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 killed him.
And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew, and so destroy the heir also. Thus will they quench my coal which is left, and will leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the face of the earth.
And the king said unto the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.
And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.
And the king said, Whosoever saith aught unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou devised such a thing against the people of God? for in speaking this word the king is as one that is guilty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished one.
For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him.
Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.
For the king will hear, to deliver his servant 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, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be {Hebrew: for rest.}comfortable; for as {Or, the}an angel of God, so is my lord the king {Hebrew: to hear.}to discern good and bad: and Jehovah thy God be with thee.
Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, aught that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid;
to change the face of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of {Or, the}an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, {Another reading is, thou hast done.}I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom back.
And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and did obeisance, and blessed the king: and Joab said, To-day thy servant knoweth that I have found favor in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath performed the request of {Another reading is, thy.}his servant.
So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, but let him not see my face. So Absalom turned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.
Now in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
And when he cut the hair of his head (now it was at every year's end that he cut it; because it was heavy on him, therefore he cut it); he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king's weight.
And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem; and he saw not the king's face.
Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and he sent again a second time, but he would not come.
Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.
Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it were better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him kill me.
So Joab came to the king, and told him; and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.
And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that, when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.
And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.
Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!
And it was so, that, when any man came nigh to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.
And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
And it came to pass at the end of {According to Syriac and some ancient editions of Septuagint Version, four.}forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto Jehovah, in Hebron.
For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in {Hebrew: Aram.}Syria, saying, If Jehovah shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will {Or, worship}serve Jehovah.
And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.
But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom is king in Hebron.
And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were invited, and went in their simplicity; and they knew not anything.
And Absalom {Or, sent Ahithophel}sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.
And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for else none of us shall escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall choose.
And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, that were concubines, to keep the house.
And the king went forth, and all the people after him; and they tarried {Or, at the Far House}in Beth-merhak.
And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men that came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.
Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return, and abide with the king: for thou art a foreigner, and also an exile; return to thine own place.
Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us, seeing I go whither I may? return thou, and take back thy brethren; mercy and truth be with thee.
And Ittai answered the king, and said, As Jehovah liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, even there also will thy servant be.
And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai 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 brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
And, lo, Zadok 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 Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city.
And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favor in the eyes of Jehovah, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation:
but if he say thus, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.
The king said also unto Zadok the priest, {Or, Seest thou?}Art thou not a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
See, I will tarry {Another reading is, in the plains.}at the fords of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.
Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they abode there.
And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered, and went barefoot: and all the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Jehovah, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
And it came to pass, that, when David was come to the top of the ascent, {Or, where he was wont to worship God}where God was worshipped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head.
And David said unto him, If thou passest on with me, then thou wilt be a burden unto me:
but if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father's servant in time past, so will I now be thy servant; then wilt thou defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.
And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and by them ye shall send unto me everything that ye shall hear.
So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city; and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.Jehovah, how are mine adversaries increased!Many are they that rise up against me.
Many there are that say {Or, to}of my soul,There is no {Or, salvation}help for him in God. [Selah
But thou, O Jehovah, art a shield about me;My glory and the lifter up of my head.
I cry unto Jehovah with my voice,And he answereth me out of his holy hill. [Selah
I laid me down and slept;I awaked; for Jehovah sustaineth me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the peopleThat have set themselves against me round about.
Arise, O Jehovah; Save me, O my God:For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone;Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked.
{Or, Victory}Salvation belongeth unto Jehovah:Thy blessing be upon thy people. [Selah
And when David was a little past the top of the ascent, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a {Or, skin}bottle of wine.
And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba 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 are faint in the wilderness may drink.
And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem; for he said, To-day will the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.
Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine is all that pertaineth unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I do obeisance; let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, O king.
And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out, and cursed still 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 on his left.
And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Begone, begone, thou man of blood, and base fellow:
Jehovah hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and Jehovah hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; and, behold, thou art taken in thine own mischief, because thou art a man of blood.
Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto 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, ye sons of Zeruiah? {Or, When he curseth, and when &c. Another reading is, So let him curse, because.}Because he curseth, and because Jehovah hath said unto him, Curse David; who then shall say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more may this Benjamite now do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for Jehovah hath bidden him.
It may be that Jehovah will look on the wrong done unto me, and that Jehovah will requite me good for his cursing of me this day.
So David and his men went by the way; and Shimei went along on the hill-side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones {Hebrew: over against.}at him, and cast dust.
And the king, and all the people that were with him, came {Or, to Ayephim}weary; and he refreshed himself there.
And Absalom, and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, Long live the king, Long live the king.
And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?
And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom Jehovah, and this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his will I be, and with him will I abide.
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 Absalom to Ahithophel, Give your counsel what we shall do.
And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, that he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then will the hands of all that are with thee be strong.
So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if a man inquired at the {Hebrew: word.}oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
I laid me down and slept;I awaked; for Jehovah sustaineth me.
Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, 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 weak-handed, 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 unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith.
And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not, speak thou.
And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given this time is not good.
Hushai said moreover, Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are {Hebrew: bitter of soul.}chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field; and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, {Or, when he falleth upon them}when some of them are fallen at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
And even he that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt; for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they that are with him are valiant men.
But I counsel that all Israel be gathered together unto thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and {Or, that thy presence (Hebrew: face) go to the battle}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 light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him we will not leave so much as one.
Moreover, if he {Or, withdraw himself}be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.
And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For Jehovah had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Jehovah might bring evil upon Absalom.
Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.
Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night {Another reading is, in the plains.}at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
{Or, Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz are staying by Enrogel; so let the maid-servant go and tell them, and let them go and tell king David; for they may not be seen to come into the city}Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying by En-rogel; and a maid-servant used to go and tell them; and they went and told king David: for they might not be seen to come into the city.
But a lad saw them, and told Absalom: and they went both of them away quickly, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down thither.
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and strewed bruised grain thereon; and nothing was known.
And Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house; and they said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They are gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David; and they said unto David, Arise ye, and pass quickly over the water; for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over the Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over the Jordan.
And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home, unto his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
And Absalom set Amasa over the host instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man, whose name was {In 1 Chronicles 2:17, Jether the Ishmaelite.}Ithra the Israelite, that went in to {In 1 Chronicles 16:17, Abigail.}Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother.
And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and meal, and parched grain, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse,
and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of the herd, 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 the people, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.
But the people said, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: {So Vulgate and some editions of Septuagint Version. The Hebrew text has, for now are there ten thousand such as we.}but thou art worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that thou be ready to succor us out of the city.
And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate-side, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.
And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.
So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim.
And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men.
For the battle was there spread over the face of all the country; and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great {Or, terebinth}oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on.
And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.
And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle.
And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son; for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, {Hebrew: Have a care, whosoever ye be, of &c.}Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.
Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against {Another reading is, my.}his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three {Hebrew: staves.}darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
And ten young men that bare Joab's armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab {Or, spared}held back the people.
And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; 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 Absalom's monument, unto this day.
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that Jehovah hath avenged him of his enemies.
And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not be the bearer of 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 Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And the Cushite bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But come what may, let me, I pray thee, also run after the Cushite. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou {Or, hast no sufficient tidings}wilt have no reward for the tidings?
But come what may, said he, I will run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.
Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate unto 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 tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
And the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold, another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
And the watchman said, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.
And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, {Hebrew: Peace.}All is well. And he bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
And the king said, {Hebrew: Is there peace with &c.?}Is it well with the young man Absalom? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, {Or, and}even me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.
And the king said, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.
And, behold, the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, Tidings for my lord the king; for Jehovah hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
And the king said unto the Cushite, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And the Cushite answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise up against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. {[Chapter 19:1 in Hebrew]}
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 Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of Jehovah. And Jehovah said, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put to death the Gibeonites.
And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah);
and David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of Jehovah?
And the Gibeonites said unto him, It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul, or his house; {Or, neither for us shall thou put any man to death in Israel}neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.
And they said unto the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us, {Or, so that we have been destroyed}that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Israel,
let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give them.
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Jehovah's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of {In 1 Samuel 18:19, Merab.}Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she bare to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:
and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before Jehovah, and they fell all seven together. And they were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of barley harvest.
And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water was poured upon them from heaven; and she suffered neither the birds of the heavens to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the {Or, broad place}street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, in the day that the Philistines slew Saul in Gilboa;
and he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son: and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.
And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David waxed faint;
and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the {Hebrew: Raphah.}giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with {Or, new armor}a new sword, thought to have slain David.
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the lamp of Israel.
And it came to pass after this, that there was again war with the Philistines at {In 1 Chronicles 20:4, Gezer.}Gob: then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew {In 1 Chronicles 20:4, Sippai.}Saph, who was of the sons of the {Hebrew: Raphah.}giant.
And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim the Beth-lehemite slew {In 1 Chronicles 20:5, the brother of Goliath.}Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
And there was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, 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 {Hebrew: Raphah.}giant.
And when he {Or, reproached}defied Israel, Jonathan the son of {In 1 Samuel 16:9, Shammah. In 1 Chronicles 2:13: 20:7 Shimea.}Shimei, David's brother, slew him.
These four were born to the {Hebrew: Raphah.}giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
And again the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah.
And the king said to Joab the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now to and fro through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the sum of the people.
And Joab said unto the king, Now Jehovah thy God add unto the people, how many soever they may be, a hundredfold; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?
Notwithstanding, the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
And they passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley {Or, toward}of Gad, and unto Jazer:
then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, and round about to Sidon,
and came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the south of Judah, at Beer-sheba.
So when they had gone to and fro through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in that which I have done: but now, O Jehovah, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
And when David rose up in the morning, the word of Jehovah came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
Go and speak unto David, Thus saith Jehovah, I {Or, lay upon}offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy foes while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise thee, and consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are {Or, many}great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.
So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.
And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-floor of {Or, Ornah In 1 Chronicles 21:15, Ornan.}Araunah the Jebusite.
And David spake unto Jehovah 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 unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
And David went up according to the saying of Gad, as Jehovah commanded.
And Araunah looked forth, and saw the king and his servants {Or, passing over}coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing-floor of thee, to build an altar unto Jehovah, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, the oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for the wood:
{Or, all this did Araunah the king give &c.}all this, O king, doth Araunah give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, Jehovah thy God accept thee.
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will verily buy it of thee at a price; neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto Jehovah my God which cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
And David built there an altar unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. So Jehovah was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
And {Or, an adversary}Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them.
And Joab said, Jehovah make his people a hundred times as many as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel?
Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.
But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them; for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.
And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing: but now, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
And Jehovah spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,
Go and speak unto David, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I {Hebrew: stretch out into.}offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Take which thou wilt:
either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before thy foes, while the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of Jehovah, {Or, and}even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Jehovah; for very {Or, many}great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by the threshing-floor of {In 2 Samuel 24:16, Araunah.}Ornan the Jebusite.
And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, O Jehovah my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against thy people, that they should be plagued.
Then the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and rear an altar unto Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of Jehovah.
And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons that were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.
Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar unto Jehovah: for the full price shalt thou give it me, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all.
And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.
So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
And David built there an altar unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon Jehovah; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering.
And Jehovah commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.
At that time, when David saw that Jehovah had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.
For the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.
Then David said, This is the house of Jehovah God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.
And David commanded to gather together the sojourners that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight;
and cedar-trees without number: for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar-trees in abundance to David.
And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for Jehovah must be exceeding magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for Jehovah, the God of Israel.
And David said to Solomon {According to another reading, My son, as for me &c.}his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God.
But the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be {That is, Peaceful.}Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.
Now, my son, Jehovah be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of Jehovah thy God, as he hath spoken concerning thee.
Only Jehovah give thee discretion and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel; that so thou mayest keep the law of Jehovah thy God.
Then shalt thou prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Jehovah charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; fear not, neither be dismayed.
Now, behold, in my {Or, low estate}affliction I have prepared for the house of Jehovah a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.
Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men that are skilful in every manner of work:
of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and Jehovah be with thee.
David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,
Is not Jehovah your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before Jehovah, and before his people.
Now set your heart and your soul to seek after Jehovah your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of Jehovah God, to bring the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of Jehovah.
I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:Wonderful are thy works;And that my soul knoweth right well.