\NormalFont\ShortTitle{2 SAMUEL}
{\MTB This book contains the account of King David reigning over all of Israel. We call this book
\par }{\MT 2 Samuel

\par }\ChapOne{1}{\SH David found out about Saul’s death
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
Saul
died,
David
{\ADD{
and
the
men
who
were
with
him}}
returned
to
Ziklag
{\ADD{
town}}
after
defeating
the
descendants
of
Amalek.
They
stayed
in
Ziklag
for
two
days.
\VS{2}On
the
third
day,
unexpectedly
a
man
arrived
there
who
had
come
from
where
Saul’s
army
was
camped.
He
had
torn
his
clothes
and
put
dust
on
his
head
{\ADD{
to
show
that
he
was
grieving}}.
He
came
to
David,
and
prostrated
himself
on
the
ground
{\ADD{
in
front
of
David
to
show
respect
for
him}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}David
asked
him, “Where
have
you
come
from?”
The
man
replied, “I
escaped
from
where
the Israeli
army
had
been
camped.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}David
asked
him, “What
happened?
Tell
me
{\ADD{
about
the
battle}}!”
The
man
replied, “The Israeli
soldiers
ran
away
from
the
battle.
Many
of
them
were
killed.
And
Saul
and
his
son
Jonathan ◄are
dead/were
also
killed►.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}David
said
to
the
young
man, “How
do
you
know
that
Saul
and
his
son
Jonathan
are
dead?”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}The
young
man
replied, “It
happened
that
I
was
on
Gilboa
Mountain
{\ADD{
where
the
battle
occurred}},
and
I
saw
Saul,
leaning
on
his
spear.
The
{\ADD{
enemy}}
chariots
and
their drivers
had
come
very
close
to
Saul.
\VS{7}Saul
turned
around
and
saw
me,
and
he
called
out
to
me.
I
answered
him
and
said, ‘What
do
you
want
me
to
do?’
\par }{\PP \VS{8}He
replied, ‘Who
are
you?’
I
replied, ‘I
am
a
descendant
of
Amalek.’
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Then
he
said
to
me, ‘Come
over
here
and
kill
me.
I
am
still
alive,
but
I
am enduing
a
lot
of
pain.’
\par }{\PP \VS{10}So
I
went
to
him
and
killed
him,
because
I
knew
that
he
was
wounded
very
badly
and
would ◄not
continue
to
live/soon
die►.
I
took
the
crown
that
was
on
his
head
and
the
band/bracelet
that
was
on
his
arm,
and
I
have
brought
them
to
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Then
David
and
all
the
men
who
were
with
him
tore
their
clothes
{\ADD{
to
show
that
they
were
very
sad}}.
\VS{12}They
mourned
for
Saul
and
his
son
Jonathan,
and
they
cried
and ◄fasted/abstained
from
eating
food►
until
it
was
evening.
They
also
mourned
for
all
the
army
of
Yahweh,
and
for
all
the Israeli
people,
because
many
of
their
soldiers
had
been
killed
in
the
battle [MTY].
\par }{\PP \VS{13}Then
David
asked
the
young
man
who
had
told
him
{\ADD{
about
the
battle}}, “Where
are
you
from?”
He
replied, “My
father
is
a
descendant
of
Amalek,
but
we
live
in
Israel.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}David
asked
him, “◄Why
were
you
not
afraid
{\ADD{
that
you
would
be
punished
if
you}}
killed
Saul,
whom
Yahweh
had
appointed [MTY]
{\ADD{
to
be
the
king}}?/You
should
have
been
afraid
{\ADD{
that
you
would
be
punished
if
you}}
killed
Saul,
whom
Yahweh
had
appointed [MTY]
{\ADD{
to
be
the
king}}.► [RHQ]
\VS{15-16}You
yourself
said, ‘I
killed
the
man
whom
Yahweh
appointed
to
be
the
king.’
So
you
have
caused
yourself
to
be
guilty [MTY]
of
causing
your
own
death!”
Then
David
summoned
one
of
his
soldiers
and
said
to
him, “Kill
him!”
So
the
soldier
killed
him
by
striking
him
{\ADD{
with
a
sword}}.
\par }{\SH David’s
song
about
Saul
and
Jonathan
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Then
David
composed/wrote
this
sad
song
about
Saul
and
Jonathan,
\VS{18}and
he
commanded
that
it
be
taught
to
the
people
of
Judah.
{\ADD{
The
song
is
called}} ‘The
Bow
{\ADD{
and
Arrow}}’
and
it
has
been
written
in
the
Book
of
Jashar:
\par }{\Q \VS{19}“ou Israeli
people,
your
glorious [MTY]
leaders
have
been
killed
on
the
mountains!
\par }{\QB {\ADD{
It
is
very
sad
that}}
those
mighty
men
have
died!
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{20}“o
not
tell
it
{\ADD{
to
our
enemies
in
the
Philistia
area}};
\par }{\Q do
not
tell
to
the
people
who
live
in
Gath
{\ADD{
city}}
what
happened;
\par }{\QB do
not
proclaim
it
in
the
streets
of
Ashkelon
{\ADD{
city}},
because
if
you
tell
them,
{\ADD{
even}}
the
women
in
that
area
will
be
happy;
\par }{\QB do
not
allow
those ◄pagan
women/women
who
do
not
know
God►
to
rejoice.
\par }{\Q \VS{21}I
hope/desire
that
there
will
be
no
rain
or
dew
on
the
mountains
of
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilboa
{\ADD{
area}} [APO],
\par }{\Q and
that
no
grain
will
grow
in
the
fields
there,
\par }{\QB because
there
the
shield
of
Saul,
the
mighty
{\ADD{
king}},
fell
on
the
ground.
\par }{\Q No
one
rubbed
{\ADD{
olive}}
oil
on
Saul’s
shield;
\par }{\Q \VS{22}instead,
it
was
stained
with
the
blood
of
those
whom
he
had
killed,
\par }{\QB and
the
fat
of
mighty
enemy
soldiers
was
smeared
on
it.
\par }{\Q Jonathan [PRS]
did
not
retreat
carrying
his
bow
{\ADD{
and
arrows}},
\par }{\QB and
Saul
always
{\ADD{
defeated
his
enemies
when
he
fought
them}}
with
his
sword. [PRS,
LIT]
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{23}“aul
and
Jonathan
were
loved
and
they
pleased
many
people.
\par }{\QB They
were
together [LIT]
while
they
lived
and
when
they
died.
\par }{\Q {\ADD{
In
battles}}
they
were
swifter
than
eagles
and
they
were
stronger
than
lions.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{24}“ou Israeli
women,
cry
about
Saul;
\par }{\Q He
provided
beautiful
scarlet/red
clothes
for
you
\par }{\QB and
he
gave
you
gold
ornaments/jewelry
to
fasten
on
those
clothes.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{25}“{\ADD{
It
is
very
sad
that}}
this
mighty
soldier
has
died!
\par }{\QB Jonathan
has
been
killed
on
the
mountains/hills.
\par }{\Q \VS{26}Jonathan,
my
dear
friend,
I
grieve
for
you;
\par }{\QB you
were
very
dear
to
me.
\par }{\Q You
loved
me
in
a
wonderful
manner;
\par }{\QB it
was
better
than
the
way
that
a
woman
loves
{\ADD{
her
husband
and
her
children}}.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{27}“t
is
very
sad
that
those
mighty
men
have
died,
\par }{\QB and
their
weapons
are
now
abandoned!

\par }\Chap{2}{\SH David was appointed to be the king of Judah
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Some
time
after
that,
David
asked
Yahweh, “Should
I
go
back
to
{\ADD{
live
in}}
one
of
the
towns
in
Judah?”
Yahweh
replied, “Yes,
go
up
there.”
Then
David
asked, “To
which
town
should
I
go?”
Yahweh
replied, “To
Hebron.”
\par }{\PP \VS{2}So
David
went
up
there,
taking
his
two
wives,
Ahinoam
who
was
from
Jezreel
{\ADD{
city}},
and
Abigail,
the
widow
of
Nabal
from
Carmel
{\ADD{
city}}.
\VS{3}He
also
took
the
men
who
had
been
with
him,
and
their
families.
They
all
started
to
live
in
villages
near
Hebron.
\VS{4}Then
the
men
of
Judah
came
to
Hebron,
and
{\ADD{
one
of}}
them
poured
olive
oil
on
David’s
head
{\ADD{
to
show
they
were appointing
him
to
be}} [MTY]
the
king
of
the
tribe [MTY]
of
Judah.
\par }{\PP When
David
found
out
that
the
people
of
Jabesh
{\ADD{
town}}
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}
had
buried
Saul’s
body,
\VS{5}he
sent
messengers
to
the
men
of
Jabesh
to
tell
them
this: “I
desire/hope
that
Yahweh
will
bless
you
for
having
shown,
by
burying
the
body
of
Saul
your
king,
that
you
were
loyal
to
him.
\VS{6}Now
I
also
desire/hope
that
Yahweh
will
faithfully
love
you
and
be
loyal
to
you.
And
I
will
do
good
things
for
you
because
of
what
you
have
done
{\ADD{
for
Saul}}.
\VS{7}Now,
although
Saul
your
king
is
dead,
be
strong
and
courageous,
like
the
people
of
Judah,
who
have
appointed
me
to
be
their
king.”
\par }{\SH Ishbosheth
was
appointed
to
be
the
king
of
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{8}{\ADD{
While
this
was happening}}, Ner’s
son
Abner,
the
commander
of
Saul’s
army,
took
Saul’s
son Ishbosheth
and
went
across
{\ADD{
the
Jordan
River}}
to
Mahanaim
{\ADD{
town}}.
\VS{9}There
Abner
proclaimed
that Ishbosheth
was
now
the
king
of
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}
and
of
the
tribe
of
Asher
and
the
region
of
Jezreel
and
the
tribes
of
Ephraim
and
Benjamin.
That
meant
that
he
was
the
king
of
all
of
the
people
of
Israel.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Ishbosheth
was 40
years
old
when
he
started
to
rule
over
the
people
of
Israel.
He
ruled
them
for
two
years.
But
the
tribe
of
Judah ◄was
loyal
to
David/wanted
David
to
be
their
king►,
\VS{11}and
he
ruled
them
for
seven
and
a
half
years
while
he
was
living
in
Hebron.
\par }{\SH The
war
between
the
armies
of
Judah
and
Israel
\par }{\PP \VS{12}{\ADD{
One
day}}
Abner
and
the
officials
of Isbosheth
went
from
Mahanaim
{\ADD{
across
the
Jordan
River}}
to
Gibeon
{\ADD{
city}}.
\VS{13}Joab,
whose
mother
was
Zeruiah,
and
some
of
David’s
officials
{\ADD{
went
from
Hebron
to
Gibeon,
and}}
met
at
the
pool
there.
They
all
sat
down,
the
one
group
on
one
side
of
the
pool
and
the
other
group
on
the
other
side.
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Abner
said
to
Joab, “Let’s
tell
some
of
our
young
men
to
fight
each
other!”
Joab
replied, “Okay!”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}So
twelve
men
from
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
fought
for Ishbosheth,
against
twelve
of
David’s
soldiers.
\VS{16}Each
of
them
grabbed
the
head
of
the
man
against
whom
he
was
fighting,
and
thrust
his
sword
into
that
man’s
side.
The
result
was
that
all 24
of
them
fell
down
dead.
So
that
area
in
Gibeon
is
now
called ‘Field
of Swords’.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Then
{\ADD{
the
others
started
to
fight}}.
It
was
a
very
fierce
battle.
Abner
and
the
men
of
Israel
were
defeated
by
David’s
soldiers.
\par }{\SH Joab’s
brother
Asahel
was
killed
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Zeruiah’s
three
sons
were
there
{\ADD{
on
that
day}}:
Joab,
Abishai,
and
Asahel.
Asahel
was
able
to
run
very
fast;
he
could
run
as
fast
as
a
wild
gazelle/antelope.
\VS{19}Asahel
started
to
pursue
Abner.
He
ran
straight
toward
Abner,
without
stopping.
\VS{20}Abner
looked
behind
him,
and
said “Is
that
you,
Asahel?”
Asahel
replied, “Yes!”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Abner
yelled
at
him, “Turn
to
one
side
or
the
other,
{\ADD{
and
pursue
someone
else}}!”
But
Asahel
would
not
stop
pursuing
Abner.
\par }{\PP \VS{22}So
Abner
yelled
at
him
again, “Stop ◄chasing
after/pursuing►
me! ◄Why
should
I
kill
you?/It
would
not
be
good
for
me
to
kill
you!► [RHQ]
If
I
did
that, ◄how
could
I ‘face/be reconciled
with’
your
brother
Joab?/it
would
be
very
difficult
for
me
to ‘face/be reconciled
with’
your
brother
Joab.► [RHQ]”
\par }{\PP \VS{23}But
Asahel
refused
to
stop
pursuing
Abner.
So
Abner
{\ADD{
suddenly
turned
and}}
thrust
the
butt
end
of
his
spear
into
Asahel’s
stomach.
Because
he
thrust
it
very
strongly,
that
end
of
the
spear
{\ADD{
went
though
Asahel’s
body
and}}
came
out
at
his
back,
and
he
fell
to
the
ground,
dead.
All
the
other
soldiers
who
came
to
the
place
where
his
body
was
lying
stopped
and
stood
there,
{\ADD{
stunned}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}But
Joab
and
Abishai
continued
to
pursue
Abner.
At
sunset
they
came
to
Ammah
Hill,
which
is
east
of
Giah,
along
the
road
to
the
desert
near
Gibeon.
\VS{25}The
men
from
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
gathered
around
Abner
in
one
group,
and
stood
at
the
top
of
a
hill.
\par }{\PP \VS{26}Then
Abner
called
out
to
Joab,
saying “Are
we
going
to
continue
to
fight
forever [RHQ]?
Do
you
not
realize
that
{\ADD{
if
we
continue
fighting}},
the
result
will
be
very
bad [RHQ]?
We
are
all
descendants
of
Jacob.
{\ADD{
So
we
should
stop
fighting
each
other}} ◄How
long
will
it
be
until
you
tell
your
soldiers
to
stop
pursuing
us?/Tell
your
soldiers
to
stop
pursuing
us.►” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{27}Joab
replied, “Just
as
surely
as
God
lives,
if
you
had
not
said
that,
my
soldiers
would
have
continued
pursuing
your
men
until
tomorrow
morning!”
\par }{\PP \VS{28}So
Joab
blew
a
trumpet
{\ADD{
to
signal
that
they
should
stop
fighting}}.
So
all
his
men
did
that.
They
did
not
pursue
the
soldiers
of
Israel
anymore,
and
they
stopped
fighting.
\par }{\PP \VS{29}That
night
Abner
and
his
soldiers
went
through
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
Valley.
They
crossed
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
and
marched
all
the
next
morning,
and
they
finally
arrived
at
Mahanaim.
\par }{\PP \VS{30}Joab
{\ADD{
and
his
soldiers}}
stopped
pursuing
Abner.
And
when
he
gathered
all
his
soldiers
together,
he
found
out
that
in
addition
to
Asahel,
only 19
of
them
had
been
killed
in
the
battle.
\VS{31}But
David’s
soldiers
had
killed 360
of
Abner’s
men,
all
from
the
tribe
of
Benjamin.
\VS{32}{\ADD{
Some
of
Joab’s
soldiers}}
took
Asahel’s
body
and
buried
it
in
the
tomb
where
his
father
had
been
buried,
in
Bethlehem.
Then
they
marched
all
during
the
night,
and
at
dawn
they
arrived
{\ADD{
back
home}}
at
Hebron.

\par }\Chap{3}{\PP \VerseOne{1}There
was
a
long
war
between
those
who
wanted
Saul’s
son
to
be
their
king
and
those
who
wanted
David
to
be
their
king.
But
more
and
more
people
began
to
want
David
to
be
the
king,
while
the
number
of
people
who
wanted
Saul’s
son
to
be
the
king
continued
to
become
smaller.
\par }{\SH David’s
sons
born
at
Hebron
\par }{\LI \VS{2}David’s
wives
gave
birth
to
six
sons
at
Hebron.
The
oldest
was
Amnon,
whose
mother
was
Ahinoam,
from
Jezreel
{\ADD{
city}}.
\par }{\LIB \VS{3}The
next
one
was Kileab,
whose
mother
was
Abigail,
the
widow
of
Nabal,
from
Carmel
{\ADD{
city}}.
\par }{\LIB The
next
one
was
Absalom,
whose
mother
was
Maacah,
the
daughter
of
Talmai,
the
king
of
{\ADD{
the}}
Geshur
{\ADD{
region}}.
\par }{\LIB \VS{4}The
next
one
was
Adonijah,
whose
mother
was
Haggith.
\par }{\LIB The
next
one
was
Shephatiah,
whose
mother
was
Abital.
\par }{\LIB \VS{5}The
youngest
one
was
Ithream,
whose
mother
was
Eglah,
{\ADD{
another
one
of}}
David’s
wives.
\par }{\LIB Those
sons
of
David
were
all
born
in
Hebron.
\par }{\SH Abner
decided
that
David
would
be
king
of
all
of
them
\par }{\PP \VS{6}While
those
who
wanted
Saul’s
son
to
rule
over
them
and
those
who
wanted
David
to
rule
over
them
continued
to
fight
against
each
other,
Abner
was
becoming
more influential
among
those
who
wanted
Saul’s
son
to
be
the
king.
\VS{7}When
Saul
was
alive,
he
had
as
one
of
his
wives
a
slave
woman
named
Rizpah,
the
daughter
of
Aiah.
{\ADD{
But
one
day
Abner
had
sexual
relations
with
her}}.
So Ishbosheth
said
to
Abner, “Why
have
you
had
sexual
relations
with [EUP]
my
father’s
slave
wife?”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Abner
became
very
angry
about
what Ishbosheth
said
to
him.
He
said
to Ishbosheth, “◄Do
you
think
that
I
am
a
{\ADD{
worthless}}
dog [MET]
from
Judah?/You
are treating
me
as
though
I
am
a
{\ADD{
worthless}}
dog [MET]
from
Judah.► [RHQ]
From
the
beginning,
I
have
been
loyal
to
Saul
your
father,
to
his
brothers,
and
to
his
friends.
And
I
have
prevented
you
from
being
defeated
by
David’s
army.
So
now ◄why
are
you criticizing
me
about
{\ADD{
what
I
have
done
with}}
some
woman?/you
should
not
be criticizing
me
about
{\ADD{
what
I
have
done
with}}
some
woman.► [RHQ]
\VS{9-10}Yahweh
solemnly
promised
that
he
would
not
allow
Saul
and
his
descendants
to
continue
to
rule.
He
promised
that
he
would
cause
David
to
rule
over
all
the
tribes
of
Israel
and
Judah,
from
Dan
{\ADD{
city}}
far
in
the
north
to
Beersheba
{\ADD{
city}}
far
in
the
south.
So
I
hope/desire
that
God
will
punish
me
severely [HYP]
if
I
do
not
enable
that
to
happen!”
\VS{11}Ishbosheth
was
very
afraid
of
Abner,
so
he
did
not
say
anything
in
reply
to
Abner.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Then
Abner
sent
messengers
to
David
{\ADD{
when
he
was
at
Hebron}},
to
say
to
him, “{\ADD{
Either
you
or
I}}
should
be [RHQ]
the
ruler
of
this
entire
nation,
{\ADD{
but
not Isbosheth.
However,}}
if
you
make
an
agreement
with
me,
I
will
help
you
by encouraging
all
the
people
of
Israel
to ◄be
want
you
to
be
their
king/start
to
support►
you.”
\VS{13}David
sent
back
this
reply: “Good!
I
am
willing
to
make
an
agreement
with
you.
But
before
that
happens,
there
is
one
thing
that
you
must
do.
When
you
come
to
see
me,
you
must
bring
my
wife
Michal,
Saul’s
daughter.”
\VS{14}Then
David
sent
messengers
to Ishbosheth,
to
say
to
him, “I
{\ADD{
had
to
kill}} 100
men
from
Philistia
{\ADD{
and
cut
off}}
their
foreskins
to
give
to
Saul
to
pay
for
Michal
{\ADD{
to
be
my
wife}}.
So
now
give
her
back
to
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}So Ishbosheth
sent
some
men
to
take
Michal
from
her
husband
Palti.
But
{\ADD{
when
they
took
her,}}
her
husband
followed
them
all
the
way
to
Bahurim
{\ADD{
town}},
crying
as
he
went.
\VS{16}Then
Abner
{\ADD{
turned
and}}
said
to
him, “Go
back
{\ADD{
home}}!”,
so
he
did.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Abner
went
to
the Israeli
leaders
and
talked
with
them.
He
said, “For
a
long
time
you
have
wanted
David
to
be
your
king.
\VS{18}So
now
you
have
an opportunity
to
do
that.
Keep
in
mind
that
Yahweh
promised
this: ‘With
the
help
of
David,
who
serves
me
{\ADD{
well}},
I
will
rescue
my
people
from
the
people
of
Philistia,
and
from
the
power [MTY]
of
all
their
other
enemies’.”
\VS{19}Abner
also
spoke
to
the
people
of
the
tribe
of
Benjamin.
Then
he
went
to
Hebron,
to
tell
David
what
all
the
people
of
Israel
and
the
people
of
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
had
agreed
to
do.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}When
Abner
came
with 20
of
his
soldiers
to
see
David
at
Hebron,
David
made
a
feast
for
all
of
them.
\VS{21}Afterwards,
Abner
said
to
David, “Sir/Your
majesty,
I
will
now
go
and
encourage
all
the
people
of
Israel
to
accept
you
to
be
their
king,
as
you
have
desired.”
Then
Abner
left,
peacefully.
\par }{\SH Joab
murdered
Abner
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Soon
after
that,
Joab
and
some
of
David’s
other
soldiers
returned
{\ADD{
to
Hebron}}
after raiding
{\ADD{
one
of
their
enemies’
villages}},
bringing
with
them
a
lot
of
things
that
they
had
captured.
But
Abner
was
not
there
at
Hebron,
because
David
had
sent
him
safely
home.
\VS{23}When
Joab
and
the
soldiers
who
were
with
him
arrived,
someone
told
him
that
Abner
had
come
there
and
talked
with
the
king,
and
that
the
king
allowed
to
go
home
safely.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}So
Joab
went
to
the
king
and
said, “Why
have
you
done
that?
Listen
to
me!
Abner
{\ADD{
is
your
enemy,
but}}
when
he
came
to
you,
you
allowed
him [RHQ]
to
leave!
\VS{25}Do
you
not
know
that
he
came
to
you
to
deceive
you
and
to
find
out
everything
that
you
are
doing,
and
all
the
places
that
you
go
to?”
\par }{\PP \VS{26}After
Joab
left
David,
he
sent
some
messengers
to
get
Abner.
They
found
him
at
Sirah
Well,
and
brought
him
back
to
Hebron,
but
David
did
not
know
that
they
had
done
that.
\VS{27}So
when
Abner
returned
to
Hebron,
Joab
met
him
at
the
city
gate,
and
took
him
aside
as
though
he
wanted
to
speak
with
him
privately.
Then
he
stabbed
Abner
in
the
stomach
{\ADD{
with
his
knife/sword}}.
In
that
way
he
murdered
Abner
because
Abner
had
killed [MTY]
Joab’s
brother
Asahel.
\par }{\PP \VS{28}Later,
after
David
heard
what
had
happened,
he
said, “Yahweh
knows
that
I
and
the
people
of
my
kingdom
are
not
at
all ◄responsible
for/guilty
of► murdering [MTY]
Abner.
\VS{29}I
hope/desire
that
Joab
and
all
his
family
will
be
punished [MTY]
for
doing
that!
I
hope/desire
that
there
will
always
be
someone
in
his
family
who
has
sores,
or
someone
who
is
a
leper,
or
some
man
who
is
forced
to
do
women’s
work,
or
someone
who
is
killed
in
a
battle,
or
someone
who
does
not
have
enough
food
to
eat!”
\par }{\PP \VS{30}That
is
how
Joab
and
his
brother
Abishai
murdered
Abner,
because
he
had
killed
their
brother
Asahel
in
the
battle
at
Gibeon.
\par }{\PP \VS{31}Then
David
said
to
Joab
and
to
all
Joab’s
soldiers, “Tear
your
clothes
and
put
on coarse
cloth
{\ADD{
to
show
that
you
are
sad}},
and
mourn
for
Abner!”
And
{\ADD{
at
the funeral}},
King
David
walked
behind
{\ADD{
the
men
who
were
carrying}}
the
coffin.
\VS{32}They
buried
Abner’s
body
at
Hebron.
And
at
the
grave,
the
king
cried
loudly,
and
all
the
other
people
also
cried.
\par }{\PP \VS{33}David
sang
this
sad
song
to
lament
for
Abner:
\par }{\Q “t
is
not
right
that [RHQ]
Abner
died
like outlaws
die!
\par }{\QB \VS{34}No
one
tied
his
hands
or
put
chains
on
his
feet,
{\ADD{
like
they
do
to
criminals}}.
\par }{\Q No,
he
was
murdered
by
wicked
men!”
\par }{\PP \VS{35}Then
many [HYP]
people
came
to
David
to
tell
him
to
eat
some
food
before
sunset,
but
David
refused.
He
said, “I
hope/desire
that
God
will
punish
me
severely [HYP]
if
I
eat
any
food
before
the
sun
goes
down!”
\VS{36}All
the
people
saw
what
David
did,
and
they
were
pleased.
Truly,
everything
that
the
king
did
pleased
the
people.
\par }{\PP \VS{37}So
all
the
people
realized
that
the
king
had
not
wanted
Abner
to
be
killed.
\VS{38}The
king
said
to
his
officials, “◄Do
you
not
realize
that
a
leader
and
a
great
man
has
died
today
in
Israel?/You
should
realize
that
a
leader
and
a
great
man
has
died
today
in
Israel.► [RHQ]
\VS{39}Even
though
Yahweh
appointed
me
to
be
the
king,
today
I
feel
weak.
These
two
sons
of
Zeruiah,
{\ADD{
Joab
and
Abishai}},
are
very
violent;
I
cannot
control
them.
So
I
hope/desire
that
Yahweh
will
punish
them
severely
in
return
for
this
wicked
thing
that
they
have
done!”

\par }\Chap{4}{\SH Ishbosheth was murdered
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}When
Saul’s
son Ishbosheth
heard
that
Abner
had
been
killed
at
Hebron,
{\ADD{
he
realized
that
he
might
also
be
killed}}.
He
became
discouraged,
and
all
the Israeli
people ◄trembled/became
afraid►.
\VS{2}Ishbosheth
had
two
officers
who
were
leaders
of
groups
that
raided
other
villages.
{\ADD{
They
were
brothers;}}
their
names
were
Baanah
and
Rechab,
sons
of
Rimmon
from
Beeroth
{\ADD{
town}}
in
the
tribe
of
Benjamin.
Beeroth
is
in
the
area
that
had
{\ADD{
been
assigned
to}}
the
tribe
of
Benjamin.
\VS{3}But
the
people
of
Beeroth
had
fled
to
Gittaim
{\ADD{
town}},
and
they
still
live
there.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}Saul’s
son
Jonathan
had
a
son
named
Mephibosheth.
When
Mephibosheth
was
five
years
old,
Saul
and
Jonathan
died
in
the
battle.
When
people
brought
that
news
from
Jezreel, Mephibosheth’s nursemaid
picked
him
up
and
ran
away.
She
ran
very
fast,
with
the
result
that
she
dropped
him,
and
his
legs
became
crippled.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}One
day,
Rechab
and
Baanah
left
{\ADD{
their
home}}
to
go
to Ishbosheth’s
house.
They
arrived
there
about noontime,
when Ishbosheth
was
taking
his
midday nap.
\VS{6}The
woman
who
was
the
doorkeeper
was sifting
wheat.
While
doing
that,
she
became sleepy,
and
fell
asleep.
So
Rechab
and
his
brother
Baanah
were
able
to
creep
in
quietly.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}They
entered Ishbosheth’s
bedroom,
where
he
was
sleeping.
They
killed
him
{\ADD{
with
their
swords}}
and
cut
off
his
head.
They
carried
his
head
and
walked
all
night
through
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
Valley.
\VS{8}They
took
the
head
of Ishbosheth
to
David
at
Hebron.
They
said
to
him, “Here
is
the
head
of Ishbosheth,
the
son
of
your
enemy
Saul,
who
tried
to
kill
you.
Your
majesty,
today
Yahweh
has
allowed
you
to
get
revenge
on
Saul
and
his
descendants!”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}But
David
replied
to
them, “Yahweh
is
the
one
who
has
rescued
me
from
all
my
troubles.
And
just
as
surely
as
Yahweh
lives,
what
I
am
now
saying
is
also
true.
\VS{10}When
a
messenger
came
to
Ziklag
and
told
me ‘Saul
is
dead!’
and
he
thought
that
the
news
that
he
was
bringing
to
me
was
good
news,
I
seized
him
and
{\ADD{
commanded
one
of
my
soldiers
to}}
kill
him.
That
was
the
reward
I
gave
to
him
for
his
news!
\VS{11}So
because
you
two
evil
men
murdered
a
man
who
is ◄innocent/has
done
nothing
wrong►
when
he
was
sleeping
on
his
bed
in
his
own
house,
I
will
do
something
worse
to
you.
I
will
surely [RHQ]
get
revenge
on
you
two
for murdering [MTY]
him,
and ◄wipe
you/cause
you
to
disappear►
from
the
earth!”
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Then,
following
David’s
orders,
his
soldiers
killed
the
two
men,
and
cut
off
their
hands
and
their
feet,
and
hung
their
bodies (OR,
their
hands
and
feet)
{\ADD{
on
a
pole}}
near
the
pool
at
Hebron.
But
they
took
the
head
of Ishbosheth
and
buried
it
{\ADD{respectfully}}
in
the
tomb
of
Abner,
there
at
Hebron.

\par }\Chap{5}{\SH David became the king of all the Israeli tribes
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Then
{\ADD{
the
leaders
of}}
all
the
tribes
of
Israel
came
to
David
at
Hebron,
and
said
to
him, “Listen,
we
have
the
same
ancestors [IDM]
that
you
do.
\VS{2}In
the
past,
when
Saul
was
our
king,
it
was
you
who
led
our Israeli
soldiers
{\ADD{
in
our
battles}}.
You
are
the
one
to
whom
Yahweh
promised, ‘You
will
be
the
leader [MET]
of
my
people;
you
will
be
their
king.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}So
while
Yahweh
was
listening,
all
those
leaders
of
the
people
of
Israel
declared
there
at
Hebron
{\ADD{
that
David
would
be
their
king}}.
And
David
made
a
sacred
agreement
with
them.
They
anointed
him
{\ADD{
with
olive
oil
to
set
him
apart}}
to
be
the
king
of
the Israeli
people.
\VS{4}David
was 30
years
old
when
he
became
their
king.
He
ruled
them
for 40
years.
\VS{5}In
Hebron
he
ruled
over
the
tribe
of
Judah
for
seven
and
a
half
years,
and
in
Jerusalem
he
ruled
over
all
the
people
of
Judah
and
Israel
for 33
years.
\par }{\SH David’s
army
captured
Jerusalem
\par }{\PP \VS{6}{\ADD{
One
day}}
King
David
and
his
soldiers
went
to
Jerusalem
to
fight
against
the
Jebus people-group
who
lived
there.
The
people
there
thought
that
David’s
army
would
not
be
able
to
capture
the
city,
so
they
sent
a
message
to
David,
saying “Your
army
will
never
be
able
to
get
inside
our
city!
Even
the
blind
and
crippled
people
will
be
able
to
chase
you
away!”
\VS{7}But
David’s
army
captured
the
fortress
on
Zion
{\ADD{
Hill}},
{\ADD{
and
later
it
was
known
as}}
David’s
City.
\VS{8}On
that
day,
David
said
{\ADD{
to
his
soldiers}}, “Those
who
want
to
get
rid
of
the
Jebus people-group
should
go
through
the
water
tunnel
{\ADD{
to
enter
the
city}}.
Then
they
can
attack
those
people
whom
I [SYN]
detest—{\ADD{
and
we
will
find
out
if
any}}
blind
and
crippled
people
{\ADD{
will
be
able
to
stop
them}}!”
That
is
why
people
say, “Blind
and
crippled
people
cannot
enter
Yahweh’s
temple.”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}{\ADD{
After
}}
David
{\ADD{
and
his
soldiers
captured}}
the
city
with
its
strong
walls
around
it,
he
lived
there,
and
they
named
it ‘David’s City’.
David
{\ADD{
and
his
soldiers}}
built
the
city
around
the
fortress,
starting
where
the
{\ADD{
land
was ◄filled
in/terraces►
on
the
east
side
of
the
hill}}.
\VS{10}David
continued
to
become
more
and
more
powerful/influential,
because
the
Almighty
Commander
of
the
armies
of
angels
was
with/helping
him.
\par }{\BB \par }{\PP \VS{11}{\ADD{
One
day}}
Hiram,
the
king
of
Tyre
{\ADD{
city}},
sent
ambassadors/messengers
to
David
{\ADD{
to
talk
about
making agreements
between
their
countries}}.
Hiram
agreed
to
provide
cedar
trees
{\ADD{
to
make lumber}},
and
also
that
he
would
send
carpenters
and
masons,
to
build
a
palace
for
David.
\VS{12}His
doing
that
caused
David
to
realize
that
Yahweh
truly
had
appointed
him
to
be
the
king
of
Israel,
and
that
Yahweh
was
going
to
cause
his
kingdom
to
prosper,
because
Yahweh
loved
the Israeli
people,
whom
{\ADD{
he
had
chosen
to}}
belong
to
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{13}After
David
moved
from
Hebron
to
Jerusalem,
he
took
more
slave
women
to
be
his second-class
wives,
and
he
also
married
other
women.
{\ADD{
All
of
those
women}}
gave
birth
to
more
sons
and
daughters.
\VS{14}The
names
of
the
sons
who
were
born
in
Jerusalem
were
Shammua,
Shobab,
Nathan,
Solomon,
\VS{15}Ibhar,
Elishua,
Nepheg,
Japhia,
\VS{16}Elishama,
Eliada,
and
Eliphelet.
\par }{\SH David’s
army
defeated
the
Philistines
\par }{\PP \VS{17}When
the
Philistia
people
heard
that
David
had
been
appointed
to
be
the
king
of
Israel,
their
army
went
up
{\ADD{
toward
Jerusalem}}
to
try
to
capture
David.
But
David
heard
that
they
were
coming,
so
he
went
down
to
another
fortified
place.
\VS{18}The
{\ADD{
army
of}}
Philistia
arrived
at
Rephaim
Valley
{\ADD{southwest
of
Jerusalem}}
and
spread
all
over
the
valley.
\VS{19}David
asked
Yahweh, “Should
{\ADD{
my
men
and}}
I
attack
the
Philistia
army?
Will
you
enable
us
to
defeat
them [IDM]?”
Yahweh
replied, “Yes,
attack
them,
because
I
will
certainly
enable
your
army
to
defeat
them. [IDM]”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}So
David
{\ADD{
and
his
army}}
went
to
{\ADD{
where
the
Philistia
army
was}},
and
there
they
defeated
them.
Then
David
said, “Yahweh
has
burst
through
my
enemies
like
a
flood.” [SIM]
So
that
place
is
called ‘Lord
of Bursting-through’.
\VS{21}The
Philistia
men
left
their
idols
there;
so
David
and
his
soldiers
took
them
away.
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Then
the
Philistia
{\ADD{
army}}
returned
to
Rephaim
Valley
and
spread
all
over
the
valley.
\VS{23}So
again
David
asked
Yahweh
{\ADD{
if
his
army
should
attack
them}}.
But
Yahweh
replied, “Do
not
attack
them
{\ADD{
from
here}}.
Tell
your
men
to
go
around
them
and
attack
them
from
the
other
side,
near
the
balsam
trees.
\VS{24}When
you
hear
something
in
the
tops
of
the
balsam
trees
that
sounds
like
{\ADD{
an
army}}
marching,
attack
them,
because
I
will
have
gone
ahead
of
you
{\ADD{
to
enable
your
army}}
to
defeat
their
army.”
\VS{25}So
David
did
what
Yahweh
told
him
to
do,
and
his
{\ADD{
army}}
defeated
the
Philistia
army
from
Geba
{\ADD{
city}}
all
the
way
{\ADD{
west}}
to
Gezer
{\ADD{
city}}.

\par }\Chap{6}{\SH They moved the sacred chest to Jerusalem
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Then
David
chose 30,000 Israeli
men
and
gathered
them
together.
\VS{2}He
led
them
to
the
place
in
Judah
{\ADD{
formerly}}
called
Baalah,
{\ADD{
now
called
Kiriath-Jearim}}.
They
went
in
order
to
bring
from
there
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}
the
sacred
chest,
which
had
the
name
of
Yahweh,
the
leader
of
the
armies
of
{\ADD{
the
angels
in}}
heaven,
written
on
it,
and
which
had
the
{\ADD{
statues
of
the}}
winged
creatures
on
top
of
it.
Between
those
statues
was
where
Yahweh
spoke
messages
about
ruling
his
people [MTY].
\VS{3}The
sacred
chest
was
in
the
house
of
Abinadab,
on
top
of
a
hill.
They
went
there,
and
they
put
the
chest
on
a
new
cart.
Uzzah
and
Ahio,
the
two
sons
of
Abinadab,
were
guiding
{\ADD{
the
oxen
that
were pulling
the
cart}}.
\VS{4}Uzzah
walked
alongside
the
cart,
and
Ahio
walked
in
front
of
it.
\VS{5}David
and
all
the Israeli
men
were
celebrating
in
God’s
presence,
singing
with
all
their
strength
and
{\ADD{
playing}}
lyres
and
harps,
and
beating
tambourines,
and clashing
castanets
and
cymbals.
\par }{\PP \VS{6}But
when
they
came
to
the
place
where
Nacon
threshed
grain,
the
oxen
stumbled.
So
Uzzah
put
his
hand
on
the
sacred
chest
to ◄steady
it/prevent
it
from
falling
{\ADD{
off
the
cart}}►.
\VS{7}Yahweh
immediately
became
very
angry
with
Uzzah,
and
he
killed
him
right
there
alongside
the
sacred
chest,
because
he
had
touched
the
chest,
{\ADD{
and
Yahweh
had
commanded
that
only
the
descendants
of
Levi
who
help
the
priests
should
touch
the
sacred
chest}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{8}David
was
angry
because
Yahweh
had
punished
Uzzah.
So
ever
since
that
time,
that
place
has
been
called ‘The
Punishment
of Uzzah’.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}David
was
{\ADD{
also}}
afraid
of
{\ADD{
what
else}}
Yahweh
{\ADD{
would
do
to
punish
them}},
so
he
said, “◄How
can
I
take
the
sacred
chest
with
me
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}?/I
am
afraid
to
take
the
sacred
chest
with
me
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}.►” [RHQ]
\VS{10}So
he
did
not
want
to
take
the
sacred
chest
to
Jerusalem.
Instead,
they
took
it
to
another
place;
they
took
it
to
the
house
of
Obed-Edom,
from
Gath
{\ADD{
city}}.
\VS{11}They
left
the
sacred
chest
in
the
house
of
Obed-Edom
for
three
months,
and
{\ADD{
during
that
time}}
Yahweh
blessed
Obed-Edom
and
his
family.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Later,
people
told
David, “Yahweh
has
blessed
Obed-Edom
and
his
family
because
{\ADD{
he
is
taking
care}}
of
the
sacred
chest!”
When
David
heard
that,
he
{\ADD{
and
some
other
men}}
went
to
Obed-Edom’s
house,
and
very
joyfully
brought
the
sacred
chest
from
there
to
Jerusalem.
\VS{13}{\ADD{
This
time,
descendants
of
Levi}}
were
carrying
the
sacred
chest,
but
when
they
had
walked
only
six
steps,
they
stopped,
and
there
David
killed
a
bull
and
a
fat
calf,
and
offered
them
to
Yahweh
for
a
sacrifice.
\VS{14}David
was
wearing
{\ADD{
only}}
a
linen
cloth
wrapped
around
his
waist,
and
was
dancing
very
energetically
to
honor
Yahweh.
\VS{15}David
and
the Israeli
men
took
the
sacred
chest
up
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}},
shouting
{\ADD{
loudly}}
and
blowing
trumpets.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}While
they
were
carrying
the
sacred
chest
into
the
city,
{\ADD{
David’s
wife}}
Michal,
who
was
Saul’s
daughter,
looked
out
the
window
{\ADD{
of
her
house}}.
She
saw
King
David
leaping
and
dancing
to
honor
Yahweh.
So
she
was
disgusted
with
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}They
brought
the
sacred
chest
into
the
tent
that
David
had
erected
for
it.
Then
David
gave
to
Yahweh
offerings
to
be
completely
burned
{\ADD{
on
an
altar}},
and
other
offerings
to
maintain
fellowship
with
Yahweh.
\VS{18}When
David
had
finished
offering
those
sacrifices,
he
asked
Yahweh,
the
Commander
of
the
armies
{\ADD{
of
the
angels}},
to
bless
the
people.
\VS{19}He
also
distributed
food
to
all
the
people.
To
each Israeli
man
and
woman
he
gave
a
loaf
of
bread,
some
meat,
and
a
raisin
cake.
Then
all
the
people
returned
to
their
homes.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}When
David
went
home
to
{\ADD{
ask
Yahweh
to}}
bless
his
family,
his
wife
Michal
came
out
to
meet
him.
She
said
to
him, “Maybe
you,
the
king
of
Israel,
{\ADD{
think
that
you}} [IRO]
were
honoring
yourself
today,
but
really,
you
acted
like
a
fool, uncovering
yourself
while
the
female
servants
of
your
officials
were
watching!”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}David
replied
to
Michal, “{\ADD{
I
was
doing
that}}
to
honor
Yahweh,
who
chose
me
instead
of
your
father
and
other
members
of
his
family,
to
be
the
king
of
the Israeli
people,
the
people
who
belong
to
Yahweh.
And
I
will
{\ADD{
continue
to}}
dance
to
honor
Yahweh!
\VS{22}{\ADD{
Even
though
you
think
that
what
I
did}}
was
disgraceful,
I
will
continue
to
do
it
even
more.
You
may
despise
me
{\ADD{
because
of
what
I
did}},
but
the
women
whom
you
were
talking
about
will
honor
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{23}{\ADD{
As
a
result,}}
Saul’s
daughter
Michal
never
gave
birth
to
any
children.

\par }\Chap{7}{\SH What God promised David
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
{\ADD{
King}}
David
began
to
live
in
his
palace,
Yahweh
protected
him
from
all
his
enemies.
\VS{2}One
day
he
said
to
the
prophet
Nathan, “{\ADD{
It
is
not
right
that}}
I
am
here,
living
in
a
{\ADD{
beautiful}}
house
made
of
cedar
{\ADD{
wood}},
but
the
chest
that
contains
God’s
Ten
Commandments
is
kept
in
a
tent!”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}Then
Nathan
said
to
the
king, “Yahweh
is
helping/directing
you,
so
do
{\ADD{
regarding
that
chest}}
whatever
you
are
thinking.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}But
that
night,
Yahweh
said
to
Nathan,
\par }{\PI \VS{5}“Go
and
tell
my
servant,
David,
that
this
is
what
{\ADD{
I}},
Yahweh,
am
saying
to
him: ‘You
are
not
the
one [RHQ]
who
should
build
a
temple
for
me
to
live
in.
\VS{6}I
have
not
lived
in
any
building
from
the
day
that
I
brought
the Israeli
people
up
from
Egypt
until
now.
Instead,
I
have
been
living
in
a
tent,
moving
from
one
place
to
another
{\ADD{
when
the Israelis}}
moved
to
other
places.
\VS{7}Wherever
I
went
with
all
the Israelis
{\ADD{
as
they
traveled}},
I
never
said [RHQ]
to
any
of
their
leaders
whom
I
appointed
to
lead
them, “Why
have
you
not
built
me
a
temple
made
of
cedar
{\ADD{
wood}}?” ’
\par }{\PI \VS{8}So
this
is
what
you
should
say
to
my
servant
David: ‘The
Almighty
Commander
of
the
armies
of
angels
says
that
he
took
you
from
a
pasture
where
you
were
taking
care
of
sheep,
{\ADD{
and
appointed
you}}
to
become
the
ruler
of
my Israeli
people.
\VS{9}I
have ◄been
with/helped►
you
wherever
you
have
gone.
I
have
gotten
rid
of
all
your
enemies
as
you
advanced.
I
will
enable
you
to
become
very
famous,
as well-known
as
the
names
of
all
the
greatest
men
{\ADD{
who
have
ever
lived}}
on
the
earth.
\VS{10-11}Formerly,
during
the
time
that
I
appointed
leaders
for
my Israeli
people,
many
violent
groups
oppressed
the Israelis.
But
this
will
not
happen
anymore.
I
have
chosen
a
place
where
my Israeli
people
can
live
{\ADD{
peacefully}}
and
no
one
will
disturb
them
anymore.
I
will
give
them
rest
from
{\ADD{
being
attacked
by}}
their
enemies.
And
I
will
defeat
all
your
enemies.
\par }{\PI I
declare
to
you
that
I,
Yahweh,
will
enable
your
descendants
to
rule
after
you
{\ADD{
die}}.
\VS{12}When
your
life
ends [EUP]
and
you
go
to
be
with
your
ancestors,
I
will
appoint
one
of
your
sons
to
be
king,
and
I
will
enable
his
kingdom
to ◄be
strong/resist
all
their
enemies►.
\VS{13}He
is
the
one
who
will
arrange
for
a
temple
to
be
built
for
me [MTY],
and
I
will
cause
his
{\ADD{
descendants}}
to
be
kings [MTY]
{\ADD{
of
Israel}}
forever.
\VS{14}I
will
be
{\ADD{
like}}
a
father
to
him,
and
{\ADD{
it
will
be
as
though}}
he
{\ADD{
is
}}
a
son
to
me [MET].
When
he
does
something
that
is
wrong,
I
will
punish
him
as
fathers
punish
their
sons.
\VS{15}But
I
will
not
stop
faithfully
loving
him
as
I
stopped
loving
Saul,
whom
I
removed
from
being
king
before
you
became
king.
\VS{16}Your
descendants
will
rule
the
kingdom
{\ADD{
of
Israel}}
forever.
Their
rule
will
never
end. [DOU]’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{17}So
Nathan
told
David
everything
that
Yahweh
had
told
him.
\par }{\SH David
gave
thanks
to
God
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Then
David
went
into
{\ADD{
the
Sacred
Tent}}
and
sat
in
the
presence
of
Yahweh,
and
prayed
this:
\par }{\PI “Yahweh,
my
God,
I
am
not
worthy [RHQ]
{\ADD{
for
you
to
have
done
all
these
things}}
for
me,
and
my
family
is
not
worthy,
either.
\par }{\PI \VS{19}“nd
now,
O
Yahweh
my
God,
in
addition
to
everything
else,
you
have
spoken
about
what
will
happen
to
my
descendants
in
the
future
for
many
generations.
\par }{\PI \VS{20}“
Yahweh
God,
what
more
can
I,
David,
say
to
you
{\ADD{
for
honoring
me}}?
Although
you
know
very
well
{\ADD{
what
I
am
like}},
Yahweh
my
God,
you
have
done
things
for
me
as
though
I
was
the
most
important
man
{\ADD{
on
the
earth}}!
\VS{21}For
my
sake
and
because
it
is
what
you
wanted
to
do,
you
have
done
all
these
great
things
for
me.
\par }{\PI \VS{22}“
Yahweh
my
God,
you
are
great.
There
is
no
one
like
you.
Only
you
are
God,
just
as
we
have
always
heard.
\VS{23}And
there
is
no
other
nation
in
the
world
like
Israel.
Israel
is
the
only
nation
on
the
earth
whose
people
you
went
out
to
rescue [RHQ].
By
the
great
and
awesome
things
that
you
did,
you
have
become
famous/well-known
throughout
the
world.
As
your
people
advanced
{\ADD{
through
this
land}},
you
expelled
other people-groups
{\ADD{
who
were
here
in
Canaan}},
who
worshiped
other
gods.
\VS{24}And
you
caused
us Israeli
people
to
be
your
people
forever,
and
you,
Yahweh,
have
become
our
God!
\par }{\PI \VS{25}“nd
now,
Yahweh
my
God,
{\ADD{
I
pray
that
you
will}}
cause
the
things
that
you
promised
to
me
about
my
descendants
to
be
fulfilled
forever,
and
{\ADD{
that
you
will}}
do
the
things
that
you
said
{\ADD{
that
you
would
do}}.
\VS{26}When
that
happens,
you
will
become
famous
forever,
and
people
will exclaim, ‘The
Almighty
Commander
of
the
armies
of
angels
is
the
God
who
rules
Israel.’
And
you
will
cause
that
forever
there
will
be
descendants
of
mine
who
will
rule.
\par }{\PI \VS{27}“ahweh
Almighty,
the
God
whom
we Israeli
people
{\ADD{
worship}},
you
have
revealed
to
me
that
you
will
make
some
of
my
descendants
kings.
For
that
reason,
I
have
been
brave
enough
to
pray
like
this
to
you.
\VS{28}So
now,
O
Yahweh
Almighty,
because
you
are
God,
we
can
trust
that
you
will
do
what
you
promise.
You
have
promised
these
good
things
to
me.
\VS{29}So
now
I
ask
you
that
if
it
pleases
you,
you
will
bless
my
descendants,
in
order
that
they
may
continue
{\ADD{
to
rule}}
forever.
Yahweh
God,
you
have
promised
these
things,
and
{\ADD{
so
I
know
that}}
you
will
keep
blessing
my
descendants
forever.”

\par }\Chap{8}{\SH David’s army won many victories
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Some
time
later,
David’s
army
attacked
the
Philistia
{\ADD{
army}}
and
defeated
them.
They
took
control
over
the
entire
Philistia
area.
\par }{\PP \VS{2}David’s
army
also
defeated
the
army
of
the
Moab people-group.
David
forced
their
soldiers
to
lie
down
on
the
ground
{\ADD{
close
to
each
other}}.
His
men
killed
two
out
of
every
three
of
them.
The
{\ADD{
other}}
Moab
people
{\ADD{
were
forced
to}}
accept
David
as
their
ruler,
and
they
were
forced
to
give
to
him
{\ADD{
every
year
the}}
payment/tax
{\ADD{
that
he
demanded}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}David’s
army
also
defeated
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
Hadadezer,
the
son
of
Rehob,
who
ruled
{\ADD{
the
state
of}}
Zobah
{\ADD{
in
Syria}}.
That
happened
when
David
went
to
rule
again
over
the
area
at
{\ADD{
the
upper
part
of}}
the
Euphrates
River.
\VS{4}David’s
army
captured 1,700
of
Hadadezer’s
soldiers
who
rode
on
horses,
and 20,000
of
his
other
soldiers.
They
also
crippled/hamstrung
most
of
the
horses
that
pulled
the
chariots,
but
they
left/spared
enough
horses
to
{\ADD{
pull}} 100
chariots.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}When
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
Syria
came
from
Damascus
{\ADD{
city}}
to
help
King
Hadadezer’s
{\ADD{
army}},
David’s
soldiers
killed 22,000
of
them.
\VS{6}Then
David
stationed ◄groups
of
his
soldiers/army
camps►
in
their
area,
and
the
people
of
Syria
were
forced
to
accept
David
as
their
ruler,
and
to
give
to
David’s
government
{\ADD{
every
year}}
the
payment/tax
that
he
demanded.
And
Yahweh
enabled
David’s
{\ADD{
army}}
to
win
victories
wherever
they
went.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}David’s
soldiers
took
the
gold
shields
that
were
carried
by
Hadadezer’s
officials,
and
brought
them
to
Jerusalem.
\VS{8}They
also
brought
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}
a
lot
of
bronze
{\ADD{
that
they
found}}
in
Betah
and
Berothai,
two
cities
that
King
Hadadezer
{\ADD{
had
previously}}
ruled.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}When
Toi,
the
king
of
the
Hamath
{\ADD{
city
in
Syria}},
heard
that
David’s
{\ADD{
army}}
had
defeated
the
entire
army
of
King
Hadadezer,
\VS{10}he
sent
his
son
Joram
to
greet
King
David
and
to ◄congratulate
him/say
that
he
was
happy►
about
his
army
defeating
Hadadezer’s
army,
which Toi’s
{\ADD{
army}}
had
fought
many
times.
Joram
brought
to
David
many
items/gifts
made
from
gold,
silver,
and
bronze.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}King
David
dedicated
all
those
items
to
Yahweh.
He
also
dedicated
the
silver
and
gold
which
his
army
had
taken
from
the
nations
that
they
had
conquered.
\VS{12}They
had
taken
items
from
the
Edom people-group
and
the
Moab people-group,
from
the
Ammon people-group,
from
the
Philistia
people,
and
from
{\ADD{
the
descendants
of
}}
Amalek,
as
well
as
from
the
people
that
Hadadezer
{\ADD{
previously}}
ruled.
\par }{\PP \VS{13}When
David
returned
{\ADD{
after
defeating
the
armies
of
Syria}},
he
became
more
famous
because
his
army
killed 18,000
soldiers
from
the
Edom people-group
in
the
Salt
Valley
{\ADD{
near
the
Dead
Sea}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{14}David
stationed ◄groups
of
his
soldiers/army
camps►
throughout
the
Edom
area,
and
forced
the
people
there
to
accept
him
as
their
king.
Yahweh
enabled
David’s
{\ADD{
army}}
to
win
battles
wherever
they
went.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}David
ruled
over
all
the Israeli
people,
and
he
always
did
for
them
what
was
fair
and
just.
\VS{16}Joab
was
the
army
commander;
Jehoshaphat,
the
son
of
Ahilud,
was
the
man
who
reported
to
the
people
everything
that
David
decided
that
they
should
do;
\VS{17}Zadok
the
son
of
Ahitub
and
Ahimelech
the
son
of
Abiathar
were
the
priests;
Seraiah
was
the
official
secretary;
\VS{18}Benaiah
the
son
of
Jehoiada
was
the
commander
of ◄David’s bodyguards/the
men
who
protected
the
king►;
and
David’s
sons
were
priests (OR,
his
administrators/advisors).

\par }\Chap{9}{\SH David was kind to Mephibosheth
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}One
day
David
asked, “Is
there
anyone
who
is
a
descendant
of
Saul
to
whom
I
can
be
kind?”
He
asked
this
because
he
wanted
to
honor
Jonathan.
\par }{\PP \VS{2}{\ADD{
They
told
him
that}}
there
was
{\ADD{
in
Jerusalem}}
a
man
named
Ziba
who
had
been
a
servant
of
Saul’s
family.
So
{\ADD{
David
sent
messengers
to
summon
Ziba.
When
he
arrived}},
the
king
asked
him, “Are
you
Ziba?”
He
replied, “Yes,
your
majesty,
I
am.”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}The
king
asked
him, “Is
there
anyone
in
Saul’s
family
to
whom
I
can bet
kind,
{\ADD{
as
I
promised
Jonathan
that
I
would
do}}?”
Ziba
replied, “Yes,
there
is
one
son
of
Jonathan
who
is
still
{\ADD{
alive}}.
His
feet
are
crippled.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}The
king
asked
him, “Where
is
he?”
Ziba
replied, “He
is
{\ADD{
living}}
in
the
house
of
Machir,
son
of
Ammiel,
in
Lo-Debar
{\ADD{
city
east
of
the
Jordan
River}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}So
King
David
sent
{\ADD{
messengers}}
to
bring
Mephibosheth
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{6}When
Mephibosheth
came
to
David,
he
knelt
down
with
his
face
on
the
ground,
to
show
respect.
Then
David
said, “Mephibosheth!”
He
replied, “Yes,
your
majesty,
how
may
I
serve
you?”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}David
said
to
him, “Do
not
be
afraid;
I
will
be
kind
to
you
because
Jonathan
your
father
{\ADD{
was
my
loyal
friend}}.
I
will
give
back
to
you
all
the
land
that
belonged
to
your
grandfather
Saul.
And
{\ADD{
I
want}}
you
to
always
eat
with
me
at
my
house [MTY].”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Mephibosheth
bowed
{\ADD{
in
front
of
David
again}}
and
said, “Sir,
I
am
{\ADD{
as
worthless
as}} [MET]
a
dead
dog;
I
do
not
deserve [RHQ]
that
you
be
kind
to
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Then
the
king
summoned
Saul’s
servant
Ziba
and
said
to
him, “Saul
was
your
master;
now
I
am
giving
to
Mephibosheth
everything
that
belonged
to
Saul
and
his
family.
\VS{10}You
and
your 15
sons
and
your 20
servants
must
till/plow
the
land
for Mephibosheth’s
{\ADD{
family}},
and
{\ADD{
plant
crops}}
and
harvest
them,
in
order
that
they
will
have
food
to
eat.
But
Mephibosheth
will
eat
food
with
me
at
my
house.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Ziba
replied
to
the
king, “Your
majesty,
I
will
do
everything
that
you
have
commanded
me
to
do.”
So
{\ADD{
after
that}},
Mephibosheth
always
ate
at
the
king’s
table,
as
though
he
were
one
of
the
king’s
sons.
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Mephibosheth
had
a
young
son
named
Mica.
All
of Ziba’s
family
became
servants
of
Mephibosheth.
\VS{13}And
Mephibosheth,
who
was
still
crippled
in
both
of
his
feet,
started
to
live
in
Jerusalem,
and
he
always
ate ◄at
the
king’s
table/with
the
king►.

\par }\Chap{10}{\SH David’s army defeated the Ammon people-group
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Some
time
later,
the
king
of
the
Ammon people-group
died,
and
his
son
Hanun
became
their
king.
\VS{2}David
thought, “Nahash
was
kind
to
me,
so
I
will
be
kind
to
his
son.”
So
David
sent
some
officials
there,
to
tell
Hanun
that
David
was
sorry
that Hanun’s
father
{\ADD{
had
died}}.
\par }{\PP When
those
messengers
arrived
in
the
land
where
the
Ammon people-group
lived,
\VS{3}the
leaders
of
the
Ammon people-group
said
to
Hanun, “Do
you
think
that
it
is
to
honor
your
father
that
King
David
has
sent
these
men
to
say
that
he
is
sorry
that
your
father
died [RHQ]?
{\ADD{
We
think
that}}
he
has
sent
them
here
to
look
around
the
city
to
determine
how
his
{\ADD{
army}}
can
conquer
us!”
\VS{4}Hanun
{\ADD{
believed
what
they
said;
so
he
commanded
some
soldiers
to}}
seize
David’s
officials
and
{\ADD{
insult
them
by}}
shaving
off
one
side
of
each
man’s
beard,
and
{\ADD{
by}}
cutting
off
the
lower
part
of
their
robes,
{\ADD{
with
the
result
that
their
buttocks
could
be
seen}},
and
then
they
sent
them
away.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}The
men
were
very
humiliated/ashamed,
{\ADD{
so
they
did
not
want
to
return
home}}.
When
David
found
out
about
what
had
happened
to
his
officials,
he
sent
someone
to
tell
them, “Stay
at
Jericho
until
your
beards
have
grown
again,
and
then
return
home.”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}Then
{\ADD{
the
leaders
of}}
the
Ammon people-group
realized
that
they
had
greatly
insulted [IDM]
David [IDM].
So
they
sent
some
men
to
hire/pay
some
soldiers
{\ADD{
from
other
nearby
areas
to
help
defend
them}}.
They
hired 20,000
soldiers
from
{\ADD{
the
}}
Beth-Rehob
and
Zobah
{\ADD{
regions northeast
of
Israel}},
and 12,000
soldiers
from
{\ADD{
the
}}
Tob
{\ADD{
region}},
and 1,000
soldiers
from
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
the
king
of
Maacah
{\ADD{
region}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}When
David
heard
about
that,
he
sent
Joab
with
all
of
the
army
{\ADD{
that
Joab
commanded}},
to
fight
against
them.
\VS{8}The
soldiers
of
the
Ammon people-group
marched
out
and ◄stood
in
their
positions/arranged
themselves
for
battle►
at
the
entrance
{\ADD{
to
their
capital
city,
Rabbah}}.
The
other
soldiers
from
Syria
and
Tob
and
Maacah
stood
by
themselves ◄in
their
positions/arranged
themselves
for
battle►
in
the
nearby
fields.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Joab
saw
that
there
were
groups
of
enemy
soldiers
in
front
of
his
troops
and
behind
his
troops.
So
he
chose
some
of
the
best Israeli
soldiers,
and
put
them
in
positions
to
fight
against
the
soldiers
of
Syria.
\VS{10}He
appointed
his
{\ADD{
older}}
brother
Abishai
to
be
the
commander
of
all
the
other
soldiers,
and
he
told
them
to ◄stand
in
their
positions/arrange
themselves►
in
front
of
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
the
Ammon people-group.
\VS{11}Then
Joab
said, “If
the
soldiers
from
Syria
are
too
strong
for
us
to
defeat
them,
your
men
must
come
and
help
us.
But
if
the
soldiers
from
the
Ammon people-group
are
too
strong
for
you
to
defeat,
we
will
come
and
help
your
men.
\VS{12}We
must
be
strong,
and
fight
hard [IDM]
to
{\ADD{
defend}}
our
people
and
the
cities
{\ADD{◄that
belong
to/where
we
worship►}}
our
God.
I
will
pray/request
that
Yahweh
do
what
he
considers
to
be
good.”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}So
Joab
and
his
army
{\ADD{
advanced
to}}
attack
the
army
of
Syria,
and
the
soldiers
from
Syria
ran
away
from
them.
\VS{14}And
when
{\ADD{
the
soldiers
of}}
the
Ammon people-group
saw
that
the
soldiers
from
Syria
were
running
away,
they
also
started
to
run
away
from
Abishai
and
his
army,
and
they
retreated
back
inside
the
city.
So
Joab’s
{\ADD{
army}}
stopped
fighting
against
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
the
Ammon people-group,
and
Joab
{\ADD{
and
his
army}}
returned
to
Jerusalem.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}After
{\ADD{
the
leaders
of}}
the
army
of
Syria
saw
that
the Israeli
army
had
defeated
them,
they
gathered
all
their
troops
together.
\VS{16}{\ADD{
Their
king,}}
Hadadezer,
summoned
the
soldiers
of
Syria
who
lived
on
the
east
side
of
the
{\ADD{
Euphrates}}
River.
They
gathered
at
Helam
{\ADD{
city}}.
Their
commander
was
Shobach.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}When
David
heard
about
that,
he
gathered
all
the Israeli
soldiers,
and
they
crossed
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
and
marched
to
Helam.
There,
the
army
of
Syria ◄took
their
positions/arranged
themselves
for
battle►,
and
the
battle
started.
\VS{18}But
the
soldiers
of
Syria
ran
away
from
the Israeli
soldiers.
David
{\ADD{
and
his
army}}
killed 700
of
their chariot-drivers
and 40,000
other
soldiers.
They
also
wounded
Shobach,
their
commander,
and
he
died
there.
\VS{19}When
all
the
kings
who
had
been
ruled
by
Hadadezer
realized
that
they
had
been
defeated
by
the Israeli
{\ADD{
army}},
they
made
peace
with
the Israelis
and
agreed
to
accept
David
as
their
king.
So
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
Syria
was
afraid
to
help
{\ADD{
the
army
of}}
the
Ammon people-group
anymore.

\par }\Chap{11}{\SH David sinned with Bathsheba
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}{\ADD{
In
that
region}},
kings
usually
went
{\ADD{
with
their
armies}}
to
fight
{\ADD{
their
enemies}}
in
the springtime.
But
the
following
year,
in
the springtime,
David
{\ADD{
did
not
do
that.
Instead,
he}}
stayed
in
Jerusalem,
and
he
sent
{\ADD{
his
commander}}
Joab
{\ADD{
to
lead
the
army}}.
So
Joab
went
with
the
other
officers
and
the
rest
of
the Israeli
army.
They
{\ADD{
crossed
the
Jordan
River
and}}
defeated
the
army
of
the
Ammon people-group.
Then
they
surrounded
{\ADD{
their
capital
city,}}
Rabbah.
\par }{\PP \VS{2}Late
one
afternoon,
after
David
got
up
from
taking
a nap,
he
walked
around
on
the
{\ADD{
flat}}
roof
of
his
palace.
He
saw
a
woman
who
was
bathing
{\ADD{
in
the
courtyard
of
her
house}}.
The
woman
was
very
beautiful.
\VS{3}David
sent
a
messenger
to
find
out
who
she
was.
{\ADD{
The
messenger
returned}}
and
said, “She
is [RHQ]
Bathsheba.
She
is
the
daughter
of
Eliam,
and
her
husband
is
Uriah,
from
the
Heth people-group.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}Then
David
sent
more
messengers
to
get
her.
They
brought
her
to
David,
and
he ◄slept/had
sex► [EUP]
with
her. (She
had
just
finished
performing
the rituals
to
make
herself
pure
{\ADD{
after
her
monthly
menstrual
period}}.)
Then
Bathsheba
went
back
home.
\VS{5}{\ADD{
After
some
time}},
she
realized
that
she
was
pregnant.
So
she
sent
a
messenger
to
tell
David
{\ADD{
that
she
was
pregnant}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{6}Then
David
sent
a
message
to
Joab.
He
said, “Send
Uriah,
from
the
Heth people-group,
to
me.”
So
Joab
did
that.
He
sent
Uriah
to
David.
\VS{7}When
he
arrived,
David
asked
if
Joab
was
well,
and
if
other
soldiers
were
well,
and
how
the
war
was progressing.
\VS{8}Then
David,
{\ADD{
hoping
that
Uriah
would
go
home
and
sleep
with
his
wife,}}
said
to
Uriah, “Okay,
go
home
and
relax
for
a
while. [IDM]”
So
Uriah
left,
and
David
gave
someone
a
gift
{\ADD{
of
some
food}}
to
take
to
Uriah’s
house.
\VS{9}But
Uriah
did
not
go
home.
Instead,
he
slept
at
the
palace
entrance
with
the
king’s
palace
guards.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}When
someone
told
David
that
Uriah
did
not
go
to
his
house
{\ADD{
that
night}},
David
{\ADD{
summoned
him
again
and}}
said
to
him, “Why
didn’t
you
go
home
{\ADD{
to
be
with
your
wife
last
night}},
after
having
been
away
for
a
long
time?” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Uriah
replied, “The
soldiers
of
Judah
and
Israel
are
camping
in
the
open
fields,
and
even
our
commander
Joab
is
sleeping
in
a
tent,
and
the
sacred
chest
is
with
them. ◄How
could
I/It
would
not
be
right
for
me
to►
go
home,
eat
and
drink,
and
sleep
with
my
wife [RHQ].
I
solemnly
declare [IDM]
that
I
will
never
do
such
a
thing!”
\par }{\PP \VS{12}Then
David
said
to
Uriah, “Stay
here
today.
I
will
let
you
return
{\ADD{
to
the
battle}}
tomorrow.”
So
Uriah
stayed
in
Jerusalem
that
day
and
that
night.
\VS{13}The
next
day,
David
invited
him
{\ADD{
to
a
meal}}.
So
Uriah
had
a
meal
with
David,
and
David
made
him
drink
a
lot
of
wine
so
that
he
would
get
drunk,
{\ADD{
hoping
that
if
he
was
drunk,
he
would
sleep
with
his
wife}}.
But
that
night,
Uriah
again
did
not
go
home.
Instead,
he
slept
on
his cot
with
the
king’s
servants.
\par }{\PP \VS{14}{\ADD{
Someone
reported
that
to
}}
David,
{\ADD{
so}}
the
next
morning
he
wrote
a
letter
to
Joab,
and
gave
it
to
Uriah
to
take
to
Joab.
\VS{15}In
the
letter,
he
wrote, “Put
Uriah
in
the
front
line,
where
the
fighting
is
the ◄worst/most
severe►.
Then
command
the
soldiers
to
pull
back
from
him,
in
order
that
he
will
be
killed
{\ADD{
by
our
enemies}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}{\ADD{
So
after}}
Joab
{\ADD{
got
the
letter}},
as
his
army
was
surrounding
the
city,
he
sent
Uriah
to
a
place
where
he
knew
that
their
enemies’
strongest
and
best
soldiers
would
be
fighting.
\VS{17}The
men
from
the
city
came
out
and
fought
with
Joab’s
soldiers.
They
killed
some
of
David’s
officers,
including
Uriah.
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Then
Joab
sent
a
messenger
to
David
to
tell
him
about
the
fighting.
\VS{19}He
said
to
the
messenger, “Tell
David
the
news
about
the
battle.
After
you
finish
telling
that
to
him,
\VS{20}if
David
is
angry
{\ADD{
because
so
many
officers
were
killed}},
he
may
ask
you, ‘Why
did
your
soldiers
go
so
close
to
the
city
to
fight [RHQ]?
Did
you
not
know
that
they
would
shoot
{\ADD{
arrows
at
you
while
they
were
standing
on
top}}
of
the
city
wall [RHQ]?
\VS{21}Do
you
not
remember
how
Abimelech,
the
son
of
Gideon,
was
killed?
A
woman
{\ADD{
who
lived}}
in
Thebez
threw
a
huge ◄millstone/stone
for
grinding
grain►
on
him
from
{\ADD{
the
top
of
}}a
tower,
and
he
died.
So
why
did
your
troops
go
near
to
the
city
wall?’
If
the
king
asks
this,
then
tell
him, ‘Your
officer
Uriah
also
was
killed.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}So
the
messenger
went
and
told
David
everything
that
Joab
told
him
to
say.
\VS{23}The
messenger
said
to
David, “Our
enemies
were
very
brave,
and
came
out
of
the
city
to
fight
us
in
the
fields.
{\ADD{
They
were
defeating
us}}
but
we
forced
them
back
to
the
city
gate.
\VS{24}Then
their
archers
shot
arrows
at
us
from
{\ADD{
the
top
of}}
the
city
wall.
They
killed
some
of
your
officers.
They
killed
your
officer
Uriah,
too.”
\par }{\PP \VS{25}David
said
to
the
messenger, “Go
back
to
Joab
and
say
to
him, ‘Do
not
be
distressed
{\ADD{
about
what
happened}},
because
no
one
ever
knows
who
will
be
killed
in
a
battle.’
Tell
him
that
the
next
time
his
troops
should
attack
the
city
more
strongly,
and
capture
it.”
\par }{\PP \VS{26}When
Uriah’s
wife
{\ADD{
Bathsheba}}
heard
that
her
husband
had
died,
she
mourned
for
him.
\VS{27}When
her
time
of
mourning
was
ended,
David
sent
messengers
to
bring
her
to
the
palace.
Thus,
she
became
David’s
wife.
She
later
gave
birth
to
a
son.
But
Yahweh
was
very
displeased
with
what
David
had
done.

\par }\Chap{12}{\SH Nathan rebuked David
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Yahweh
{\ADD{
told
the
prophet
Nathan
what
David
had
done,
and
he}}
sent
Nathan
to
tell
{\ADD{
this
story
to}}
David: “{\ADD{
I
heard
about}}
two
men
{\ADD{
who}}
were
living
in
a
certain
city.
One
was
rich
and
the
other
was
poor.
\VS{2}The
rich
man
owned
a
lot
of
cattle
and
sheep.
\VS{3}But
the
poor
man
had
only
one
little
female
lamb,
which
he
had
bought.
He
raised
the
lamb,
and
it
grew
up
with
his
children.
He
would
give
the
lamb
some
of
his
own
food
and
let
it
drink
from
his
cup.
He
let
the
lamb
sleep
in
his
arms.
The
lamb
was
like
a
daughter
to
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}{\ADD{
One
day}}
a visitor
came
to
{\ADD{
visit}}
the
rich
man.
The
rich
man
did
not
want
to
take
one
of
his
own
animals
{\ADD{
and
kill
it}}
to
prepare
a
meal
for
the visitor.
So
instead,
he
stole
the
poor
man’s
lamb
{\ADD{
and
killed
it}}
and
prepared
a
meal
for
his visitor.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}{\ADD{
When}}
David
{\ADD{
heard
that,
he}}
was
very
angry
about
{\ADD{
what}}
the
rich
man
{\ADD{
had
done}}.
He
said
to
Nathan, “I
solemnly
declare
that
the
man
who
did
that
should
be
executed!
\VS{6}But
before
he
is
executed,
he
should
pay
back
to
the
poor
man
four
lambs
for
doing
this,
and
for
not
having
pity
{\ADD{
on
the
poor
man}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Nathan
said
to
David, “You
are
the
man
{\ADD{
I
have
been
talking
about}}!
And
this
is
what
Yahweh,
the
God
we Israelis
{\ADD{
worship}},
says
to
you: ‘I
appointed
you
to
be
king
of
Israel,
after
having
rescued
you
from
Saul.
\VS{8}I
gave
you
his
palace
and
his
wives.
I
caused
you
to
become
the
king
to
rule
Israel
and
Judah.
If
{\ADD{
you
had
told
me
that}}
you
were
not
content
with
what
I
gave
you,
I
would
have
given
you
twice
as
much!
\VS{9}So
why
have
you
despised
my
commandment
{\ADD{
about
not
committing
adultery}}?
You
have
done
what
I
consider
to
be
very
evil!
You
have
arranged
for
Uriah
to
be
killed
in
a
battle
by
the
Ammon people-group’s
soldiers,
and
you
have
taken
his
wife
to
be
your
wife!
\VS{10}You
have
despised
me,
and
have
taken
Uriah’s
wife
to
be
your
wife.
So
for
many
generations
some
of
your
descendants
will
die
violently. [MTY, PRS]
\VS{11}I
solemnly
declare
to
you
that
I
will
cause
someone
from
your
own
family
to
bring
trouble
to
you.
I
will
take
your
wives
and
give
them
to
him,
and
he
will
have
sexual
relations
with
them
in
the
daytime,
where
everyone
can
see
it,
and
you
will
know
all
about
it.
\VS{12}What
you
did,
you
did
secretly,
but
what
I
will
cause
to
happen,
everyone
in
Israel
will
be
able
to
see
it
{\ADD{
or
know
about
it}}. [IDM]’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}David
replied, “I
have
sinned
against
Yahweh.”
Nathan
said
to
David, “Yahweh
has
forgiven
you
for
your
sin:
You
will
not
die
{\ADD{
because
of
this
sin}}.
\VS{14}But,
you
have
shown
contempt
for
Yahweh
by
doing
this.
So,
your
baby
will
die.”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Then
Nathan
went
home.
\par }{\SH David’s
baby
died
\par }{\MM Then
Yahweh
caused
the
baby t
o
become
very
sick,
the
one
that
Uriah’s
wife
had
given
birth
to.
\VS{16}So
David
prayed
to
God
that
the
child
{\ADD{
would
not
die}}.
He ◄fasted/abstained
from
food►,
and
he
went
into
{\ADD{
the
room
where
he
slept}}
and
lay
all
night
on
the
floor.
\VS{17}{\ADD{
The
next
morning}}
his advisors
stood
around
him
and
urged
him
to
get
up.
But
he
would
not
get
up,
and
he
would
not
eat
any
food
with
them.
\par }{\PP \VS{18}One
week
later
the
baby
died.
David’s
servants
were
afraid
to
tell
that
to
David.
They
said
{\ADD{
to
each
other}}, “Hey,
while
the
baby
was
still
alive,
we
talked
to
him,
but
he
would
not
answer
us.
Now,
if
we
tell
him
that
the
baby
is
dead [RHQ],
he
may
do
something
to
harm
himself!”
\par }{\PP \VS{19}But
when
David
saw
that
his
servants
were
whispering
something
to
each
other,
he
realized
that
the
baby
must
be
dead.
So
he
asked
them, “Is
the
baby
dead?”
They
replied, “Yes,
he
is
dead.”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Then
David
got
up
from
the
floor.
He
bathed
himself,
put lotions
on
his
body,
and
put
on
other
clothes,
Then
he
went
into
Yahweh’s
Sacred
Tent
and
worshiped
Yahweh.
Then
he
went
home.
He
asked
his
servants
for
some
food.
They
gave
him
some,
and
he
ate
it.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Then
his
servants
said
to
him, “We
do
not
understand [RHQ]
why
you
have
done
this!
While
the
baby
was
still
alive,
you
cried
for
him
and
refused
to
eat
anything.
But
now
that
the
baby
has
died,
{\ADD{
you
are
not
crying
anymore!}}
You
got
up
and
ate
some
food!”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}David
replied, “While
the
baby
was
still
alive,
I
fasted
and
cried.
I
thought, ‘Who
knows?
Yahweh
may
be
merciful
to
me
and
not
allow
the
baby
to die’.
\VS{23}But
now
the
baby
is
dead.
So ◄there
is
no
reason
for
me
to ‘fast/abstain
from
eating
food’
anymore./why
should
I ‘fast/abstain
from
eating
food’
anymore?► [RHQ] ◄Can
I
bring
him
back
to
me?/I
certainly
cannot
bring
him
back
to
me!► [RHQ]
{\ADD{
Some
day}}
I
will
go
to
where
he
is,
but
he
will
not
return
to
me.”
\par }{\PP \VS{24}Then
David
comforted
his
wife,
Bathsheba.
Then
he ◄slept/had
sexual
relations►
with
her,
and
she
{\ADD{
became
pregnant
again
and}}
gave
birth
to
another
son.
David
named
that
son
Solomon.
Yahweh
loved
that
little
boy.
\VS{25}He
told
the
prophet
Nathan
to
tell
David
to
name
the
baby
boy Jedediah
{\ADD{
which
means ‘loved
by Yahweh’,}}
because
Yahweh
loved
him.
\par }{\SH David’s
army
captured
Rabbah
\par }{\PP \VS{26}◄Meanwhile/While
all
that
was happening►,
Joab’s
{\ADD{
soldiers}}
attacked
Rabbah,
{\ADD{
the
capital
city}}
of
the
Ammon people-group;
and
they
captured
the
king’s
fortress.
\VS{27}Then
Joab
sent
messengers
to
David,
to
tell
him
this: “My
troops
are
attacking
Rabbah,
and
we
have
captured
the city’s
water
supply.
\VS{28}Now
gather
your
troops
and
come
and
surround
the
city
and
capture
it.
If
you
do
not
do
that,
my
troops
will
capture
the
city
and
it
will
then
be
named ‘the
City
of Joab’.”
\par }{\PP \VS{29}So
David
gathered
all
his
troops.
They
went
{\ADD{
with
David}}
to
Rabbah
and
attacked
it
and
captured
it.
\VS{30}Then
David
took
the
crown
from
the
head
of
the
king
of
Rabbah (OR,
from
the
head
of
{\ADD{
Milcom}}
the
god
of
Rabbah)
and
put
it
on
his
own
head.
It
{\ADD{
was
very
heavy;
it}}
weighed ◄75
pounds/34 kg.►,
and
it
had
many
very
valuable
stones
fastened
to
it.
His
soldiers
also
took
many
other
valuable
things
from
the
city.
\VS{31}Then
they
brought
the
people
of
Rabbah
out
of
the
city
and
forced
them
to
{\ADD{
work
for
them}}
using
saws
and
iron
picks
and
axes.
David’s
troops
also
forced
them
to
make
bricks.
David’s
soldiers
did
this
in
all
the
towns
of
the
Ammon people-group.
Then
David
and
all
of
his
army
returned
to
Jerusalem.

\par }\Chap{13}{\SH Amnon raped Absalom’s sister
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}David’s
son
Absalom
had
a
beautiful
sister
named
Tamar.
Another
of
David’s
sons,
Amnon,
was
attracted
to
Tamar.
\VS{2}He
wanted
{\ADD{
to
have
sex
with}} [EUP]
his half-sister
very
much,
with
the
result
that
he
made
himself
sick
{\ADD{
thinking
about
her
all
the
time}}.
But
it
was
not possible
for
Amnon
to
get
her,
because
she
was
a
virgin,
{\ADD{
so
they
kept
men
away
from
her}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}But
Amnon
had
a
friend
named
Jonadab,
who
was
the
son
of
David’s
brother
Shimeah.
Jonadab
was
a
very
crafty/shrewd
man.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}{\ADD{
One
day}}
Jonadab
said
to
Amnon, “You
are
the
king’s
son,
but
every
day
I
see
that [RHQ]
you
seem
very
depressed/sad.
What
is
your
problem?”
Amnon
replied, “I ◄am
in
love/want
to
sleep► [EUP]
with
Tamar,
my half-brother
Absalom’s
sister.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}Jonadab
said
to
him, “Lie
down
on
your
bed,
and
pretend
that
you
are
sick.
When
your
father
comes
to
see
you,
say
to
him, ‘Allow
my half-sister
Tamar
to
come
and
give
me
some
food
to
eat.
She
can
prepare
the
food
while
I
am
watching
her.
Then
she
can
serve
it
to
me
herself.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{6}So
Amnon
lay
down,
and
pretended
that
he
was
sick.
When
the
king
came
to
see
him,
Amnon
said
to
him, “{\ADD{
I
am
sick;}}
please
allow
my half-sister
Tamar
to
come
and
make
a
couple scones/dumplings
for
me
while
I
am
watching,
and
then
she
can
serve
them
to
me.”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}So
David
sent
a
message
to
Tamar
in
the
palace,
saying “Amnon
{\ADD{
is
sick
and
he
wants
you
to}}
go
to
his
house
and
prepare
some
food
for
him.”
\VS{8}So
Tamar
went
to
Amnon’s
house,
where
he
was
lying
in
bed.
She
took
some
dough
and
kneaded
it,
and
formed
it
into
some scones/dumplings
while
he
was
watching
her.
Then
she
baked
them.
\VS{9}She
took
them
out
of
the
pan
and
put
them
{\ADD{
on
a
plate}}
in
front
of
him,
but
he
refused
to
eat
them.
Then
he
said
to
everyone
else
in
the
room, “All
the
rest
of
you,
leave
me
now!”
So
all
the
others
left
his
{\ADD{
room}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Then
Amnon
said
to
Tamar, “Bring
the
food
into
my
room
and
serve
it
to
me.”
So
Tamar
took
into
his
room
the scones/dumplings
that
she
had
made.
\VS{11}But
when
she
brought
them
close
for
him
to
eat
them,
he
grabbed
her
and
said
to
her, “Come
to
bed
with
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{12}She
replied, “No,
do
not
force
me
to
do
such
a
disgraceful
thing!
We
never
do
things
like
that
in
Israel!
That
would
be awful/terrible!
\VS{13}As
for
me,
if
I
did
that,
I
would
not
be
able
to [RHQ]
endure
being
disgraced
by
having
done
that.
And
as
for
you,
everyone
in
Israel
would
condemn
you
for
having
done
such
a
disgraceful
deed.
So
I
plead
with
you,
talk
to
the
king.
I
am
sure
that
he
will
allow
me
to
marry
you.”
\VS{14}But
he
would
not
listen
to
her.
He
was
stronger
than
she
was,
so
he
forced
her
to
have
sex
with
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Then
Amnon
hated
her
very
much.
He
hated
her
much
more
than
he
had
desired
her.
He
said
to
her, “Get
up
and
get
out
of
here!”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}But
she
said
to
him, “No!
It
would
be
very
wrong
for
you
to
send
me
away.
It
would
be
worse
than
what
you
just
did
to
me!”
But
he
would
not
listen
to
her.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}He
summoned
his
personal
servant
and
said
to
him, “Take
this
woman
outside,
away
from
me,
and
lock
the
door
{\ADD{
so
that
she
cannot
come
in
again}}!”
\VS{18}So
the
servant
put
her
outside
and
locked
the
door.
\par }{\PP Tamar
was
wearing
a
long
robe
with
long sleeves,
which
was
the
clothing
that
was
usually
worn
by
the
unmarried
daughters
of
the
king
at
that
time.
\VS{19}But
Tamar
tore
the
long
robe
that
she
was
wearing,
and
put
ashes
on
her
head
{\ADD{
to
show
that
she
was
very
sad}}.
Then
she
put
her
hands
on
her
head
{\ADD{
to
show
that
she
was
grieving}},
and
she
went
away,
crying.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Her
brother
Absalom
{\ADD{
saw
her
and}}
said
to
her, “Has
your half-brother
Amnon [DOU]
forced
you
to
have
sex
with
him [EUP]?
Please,
my
sister,
do
not
tell
anyone,
and
do
not
become
depressed/sad.”
So
Tamar
went
to
live
in
Absalom’s
house,
and
she
was
very
sad
and
lonely.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}When
King
David
heard
about
all
that,
he
became
very
angry.
\VS{22}And
Absalom
hated
Amnon,
because
he
had
raped
his
sister,
so
he
would
not
speak
to
Amnon
about
anything.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Two
years
later,
Absalom’s
servants
were
shearing
sheep
at
Baal-Hazor,
which
is
near
{\ADD{
a
town
named}}
Ephraim.
{\ADD{
When
they
finished
shearing
the
sheep,
they
celebrated}},
and
Absalom
invited
all
the
king’s
sons
{\ADD{
to
come
and
celebrate}}.
\VS{24}Absalom
went
to
the
king
and
said
to
him, “Sir,
my
servants
have
been
shearing
my
sheep.
Please
come
with
your
officials
{\ADD{
to
celebrate}}
with
us!”
\par }{\PP \VS{25}But
the
king
replied, “No,
my
son,
it
would
not
be
good
for
all
of
us
to
go,
because
it
would
cause
you
to
do
a
lot
of
work
and
spend
a
lot
of
money
for
food.”
Absalom
continued
urging
him,
but
the
king
would
not
go.
Instead,
he
said
that
he
hoped/desired
that
God
would
bless
them
{\ADD{
while
they
celebrated}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{26}Then
Absalom
said, “If
you
will
not
go,
please
allow
my half-brother
Amnon
to
go
with
us.”
But
the
king
replied, “Why
{\ADD{
do
you
want}}
him
to
go
with
you?”
\par }{\PP \VS{27}But
Absalom
continued
to insist,
so
finally
the
king
permitted
Amnon
and
all
David’s
other
sons
to
go
with
Absalom.
\par }{\PP \VS{28}{\ADD{
So
they
all
went.
And
at
the
celebration}},
Absalom
commanded
his
servants, “Notice
when
Amnon
has
become
a
bit
drunk
from
the
wine.
Then
when
I
signal
to
you,
kill
him.
Do
not
be
afraid;
you
will
be
doing
this
{\ADD{
only}}
because
I
told
you [RHQ]
to
do
it.
So
be
courageous
and
do
it!”
\VS{29}So
Absalom’s
servants
did
what
Absalom
told
them
to
do.
{\ADD{
They
killed
Amnon}}.
All
the
rest
of
David’s
sons
{\ADD{
saw
what
happened
and}}
fled,
riding
on
their
mules.
\par }{\PP \VS{30}While
they
were
on
their
way
home,
someone
{\ADD{
went
quickly
and}}
reported
to
David, “Absalom
has
killed
all
of
your
other
sons;
none
of
them
is
still
alive!”
\VS{31}The
king
stood
up,
tore
his
clothes
{\ADD{
because
he
was
extremely
sad}},
and
then
he
threw
himself
down
on
the
ground.
All
the
servants
who
were
there
also
tore
their
clothes.
\par }{\PP \VS{32}But
Jonadab,
the
son
of
David’s
brother
Shimeah,
said, “Your
Majesty,
{\ADD{
I
am
sure
that}}
they
have
not
killed
all
your
sons.
{\ADD{
I
am
sure
that}}
only
Amnon
is
dead,
because
Absalom
has
determined
to
do
this
ever
since
the
day
that
Amnon
raped [EUP]
his half-sister
Tamar.
\VS{33}So,
your
majesty,
do
not
believe
the
report
that
all
your
sons
are
dead.
{\ADD{
I
am
sure
that}}
only
Amnon
is
dead.”
\par }{\PP \VS{34}In
the meantime,
Absalom
ran
away.
\par }{\PP Just
then,
the
soldier/sentry
{\ADD{
who
was
standing
on
the
city
wall}}
saw
a
large
crowd
of
people
coming
down
the
hill
along
the
road
from
Horonaim.
{\ADD{
He
ran
and
told
the
king
what
he
had
seen}}.
\VS{35}Jonadab
said
to
the
king, “Aha!
What
I
told
you
is
true.
Your
other
sons
{\ADD{
are
alive
and}}
have
come!”
\par }{\PP \VS{36}And
as
soon
as
he
said
that,
David’s
sons
came
in.
They
all
started
crying,
and
David
and
all
his
officials
also
cried
very
much.
\par }{\PP \VS{37-38}But
Absalom
had
fled.
He
went
to
stay
with
the
king
of
{\ADD{
the}}
Geshur
{\ADD{
region}},
who
was
Talmai
the
son
of
Ammihud.
Absalom
stayed
there
for
three
years.
\par }{\PP David
mourned
for
his
son
Amnon
for
a
long
time,
\VS{39}but
after
that,
he
desired
very
much
to
see
Absalom,
because
he
was
no
longer
grieving
about
Amnon
being
dead.

\par }\Chap{14}{\SH Joab cleverly arranged for Absalom to return
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Joab
realized
that
the
king
yearned [IDM]
to
see
Absalom.
\VS{2}So
Joab
sent
someone
to
Tekoa
{\ADD{
town}}
to
bring
back
a
woman
who
was
very
clever.
{\ADD{
When
she
arrived,}}
Joab
said
to
her, “Pretend
that
you
are
grieving
because
someone
has
died.
Put
on
clothes
that
show
that
you
are
mourning.
Do
not
put
any lotion/ointment
on
your
body.
Act
as
if
you
are
a
woman
who
has
been
mourning
for
a
long
time.
\VS{3}And
go
to
the
king,
and
tell
him
what
I
tell
you
to
say.”
Then
Joab
told
her
what
to
say [MTY]
{\ADD{
to
the
king}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}So
the
woman
from
Tekoa
went
to
the
king.
She
prostrated
herself
in
front
of
him
and
then
bowed
down
to
him,
and
said, “Your
Majesty,
help
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}The
king
replied, “What
is
your
problem?”
She
replied, “Please,
sir,
I
am
a
widow.
My
husband
died
{\ADD{
some
time
ago}}.
\VS{6}I
had
two
sons.
But
one
day
they
quarreled
with
each
other
out
in
the
fields.
There
was
no
one
to
separate
them,
and
one
of
them
struck
the
other
one
and
killed
him.
\VS{7}Now,
all
my
family
oppose
me.
They
are insisting
that
I
allow
them
to
kill
my
son
who
is
still
alive [MTY],
in
order
that
they
may
get
revenge
for
his
killing
his
brother.
But
if
they
do
that,
I
will
not
have
any
son
to
inherit
{\ADD{
my
husband’s
possessions}}.
That
would
be
like [MET] extinguishing
the
last
coals
of
a
fire,
and
my
husband
would
not
have
a
son
to
preserve
our family’s
name. [DOU]”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}Then
the
king
said
to
the
woman, “Go
back
home;
I
will
take
care
of
this
matter
for
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}The
woman
from
Tekoa
replied
to
the
king, “Your
Majesty,
if
you
are
criticized
{\ADD{
for
helping
me}},
my
family
and
I
will
accept
the
blame.
You
and
the
royal
family
will ◄be
innocent/not
have
done
what
is
wrong►.”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}The
king
said
to
her, “If
anyone
says
anything
{\ADD{
to
threaten
you/cause
you
trouble}}
you,
bring
that
person
to
me,
and
{\ADD{
I
will
make
sure
that}}
he
will
never
cause
you
trouble
again.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Then
the
woman
said, “Your
Majesty,
please
pray
that
Yahweh
your
God
will
not
allow
my
relative,
who
{\ADD{
wants
to
get}}
revenge
on
my
son
for
killing [MTY]
his
brother,
to
be
able
to
do
that.”
\par }{\PP David
replied, “As
surely
as
Yahweh
lives,
your
son
will
not
be
harmed
at
all. [IDM]”
\VS{12}Then
the
woman
said, “Your
Majesty,
please
allow
me
to
say
one
more
thing
to
you.”
He
replied, “Speak!”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}The
woman
said, “Why
have
you
done
this
bad
thing
to
God’s
people?
You
have
not
allowed
your
son
Absalom
to
return
home.
By
saying
what
you
have
just
said,
you
have
certainly
declared [RHQ]
that
what
you
have
done
is
wrong.
\VS{14}We
all
die;
we
are
like [SIM]
water
that
cannot
be
picked
up
after
it
is
spilled
on
the
ground.
But
God
does
not
just
cause
us
to
die;
he
creates
ways
to
bring
us
back
when
we
become
separated
from
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{15}“ow,
Your
Majesty,
I
have
come
to
you
because
others
have
threatened
me.
So
I
said
to
myself, ‘I
will
go
and
talk
to
the
king,
and
perhaps
he
will
do
what
I
request
him
to
do.
\VS{16}Perhaps
he
will
listen
to
me,
and
save
me
from
the
man
who
is
trying
to
kill
my
son.
If
my
son
is
killed,
it
would
result
in
us disappearing
from
the
land
that
God
gave
to
us.’
\par }{\PP \VS{17}“nd
I
thought, ‘What
the
king
says
will
comfort/encourage
me,
because
the
king
is
like [SIM]
an
angel
of
God.
He
knows
what
is
good
and
what
is
evil.’
I
pray/desire
that
Yahweh
our
God
will ◄be
with/direct►
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Then
the
king
said
to
the
woman, “I
will
now
ask
you
a
question.
Answer
it,
and
tell
me
the
truth. [LIT]”
The
woman
replied, “Your
majesty,
ask
your
question.”
\par }{\PP \VS{19}The
king
said, “Was
Joab
the
one
who
told
you
to
do
this?”
She
replied, “Yes,
Your
Majesty,
as
surely
as
you
live,
I
cannot
avoid
telling
you
what
is
true.
Yes,
indeed,
it
was
Joab
who
told
me
to
come
here,
and
who
told
me
what
to
say.
\VS{20}He
did
it
in
order
to
cause
you
to
think differently
about
this
matter.
Your
Majesty,
you
are
as
wise
as
God’s
angels,
and
{\ADD{
it
seems
that}}
you
know
everything
{\ADD{
that
happens}}
on
the
earth,
{\ADD{
so
you
know
why
Joab
sent
me
here}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Then
the
king
{\ADD{
summoned}}
Joab
{\ADD{
and}}
said
to
him, “Listen!
I
have
decided
to
do
{\ADD{
what
you
want}}.
So
go
and
get
that
young
man
Absalom
and
bring
him
back
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Joab
prostrated
himself
on
the
ground,
and
then
he
bowed
down
before
the
king,
and
{\ADD{
asked
God
to}}
bless
him.
Then
Joab
said, “Your
Majesty,
today
I
know
that
you
are
pleased
with
me,
because
you
have
agreed
to
do
what
I
requested.”
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Then
Joab
got
up
and
went
to
Geshur,
and
got
Absalom
and
brought
him
back
to
Jerusalem.
\VS{24}But
the
king
said/commanded
that
Absalom
would
not
be
permitted
to
live
in
the
palace.
He
said, “I
do
not
want
him
to
come
to
see
me.”
So
Absalom
lived
in
his
own
house,
and
did
not
go
to
{\ADD{
talk
to}}
the
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{25}Absalom
was
very
handsome.
He
looked
perfect,
from
the
bottom
of
his
feet
to
the
top
of
his
head.
In
all
of
Israel
there
was
no
one
whom
people admired
more
than
Absalom.
\VS{26}His
hair
was
very
thick,
and
he
cut
it
only
once
each
year,
when
it
became
too
heavy
for
him.
Using
the
standard
weights,
he
would
weigh
the
hair
{\ADD{
that
he
cut
off}},
and
it
always
weighed
about
five
pounds.
\VS{27}Absalom
had
three
sons
and
one
daughter
named
Tamar.
She
was
a
very
beautiful
woman.
\par }{\PP \VS{28}{\ADD{
After}}
Absalom
{\ADD{
returned
to}}
Jerusalem,
he
lived
there
two
years,
and
during
that
time
he
never
{\ADD{
was
allowed
to}}
see
the
king.
\VS{29}So
he
sent
{\ADD{
a
messenger}}
to
Joab
to
ask
him
to
come
{\ADD{
and
talk
to
him}},
but
Joab
refused
to
come.
So
Absalom
sent
{\ADD{
a
message
to
him}}
a
second
time,
but
he
still
would
not
come.
\par }{\PP \VS{30}Then
Absalom
said
to
his
servants, “You
know
that
Joab’s
field
is
next
to
mine,
and
that
he
has
barley
{\ADD{
growing}}
there.
Go
and
light
a
fire
there
{\ADD{
to
burn
his
barley}}.”
So
Absalom’s
servants
{\ADD{
went
there
and}}
lit
a
fire,
{\ADD{
and
all
his
barley
burned}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{31}Joab
{\ADD{
knew
who
had
done
it,
so
he}}
went
to
Absalom’s
house
and
said
to
him, “Why
have
your
servants
burned
{\ADD{
the
barley
in}}
my
field?”
\VS{32}Absalom
replied, “Because
{\ADD{
you
did
not
come
to
me
when}}
I
sent
messages
to
you
{\ADD{requesting
that
you
come}}.
I
wanted
to
request
that
you
go
to
the
king
to
say
to
him, ‘Absalom ◄wants
to
know
what
good
it
did/says
that
is
was
useless► [RHQ]
for
him [RHQ]
to
leave
Geshur
and
come
here.
{\ADD{
He
thinks
that}}
it
would
have
been
better
for
him
to
have
stayed
there.
{\ADD{
He
wants
you
to}}
allow
him
to
talk
to
you.
And
if
you
think
that
he
has
done
something
that
is
wrong,
you
can
{\ADD{
command
that}}
he
be
executed.’ ”
\VS{33}So
Joab
went
to
the
king,
and
told
him
{\ADD{
what
Absalom
had
said}}.
Then
the
king
{\ADD{
summoned
Absalom}},
and
he
came
to
the
king
and
knelt
down
in
front
of
him
with
his
face
touching
the
ground.
Then
the
king
kissed
Absalom
{\ADD{
to
show
that
he
was
pleased
to
see
him}}.

\par }\Chap{15}{\SH Absalom rebelled against David
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Some
time
later,
Absalom
acquired
a
chariot
and
horses
{\ADD{
to
pull
it}}.
He
{\ADD{
hired}} 50
men
to
run
in
front
of
him
{\ADD{
to
honor
him
while
he
was
riding
around
Jerusalem
in
the
chariot}}.
\VS{2}Furthermore,
he
always
rose
early
{\ADD{
each
morning}}
and
stood
by
the
city
gate.
Whenever
someone
came
there
with
a
dispute/quarrel
that
he
wanted
the
king
to
decide,
Absalom
would
call
out
to
him,
asking “What
city
are
you
from?”
When
the
person
told
him
what
{\ADD{
city
and}}
tribe
he
was
from,
\VS{3}Absalom
would
say
to
him, “Listen,
{\ADD{
I
am
sure
that}}
what
you
are
saying/claiming
is
right.
But
there
is
no
one
whom
the
king
has
appointed/authorized
to
listen
to
{\ADD{
people
like}}
you.”
\VS{4}Absalom
would
then
add, “I
wish
that
I
were
a
judge
in
this
land.
If
I
were
a
judge,
anyone
who
had
a
dispute
could
come
to
me,
and
I
would
decide
it
fairly/justly.”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}And
whenever
anyone
came
near
to
Absalom
to
bow respectfully
in
front
of
him,
Absalom
would
reach
out
and
embrace
him
and
kiss
him.
\VS{6}Absalom
did
this
to
everyone
in
Israel
who
came
to
the
king
because
of
having
a
dispute
with
someone.
In
that
way,
Absalom
persuaded
all
the Israeli
people
to
be
more
pleased
with
him [IDM]
{\ADD{
than
they
were
pleased
with
David}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Four
years
later,
Absalom
{\ADD{
went
to}}
the
king
and
said, “Please
allow
me
to
go
to
Hebron
{\ADD{
city}},
in
order
that
I
can
do
what
I
promised
Yahweh
that
I
would
do.
\VS{8}When
I
was
living
in
Geshur,
in
Syria,
I
promised
Yahweh
that
if
he
brought
me
back
to
Jerusalem,
I
would
worship
him
{\ADD{
in
Hebron}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}The
king
replied, “You
may
go.”
So
Absalom
went
to
Hebron.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}But
{\ADD{
while
he
was
there,}}
he
secretly
sent
messengers
to
all
the
tribes
in
Israel,
to
tell
them, “When
you
hear
the
sound
of
the
trumpets
{\ADD{
being
blown}},
shout ‘Absalom
has
become
the
king
at
Hebron!’ ”
\VS{11}Absalom
had
taken
with
him
to
Hebron 200
men
from
Jerusalem,
but
they
did
not
know
{\ADD{
what
Absalom
was
planning
to
do}}.
\VS{12}While
Absalom
was
offering
sacrifices
{\ADD{
at
Hebron}},
he
sent
a
message
to
Ahithophel,
from
Giloh
{\ADD{
town}}, requesting
him
to
come.
Ahithophel
was
one
of
the
king’s advisors.
So
the
number
of
people
who
joined
Absalom
and
who
were
ready
to
rebel
{\ADD{
against
David}}
became
larger.
\par }{\SH David
escaped
from
Jerusalem
\par }{\PP \VS{13}Soon
a
messenger
came
to
David
and
said
to
him, “All [HYP]
the Israeli
people [SYN]
are
joining
Absalom
to
rebel
against
you!”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}So
David
said
to
all
his
officials, “We
must
leave
immediately
if
we
want
to
escape
from
Absalom!
We
must
go
quickly,
before
he
{\ADD{
and
his
men}}
arrive.
If
we
do
not
do
that,
they
will
kill
us
and
everyone
else
in
the
city!”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}The
king’s
officials
said, “Okay,
your
majesty,
we
are
ready
to
do
whatever
you
decide.”
\par }{\PP \VS{16}So
the
king
left
ten
of
his
slave
wives
there
to
take
care
of
the
palace,
but
all
the
other
people
in
his
palace
went
with
him.
\VS{17}When
they
all
were
leaving
{\ADD{
the
city}},
they
stopped
at
the
last
house.
\VS{18}The
king
and
his
officials
stood
there
while
his bodyguards
went
by
in
front
of
him. 600
soldiers
from
Gath
{\ADD{
city}}
also
walked
by
in
front
of
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}Then
David
said
to
Ittai,
{\ADD{
the
leader
of
the
soldiers}}
from
Gath, “◄Why
are
you
going
with
us?/You
should
not
be
going
with
us.► [RHQ]
Go
back
and
stay
with
{\ADD{
Absalom}}
the
{\ADD{
new}}
king.
You
are
not
an Israeli;
you
are
living
away
from
your
own
land.
\VS{20}You
have
lived
here
{\ADD{
in
Israel}}
for
only
a
short
time [HYP].
And
we
do
not
even
know
where
we
will
be
going.
So
it
is
not
right [RHQ]
for
me
to
force
you
to
wander
around
with
us.
And
take
your
troops
with
you.
And
I
hope/wish
that
Yahweh
will
faithfully
love
and
be
loyal
to
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}But
Ittai
replied, “Your
Majesty,
as
surely
as
you
live,
wherever
you
go,
I
will
go;
I
will
stay
with
you,
whether
they
kill
me
or
allow
me
to
live.”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}David
replied
to
Ittai, “Okay,
march
with
us!”
So
Ittai
and
all
his
troops
and
their
families
went
{\ADD{
with
David}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}All
the
people
{\ADD{
along
the
road}}
cried
when
they
saw
them
walking
by.
The
king
and
all
the
others
crossed
the
Kidron
Valley
and
then
they
all
went
{\ADD{
up
the
hill}}
toward
the
desert.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}Abiathar
and
Zadok,
{\ADD{
the
priests,}}
were
walking
with
them.
The
descendants
of
Levi
{\ADD{
who
helped
the
priests}}
also
went
with
them,
carrying
the
sacred
chest
that
contained
the
Ten
Commandments.
But
they
set
it
on
the
ground
until
all
the
others
had
left
the
city.
\par }{\PP \VS{25}Then
the
king
said
to
Zadok, “You
and
Abiathar
take
the
sacred
chest
back
into
the
city.
If
Yahweh
is
pleased
with
me,
he
will
some
day
allow
me
to
return
to
see
it
and
the
place
where
it
is
kept.
\VS{26}But
if
he
says
that
he
is
not
pleased
with
me,
then
I
am
willing
for
him
to
do
to
me
whatever
he
thinks
is
good.”
\par }{\PP \VS{27}He
also
said
to
Zadok, “Listen
{\ADD{
to
what
I suggest}}.
You
and
Abiathar
return
to
the
city
peacefully/safely,
and
take
your
son
Ahimaaz
and
Abiathar’s
son
Jonathan
with
you.
\VS{28}I
will
wait
in
the
desert
at
the
place
where
people
can
walk
across
the
river,
until
you
send
a
message
to
me.”
\VS{29}So
Zadok
and
Abiathar
carried
the
sacred
chest
back
to
Jerusalem,
and
they
stayed
there.
\par }{\PP \VS{30}David
{\ADD{
and
those
with
him}}
went
up
Olive
{\ADD{
Tree
}}
Hill.
David
was
crying
while
he
walked.
He
was
walking
barefoot
and
had
something
covering
his
head
{\ADD{
to
show
that
he
was
sorrowful}}.
All
those
who
were
going
with
him
also
covered
their
heads
and
were
crying
while
they
walked.
\VS{31}Someone
told
David
that
Ahithophel
had
joined
with
those
who
were
rebelling
against
David.
So
David
prayed, “Yahweh,
cause
whatever
Ahithophel
suggests
to
Absalom
{\ADD{
that
he
should
do
to
be
considered}}
to
be
foolish!”
\par }{\PP \VS{32}When
they
arrived
at
the
top
of
the
hill,
where
there
was
a
place
where
the
people
worshiped
{\ADD{
God}},
suddenly
Hushai,
from
the Arki people-group,
met
David.
He
had
torn
his
clothes
and
put
dirt
on
his
head
{\ADD{
to
show
that
he
was
very
sad}}.
\VS{33}David
said
to
him, “If
you
go
with
me,
you
will
not
be
able
to
help
me.
\VS{34}But
if
you
return
to
the
city,
{\ADD{
you
can
help
me
by}}
saying
to
Absalom, ‘Your
Majesty,
I
will
serve
you
as
faithfully
as
I
served
your
father.’
If
you
do
that
{\ADD{
and
stay
near
Absalom}},
you
will
be
able
to
oppose
any
advice
that
Ahithophel
gives
to
Absalom.
\VS{35}Zadok
and
Abiathar
the
priests
are
already
there [RHQ].
Whatever
you
hear
people
say
in
the
king’s
palace,
tell
it
to
Zadok
and
Abiathar.
\VS{36}Keep
in
mind
that
Zadok’s
son
Ahimaaz
and
Abiathar’s
son
Jonathan
are
also
there.
You
can
tell
them
whatever
you
find
out,
and
send
them
to
report
it
to
me.”
\par }{\PP \VS{37}So
David’s
friend
Hushai
returned
to
the
city,
at
the
same
time
that
Absalom
was
entering
Jerusalem.

\par }\Chap{16}{\SH Ziba gave food to David and the others
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}When
David
{\ADD{
and
the
others}}
had
gone
a
little
way
past
the
top
of
the
hill, Mephibosheth’s
servant
Ziba
met
him.
He
had
with
him
two
donkeys
that
were
carrying 200
loaves
of
bread, 100
bunches/clusters
of
raisins, 100
bunches
of
fresh
fruit,
and
a
leather
bag
full
of
wine.
\par }{\PP \VS{2}The
king
said
to
Ziba, “What
are
these
for?”
Ziba
replied, “The
donkeys
are
for
your
family
to
ride
on,
the
bread
and
the
fruit
are
for
your
soldiers
to
eat,
and
the
wine
is
for
them
to
drink
when
they
become
exhausted
in
the
desert.”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}The
king
said, “Where
is
Mephibosheth,
the
grandson
of
your
{\ADD{
former}}
master
{\ADD{
Saul}}?”
Ziba
{\ADD{
deceived
David
by}}
saying, “He
stayed
in
Jerusalem,
because
he
thinks
that
now
the Israeli
people
will
allow
him
to
rule
the
kingdom
that
his
grandfather
Saul
ruled.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}The
king
said
to
Ziba, “Okay,
everything
that
belonged
to
Mephibosheth
is
now
yours.”
Ziba
replied, “Your
Majesty,
I
will
humbly
serve
you;
and
I
desire/hope
that
you
will
always
be
pleased
with
me.”
\par }{\SH Shimei
cursed
David
\par }{\PP \VS{5}When
King
David
{\ADD{
and
those
with
him}}
arrived
at
Bahurim
{\ADD{
town}},
a
man
named
Shimei
met
him.
Shimei,
whose
father
was
Gera,
was
one
of
Saul’s
relatives.
Shimei
was
cursing
David
as
he
approached.
\VS{6}Then
he
threw
stones
at
David
and
his
officials,
even
though
the
officials
and
David’s bodyguards
surrounded
David.
\VS{7}Shimei
cursed
David
and
said
to
him, “Get
out
of
here,
you
murderer,
you
scoundrel!
\VS{8}Yahweh
is ◄getting
revenge
on/punishing►
you
all
for murdering [MTY]
many
people
in
Saul’s
family.
And
now
he
is
giving
Saul’s
kingdom
to
your
son
Absalom.
You
murderer,
you
are
being
paid
back
for
the
many
people
that
you
have
killed/murdered [MTY]!”
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Then
Abishai
said
to
the
king, “Your
Majesty,
this
man
is
{\ADD{
as
worthless
as}} [MET]
a
dead
dog! ◄Why
should
he
be
allowed
to
curse
you?/He
should
not
be
allowed
to
curse
you.► [RHQ]
Allow
me
to
go
over
there
and
cut
off
his
head!”
\par }{\PP \VS{10}But
the
king
replied, “You
two
sons
of
Zeruiah, ◄do
not
tell
me
what
to
do/this
does
not
concern
you► [RHQ].
If
he
is
cursing
me
because
Yahweh
told
him
to
do
that,
certainly
no
one
should
say ‘◄Why
are
you
doing
that?/You
should
not
be
doing
that.► [RHQ]’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Then
David
said
to
Abishai
and
to
all
his
officials, “You
know
that
my
own
son
is
trying
to
kill
me.
So
{\ADD{
it
is
not surprising
that}}
this
man
from
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
is
also
trying
to
kill
me.
So
ignore
him,
and
allow
him
to
curse
me,
because
{\ADD{
perhaps
he
thinks
that}}
Yahweh
told
him
to
do
that.
\VS{12}Perhaps
Yahweh
will
see
that
I
am
having
all
this
trouble,
and
{\ADD{
some
day
he
will
repay
me
by}} ◄blessing/doing
good
things
for►
me
in
return
for
this
man
cursing
me
today.”
\VS{13}Then
David
and
those
who
were
with
him
walked
along
the
road,
and
Shimei
continued
walking
along
the
hillside
near
him.
While
he
walked
along,
he
cursed
David
and
threw
stones
and
dirt
at
him.
\VS{14}When
David
and
those
who
were
with
him
arrived
at
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}},
they
were
very
tired.
So
they
rested
there.
\par }{\SH Ahithophel
gave
advice
to
Absalom
\par }{\PP \VS{15}While
that
was happening,
Absalom
and
all
the Israeli
people
who
were
with
him
had
arrived
in
Jerusalem.
Ahithophel
had
also
arrived
there.
\VS{16}When
David’s
friend
Hushai
came
to
Absalom,
he
said
to
Absalom, “I
desire/hope
that
the
king
will
live
a
long
time!
May
you
live
for
many
years!”
\par }{\PP \VS{17}Absalom
said
to
Hushai, “You
have
been
loyal [RHQ]
to
your
friend
{\ADD{
David
for
a
long
time}}.
So
why
did
you
not
go
with
him
{\ADD{
instead
of
coming
to
me}}?”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Hushai
replied, “I
will
serve
the
one
whom
Yahweh
and
these
people
and
all
the
other
people
of
Israel
have
chosen
{\ADD{
to
be
their
king}}.
So
I
will
stay
with
you.
\VS{19}You
are
my
master
{\ADD{
King
David’s}}
son;
if
I
do
not
serve
you,
what
other
man
should
I
serve [RHQ]?
I
will
serve
you
as
I
served
your
father.”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Then
Absalom
said
to
Ahithophel, “What
do
you
advise
that
we
should
do?”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Ahithophel
replied, “Your
father
left
some
of
his
slave
wives
in
the
palace
to
take
care
of
it.
Have
sex [EUP]
with
them.
When
everyone
in
Israel
hears
that
you
have
done
that,
they
will
realize
that
you
are
acting
very
contemptuously
toward
your
father.
Then
all
those
who
are
with
you
will
be
very
encouraged.”
\VS{22}So
they
set
up
a
tent
for
Absalom
on
the
roof
{\ADD{
of
the
palace}}.
And
Absalom
went
into
the
tent
and
had
sex [EUP]
with
his
father’s
slave
wives,
{\ADD{
one
by
one,}}
and
everyone [HYP]
could
see
{\ADD{
him
going
into
the
tent}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}In
those
days,
people
accepted
what
Ahithophel recommended
as
though
he
were
speaking
the
words
of
God.
So
just
as
David
had
always
accepted
what
Ahithophel
said,
now
Absalom
did
also.

\par }\Chap{17}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Then
Ahithophel
said
to
Absalom, “Allow
me
to
choose 12,000
men,
and
I
will
leave
{\ADD{
with
them}}
tonight
to
pursue
David.
\VS{2}We
will
attack
him
while
he
is
tired
and
discouraged,
and
cause
him
to
be
very
frightened.
All
the
soldiers
who
are
with
him
will
run
away.
We
will
kill
only
the
king.
\VS{3}Then
we
will
bring
back
all
his
soldiers
to
you,
like [SIM]
a ◄bride/woman
comes
to
her
husband
when
she
is
married►.
You
are
wanting
to
kill
only
one
man;
so
the
other
people
will
not
be
harmed.”
\VS{4}Absalom
and
all
the Israeli
leaders
{\ADD{
who
were
with
him}}
thought
that
what
Ahithophel
said
would
be
good
to
do.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}But
Absalom
said, “Summon
Hushai
also,
and
we
will
hear
what
he
suggests.”
\VS{6}So
when
Hushai
arrived,
Absalom
told
him
what
Ahithophel
had
suggested.
Then
he
asked
Hushai, “What
do
you
think
we
should
do?
If
you
do
not
think
that
we
should
do
what
Ahithophel
suggests,
tell
us
{\ADD{
what
you
think
that
we
should
do}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{7}Hushai
replied, “This
time
what
Ahithophel
has
suggested
is
not
good
advice.
\VS{8}You
know
that
your
father
and
the
men
who
are
with
him
are
strong
soldiers,
and
that
now
they
are
very
angry,
like [SIM]
a
mother
bear
whose
cubs
have
been
stolen
from
her.
Furthermore,
your
father
knows
how
to
fight
because
he
has
fought
in
many
battles.
He
will
not
stay
with
his
troops
during
the
night.
\VS{9}Right
now
he
is probably
already
hiding
in
one
of
the
pits,
or
in
some
other
place.
{\ADD{
If
his
soldiers
start
to
attack
your
soldiers,
and}}
if
they
kill
some
of
them,
whoever
hears
about
that
will
say ‘Many
of
the
soldiers
with
Absalom
have
been
killed!’
\VS{10}Then
your
other
soldiers,
even
if
they
are
as fearless [SIM, IDM]
as
lions,
they
will
become
very
afraid.
Do
not
forget
that
everyone
in
Israel
knows
that
your
father
is
a
great/strong
soldier,
and
that
the
soldiers
who
are
with
him
are
also
very
brave/courageous.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}“o
what
I suggest
is
that
you
summon
all
the Israeli
soldiers,
from
Dan
{\ADD{
in
the
far
north}}
to
Beersheba
{\ADD{
in
the
far
south}}.
They
will
be
as
many
as
the
grains
of
sand
on
the
seashore [HYP].
And
then
you
yourself
lead
us
into
the
battle.
\VS{12}We
will
find
{\ADD{
your
father}},
wherever
he
is,
and
we
will
attack
him
{\ADD{
from
all
sides}},
like [SIM]
dew
covers
all
the
ground.
And
neither
he
nor
any
of
the
soldiers
who
are
with
him
will
survive.
\VS{13}If
he
escapes
into
some
city,
all
our
soldiers
will
bring
ropes
and
pull
that
city
down
into
the
valley.
As
a
result,
not
one
stone
will
be
left
there
{\ADD{
on
top
of
the
hill
where
that
city
was}}!”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Absalom
and
all
the
other Israeli
men
{\ADD{
who
were
with
him}}
said, “What
Hushai
suggests
is
better
than
what
Ahithophel
suggested.”
The
reason
that
happened
was
that
Yahweh
had
determined
that
if
they
would
accept
the
good
advice
that
Ahithophel
had
given
them,
{\ADD{
they
would
have
been
able
to
defeat/kill
David}}.
But
{\ADD{
as
a
result
of
their
doing
what
Hushai
suggested}},
Yahweh
would
cause
a
disaster
to
happen
to
Absalom.
\par }{\SH Hushai
arranged
for
a
report
to
be
sent
to
David
\par }{\PP \VS{15}Then
Hushai
told
the
two
priests,
Zadok
and
Abiathar,
what
both
he
and
Ahithophel
had
suggested
to
Absalom
and
the Israeli
leaders.
\VS{16}Then
he
said
to
them, “Send
{\ADD{
a
message}}
quickly
to
David.
Tell
him
to
not
stay
at
the
place
where
people
walk
across
the
river,
near
the
desert.
Instead,
he
and
his
soldiers
must
cross
{\ADD{
the
Jordan
River}}
immediately,
in
order
that
they
will
not
be
killed/wiped
out.”
\par }{\PP \VS{17}{\ADD{
The
priest’s
two
sons,}}
Jonathan
and
Ahimaaz,
were
waiting
at
En-Rogel
{\ADD{
Spring}},
outside
Jerusalem.
They
did
not
{\ADD{
dare
to}}
enter
the
city,
because
if
someone
saw
them,
{\ADD{
he
would
report
it
to
Absalom}}.
{\ADD{
While
they
were
at
En-Rogel,}}
a
female
servant
{\ADD{
of
the
two
priests}}
would frequently
go
to
them
and
report
to
them
{\ADD{
what
was happening}},
and
then
they
would
go
and
report
it
to
King
David.
\VS{18}But
a
young
man
saw
them,
and
went
and
reported
it
to
Absalom.
{\ADD{
They
found
out
what
the
young
man
had
done,}}
so
both
of
them
left
quickly
and
went
to
stay
in
the
house
of
a
man
in
Bahurim.
That
man
had
a
well
in
his
courtyard;
so
the
two
men
went
down
into
the
well
{\ADD{
to
hide}}.
\VS{19}The
man’s
wife
took
a
cloth/mat
and
covered
the
well,
and
scattered
grain
on
top
of
it
in
order
that
no
one
would
know
{\ADD{
that
two
men
were
hiding
inside
it}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Some
of
Absalom’s
soldiers
{\ADD{
found
out
where
the
two
men
had
gone.
So
they}}
went
to
the
house,
and
asked
the
woman, “Where
are
Ahimaaz
and
Jonathan?”
\par }{\PP She
replied, “They
crossed
the
river.”
\par }{\PP So
the
soldiers
{\ADD{
crossed
the
river
and}}
searched
for
them.
But
they
could
not
find
them,
so
they
returned
to
Jerusalem.
\VS{21}After
they
had
gone,
the
two
men
came
out
of
the
well
and
went
and
reported
to
King
David
{\ADD{
what
had
happened
and}}
what
Ahithophel
had
suggested.
Then
they
said
to
him, “Cross
the
river
quickly!”
\VS{22}So
David
and
all
his
soldiers
quickly
started
to
cross
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}},
and
by
dawn
they
had
all
crossed
to
the
other
side.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}When
Ahithophel
realized
that
Absalom
was
not
going
to
do
what
he
suggested,
he
put
a
saddle
on
his
donkey
and
returned
to
his
own
town.
He
gave
{\ADD{
to
his
family}}
instructions
about
his
possessions,
and
then
he
hanged
himself
{\ADD{
because
he
knew
that
Absalom
would
be
defeated
and
that
he
would
be
considered
a
traitor
and
be
killed}}.
His
body
was
buried
in
the
tomb
where
his
ancestors
{\ADD{
had
been
buried}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}David
{\ADD{
and
his
soldiers}}
arrived
at
Mahanaim.
And
Absalom
{\ADD{
and
all
his Israeli
soldiers}}
also
crossed
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}.
\VS{25}Absalom
had
appointed
{\ADD{
his cousin}}
Amasa
to
be
the
commander
of
his
army,
instead
of
Joab.
Amasa
was
the
son
of
a
man
named
Jether,
a
descendant
of
Ishmael. Amasa’s
mother
was
Abigail,
the
daughter
of
Nahash
and
the
sister
of
Joab’s
mother
Zeruiah.
\VS{26}Absalom
and
his Israeli
soldiers
set
up
their
tents
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{27}When
David
{\ADD{
and
his
soldiers}}
arrived
at
Mahanaim,
Shobi
the
son
of
Nahash
from
Rabbah
{\ADD{
city}}
in
the
Ammon
area,
and
Machir
the
son
of
Ammiel
from
Lo-Debar
{\ADD{
city}},
and
Barzillai
from
Rogelim
{\ADD{
town}}
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}
\VS{28}brought
sleeping mats,
bowls,
clay
pots,
barley,
wheat
flour,
parched
grain,
beans,
and
lentils
to
them.
\VS{29}They
brought
honey
and
curds,
sheep,
and
some cream/cheese
for
David
and
his
soldiers
to
eat.
They
knew
that
David
and
his
soldiers
would
be
hungry
and
tired
and
thirsty
{\ADD{
from
marching}}
in
the
desert.

\par }\Chap{18}{\SH David’s men prepared for the battle
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}David
arranged
his
soldiers
for
the
battle.
He
divided
them
into
groups,
and
appointed
a
commander
for
each 100
soldiers
and
a
commander
for
each 1,000
soldiers.
\VS{2}He
sent
them
out
in
three
groups.
Joab
commanded
one
group,
Joab’s
brother
Abishai
commanded
a
second
group,
and
Ittai
from
Gath
commanded
the
third
group.
David
said
to
them, “I
myself
will
go
with
you
{\ADD{
to
the
battle}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}But
his
soldiers
said, “No,
we
will
not
allow
you
to
go
with
us.
If
they
force
us
all
to
run
away,
they
will
not
be
concerned
about
that happening.
Or
if
they
kill
half
of
us,
that
will
also
not
be
what
they
want.
To
them,
{\ADD{
killing}}
you
is
more
important
than
{\ADD{
killing}} 10,000
of
us.
So
it
will
be
better
that
you
{\ADD{
stay
here}}
in
the
city
and
send
help
to
us.”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}The
king
replied, “Okay,
I
will
do
whatever
seems
best
to
you.”
So
he
stood
at
the
gate
{\ADD{
and
watched}}
while
his
soldiers
marched
out,
group
by
group.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}{\ADD{
While
they
were
leaving,}}
the
king
commanded
Joab,
Abishai,
and
Ittai, “For
my
sake,
do
not
harm
my
son
Absalom!”
And
all
the
troops
heard
it
when
David
gave
that
order
about
Absalom
to
those
three
commanders.
\par }{\SH Joab
killed
Absalom
\par }{\PP \VS{6}So
the
army
went
out
to
fight
against
the Israeli
soldiers
{\ADD{
who
were
with
Absalom}}.
They
fought
the
battle
in
the
forest
{\ADD{
where
people
from
the
tribe}}
of
Ephraim
{\ADD{
lived}}.
\VS{7}David’s
soldiers
defeated
Absalom’s
soldiers.
They
killed 20,000
of
them!
\VS{8}The
battle
was
fought $\{$They
fought
the
battle$\}$
all
over
that
area,
and
the
number
of
men
who
died
because
of
{\ADD{
dangerous
things
in}}
the
forest [PRS]
was
greater
than
the
number
of
men
who
were
killed ◄in
the
battle/by
swords►.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}During
the
battle,
Absalom
suddenly
came
near
{\ADD{
some
of}}
David’s
soldiers.
Absalom
was
riding
on
his
mule;
and
when
the
mule
went
under
the
thick
branches
of
a
large
oak
tree,
Absalom’s
head/hair
was
caught
in
the
branches.
The
mule
kept
going,
but
Absalom
was
left
dangling
in
the
air.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}One
of
David’s
soldiers
saw
what
happened,
and
went
and
told
Joab, “I
saw
Absalom
hanging
in
an
oak
tree!”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}Joab
said
to
the
man, “What?
You
say
that
you
saw
him
hanging
there,
so
why
did
you
not
kill
him
immediately [RHQ]?
{\ADD{
If
you
had
killed
him,}}
I
would
have
given
you
ten
pieces
of
silver
and
a
belt!”
\par }{\PP \VS{12}The
man
replied
to
Joab, “Even
if
you
gave
me 1,000
pieces
of
silver,
I
would
not
have
done
anything
to
harm [IDM]
the
king’s
son.
We
all
heard
the
king
command
you
and
Abishai
and
Ittai, ‘For
my
sake,
do
not
harm
my
son
Absalom!’
\VS{13}If
I
had
disobeyed
the
king
and
killed
Absalom,
the
king
would
have
heard
about
it,
because
the
king
hears
about
everything,
and
even
you
would
not
have
defended
me!”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Joab
said, “I
am
not
going
to
waste
time
talking
to
you!”
Then
he
took
three
spears
{\ADD{
and
went
to
where
Absalom
was}},
and
thrust
them
into
Absalom’s
chest/heart
while
he
was
still
alive,
dangling
from
the
oak
tree.
\VS{15}Then
ten
young
men
who
carried
weapons
for
Joab
surrounded
Absalom
and
{\ADD{
finished}}
killing
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}Then
Joab
blew
his
trumpet
{\ADD{
to
signal
that
they
should
not
fight
anymore}},
and
his
soldiers
returned
from
pursuing
those Israeli
soldiers.
\VS{17}They
took
Absalom’s
body
and
threw
it
into
a
huge
pit
in
the
forest,
and
covered
it
with
a
huge
pile
of
stones.
Then
all
the
remaining Israeli
soldiers
{\ADD{
who
had
been
with
Absalom}}
fled
to
their
own
towns.
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Absalom
had
no
sons
to
preserve
his
{\ADD{
family}}
name.
So,
while
Absalom
was
alive,
he
built
a
monument
to
himself
in
the
King’s
Valley
{\ADD{
near
Jerusalem,
in
order
that
people
would
remember
him}}.
He
put
his
name
on
the
monument,
and
people
still
call
it
Absalom’s
monument.
\par }{\SH The
report
of
Absalom’s
death
reached
David
\par }{\PP \VS{19}{\ADD{
After
Absalom
had
been
killed,}}
Zadok’s
son
Ahimaaz
said
to
Joab, “Allow
me
to
run
to
the
king
to
tell
him
the
good
news
that
Yahweh
has
rescued
him
from
the
power
of
his
enemies!”
\par }{\PP \VS{20}But
Joab
said
to
him, “No,
I
will
not
allow
you
to
take
news
to
the
king
today.
Some
other
day
I
will
allow
you
to
take
some
news,
but
not
today.
{\ADD{
If
you
took
news
today
it
would
not
be
good
news
for
the
king,}}
because
his
son
is
dead.”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Then
Joab
said
to
David’s
servant
who
was
from
Ethiopia, “You
go
and
tell
the
king
what
you
have
seen.”
So
the
man
from
Ethiopia
bowed
in
front
of
Joab,
and
started
to
run.
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Then
Ahimaaz
said
again
to
Joab, “Even
though
{\ADD{
that
man
from
Ethiopia
is
running}},
allow
me
to
run
behind
him.”
Joab
replied, “My
boy/son,
why
do
you
want
to
do
that?
You
will
not
receive
any
reward
for
your
news!”
\par }{\PP \VS{23}But
Ahimaaz
replied, “That
does
not
matter,
I
want
to
go.”
So
Joab
said, “Okay,
go.”
So
Ahimaaz
ran
along
{\ADD{
another}}
road
through
the
Jordan
Valley
and
arrived
{\ADD{
where
David
was}}
before
the
man
from
Ethiopia
arrived.
\par }{\PP \VS{24}David
was
sitting
between
the
outer
gate
and
the
inner
gate
{\ADD{
of
the
city}}.
The
watchman/lookout
went
up
on
top
of
the
city
wall
and
stood
on
the
roof
over
the
gates.
He
looked
out
and
saw
one
man
running
alone.
\VS{25}The
watchman
called
down
and
reported
it
to
the
king.
The
king
said, “If
he
is
alone,
{\ADD{
that indicates/means
that}}
he
is
bringing
{\ADD{
good}}
news.”
The
man
who
was
running
continued
to
come
closer.
\par }{\PP \VS{26}Then
the
watchman
saw
another
man
running.
So
he
called
down
to
the
gatekeeper, “Look!
There
is
another
man
running!”
And
the
king
said, “He
also
is
bringing
{\ADD{
some
good}}
news.”
\par }{\PP \VS{27}The
watchman
said, “I
think
the
first
man
{\ADD{
must
be
Ahimaaz,
because
he}}
is
running
like
Ahimaaz
runs.”
The
king
said, “He
is
a
good
man,
and
{\ADD{
I
am
sure}}
he
is
coming
with
good
news.”
\par }{\PP \VS{28}{\ADD{
When}}
Ahimaaz
{\ADD{
reached
the
king,
he}}
called
out “I
hope/desire
that
things
will
go
well
with
you!”
Then
he
prostrated
himself
on
the
ground
in
front
of
the
king
and
said, “Your
Majesty,
praise
Yahweh
our
God,
who
has
rescued
you
from
the
men
who
were
rebelling
against
you!”
\par }{\PP \VS{29}The
king
said, “Is
the
young
man
Absalom
safe/all
right?”
Ahimaaz
{\ADD{
did
not
want
to
answer
that
question,
so
he}}
replied, “When
Joab
sent
me,
I
saw
that
there
was
a
lot
of
confusion,
but
I
do
not
know
what
it
was
about.”
\par }{\PP \VS{30}Then
the
king
said, “Stand
aside.”
So
Ahimaaz
stepped
aside
and
stood
there.
\par }{\PP \VS{31}Suddenly
the
man
from
Ethiopia
arrived,
and
said, “Your
Majesty,
I
have
good
news
for
you!
Yahweh
has
enabled
your
soldiers
to
defeat
all
those
who
rebelled
against
you!”
\par }{\PP \VS{32}The
king
said
to
him, “Is
the
young
man
Absalom
safe/all
right?”
And
the
man
from
Ethiopia
replied, “Sir,
I
wish/desire
that
what
happened
to
him
would
happen
to
all
of
your
enemies
and
to
all
those
who
rebel
against
you!”
\par }{\PP \VS{33}The
king
{\ADD{
realized
that
he
meant
that
Absalom
was
dead,
so
he}}
became ◄extremely
distressed/overcome
with
grief►,
and
he
went
up
to
the
room
above
the
gateway
and
cried.
While
he
was
going
up,
he
kept
crying
out, “O,
my
son
Absalom!
My
son!
O,
my
son
Absalom,
I
desire/wish
that
I
had
died
instead
of
you!”

\par }\Chap{19}{\SH Joab rebuked the king
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Someone
told
Joab
that
the
king
was
crying
and
mourning
because
Absalom
had
died.
\VS{2}All
of
David’s
soldiers
became
sad.
Instead
of
rejoicing
about
defeating
{\ADD{
the
soldiers
who
had
fought
with
Absalom}},
they
were
sad
because
they
heard
that
the
king
was
mourning
because
Absalom
{\ADD{
was
dead}}.
\VS{3}The
soldiers
returned
to
the
city
quietly,
like [SIM]
soldiers
do
when
they
are
ashamed
because
they
ran
away
from
battle.
\VS{4}The
king
covered
his
face
{\ADD{
with
his
hands}}
and
kept
crying
loudly, “O,
my
son
Absalom!
O,
Absalom,
my
son!
My
son!”
\par }{\PP \VS{5}Then
Joab
entered
the
room
where
the
king
was,
and
said
to
the
king, “Today
you
have
caused
your
soldiers
to
be
ashamed!
You
have
humiliated
the
men
who
saved
your
life
and
the
lives
of
your
sons
and
daughters
and
your
ordinary
wives
and
your
slave
wives!
\VS{6}{\ADD{
It
seems
that}}
you
love
those
who
hate
you
and
{\ADD{
that}}
you
hate
those
who
love
you.
You
have
caused
it
to
be
clear
today
that
your
commanders
and
your
officers
are
not
at
all
important
to
you.
I
think
that
if
Absalom
were
still
alive
and
we
were
all
dead
today,
you
would
be
happy.
\VS{7}So,
now
go
and
thank
your
soldiers
{\ADD{
for
what
they
did}}.
Because
I
solemnly
declare
that
if
you
do
not
do
that,
none
of
them
will
still
be
with
you
by
tomorrow
morning
and
that
would
be
worse
{\ADD{
for
you}}
than
all
the
disasters/troubles
that
you
have
experienced
since
you
were
a
boy.”
\par }{\PP \VS{8}So
the
king
got
up
and
went
and
sat
near
the
city
gate.
And
all
the
people
were
told, “Hey,
the
king
is
sitting
at
the
gate!”
So
they
all
came
and
gathered
around
him.
\par }{\SH The
people
of
Israel
and
Judah
wanted
David
to
be
their
king
again
\par }{\PP Meanwhile,
all
the Israeli
troops
{\ADD{
who
had
been
with
Absalom}}
had
returned
to
their
homes.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Then
all
the
people
throughout
the
tribes
of
Israel
started
to
quarrel
among
themselves.
They
said
to
each
other, “King
David
rescued
us
from
the
people
of
Philistia
and
from
our
other
enemies.
But
now
he
has
fled
from
Absalom
and
left
Israel!
\VS{10}We
appointed [MTY]
Absalom
to
be
our
king,
but
he
died
in
the
battle
{\ADD{
against
David’s
soldiers}}.
So ◄why
does
someone
not
try
to
bring
King
David
back?/surely
someone
should
try
to
bring
King
David
back.►” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{11}King
David
{\ADD{
found
out
what
the
people
were
saying.
So
he}}
sent
the
two
priests,
Zadok
and
Abiathar,
to
say
to
the
leaders
of
Judah, “The
king
says
that
he
has
heard
that
all
the Israeli
people
{\ADD{
want
him
to
be
king
again}}.
And
he
says, ‘◄Why
should
you
be
the
last
ones
to
bring
me
back
to
my
palace?/It
is
not
right
that
you
be
the
last
ones
to
bring
me
back
to
my
palace.► [RHQ]
\VS{12}You
are
my
relatives;
we
have
the
same ancestor [IDM].
So ◄why
should
you
be
the
last
ones
to
bring
me
back?/you
should
certainly
not
be
the
last
ones
to
bring
me
back.► [RHQ]’ ”
\VS{13}And
say
to
Amasa, “You
are
one
of
my
relatives.
I
hope/desire
that
God
strike
me
dead [IDM]
if
I
do
not
appoint
you
to
be,
from
now
on,
the
commander
of
my
army
instead
of
Joab.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}{\ADD{
By
sending
that
message
to
them,}}
David
convinced
all
the
people
of
Judah [IDM]
{\ADD{
that
they
should ◄be
loyal
to
him/accept
him
as
their
king}}►.
So
they
sent
a
message
to
the
king,
saying “We
want
you
and
all
your
officials
to
return
here.”
\VS{15}So
the
king
{\ADD{
and
his
officials
started
back
toward
Jerusalem}}.
When
they
reached
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}},
the
people
of
Judah
came
there
to
Gilgal
to
meet
the
king,
and
to
bring
him
across
the
river.
\par }{\PP \VS{16}Shimei,
the
man
from
the
tribe
of
Benjamin,
also
came
down
quickly
{\ADD{
to
the
river}}
with
the
people
of
Judah
to
meet
King
David.
\VS{17}There
were 1,000
men
from
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
who
came
with
him.
And
Ziba,
who
had
been
the
servant
of
Saul,
also
hurried
down
to
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}},
bringing 20
of
his
servants
with
him.
They
all
came
to
the
king,
\VS{18}and
then
they
all
{\ADD{
prepared
to}}
take
the
king
and
all
his
family
across
the
river,
at
the
place
where
they
could
walk
across
it.
They
wanted
to
do
whatever
the
king
wanted
them
to
do.
As
the
king
was
about
to
cross
the
river,
Shimei
came
to
him
and
prostrated
himself
in
front
of
the
king.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}He
said
to
the
king, “Your
Majesty,
please
forgive
me.
Please
do
not
keep
thinking
about
the
terrible
thing
that
I
did
on
the
day
that
you
left
Jerusalem.
Do
not
think
about
it
anymore.
\VS{20}Because
I
know
that
I
have
sinned.
Look,
I
have
come
today,
the
first
one
from
the
northern
tribes
to
come
here
to
greet
you
today,
Your
Majesty.”
\par }{\PP \VS{21}But
Abishai,
the
son
of
Zeruiah,
said, “He
cursed
the
one
that
Yahweh
appointed [MTY]
to
be
the
king!
So ◄should
he
not
be
executed
for
doing
that?/he
certainly
should
be
executed
for
doing
that.►” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{22}But
David
said, “You
sons
of
Zeruiah,
what
am
I
going
to
do
with
you? (OR,
you
are
not
the
ones
who
should
decide
{\ADD{
what
to
do
to
him}}).
{\ADD{
It
is
as
though}}
you
have
become
my
enemies
today.
I
know
that
I
am
the
one
who
has
now
become
the
king
of
Israel,
{\ADD{
so
I
say
that}}
certainly
no
one [RHQ]
in
Israel
should
be
executed
today.”
\VS{23}Then
the
king
said
to
Shimei, “I
solemnly
promise
that
I
will
not
execute
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{24}Then Miphibosheth,
Saul’s
grandson,
came
down
{\ADD{
to
the
river}}
to
greet
the
king.
He
had
not
washed
his
feet
or
trimmed
his
beard
or
washed
his
clothes,
from
the
time
that
the
king
left
Jerusalem
until
the
day
that
he
returned.
\VS{25}When
he
arrived
from
Jerusalem
to
greet
the
king,
the
king
said
to
him, “Mephibosheth,
why
did
you
not
go
with
me?”
\par }{\PP \VS{26}He
replied, “Your
Majesty,
{\ADD{
you
know
that}}
I
am
crippled.
{\ADD{
When
I
heard
that
you
were
leaving
Jerusalem,}}
I
said
to
my
servant
{\ADD{
Ziba}}, ‘Put
a
saddle
on
my
donkey
in
order
that
I
can
ride
on
it
and
go
with
the
king.’
But
he
deceived
me
{\ADD{
and
left
without
me}}.
\VS{27}And
he
lied
to
you
about
me.
But,
Your
Majesty,
you
are
{\ADD{
as
wise}}
as
God’s
angel.
So
do
whatever
seems
right
to
you.
\VS{28}All
of
my grandfather’s
family
expected/deserved
that
we
would
be
executed.
But
{\ADD{
you
did
not
execute
me;}}
you
allowed
me
to
eat
food
with
you
at
your
table!
So
I
certainly
do
not
have [RHQ]
the
right
to
request
you
for
anything
more.”
\par }{\PP \VS{29}The
king
replied, “You
certainly
do
not
need
to
say
any
more.
I
have
decided
that
you
and
Ziba
will
divide
{\ADD{equally}}
the
land
{\ADD{
that
belonged
to
your
grandfather
Saul}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{30}Mephibosheth
replied
to
the
king, “Your
Majesty,
{\ADD{
I
am
content
that}}
you
have
returned
safely.
So
allow
him
to
take
all
the
land.”
\par }{\PP \VS{31}Barzillai,
the
man
from
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}},
had
come
down
to
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
from
{\ADD{
his
town
of}}
Rogelim,
to
escort
the
king
across
the
river.
\VS{32}Barzillai
was
a
very
old
man, 80
years
old.
He
was
a
very
wealthy
man,
and
he
had
provided
food
for
the
king
{\ADD{
and
his
soldiers}}
while
they
were
at
Mahanaim.
\VS{33}The
king
said
to
Barzillai, “Come
with
me
to
Jerusalem,
and
I
will
take
care
of
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{34}But
Barzillai
replied, “I
certainly
do
not
have [RHQ]
many
more
years
to
live.
So ◄why
should
I
go
with
you
to
Jerusalem?/there
is
certainly
no
reason
for
me
to
go
with
you
to
Jerusalem.► [RHQ]
\VS{35}I
am
now 80
years
old.
I
do
not [RHQ]
know
what
is enjoyable
and
what
is
not enjoyable.
I
cannot [RHQ]
enjoy
what
I
eat
and
what
I
drink.
I
cannot [RHQ]
hear
the
voices
of
men
and
women
as
they
sing.
So ◄why
should
I
be
another
burden
to
you?/I
do
not
want
to
be
another
burden
to
you.► [RHQ]
\VS{36}I
will
cross
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
with
you
and
go
a
little
further,
and
that
will
be
all
the
reward
that
I
need
{\ADD{
for
helping
you}}.
\VS{37}Then
please
allow
me
to
return
to
my
home,
because
that
is
where
I
want
to
die,
near
my parents’
grave.
But
here
is
{\ADD{
my
son}}
Chimham.
Your
Majesty,
allow
him
to
go
with
you
{\ADD{
and
serve
you}},
and
do
for
him
whatever
seems
good
to
you!”
\par }{\PP \VS{38}The
king
replied, “Okay,
he
will
cross
{\ADD{
the
river}}
with
me,
and
I
will
do
for
him
whatever
seems
good
to
you.
And
I
will
do
for
you
whatever
you
want
me
to
do.”
\par }{\PP \VS{39}Then
King
David
and
all
the
others
crossed
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}.
He
kissed
Barzillai
and
{\ADD{
asked
God
to}}
bless
him.
Then
Barzillai
returned
to
his
home.
\par }{\PP \VS{40}{\ADD{
After
they
crossed
the
river,}}
Chimham
went
with
the
king,
and
all
the
army
of
Judah
and
half
the
army
of
the
other Israeli
tribes
escorted/accompanied
the
king
to
Gilgal.
\par }{\SH The
troops
from
Judah
and
Israel argued
\par }{\PP \VS{41}Then
all
the
soldiers
from
the
other Israeli
tribes
came
to
the
king
and
said, “◄Why
is
it
that
our
relatives,
the
men
from
Judah,
took
you
away
from
us
and
wanted
to
be
the
only
ones
to
escort
you
and
your
family
across
the
river,
along
with
all
your
men?/It
is
not
right
that
our
relatives,
the
men
from
Judah,
took
you
away
from
us
and
wanted
to
be
the
only
ones
to
escort
you
and
your
family
across
the
river,
along
with
all
your
men.► [RHQ]
{\ADD{
Why
did
you
not
request
us
to
do
that}}?” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{42}The
soldiers
from
Judah
replied, “We
did
it
because
the
king
is
from
Judah.
So ◄why
are
you
angry
about
that?/you
should
not
be
angry
about
that.► [RHQ]
The
king
has
never
paid
for
our
food,
and
he
has
never
given
us
any
gifts.”
\par }{\PP \VS{43}The
men
of
the
other Israeli
tribes
replied, “{\ADD{
There
are
ten
tribes
in
Israel,
and
only
one
in
Judah.
So}}
it
is
ten
times
more
right
for
us
to
say
that
David
{\ADD{
is
our
king}}
than
it
is
for
you
to
say
that.
So
why
are
you
despising
us [RHQ]?
We
were
certainly [RHQ]
the
first
ones
to
talk
about
bringing
David
back
{\ADD{
to
Jerusalem
to
be
our
king
again}}.”
\par }{\PP But
the
men
of
Judah
spoke
more
harshly
than
the
men
from
the
other
tribes
of
Israel
did.

\par }\Chap{20}{\SH Sheba rebelled against David
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}There
was
a
man
there
{\ADD{
at
Gilgal}}
named
Sheba.
He
was
a
man
who
always
caused
trouble.
He
was
from
the
tribe
of
Benjamin
and
was
the
son
of
Bichri.
He
blew
a
trumpet
and
called
out, “We
have
nothing
to
do
with [DOU]
David,
that
son
of
Jesse!
So,
men
of
Israel,
let’s
go
to
our
homes!”
\par }{\PP \VS{2}So
all
the
men
from
the
other Israeli
tribes
deserted
David
and
went
with
Sheba,
but
the
men
of
Judah
stayed
with
David.
They
wanted
him
to
be
their
king,
and
went
with
him
from
near
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
up
to
Jerusalem.
\par }{\PP \VS{3}When
David
arrived
at
the
palace
in
Jerusalem,
he
took
the
ten
slave
wives
whom
he
had
left
there
to
take
care
of
the
palace
and
put
them
in
another
house.
He
put
a
guard
at
that
house,
and
he
provided
for
them
what
they
needed,
but
he
never
had
sexual
relations [EUP]
with
them
again.
So
they
remained
shut
up
in
their
house
until
they
died.
It
was
as
though
they
were
widows.
\par }{\PP \VS{4}{\ADD{
One
day}}
the
king
said
to
Amasa, “Summon
the
soldiers
of
Judah
to
come
here
within
three
days,
and
you
be
here
also.”
\VS{5}So
Amasa
went
to
summon
them,
but
he
did
not
return
within
the
time
that
David
told
him
to.
\par }{\PP \VS{6}So
David
said
to
Abishai, “Now
Sheba
will
harm
us
more
than
Absalom
did.
So
you
take
my
soldiers
and
pursue
him.
If
you
do
not
do
that,
he
and
his
soldiers
may
occupy/capture
some
of
the ◄fortified
towns/towns
that
have
walls
around
them►,
and
escape
from
us. [IDM]”
\VS{7}So
Abishai
{\ADD{
and
Joab}}
and
the
king’s bodyguards
and
the
other
soldiers
left
Jerusalem,
to
pursue
Sheba.
\par }{\PP \VS{8}When
they
arrived
at
the
huge
rock
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gibeah
{\ADD{
region}},
Amasa
met
them.
Joab
was
wearing
a
soldier’s uniform.
He
had
a
dagger/long
knife
fastened
to
his
belt.
When
he
came
close
{\ADD{
to
Amasa,
he
allowed}}
the
dagger
{\ADD{
to}}
fall
on
the
ground.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}Joab
said
to
Amasa, “Are
things
going
well
with
you,
my
friend?”
Then
Joab
grabbed Amasa’s
beard
with
his
right
hand,
in
order
to
kiss
him.
\VS{10}But
Amasa
did
not
see
that
Joab
was
holding
{\ADD{
another}}
dagger
in
his
{\ADD{
other}}
hand.
And
Joab
stabbed
it
into Amasa’s
belly,
and
his insides
spilled
out
onto
the
ground.
Amasa
died
{\ADD{
immediately}};
Joab
did
not
need
to
stab
him
again.
Then
Joab
and
his
brother
Abishai
continued
to
pursue
Sheba.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}One
of
Joab’s
soldiers
stood
alongside Amasa’s
body
and
called
out, “Everyone
who
wants
Joab
{\ADD{
to
be
our
commander}}
and
who
wants
David
{\ADD{
to
be
our
king}},
go
with
Joab!”
\VS{12}Amasa’s
body
was
lying
on
the
road.
It
was
covered
with
blood.
The
soldier
of
Joab
{\ADD{
who
had
called
out}}
saw
that
many
others
of
Joab’s
soldiers
were
stopping
{\ADD{
to
see
it}},
so
he
dragged Amasa’s
body
off
the
road
into
a
field,
and
threw
a
cloth/blanket
over
the
body.
\VS{13}After
the
body
had
been
taken
off
the
road,
all
the
soldiers
went
with
Joab
to
pursue
Sheba.
\par }{\PP \VS{14}Sheba
went
through
all
the
tribes
of
Israel,
and
arrived
at
Abel-Beth-Maacah
{\ADD{
town
in
the
northern
part
of
Israel}}.
There,
all
the
members
of
{\ADD{
his
father}} Bichri’s
clan
gathered,
and
went
with
Sheba
into
the
town.
\VS{15}The
soldiers
who
were
with
Joab
{\ADD{
found
out
that
Sheba
had
gone
there,
so
they}}
went
there
and
surrounded
the
town.
They
built
a
dirt
ramp
up
against
the
town
wall.
They
also
pounded
against
the
wall
{\ADD{
with
heavy
poles}},
to
cause
it
to
collapse.
\VS{16}Then
a
wise
woman
who
was
in
that
town
{\ADD{
stood
on
the
top
of
the
wall
and}}
shouted
down, “Listen
to
me!
Tell
Joab
to
come
here,
because
I
want
to
talk
to
him!”
\VS{17}So
{\ADD{
after
they
told
Joab}},
he
came
there,
and
the
woman
said, “Are
you
Joab?”
\par }{\PP He
replied, “Yes,
I
am.”
She
said
to
him, “Listen
to
what
I
say.”
He
replied, “I
am
listening.”
\VS{18}She
said, “Long
ago
people
used
to
say, ‘Go
to
Abel
{\ADD{
town}}
to
get
good
advice
about
your
problems.’
And
that
is
what
people
did.
\VS{19}We
are
peaceful
and
loyal Israelis.
Our
people
here
are
important
and
respected [IDM].
So ◄why
are
you
trying
to
destroy
a
town
that
belongs
to
Yahweh?/you
should
not
be
trying
to
destroy
a
town
that
belongs
to
Yahweh.►” [RHQ]
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Job
replied, “I
would
certainly
never
want
to
ruin
or
destroy
your
town!
\VS{21}That
is
not
what
we
want
to
do.
But Bichri’s
son
Sheba,
a
man
from
the hilly
area
in
the
tribe
of
Ephraim,
is
rebelling
against
King
David.
Put
this
man
into
our
hands,
and
then
we
will ◄go
away
from/not
attack►
this
town.”
\par }{\PP The
woman
replied
to
Joab, “Okay,
what
we
will
do
is,
we
will
{\ADD{
cut
off}}
his
head
{\ADD{
and}}
throw
it
over
the
wall
to
you.”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Then
this
wise
woman
went
to
the
elders
of
the
town
and
told
them
what
she
had
said
to
Joab.
So
they
cut
off
Sheba’s
head
and
threw
it
over
the
wall
to
Joab.
Then
Joab
blew
his
trumpet
{\ADD{
to
signal
that
the
battle
was
ended}},
and
all
his
soldiers
left
the
town
and
returned
to
their
homes.
And
Joab
returned
to
Jerusalem
and
told
the
king
{\ADD{
what
had
happened}}.
\par }{\PP \VS{23}Joab
was
the
commander
of
the
entire Israeli
army.
Jehoiada’s
son
Benaiah
was
the
commander
of
David’s bodyguards;
\VS{24}Adoram
supervised
the
men
who
were
forced
to
work
{\ADD{
for
the
king}}; Ahilud’s
son
Jehoshaphat
was
the
man
who
reported
{\ADD{
to
the
people
everything
that
David
decided}};
\VS{25}Sheva
was
the
official
secretary;
Zadok
and
Abiathar
were
the
priests;
\VS{26}and
Ira
from
Jair
{\ADD{
town}}
was
also
one
of
David’s
priests.

\par }\Chap{21}{\SH The people of Gibeon got revenge for what Saul did
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}During
the
time
that
David
{\ADD{
ruled}},
there
was
a
famine
{\ADD{
in
Israel}}
for
three
years.
David
prayed
to
Yahweh
about
it.
And
Yahweh
said, “{\ADD{
In
order
for
the
famine
to
end}},
Saul’s
family
needs
to
be
punished [MTY]
because
Saul
killed
many
people
from
Gibeon
{\ADD{
city}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{2}The
people
of
Gibeon
were
not Israelis;
they
were
a
small
group
of
the Amor people-group
whom
the Israelis
had
solemnly
promised
to
protect.
But
Saul
had
tried
to
kill
all
of
them
because
he ◄was
very
zealous/wanted
very
much►
to
enable
the
people
of
Judah
and
Israel
{\ADD{
to
be
the
only
ones
living
in
that
land}}.
So
the
king
summoned
the
leaders
of
Gibeon
\VS{3}and
said
to
them, “What
shall
I
do
for
you?
How
can
I
make
amends/up
for
what
was
done
to
your
people,
in
order
that
you
will
bless
us
who
belong
to
Yahweh?”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}They
replied, “You
cannot
settle
our
quarrel
with
Saul
and
his
family
by
giving
us
silver
or
gold.
And
we
do
not
have
the
right
to
kill
any Israelis.”
\par }{\PP So
David
asked, “Then/So
what
do
you
say
that
I
should
do
for
you?”
\VS{5}They
replied, “Saul
{\ADD{
wanted
to}}
get
rid
of
us.
He
wanted
to
annihilate/kill
all
of
us,
in
order
that
none
of
us
would
live
anywhere
in
Israel.
\VS{6}Hand
over
to
us
seven
of
Saul’s
descendants.
We
will
hang
them
where
Yahweh
is
worshiped
in
Gibeon,
our
town,
the
town
where
Saul,
whom
Yahweh
previously
chose
to
be
king,
lived.”
\par }{\PP The
king
replied, “Okay,
I
will
hand
them
over
to
you.”
\VS{7}The
king
did
not
hand
over
to
them
Saul’s
grandson
Mephibosheth,
because
of
what
he
and
{\ADD{Mephibosheth’s
father}}
Jonathan
had
solemnly
promised
to
each
other.
\VS{8}Instead,
he
took
Armoni
and
another
man
named
Mephibosheth,
the
two
sons
that
Saul’s
slave
wife
Rizpah,
the
daughter
of
Aiah,
had
given
birth
to,
and
the
five
sons
that
Saul’s
daughter
Merab
had
given
birth
to. Merab’s
husband
was
Adriel,
the
son
of
a
man
named
Barzillai
from Meholah
{\ADD{
town}}.
\VS{9}David
handed
those
men
over
to
the
men
from
Gibeon.
Then
they
hanged
those
seven
men
on
a
hill
where
they
worshiped
Yahweh.
They
were
all
killed
during
the
time
of
the
year
that
the
people
started
to
harvest
the
barley.
\par }{\PP \VS{10}Then
Rizpah
took coarse
cloth
made
from
goats’
hair,
and
spread
it
on
the
rock
{\ADD{
where
the
corpses
lay}}.
She
stayed
there
from
the
time
that
people
started
to
harvest
the
barley
until
the
rains
started.
She
did
not
allow
any
birds
to
come
near
the
corpses
during
the
day,
and
she
did
not
allow
any
animals
to
come
near
during
the
night.
\VS{11}When
someone
told
David
what
Rizpah
had
done,
\VS{12}he
went
with
some
of
his
servants
to
Jabesh
in
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}
and
got
the
bones
of
Saul
and
his
son
Jonathan.
The
people
of
Jabesh
had
stolen
their
bones
from
the ◄plaza/public
square►
in
Beth-Shan
{\ADD{
city}},
where
the
men
from
Philistia
had
hanged
them
previously,
on
the
day
that
they
had
killed
Saul
and
Jonathan
on
Gilboa
{\ADD{
Mountain}}.
\VS{13}David
and
his
men
took
the
bones
of
Saul
and
Jonathan,
and
they
also
took
the
bones
of
the
seven
men
{\ADD{
from
Gibeon}}
whom
the
men
from
Philistia
had
hanged.
\par }{\PP \VS{14}They
buried
the
bones
of
Saul
and
Jonathan
in
Zela
{\ADD{
town}}
in
the
land
of
{\ADD{
the
tribe
of}}
Benjamin.
Doing
all
that
the
king
commanded,
they
buried
their
bones
in
the
tomb
where
Saul’s
father
Kish
{\ADD{
was
buried}}.
After
that,
{\ADD{
because}}
God
{\ADD{
saw
that
Saul’s
family
had
been
punished
to
pay
for
Saul’s
murder
of
many
people
from
Gibeon,
he}}
answered
the Israelis’
prayers
for
their
land,
and
caused
the
famine
to
end.
\par }{\SH The
battles
against
the
giants
of
Philistia
\par }{\PP \VS{15}The
army
of
Philistia
again
started
to
fight
against
the
army
of
Israel.
And
David
and
his
soldiers
went
to
fight
the
Philistines.
During
the
battle,
David
became
weary.
\VS{16}One
of
the
Philistia
men
thought
that
he
could
kill
David.
His
name
was
Ishbi-Benob.
He
was
a
descendant
of
{\ADD{
a
group
of}}
giants.
He
carried
a
bronze
spear
that
weighed
about ◄7-1/2
pounds/3-1/2 kg.►,
and
he
also
had
a
new
sword.
\VS{17}But
Abishai
came
to
help
David,
and
attacked
the
giant
and
killed
him.
Then
David’s
soldiers
forced
him
to
promise
that
he
would
not
go
with
them
into
a
battle
again.
They
said
to
him, “{\ADD{
If
you
die,
and
none
of
your
descendants
become
king,
that
would
be
like}} [MET] extinguishing
the
last
light
in
Israel.”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Some
time
after
that,
there
was
a
battle
with
the
army
of
Philistia
near
Gob
{\ADD{
village}}.
During
the
battle,
Sibbecai,
from
{\ADD{
the}}
Hushah
{\ADD{
clan}},
killed
Saph,
one
of
the
descendants
of
the
Rapha
giants.
\par }{\PP \VS{19}{\ADD{
Later}}
there
was
another
battle
with
the
army
of
Philistia
at
Gob.
During
that
battle,
Elhanan,
the
son
of
Jaare-Oregim
from
Bethlehem,
killed
{\ADD{
the
brother
of}}
Goliath
from
Gath
{\ADD{
city}};
Goliath’s
spear
shaft/handle
was ◄very
thick,
like
the
bar
on
a
weaver’s
loom/over
two
inches
thick►.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Later
there
was
another
battle
near
Gath.
There
was
a ◄huge
man/giant►
there
who
liked
to
fight
{\ADD{
in
battles}}.
He
had
six
fingers
on
each
hand
and
six
toes
on
each
foot.
He
was
descended
from
{\ADD{
the}}
Rapha
{\ADD{
giants}}.
\VS{21}But
when
he ◄made fun
of/ridiculed►
the
men
in
the Israeli
{\ADD{
army}},
Jonathan,
the
son
of
David’s
{\ADD{
older}}
brother
Shimeah,
killed
him.
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Those
four
men
were
some
of
the
descendants
of
the
Rapha
giants
who
had
lived
in
Gath,
who
were
killed [MTY]
by
David
and
his
soldiers.

\par }\Chap{22}{\SH David’s song to praise Yahweh
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}After
Yahweh
had
rescued
David
from
Saul
and
his
other
enemies,
David
sang
a
song
to
Yahweh.
\VS{2}{\ADD{
This
is
what}}
he
sang:
\par }{\Q Yahweh,
you
are
like
a
{\ADD{
huge overhanging}}
rock
{\ADD{
under
which
I
can
hide}} [MET];
\par }{\QB you
are
like
my
fortress,
and
you
rescue
me.
\par }{\Q \VS{3}Yahweh,
you
protect
me;
you
are
like
a
shield;
\par }{\QB you
are
the
powerful
one [MET]
who
saves
me;
\par }{\Q you
are
like
a
place
where
I ◄find
refuge/am
safe►.
\par }{\QB You
save
me
from
those
who
act
violently
toward
me.
\par }{\Q \VS{4}I
call
out
to
you,
Yahweh;
\par }{\QB you
deserve
to
be
praised,
\par }{\QB and
you
rescue
me
from
my
enemies.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{5}“
almost
died [PRS];
it
was
like [MET]
a
huge
wave
had crashed
over
me,
\par }{\Q and
almost
destroyed
me
like
a
flood.
\par }{\Q \VS{6}I
thought
that
I
would
die;
it
was
as
though
death
wrapped
ropes
around
me;
\par }{\QB it
was
as
though
I
was
in
a
trap
where
I
would
surely
die. [PRS,
MET]
\par }{\Q \VS{7}But
when
I
was ◄very
distressed/in
great
trouble►,
I
called
out
to
you,
Yahweh;
\par }{\QB I
cried
out
to
you,
my
God.
\par }{\Q And
from
your
temple
you
heard
me;
\par }{\QB you
listened
when
I
called
to
you
to
help
me.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{8}“hen
{\ADD{
it
was
as
though}}
the
earth
quaked
and
shook;
\par }{\QB {\ADD{
it
was
as
though}}
the
foundations
that ◄{\ADD{
held
up/supported}}►
the
sky
trembled,
\par }{\QB because
you
were
angry.
\par }{\Q \VS{9}{\ADD{
It
was
as
though}}
smoke
poured
out
of
your
nostrils
\par }{\QB and
burning
coals
and
fire
that
burns
everything
came
out
of
your
mouth.
\par }{\Q \VS{10}You
tore
open
the
sky
and
came
down;
\par }{\QB there
was
a
thick
dark
{\ADD{
cloud}}
under
your
feet.
\par }{\Q \VS{11}You
rode
{\ADD{
through
the
sky}}
on
a
winged
creature;
\par }{\QB the
wind
enabled
you
to
travel
{\ADD{
swiftly}} [MET],
like
a
bird.
\par }{\Q \VS{12}The
darkness
surrounded
you,
like
a
blanket;
\par }{\QB thick
clouds
that
were
full
of
water
also
surrounded
you.
\par }{\Q \VS{13}Out
of
the
lightning
in
front
of
you
\par }{\QB fire
from
burning
coals flamed.
\par }{\Q \VS{14}Then,
Yahweh,
you
spoke
like
thunder
from
the
sky;
\par }{\QB it
was
your
voice,
God,
you
who
are
greater
than
all
other
gods,
that
was
heard.
\par }{\Q \VS{15}When
you
sent
flashes
of
lightning,
\par }{\QB {\ADD{
it
was
as
though}} [MET]
you
shot
your
arrows
and
scattered
your
enemies.
\par }{\Q \VS{16}Then
the
bottom
of
the
ocean
was
uncovered;
\par }{\QB the
foundations
of
the
world
could
be
seen
\par }{\Q when
you
rebuked
{\ADD{
your
enemies}}
\par }{\QB with
a snort
from
your
nostrils.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{17}“ahweh,
you
reached
down
from
heaven
and
lifted
me
up;
\par }{\QB you
pulled
me
up
from
the
deep
water.
\par }{\Q \VS{18}You
rescued
me
from
my
strong
enemies,
\par }{\QB from
those
who
hated
me;
\par }{\Q {\ADD{
I
could
not
defeat
them
because}}
they
were
very
strong.
\par }{\Q \VS{19}They
attacked
me
when
I
was
experiencing
troubles/difficulties,
\par }{\QB but
Yahweh,
you
protected
me.
\par }{\Q \VS{20}You
brought
me
to
a
place
where
I
was
safe;
\par }{\QB you
rescued
me
because
you
were
pleased
with
me.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{21}“ahweh,
you
rewarded
me
because
I
do
what
is
right;
\par }{\QB you
did
good
things
for
me
because
I ◄was
innocent/had
not
done
things
that
are
wrong►.
\par }{\Q \VS{22}Yahweh,
I
have
obeyed
your
laws;
\par }{\QB I
have
not
turned
away
from
you,
my
God.
\par }{\Q \VS{23}All
of
your
regulations
were
in
my
mind,
\par }{\QB and
I
did
not
turn
away
from
{\ADD{
obeying}}
all
your
statutes.
\par }{\Q \VS{24}You
know
that
I
have
not
done
anything
that
is
evil;
\par }{\QB I
have
kept
myself
from
doing
things
for
which
I
should
be
punished.
\par }{\Q \VS{25}So
you
have
rewarded
me
in
return
for
my
doing
what
is
right,
\par }{\QB because
{\ADD{
you
know
that}}
I ◄am
innocent
of
doing/have
not
done►
wrong
things.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{26}“ahweh,
you
are
faithful/loyal
to
those
who
always
trust
in
you;
\par }{\QB you
always
do
what
is
good
to
those
whose
behavior
is
always
good.
\par }{\Q \VS{27}You
act
sincerely
toward
those
whose
inner
beings
are
pure,
\par }{\QB but
you
are
hostile
to
those
who
are
perverse/wicked.
\par }{\Q \VS{28}You
rescue
those
who
are
humble,
\par }{\QB but
you
watch [MTY]
those
who
are
proud
and
humiliate
them.
\par }{\Q \VS{29}Yahweh,
you
are
{\ADD{
like}} [MET]
a
lamp
\par }{\QB that
causes
it
to
become
light
when
I
am
in
the
dark.
\par }{\Q \VS{30}With
your
strength/help
I
can
run
through
a
line
of
enemy
soldiers
\par }{\QB and
I
can
climb
over
the
wall
{\ADD{
that
surrounds
their
city}}.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{31}“y
God
whom
I
worship,
everything
that
you
do
is
perfect;
\par }{\QB you
always
do
what
you
promise
that
you
will
do.
\par }{\Q You
are
like
a
shield [MET]
to
all
those
who
request
you
to
protect
them.
\par }{\Q \VS{32}Yahweh,
you
are [RHQ]
the
only
one
who
is
God;
\par }{\QB only
you
are
like
a
huge
rock [MET]
{\ADD{
under
which
we
are
protected/safe}}.
\par }{\Q \VS{33}God,
you
{\ADD{
whom
I
worship}}
are
a
strong
refuge
for
me;
\par }{\QB you
keep
me
safe
on
the
roads
that
I
{\ADD{
walk
on}}.
\par }{\Q \VS{34}{\ADD{
When
I
walk}}
in
the
mountains,
\par }{\QB you
enable
me
to
walk
safely,
without
stumbling [MET]
\par }{\QB like
a
deer
runs.
\par }{\Q \VS{35}You
teach
me
{\ADD{
how
to
fight}}
in
a
battle
\par }{\QB in
order
that
I
can
shoot
arrows
well
from
a
very
strong
bow.
\par }{\Q \VS{36}{\ADD{
It
is
as
though}} [MET]
you
have
given
me
a
shield
\par }{\QB by
which
you
have
saved/rescued
me,
\par }{\QB and
you
have
answered
my
prayers
and
caused
me
to
become
famous/great.
\par }{\Q \VS{37}You
have
not
allowed
{\ADD{
my
enemies}}
to
capture
me [IDM],
\par }{\QB and
I
have
not
fallen
down
{\ADD{
during
battles}}.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{38}“
pursued
my
enemies
and
defeated
them;
\par }{\QB I
did
not
stop
{\ADD{
fighting
them}}
until
they
were
all
killed.
\par }{\Q \VS{39}I
struck
them
down;
I
stabbed
them
with
my
sword;
\par }{\Q they
fell
down
at
my
feet
and
did
not
stand
up
again.
\par }{\Q \VS{40}You
have
given
me
strength
for
fighting
battles
\par }{\QB and
caused
those
who
were
attacking
me
to
fall
down,
and
I
trampled
on
them.
\par }{\Q \VS{41}You
caused
my
enemies
to
turn
and
run
away
from
me;
\par }{\QB I
destroyed
those
who
hated
me.
\par }{\Q \VS{42}They ◄looked
for/wanted►
someone
to
rescue
them,
but
no
one
did.
\par }{\QB They
cried
out
to
you,
Yahweh,
{\ADD{
for
help,}}
but
you
did
not
answer
them.
\par }{\Q \VS{43}I
crushed
them,
and
as
a
result
they
became
like [SIM] tiny particles
of
dust.
\par }{\QB I
trampled
them,
and
they
became
like [SIM]
mud
in
the
streets.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{44}“ou
rescued
me
from
those
who
tried
to
rebel
{\ADD{
against
me}},
\par }{\QB and
you
appointed
me
to
rule
many
nations;
\par }{\QB people
whom
I
did
not
know
previously
are
now ◄under
my
authority/my
slaves►.
\par }{\Q \VS{45}Foreigners
humbly
bowed
down
in
front
of
me;
\par }{\QB as
soon
as
they
heard
about
me,
they
obeyed
me.
\par }{\Q \VS{46}They
became
afraid,
\par }{\QB and
they
came
to
me,
trembling,
from
the
places
where
they
were
hiding.
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{47}“ahweh,
you
are
alive!
I
praise
you!
You
are
like [MET]
a
{\ADD{
huge overhanging}}
rock
under
which
I
am
safe/protected!
\par }{\QB You
are
the
one
who
rescues
me [MET].
\par }{\QB Everyone
should
exalt/honor/praise
you.
\par }{\Q \VS{48}You
enable
me
to
conquer
my
enemies;
\par }{\QB you
cause
people
of
{\ADD{
other}}
nations
to
be ◄under
my
authority/my
slaves►.
\par }{\Q \VS{49}You
delivered
me
from
my
enemies;
\par }{\Q you
caused
me
to
be
honored
more
than
they
were;
\par }{\QB you
rescued
me
from
men
who
{\ADD{
always}}
acted
violently.
\par }{\Q \VS{50}Because
of
all
that,
I
exalt
you
among
many people-groups
\par }{\QB and
I
sing
to
praise
you.
\par }{\Q \VS{51}You
enable
me,
whom
you
appointed
to
be
king,
to powerfully
conquer
{\ADD{
my
enemies}};
\par }{\QB you
faithfully
love
me,
David,
and
you
will
love
my
descendants
forever.

\par }\Chap{23}{\SH David’s final message
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}David,
the
son
of
Jesse,
was
a
man
whom
{\ADD{
God
caused
to}}
become
great.
\par }{\Q He
was
appointed
to
become
king
by
the
God
whom
Jacob
{\ADD{
worshiped}}.
\par }{\Q He
wrote
beautiful
songs
for
the Israeli
people.
\par }{\Q This
is
the
last
song
that
he
wrote:
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{2}“he
Spirit
of
Yahweh
tells
me
what
to
say;
\par }{\Q the
message
that
I
speak [MTY]
comes
from
him.
\par }{\Q \VS{3}God,
the
one
whom
we Israeli
{\ADD{
people
worship}},
has
spoken;
\par }{\QB the
one
who
protects
us Israeli
people
said
to
me,
\par }{\Q ‘ings
who
rule
people
justly
\par }{\Q have
an
awesome
respect
for
me,
God.
\par }{\Q \VS{4}They
are
like
the
sun
that
shines
at
dawn
\par }{\QB and
causes
the
grass
to
{\ADD{
sprout/sparkle}}
after
the
rain
ends.’
\par }{\BB \par }{\Q \VS{5}And
truly,
that
is
how
God
will
surely
bless
my
family [RHQ]
\par }{\QB because
he
made
an
agreement
with
me
that
will
endure
forever,
\par }{\QB an
agreement
in
which
he
promises
that
no
part
of
it
will
ever
be
changed.
\par }{\Q He
will
surely
cause
me
to
prosper [RHQ],
\par }{\QB and
he
will
always
help
me,
\par }{\Q and
that
is
all
that
I
desire.
\par }{\Q \VS{6}But
{\ADD{
he
will
get
rid
of}}
godless/evil
people
like [SIM]
people
throw
away
thorns
\par }{\QB that
{\ADD{
injure
people
if
they
try
to}}
pick
them
up
with
their
hands.
\par }{\Q \VS{7}Someone
{\ADD{
who
wants
to
get
rid
of thornbushes}}
does
not
grab
them;
\par }{\QB he
uses
an
iron
{\ADD{
shovel}}
or
a
spear
{\ADD{
to
dig
them
out}}
\par }{\QB and
then
he
burns
them
completely.
\par }{\SH David’s
three
greatest
warriors
\par }{\PP \VS{8}These
are
the
names
of
David’s
three
greatest
warriors.
\par }{\PP The
first
was
Esh-Baal,
{\ADD{
whose
other
name
was
Jashobeam}},
from
the Hachmon
clan (OR,
the
son
of Hachmon).
He
was
the
leader
of
the
three
men.
One
time
he
fought
against 800
enemies
and
killed
them
all
with
his
spear.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}The
second/next
one
of
the
three
greatest
warriors
was
Eleazar,
who
was
the
son
of
Dodo
from
the
clan
of Ahoh.
One
day
he
was
with
David
when
they
defied/challenged
the
soldiers
of
Philistia
who
had
gathered
for
the
battle.
The
{\ADD{
other}} Israeli
soldiers
retreated,
\VS{10}but
Eleazar
stood
there
and
fought
the
soldiers
of
Philistia
until
his
arm
became
very
tired,
with
the
result
that
{\ADD{
his
hand
cramped
and}}
he
could
not
stop gripping
his
sword.
Yahweh
won
a
great
victory
on
that
day.
And
afterwards
the
{\ADD{
other}} Israeli
soldiers
returned
{\ADD{
to
where
Eleazar
was}},
and
stripped
off
the
{\ADD{
armor
from
the
men
whom
he
had}}
killed.
\par }{\PP \VS{11}The
third
one
of
the
greatest
warriors
was
Shammah,
the
son
of
Agee
from
{\ADD{
the
clan/town
of}} Harar.
One
time
the
Philistia
soldiers
gathered
at
Lehi
{\ADD{
town}},
where
there
was
a
field
full
of
lentils/peas
{\ADD{
that
they
wanted
to
steal}}.
The
other Israeli
soldiers
ran
away
from
the
Philistia
troops,
\VS{12}but
Shammah
stood
there
in
the
field
and
did
not
let
the
Philistia
soldiers
{\ADD{
steal
the
crops}},
and
killed
them.
Yahweh
won
a
great
victory
on
that
day.
\par }{\SH The 30
great
warriors
\par }{\PP \VS{13}Altogether
there
were 30
special
warriors
among
David’s
soldiers.
Once,
when
it
was
almost
time
to
harvest
{\ADD{
the
crops}},
three
of
those 30
men
went
down
to
Adullam
Cave,
where
David
was
{\ADD{
staying}}.
A
group
of
men
from
the
Philistia
army
had
set
up
their
tents
in
Rephaim
Valley
{\ADD{
near
Jerusalem}}.
\VS{14}David
{\ADD{
and
his
soldiers}}
were
in
the
cave
{\ADD{
because
it
was
safe
there}},
and
{\ADD{
another}}
group
of
Philistia
soldiers
was
occupying
Bethlehem.
\VS{15}{\ADD{
One
day}}
David
very
much
wanted
{\ADD{
some
water}}
to
drink,
and
said “I
wish
that
someone
would
bring
me
some
water
from
the
well
near
the
gate
at
Bethlehem!”
\VS{16}So
his
three
greatest
warriors
forced
their
way
through
the
camp
of
Philistia
soldiers
and
drew
some
water
from
the
well,
and
brought
it
to
David.
But
he
would
not
drink
it.
Instead,
he
poured
it
out
{\ADD{
on
the
ground}}
as
an
offering
to
Yahweh.
\VS{17}He
said, “Yahweh,
it
would
certainly
not
be
right
for
me
to
drink
this
water!
That
would
be
like [RHQ]
drinking
the
blood
of
these
men
who
were
willing/ready
to
die
for
me!”
So
he
refused
to
drink
it.
\par }{\PP That
was
one
of
the
things
that
those
three
great
warriors
did.
\par }{\SH The
list
of
the
great
warriors
\par }{\PP \VS{18}Abishai,
Joab’s
{\ADD{
younger}}
brother,
was
the
leader
of
the 30
{\ADD{
greatest
warriors}}.
{\ADD{
One
day}}
he
fought
against 300
men
and
killed
them
all
with
his
spear.
As
a
result,
he
also
became
famous.
\VS{19}He
was
the
most
famous
of
the
thirty
greatest
warriors,
and
he
became
their
leader/commander,
but
he
was
not
one
of
the
three
greatest
warriors.
\par }{\PP \VS{20}Jehoiada’s
son
Benaiah,
from
Kabzeel
{\ADD{
town}},
also
did
great
deeds.
He
killed
two
of
the
best
warriors
from
the
Moab people-group.
Also,
he
went
down
into
a
pit
on
a
day
when
snow
was
falling,
and
killed
a
lion
there.
\VS{21}He
also
killed
a
huge
soldier
from
Egypt
who
carried
a
spear.
Benaiah
{\ADD{
had
only}}
his
club,
but
he
attacked
the
giant
with
it.
Then
he
snatched
the
spear
from
the
man’s
hand
and
killed
him
with
his
own
spear.
\VS{22}Those
are
{\ADD{
some
of}}
the
things
that
Benaiah
did.
As
a
result,
he
became
famous,
like
the
three
greatest
warriors
were.
\VS{23}He
was
more
honored
than
the
other
members
of
the
group
of
thirty
great
warriors,
but
not
as
famous
as
the
three
greatest
warriors.
David
appointed
him
to
be
the
commander
of
his bodyguards.
\par }{\BB \par }{\LIB \VS{24}{\ADD{
These
are
the
names
of
the
great
warriors}}:
\par }{\LIC Asahel,
the
brother
of
Joab;
\par }{\LIC Elhanan,
the
son
of
Dodo,
from
Bethlehem;
\par }{\LIC \VS{25}Shammah
and
Elika,
from
{\ADD{
the}}
Harod
{\ADD{
clan}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{26}Helez,
from
Pelet
{\ADD{
city}};
\par }{\LIC Ira,
the
son
of
Ikkesh,
from
Tekoa
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{27}Abiezer,
from
Anathoth
{\ADD{
city}};
\par }{\LIC Mebunnai
{\ADD{
whose
other
name
was
Sibbecai}},
from Hushah’s
{\ADD{
clan}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{28}Zalmon
{\ADD{
whose
other
name
was
Ilai}},
from Ahoh’s
{\ADD{
clan}};
\par }{\LIC Maharai,
from
Netophah
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{29}Heleb,
the
son
of
Baanah,
also
from
Netophah
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC Ittai,
the
son
of
Ribai,
from
Gibeah
{\ADD{
town}}
in
{\ADD{
the
land
that
belonged
to}}
the
tribe
of
Benjamin;
\par }{\LIC \VS{30}Benaiah,
from
Pirathon
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC Hiddai,
from
the
valleys
near
Gaash
{\ADD{
Mountain}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{31}Abi-Albon,
from
the
clan
of
Arabah;
\par }{\LIC Azmaveth,
from
Bahurim
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{32}Eliahba,
from Shaalbon
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC The
sons
of
Jashen;
\par }{\LIC Jonathan;
\par }{\LIC \VS{33}Shammah,
from Harar
{\ADD{
town/clan}};
\par }{\LIC Ahiam
the
son
of
Sharar,
from Harar
{\ADD{
town/clan}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{34}Eliphelet,
the
son
of
Ahasbai,
from
Maacah
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC Eliam,
the
son
of
Ahithophel,
from Gilo
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{35}Hezro,
from
Carmel
{\ADD{
city}};
\par }{\LIC Paarai,
from
Arba
{\ADD{
city}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{36}Igal,
the
son
of
Nathan,
from
Zobah
{\ADD{
city}};
\par }{\LIC Bani,
from
the
tribe
of
Gad;
\par }{\LIC \VS{37}Zelek,
from
the
Ammon people-group;
\par }{\LIC Naharai,
the
man
who
carried
Joab’s
weapons,
from
Beeroth
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{38}Ira
and
Gareb,
from
Jattir
{\ADD{
town}};
\par }{\LIC \VS{39}Uriah,
{\ADD{Bathsheba’s
husband}},
from
the
Heth people-group.
\par }{\LIB Altogether,
there
were 37
famous
soldiers,
{\ADD{
but
some
of
them
had
died
and
their
names
were
not
included}}.

\par }\Chap{24}{\SH David ordered a census to be taken
\par }{\PP \VerseOne{1}Yahweh
was
angry
with
the Israeli
people
again,
so
he
incited
David
to
cause
trouble
for
them.
He
said
to
David, “Send
{\ADD{
some
men}}
to
count
the
people
of
Israel
and
Judah.”
\par }{\PP \VS{2}So
the
king
said
to
Joab,
the
commander
of
his
army, “Go
{\ADD{
with
your
officers}}
through
all
the
tribes
of
Israel,
from
Dan
{\ADD{
city
in
the
far
north}}
to
Beersheba
{\ADD{
town
in
the
far
south}},
and
count
the
people,
in
order
that
I
may
know
how
many
people
{\ADD{
there
are
who
are
able
to
be
soldiers
in
the
army}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{3}But
Joab
replied
to
the
king, “Your
Majesty,
I
wish/desire
that
Yahweh
our
God
will
cause
there
to
be 100
times
as
many
people
{\ADD{
in
Israel}}
as
there
are
now,
and
I
wish/desire
that
you
would
see
that
happen
{\ADD{
before
you
die}}.
But
why
do
you
want
us
to
do
this?”
\par }{\PP \VS{4}But
the
king
commanded
Joab
and
his
officers
to
do
it.
So
they
left
the
king
and
went
out
to
count
the
people
of
Israel.
\par }{\PP \VS{5}They
crossed
the
Jordan
{\ADD{
River}}
and
set
up
their
tents
south
of
Aroer
{\ADD{
town}},
in
the
middle
of
the
valley,
in
the
territory
{\ADD{
that
was
given
to
the
tribe}}
of
Gad.
From
there
they
went
{\ADD{
north}}
to
Jazer
{\ADD{
city}}
\VS{6}Then
they
went
{\ADD{
north}}
to
{\ADD{
the}}
Gilead
{\ADD{
region}}
and
to
Kadesh
{\ADD{
city}},
in
the
land
where
the
Heth people-group
lived.
Then
they
went
to
Dan
{\ADD{
city
in
the
far
north
of
Israel}},
and
then
further
west,
to
Sidon
{\ADD{
city
near
the Mediterranean
Sea}}.
\VS{7}Then
they
went
{\ADD{
south}}
to
Tyre,
a
city
with
high
walls
around
it,
and
to
all
the
cities
where
the Hiv
and
Canaan people-groups
live.
Then
they
went
{\ADD{
east}}
to
Beersheba,
in
the
southern
part
of
Judah.
\par }{\PP \VS{8}After
nine
months
and 20
days,
when
they
had
finished
going
throughout
the
land
{\ADD{
and
counting
the
people}},
they
returned
to
Jerusalem.
\par }{\PP \VS{9}They
reported
to
the
king
the
number
of
people
that
they
had
counted.
There
were 800,000
men
in
Israel
and 500,000
men
in
Judah
who
were
able
to
become
soldiers
in
the
army [MTY].
\par }{\PP \VS{10}But
after
David’s
men
had
counted
the
people,
David
regretted [IDM]
that
he
had
told
them
to
do
that.
{\ADD{
One
night}}
he
said
to
Yahweh, “I
have
committed
a
very
big
sin.
Please
forgive
me,
because
what
I
have
done
is
very
foolish.”
\par }{\PP \VS{11}When
David
got
up
the
next
morning,
Yahweh
gave
a
message
to
the
prophet
Gad.
He
said
to
him,
\VS{12}“Go
and
tell
this
to
David: ‘I
am allowing
you
to
choose
one
of
three
things
{\ADD{
to
punish
you}}.
I
will
do
whichever
one
you
choose.’ ”
\par }{\PP \VS{13}So
Gad
went
to
David
and
told
him
{\ADD{
what
Yahweh
had
said}}.
He
said
to
David, “You
can
choose
whether
there
will
be
three
years
of
famine
in
your
land,
or
three
months
of
your
{\ADD{
army}}
running
away
from
your
enemies,
or
three
days
when
there
will
be
a ◄plague/very
severe
illness►
in
your
land.
You
think
about
it
and
choose
{\ADD{
which
one
you
want,
and
tell
me}},
and
I
will
return
to
Yahweh
and
tell
him
what
your
answer
is.”
\par }{\PP \VS{14}David
said
to
Gad, “All
those
are
very
terrible
things
for
me
to
choose
between!
But
allow
Yahweh
to
punish [MTY]
me,
because
he
is
very
merciful.
Do
not
allow humans
to
punish
me,
{\ADD{
because
they
will
not
be
merciful}}.”
\par }{\PP \VS{15}So
Yahweh
sent
a
plague
on
the Israeli
people.
It
started
that
morning
and
did
not
stop
until
the
time
that
he
had
chosen/set.
All
over
the
land,
from
Dan
to
Beersheba,
there
were 70,000 Israelis
who
died
{\ADD{
because
of
the
plague}}.
\VS{16}When
{\ADD{
Yahweh’s}}
angel
stretched
out
his
hand
toward
Jerusalem
to
destroy
{\ADD{
the
people
by
this
plague}},
Yahweh
changed
his
mind
about
punishing
{\ADD{
any
more}}
people.
He
said
to
the
angel
who
was
killing
them
{\ADD{
with
the
plague}}, “Stop
what
you
are
doing [IDM]!
That
is
enough!”
{\ADD{
When
he
said
that,}}
the
angel
was
standing
at
the
ground
where
Araunah,
from
the
Jebus people-group,
threshed
grain.
\par }{\PP \VS{17}When
David
saw
the
angel
who
was
causing
the
people
to
become
sick
and
die,
he
said
to
Yahweh, “Truly,
I
am
the
one
who
has
committed
the
sin.
I
have
done
a
very
wicked
thing,
but
these
people
are
{\ADD{
as
innocent
as}}
sheep [MET].
They
have
certainly
not [RHQ]
done
anything
{\ADD{
that
is
wrong}}.
So
you
should
punish [IDM]
me
and
my
family,
{\ADD{
not
these
people}}!”
\par }{\PP \VS{18}That
day
Gad
came
to
David
and
said
to
him, “Go
up
to
the
place
where
Araunah threshes
grain,
and
build
an
altar
to
{\ADD{
worship}}
Yahweh
there.”
\VS{19}So
David
did
what
Gad
told
him
to
do,
which
was
what
Yahweh
had
commanded,
{\ADD{
and
he
went
up
there}}.
\VS{20}When
Araunah
looked
down
and
saw
the
king
and
his
officials
coming
toward
him,
he
prostrated
himself
on
the
ground
in
front
of
the
king,
with
his
face
touching
the
ground.
\par }{\PP \VS{21}Araunah
said, “Your
Majesty,
why
have
you
come
to
me?”
David
replied, “{\ADD{
I
have
come}}
to
buy
this
ground
where
you
thresh
grain,
in
order
to
build
an
altar
to
Yahweh
{\ADD{
and
offer
sacrifices
on
it}},
in
order
that
he
will
stop
the
plague.”
\par }{\PP \VS{22}Araunah
replied
to
David, “Your
Majesty,
offer
to
Yahweh
whatever
you
wish/want.
Here,
take
my
oxen
to
use
for
the
offering
that
will
be
completely
burned
on
the
altar.
And
here,
take
their
yokes
and
the
boards
{\ADD{
that
I
use}}
for
the
threshing,
{\ADD{
and
use
them}}
for
the
wood
that
you
will
burn.
\VS{23}I,
Araunah,
am
giving
all
this
to
you,
the
king.”
Then
he
said, “I
desire/hope
that
Yahweh
our
God
will
accept
your
offering.”
\par }{\PP \VS{24}But
the
king
said
to
Araunah, “No,
{\ADD{
I
will
not
take
these
things
as
a
gift.}}
I
will
pay
you
for
it.
I
will
not
take
sacrifices
that
have
cost
me
nothing,
and
offer
them
to
Yahweh
to
be
completely
burned
on
the
altar.”
So
he
paid 50
pieces
of
silver
to
Araunah
for
the
oxen
and
the
ground.
\par }{\PP \VS{25}Then
David
built
an
altar
to
Yahweh,
and
he
offered
{\ADD{
the
oxen}}
to
be
completely
burned
on
the
altar,
and
he
also
offered
sacrifices
to
maintain
fellowship
with
Yahweh.
Then,
Yahweh
answered
David’s
prayers,
and
he
caused
the
plague
in
Israel
to
end.
\par }