2 Samuel 13-16

II Samuel 13

¹Now after this, it came about that Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar; and David's son Amnon was in love with her.

²And he was so deeply in love that he became ill because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin, and so it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.

³But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother: and Jonadab was a very wise man.

⁴And he said to him, O son of the king, why are you getting thinner day by day? will you not say what your trouble is? And Amnon said to him, I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

⁵Then Jonadab said to him, Go to your bed, and let it seem that you are ill: and when your father comes to see you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread, and get the food ready before my eyes, so that I may see it and take it from her hand.

⁶So Amnon went to bed and made himself seem ill: and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come and make me one or two cakes before my eyes, so that I may take food from her hand.

⁷Then David sent to the house for Tamar and said, Go now to your brother Amnon's house and get a meal for him.

⁸So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was in bed. And she took paste and made cakes before his eyes, cooking them over the fire.

⁹And she took the cooking-pot, and put the cakes before him, but he would not take them. And Amnon said, Let everyone go away from me. So they all went out.

¹⁰Then Amnon said to Tamar, Take the food and come into my bedroom, so that I may take it from your hand. So Tamar took the cakes she had made and went with them into her brother Amnon's bedroom.

¹¹And when she took them to give them to him, he put his arms round her and said, Come to bed, my sister.

¹²And answering him, she said, O my brother, do not put shame on me; it is not right for such a thing to be done in Israel: do not this evil thing.

¹³What will become of me in my shame? and as for you, you will be looked down on with disgust by all Israel. Now then, go and make your request to the king, for he will not keep me from you.

¹⁴But he would not give attention to what she said: but being stronger than she, he took her by force, and had connection with her.

¹⁵Then Amnon was full of hate for her, hating her with a hate greater than his earlier love for her. And he said to her, Get up and be gone.

¹⁶And she said to him, Not so, my brother, for this great wrong in sending me away is worse than what you did to me before. But he gave no attention to her.

¹⁷Then he gave a cry to the servant who was waiting on him and said, Put this woman out, and let the door be locked after her.

¹⁸Now she had on a long robe, such as in past times the king's virgin daughters were dressed in. Then the servant put her out, locking the door after her.

¹⁹And Tamar, in her grief, put dust on her head; and she put her hand on her head and went away crying loudly.

²⁰And her brother Absalom said to her, Has your brother Amnon been with you? but now, let there be an end to your crying, my sister: he is your brother, do not take this thing to heart. So Tamar went on living uncomforted in her brother's house.

²¹But when King David had news of all these things he was very angry; but he did not make trouble for Amnon his son, for he was dear to David, being his oldest son.

²²But Absalom said nothing to his brother Amnon, good or bad: for he was full of hate for him, because he had taken his sister Tamar by force.

²³Now after two full years, Absalom had men cutting the wool of his sheep in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim: and he sent for all the king's sons to come to his feast.

²⁴And Absalom came to the king and said, See now, your servant is cutting the wool of his sheep; will the king and his servants be pleased to come?

²⁵And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, or the number will be over-great for you. And he made his request again, but he would not go, but he gave him his blessing.

²⁶Then Absalom said, If you will not go, then let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Is there any reason for him to go with you?

²⁷But Absalom went on requesting him till he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. And Absalom made a great feast like a feast for a king.

²⁸Now Absalom had given orders to his servants, saying, Now take note when Amnon's heart is glad with wine; and when I say to you, Make an attack on Amnon, then put him to death without fear: have I not given you orders? be strong and without fear.

²⁹So Absalom's servants did to Amnon as Absalom had given them orders. Then all the king's sons got up, and every man got on his beast and went in flight.

³⁰Now while they were on their way, news was given to David that Absalom had put to death all the sons of the king and that not one of them was still living.

³¹Then the king got up in great grief, stretching himself out on the earth: and all his servants were by his side, with their clothing parted.

³²And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, Let not my lord have the idea that all the sons of the king have been put to death; for only Amnon is dead: this has been purposed by Absalom from the day when he took his sister Tamar by force.

³³So now, let not my lord the king take this thing to heart, with the idea that all the king's sons are dead: for only Amnon is dead.

³⁴But Absalom went in flight. And the young man who kept the watch, lifting up his eyes, saw that a great band of people was coming down the slope by the way of the Horons; and the watchman came and gave word to the king, saying, I saw men coming down by the way of the Horons, from the hillside.

³⁵And Jonadab said to the king, See, the king's sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.

³⁶And while he was talking, the king's sons came, with weeping and loud cries: and the king and all his servants were weeping bitterly.

³⁷So Absalom went in flight and came to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur, where he was for three years.

³⁸And the king was sorrowing for his son all the time.

³⁹And the heart of David was wasted with desire for Absalom: for he was comforted for the death of Amnon.

II Samuel 14

¹Now it was clear to Joab, the son of Zeruiah, that the king's heart was turning to Absalom.

²And Joab sent to Tekoa and got from there a wise woman, and said to her, Now make yourself seem like one given up to grief, and put on the clothing of sorrow, not using any sweet oil for your body, but looking like one who for a long time has been weeping for the dead:

³And come to the king and say these words to him. So Joab gave her words to say.

⁴And the woman of Tekoa came to the king, and falling on her face, gave him honour and said, Give me help, O king.

⁵And the king said to her, What is your trouble? And her answer was, Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead.

⁶And I had two sons, and the two of them had a fight in the field, and there was no one to come between them, and one with a blow put the other to death.

⁷And now all the family is turned against me, your servant, saying, Give up him who was the cause of his brother's death, so that we may put him to death in payment for the life of his brother, whose life he took; and we will put an end to the one who will get the heritage: so they will put out my last burning coal, and my husband will have no name or offspring on the face of the earth.

⁸And the king said to the woman, Go to your house and I will give orders about this.

⁹And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, may the sin be on me and on my family, and may the king and the seat of his kingdom be clear of sin!

¹⁰And the king said, If anyone says anything to you, make him come to me, and he will do you no more damage.

¹¹Then she said, Let the king keep in mind the Lord your God, so that he who gives punishment for blood may be kept back from further destruction and that no one may send death on my son. And he said, By the living Lord, not a hair of your son's head will come to the earth.

¹²Then the woman said, Will the king let his servant say one word more? And he said, Say on.

¹³And the woman said, Why have you had such a thought about the people of God? (for in saying these very words the king has put himself in the wrong because he has not taken back the one whom he sent far away.)

¹⁴For death comes to us all, and we are like water drained out on the earth, which it is not possible to take up again; and God will not take away the life of the man whose purpose is that he who has been sent away may not be completely cut off from him.

¹⁵And now it is my fear of the people which has made me come to say these words to my lord the king: and your servant said, I will put my cause before the king, and it may be that he will give effect to my request.

¹⁶For the king will give ear, and take his servant out of the power of the man whose purpose is the destruction of me and my son together from the heritage of God.

¹⁷Then your servant said, May the word of my lord the king give me peace! for my lord the king is as the angel of God in his hearing of good and bad: and may the Lord your God be with you!

¹⁸Then the king said to the woman, Now give me an answer to the question I am going to put to you; keep nothing back. And the woman said, Let my lord the king say on.

¹⁹And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this? And the woman in answer said, By the life of your soul, my lord the king, it is not possible for anyone to go to the right hand or to the left from anything said by the king: your servant Joab gave me orders, and put all these words in my mouth:

²⁰This he did, hoping that the face of this business might be changed: and my lord is wise, with the wisdom of the angel of God, having knowledge of everything on earth.

²¹And the king said to Joab, See now, I will do this thing: go then and Come back with the young man Absalom.

²²Then Joab, falling down on his face on the earth, gave the king honour and blessing; and Joab said, Today it is clear to your servant that I have grace in your eyes, my lord king, because the king has given effect to the request of his servant.

²³So Joab got up and went to Geshur and came back again to Jerusalem with Absalom.

²⁴And the king said, Let him go to his house, but let him not see my face. So Absalom went back to his house and did not see the face of the king.

²⁵Now in all Israel there was no one so greatly to be praised for his beautiful form as Absalom: from his feet to the crown of his head he was completely beautiful.

²⁶And when he had his hair cut, (which he did at the end of every year, because of the weight of his hair;) the weight of the hair was two hundred shekels by the king's weight.

²⁷And Absalom was the father of three sons and of one daughter named Tamar, who was very beautiful.

²⁸For two full years Absalom was living in Jerusalem without ever seeing the face of the king.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but he would not come to him: and he sent again a second time, but he would not come.

³⁰So he said to his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley in it; go and put it on fire. And Absalom's servants put the field on fire.

³¹Then Joab came to Absalom in his house and said to him, Why have your servants put my field on fire?

³²And Absalom's answer was, See, I sent to you saying, Come here, so that I may send you to the king to say, Why have I come back from Geshur? it would be better for me to be there still: let me now see the king's face, and if there is any sin in me, let him put me to death.

³³So Joab went to the king and said these words to him: and when the king had sent for him, Absalom came, and went down on his face on the earth before the king: and the king gave him a kiss.

II Samuel 15

¹Now after this, Absalom got for himself a carriage and horses, and fifty runners to go before him.

²And Absalom got up early, morning after morning, and took his place at the side of the public meeting-place: and when any man had a cause which had to come to the king to be judged, then Absalom, crying out to him, said, What is your town? and he would say, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

³And Absalom would say to him, See, your cause is true and right; but no man has been named by the king to give you a hearing.

⁴And more than this, Absalom said, If only I was made judge in the land, so that every man who has any cause or question might come to me, and I would give a right decision for him!

⁵And if any man came near to give him honour, he took him by the hand and gave him a kiss.

⁶And this Absalom did to everyone in Israel who came to the king to have his cause judged: so Absalom, like a thief, took away the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷Now at the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, Let me go to Hebron and give effect to the oath which I made to the Lord:

⁸For while I was living in Geshur in Aram, your servant made an oath, saying, If ever the Lord lets me come back to Jerusalem, I will give him worship in Hebron.

⁹And the king said to him, Go in peace. So he got up and went to Hebron.

¹⁰But Absalom at the same time sent watchers through all the tribes of Israel to say, At the sound of the horn you are to say, Absalom is king in Hebron.

¹¹And with Absalom, at his request, went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who were completely unconscious of his designs.

¹²And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, one of David's helpers, from Giloh his town, while he was making the offerings. And the design against David became strong, for more and more people were joined to Absalom.

¹³And one came to David and said, The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.

¹⁴And David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Come, let us go in flight, or not one of us will be safe from Absalom: let us go without loss of time, or he will overtake us quickly and send evil on us, and put the town to the sword.

¹⁵And the king's servants said to the king, See, your servants are ready to do whatever the king says is to be done.

¹⁶So the king went out, taking with him all the people of his house, but for ten of his women, who were to take care of the house.

¹⁷And the king went out, and all his servants went after him, and made a stop at the Far House.

¹⁸And all the people went on by his side; and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the men of Ittai of Gath, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, went on before the king.

¹⁹Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why are you coming with us? go back and keep with the king: for you are a man of another country, you are far from the land of your birth.

²⁰It was only yesterday you came to us; why then am I to make you go up and down with us? for I have to go where I may; go back then, and take your countrymen with you, and may the Lord's mercy and good faith be with you.

²¹And Ittai the Gittite in answer said, By the living Lord, and by the life of my lord the king, in whatever place my lord the king may be, for life or death, there will your servant be.

²²And David said to Ittai, Go forward, then. And Ittai the Gittite went on, with all his men and all the little ones he had with him.

²³And there was great weeping in all the country when all the people went through; and the king himself was waiting in the Kidron valley and all the people went by him in the direction of the olive-tree on the edge of the waste land.

²⁴Then Zadok came, and Abiathar, and with them the ark of God's agreement: and they put down the ark of God, till all the people from the town had gone by.

²⁵And the king said to Zadok, Take the ark of God back into the town: if I have grace in the eyes of the Lord, he will let me come back and see it and his House again:

²⁶But if he says, I have no delight in you: then, here I am; let him do to me what seems good to him.

²⁷The king said further to Zadok the priest, See, you and Abiathar are to go back to the town in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar.

²⁸See, I will be waiting at the way across the river, in the waste land, till I get news from you.

²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and did not go away from there.

³⁰And David went up the slopes of the Mount of Olives weeping all the way, with his head covered and no shoes on his feet: and all the people who were with him, covering their heads, went up weeping.

³¹And word came to David, saying, Ahithophel is among those who are joined to Absalom. And David said, O Lord, let the wisdom of Ahithophel be made foolish.

³²Now when David had come to the top of the slope, where they gave worship to God, Hushai the Archite came to him in great grief with dust on his head:

³³David said to him, If you go on with me, you will be a trouble to me:

³⁴But if you go back to the town and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; as in the past I have been your father's servant, so now I will be yours: then you will be able to keep Ahithophel's designs against me from being put into effect.

³⁵And have you not there Zadok and Abiathar the priests? so whatever comes to your ears from the king's house, give word of it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

³⁶See, they have with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar; by them you may send word to me of everything which comes to your ears.

³⁷So Hushai, David's friend, went into the town, and Absalom came to Jerusalem.

II Samuel 16

¹And when David had gone a little way past the top of the slope, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, came to him, with two asses on which were two hundred cakes of bread and a hundred stems of dry grapes and a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine.

²And David said to Ziba, What is your reason for this? And Ziba said, The asses are for the use of the king's people, and the bread and the fruit are food for the young men; and the wine is for drink for those who are overcome by weariness in the waste land.

³And the king said, And where is your master's son? And Ziba said, He is still at Jerusalem: for he said, Today Israel will give back to me the kingdom of my father.

⁴Then the king said to Ziba, Truly everything which was Mephibosheth's is yours. And Ziba said, I give honour to my lord, may I have grace in your eyes, my lord, O king!

⁵And when King David came to Bahurim, a man of Saul's family named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there, calling curses after him.

⁶And he sent stones at David and at all the king's servants and at all the people and at all the men of war by his side, on the right hand and on the left.

⁷And Shimei said, with curses, Be gone, be gone, you man of blood, you good-for-nothing:

⁸The Lord has sent punishment on you for all the blood of the family of Saul, whose kingdom you have taken; and the Lord has given the kingdom to Absalom, your son: now you yourself are taken in your evil, because you are a man of blood.

⁹Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, Is this dead dog to go on cursing my lord the king? let me go over and take off his head.

¹⁰And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? Let him go on cursing, for the Lord has said, Put a curse on David, and who then may say, Why have you done so?

¹¹And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, You see how my son, the offspring of my body, has made designs against my life: how much more then may this Benjamite do so? Let him be, and let him go on cursing; for the Lord has given him orders.

¹²It may be that the Lord will take note of my wrongs, and give me back good in answer to his cursing of me today.

¹³So David and his men went on their way: and Shimei went by the hillside parallel with them, cursing and sending stones and dust at him.

¹⁴And the king and his people came tired to Jordan, and took their rest there.

¹⁵And Absalom and the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.

¹⁶Then Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom and said, Long life to the king, long life to the king!

¹⁷And Absalom said, Is this your love for your friend? why did you not go with your friend?

¹⁸And Hushai said to Absalom, Not so; I am for that man whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have taken as king, and I will take my place with him.

¹⁹And more than this! where is my place as a servant? is it not before his son? as I have been your father's servant, so will I be yours.

²⁰Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give your opinion now, what are we to do?

²¹And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to your father's women who are here looking after his house; then all Israel will have the news that you are hated by your father, and the hands of your supporters will be strong.

²²So they put up the tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father's women before the eyes of all Israel.

²³In those days the opinions of Ahithophel were valued as highly as if through him a man might get direction from God; so were they valued by David as much as by Absalom.