II Samuel 10-14

II Samuel 10

¹And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.

²And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

³And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search the city and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to thee?

⁴And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵And they told it to David; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

⁶And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.

⁷And David heard of it, and he sent Joab, and all the host, the mighty men.

⁸And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

⁹And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;

¹⁰and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might array them against the children of Ammon.

¹¹And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

¹²Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah do what is good in his sight.

¹³And Joab drew near, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him.

¹⁴And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. And Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

¹⁶And Hadarezer sent, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

¹⁷And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

¹⁸And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven hundred in chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.

¹⁹And all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

II Samuel 11

¹And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they laid waste the land of the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem.

²And it came to pass at evening time that David arose from off his couch, and walked upon the roof of the king's house; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful;

³and David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urijah the Hittite?

⁴And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; and she had purified herself from her uncleanness; and she returned to her house.

⁵And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

⁶And David sent to Joab saying, Send me Urijah the Hittite. And Joab sent Urijah to David.

⁷And when Urijah had come to him, David asked how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, and how the war prospered.

⁸And David said to Urijah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Urijah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him presents from the king.

⁹And Urijah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

¹⁰And they had told David saying, Urijah did not go down to his house; and David said to Urijah, Art thou not come from a journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?

¹¹And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields: shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

¹²And David said to Urijah, Abide here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. And Urijah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow.

¹³And David invited him, and he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but did not go down to his house.

¹⁴And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by Urijah.

¹⁵And he wrote in the letter saying, Set Urijah in the front of the thickest fight, and withdraw from him, that he may be smitten and die.

¹⁶And it came to pass as Joab watched the city, that he assigned Urijah to a place where he knew that the valiant men were.

¹⁷And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab; and there fell some of the people, of the servants of David; and Urijah the Hittite died also.

¹⁸Then Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war;

¹⁹and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast ended telling the matters of the war to the king,

²⁰and if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say to thee, Why did ye go so near to the city to fight? did ye not know that they would shoot from the wall?

²¹Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why did ye go near the wall? -- then say thou, Thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

²²And the messenger went; and he came and told David all that Joab had sent him for.

²³And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out against us into the field, and we were upon them as far as the entrance of the gate.

²⁴And the shooters shot from upon the wall against thy servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

²⁵Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab: Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another: make thy battle strong against the city, and overthrow it; -- and encourage him.

²⁶And the wife of Urijah heard that Urijah her husband was dead, and she mourned for her husband.

²⁷And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of Jehovah.

II Samuel 12

¹And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

²The rich had very many flocks and herds;

³but the poor man had nothing at all, but one little ewe lamb which he had bought, and was nourishing; and it grew up with him, and together with his children: it ate of his morsel, and drank of his own cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.

⁴And there came a traveller to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that had come to him; and he took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that had come to him.

⁵Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this thing is worthy of death;

⁶and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

⁷And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man! Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

⁸and I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

⁹Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah to do evil in his sight? thou hast smitten Urijah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

¹⁰Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Urijah the Hittite to be thy wife.

¹¹Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

¹²For thou didst it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.

¹³And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said to David, Jehovah has also put away thy sin: thou shalt not die.

¹⁴Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, even the child that is born to thee shall certainly die.

¹⁵And Nathan departed to his house. And Jehovah smote the child that Urijah's wife bore to David, and it became very sick.

¹⁶And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.

¹⁷And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, and he ate no bread with them.

¹⁸And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice; and how shall we say to him, The child is dead? he may do some harm.

¹⁹But David saw that his servants whispered, and David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

²⁰Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing, and entered into the house of Jehovah and worshipped; then he came to his own house and required them to set bread before him, and he ate.

²¹And his servants said to him, What thing is this which thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child alive; but as soon as the child is dead, thou dost rise and eat bread.

²²And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, Who knows? perhaps Jehovah will be gracious to me, that the child may live.

²³But now he is dead, why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

²⁴And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon; and Jehovah loved him.

²⁵And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, for Jehovah's sake.

²⁶And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

²⁷And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

²⁸And now gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city and take it: lest I take the city and it be called by my name.

²⁹And David gathered all the people, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it and took it.

³⁰And he took the crown of their king from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold with the precious stones; and it was set on David's head; and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

³¹And he brought out the people that were in it, and put them under the saw, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkilns. And so did he to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

II Samuel 13

¹And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David having a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar, Amnon the son of David loved her.

²And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and it seemed difficult for Amnon to do the least thing to her.

³And Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother; and Jonadab was a very shrewd man.

⁴And he said to him, Why dost thou, the king's son, get thinner from morning to morning? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

⁵And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed and feign thyself sick; and when thy father comes to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand.

⁶So Amnon lay down and feigned himself sick; and the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.

⁷And David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go, I pray thee, to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him food.

⁸And Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he had lain down. And she took flour and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

⁹And she took the pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Put every man out from me. And they went out every man from him.

¹⁰And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the dish into the chamber, that I may eat of thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes that she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

¹¹And she presented them to him to eat; and he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister.

¹²And she said to him, No, my brother, do not humble me; for no such thing is done in Israel: do not this infamy.

¹³And I, whither shall I carry my reproach? and thou wouldest be as one of the infamous in Israel. And now, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

¹⁴But he would not hearken to her voice, and was stronger than she, and humbled her and lay with her.

¹⁵And Amnon hated her with an exceeding great hatred, for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone.

¹⁶And she said to him, There is no cause for this evil in sending me away, which is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her.

¹⁷Then he called his young man that attended upon him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.

¹⁸Now she had a vest of many colours upon her; for so were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. And his attendant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.

¹⁹And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her vest of many colours which was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went away, crying out as she went.

²⁰And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon thy brother been with thee? and now, my sister, be still: he is thy brother; take not this thing to heart. And Tamar remained, and that desolate, in her brother Absalom's house.

²¹And king David heard of all these things, and he was very angry.

²²And Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had humbled his sister Tamar.

²³And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-Hazor, which is beside Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

²⁴And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold, now, thy servant has sheepshearers; let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant.

²⁵And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to thee. And he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him.

²⁶And Absalom said, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee?

²⁷But Absalom pressed him; and he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.

²⁸And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Smite Amnon; then slay him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.

²⁹And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they rode each upon his mule and fled.

³⁰And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom has smitten all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.

³¹Then the king arose, and rent his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their garments rent.

³²And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead; for by the appointment of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he humbled his sister Tamar.

³³And now let not my lord the king take the thing to heart, to say, All the king's sons are dead; for Amnon only is dead.

³⁴And Absalom fled. And the young man that watched lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there came much people from the way behind him, from the hill-side.

³⁵And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons come: as thy servant said, so it is.

³⁶And as soon as he had ended speaking, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept; and the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.

³⁷And Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.

³⁸Now Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.

³⁹And king David longed to go forth to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.

II Samuel 14

¹And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.

²And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, I pray, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead;

³and come to the king, and speak after this manner to him. And Joab put the words into her mouth.

⁴And the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, Save, O king!

⁵And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead.

⁶And thy bondmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.

⁷And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth.

⁸And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.

⁹And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

¹⁰And the king said, Whoever speaks to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

¹¹Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they cut off my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

¹²And the woman said, Let thy bondmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak.

¹³And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against God's people? and the king in saying this thing, is as one guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.

¹⁴For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and God has not taken away his life, but devises means that the banished one be not expelled from him.

¹⁵And now that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy bondmaid said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

¹⁶For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

¹⁷And thy bondmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and Jehovah thy God will be with thee.

¹⁸And the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

¹⁹And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy bondmaid:

²⁰in order to turn the appearance of the thing has thy servant Joab done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is in the earth.

²¹And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: so go, bring back the young man Absalom.

²²And Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and blessed the king; and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found favour in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.

²³And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. And Absalom withdrew to his own house, and saw not the king's face.

²⁵But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

²⁶And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.

²⁷And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a beautiful countenance.

²⁸So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and did not see the king's face.

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

³⁰Then he said to his servants, See, Joab's allotment is near mine and he has barley there: go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the allotment on fire.

³¹Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom to his house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my allotment on fire?

³²And Absalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it would have been better for me to be there still. And now let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him slay me.

³³And Joab came to the king, and told him. And he called Absalom, and he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.