Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Some time passed. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and David’s son Amnon was infatuated with her.

²Amnon was frustrated to the point of making himself sick over his sister Tamar because she was a virgin, but it seemed impossible to do anything to her.

³Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, a son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,

⁴and he asked Amnon, “Why are you, the king’s son, so miserable every morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon replied, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

⁵Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you’re sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare a meal in my presence so I can watch and eat from her hand.’”

⁶So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my presence so I can eat from her hand.”

⁷David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Please go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare a meal for him.”

⁸Then Tamar went to his house while Amnon was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his presence, and baked them.

⁹She brought the pan and set it down in front of him, but he refused to eat. Amnon said, “Everyone leave me!” And everyone left him.

¹⁰“Bring the meal to the bedroom,” Amnon told Tamar, “so I can eat from your hand.” Tamar took the cakes she had made and went to her brother Amnon’s bedroom.

¹¹When she brought them to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come sleep with me, my sister!”

¹²“Don’t, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t disgrace me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Don’t commit this outrage!

¹³Where could I ever go with my humiliation? And you — you would be like one of the outrageous fools in Israel! Please, speak to the king, for he won’t keep me from you.”

¹⁴But he refused to listen to her, and because he was stronger than she was, he disgraced her by raping her.

¹⁵So Amnon hated Tamar with such intensity that the hatred he hated her with was greater than the love he had loved her with. “Get out of here!” he said.

¹⁶“No,” she cried, “sending me away is much worse than the great wrong you’ve already done to me!” But he refused to listen to her.

¹⁷Instead, he called to the servant who waited on him: “Get this away from me, throw her out, and bolt the door behind her!”

¹⁸Amnon’s servant threw her out and bolted the door behind her. Now Tamar was wearing a long-sleeved garment, because this is what the king’s virgin daughters wore.

¹⁹Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long-sleeved garment she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away crying out.

²⁰Her brother Absalom said to her: “Has your brother Amnon been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister. He is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in the house of her brother Absalom.

²¹When King David heard about all these things, he was furious.

²²Absalom didn’t say anything to Amnon, either good or bad, because he hated Amnon since he disgraced his sister Tamar.

²³Two years later, Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

²⁴Then he went to the king and said, “Your servant has just hired sheepshearers. Will the king and his servants please come with your servant?”

²⁵The king replied to Absalom, “No, my son, we should not all go, or we would be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he wasn’t willing to go, though he did bless him.

²⁶“If not,” Absalom said, “please let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?”

²⁷But Absalom urged him, so he sent Amnon and all the king’s sons.

²⁸Now Absalom commanded his young men, “Watch Amnon until he is in a good mood from the wine. When I order you to strike Amnon, then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Am I not the one who has commanded you? Be strong and valiant!”

²⁹So Absalom’s young men did to Amnon just as Absalom had commanded. Then all the rest of the king’s sons got up, and each fled on his mule.

³⁰While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom struck down all the king’s sons; not even one of them survived!”

³¹In response the king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.

³²But Jonadab, son of David’s brother Shimeah, spoke up: “My lord must not think they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, because only Amnon is dead. In fact, Absalom has planned this ever since the day Amnon disgraced his sister Tamar.

³³So now, my lord the king, don’t take seriously the report that says all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

³⁴Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. When the young man who was standing watch looked up, there were many people coming from the road west of him from the side of the mountain.

³⁵Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the king’s sons have come! It’s exactly like your servant said.”

³⁶Just as he finished speaking, the king’s sons entered and wept loudly. Then the king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.

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

³⁸After Absalom had fled to Geshur and had been there three years,

³⁹King David longed to go to Absalom, for David had finished grieving over Amnon’s death.

¹Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king’s mind was on Absalom.

²So Joab sent someone to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning: dress in mourning clothes and don’t put on any oil. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.

³Go to the king and speak these words to him.” Then Joab told her exactly what to say.

⁴When the woman from Tekoa came to the king, she fell facedown to the ground, paid homage, and said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

⁵“What’s the matter?” the king asked her. “Sadly, I am a widow; my husband died,” she said.

⁶“Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

⁷Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant and said, ‘Hand over the one who killed his brother so we may put him to death for the life of the brother he murdered. We will eliminate the heir! ’ They would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on earth.”

⁸The king told the woman, “Go home. I will issue a command on your behalf.”

⁹Then the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and my father’s family, and may the king and his throne be innocent.”

¹⁰“Whoever speaks to you,” the king said, “bring him to me. He will not trouble you again!”

¹¹She replied, “Please, may the king invoke the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not increase the loss, and they will not eliminate my son!” “As the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son will fall to the ground.”

¹²Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied.

¹³The woman asked, “Why have you devised something similar against the people of God? When the king spoke as he did about this matter, he has pronounced his own guilt. The king has not brought back his own banished one.

¹⁴We will certainly die and be like water poured out on the ground, which can’t be recovered. But God would not take away a life; he would devise plans so that the one banished from him does not remain banished.

¹⁵“Now therefore, I’ve come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought: I must speak to the king. Perhaps the king will grant his servant’s request.

¹⁶The king will surely listen in order to keep his servant from the grasp of this man who would eliminate both me and my son from God’s inheritance.

¹⁷Your servant thought: May the word of my lord the king bring relief, for my lord the king is able to discern the good and the bad like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.”

¹⁸Then the king answered the woman, “I’m going to ask you something; don’t conceal it from me!” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman replied.

¹⁹The king asked, “Did Joab put you up to all this?” The woman answered. “As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or left from all my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave orders to me; he told your servant exactly what to say.

²⁰Joab your servant has done this to address the issue indirectly, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, knowing everything on earth.”

²¹Then the king said to Joab, “I hereby grant this request. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²Joab fell with his face to the ground in homage and blessed the king. “Today,” Joab said, “your servant knows I have found favor with you, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your servant.”

²³So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴However, the king added, “He may return to his house, but he may not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his house, but he did not see the king.

²⁵No man in all Israel was as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

²⁶When he shaved his head — he shaved it at the end of every year because his hair got so heavy for him that he had to shave it off — he would weigh the hair from his head and it would be five pounds according to the royal standard.

²⁷Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.

²⁸Absalom resided in Jerusalem two years but never saw the king.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab was unwilling to come to him. So he sent again, a second time, but he still would not come.

³⁰Then Absalom said to his servants, “See, Joab has a field right next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set fire to it!” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹Then Joab came to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

³²“Look,” Absalom explained to Joab, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? I’d be better off if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king. If I am guilty, let him kill me.”

³³Joab went to the king and told him. So David summoned Absalom, who came to the king and paid homage with his face to the ground before him. Then the king kissed Absalom.

¹After this, Absalom got himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run before him.

²He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for settlement, Absalom called out to him and asked, “What city are you from?” If he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”

³Absalom said to him, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king does not have anyone to listen to you.”

⁴He added, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land. Then anyone who had a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would make sure he received justice.”

⁵When a person approached to pay homage to him, Absalom reached out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him.

⁶Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for a settlement. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷When four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the LORD.

⁸For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram, saying: If the LORD really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.”

⁹“Go in peace,” the king said to him. So he went to Hebron.

¹⁰Then Absalom sent agents throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron!’”

¹¹Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited and were going innocently, for they did not know the whole situation.

¹²While he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for David’s adviser Ahithophel the Gilonite, from his city of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the people supporting Absalom continued to increase.

¹³Then an informer came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

¹⁴David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Get up. We have to flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! Leave quickly, or he will overtake us quickly, heap disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

¹⁵The king’s servants said to the king, “Whatever my lord the king decides, we are your servants.”

¹⁶Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.

¹⁷So the king set out, and all the people followed him. They stopped at the last house

¹⁸while all his servants marched past him. Then all the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the people of Gath— six hundred men who came with him from there  — marched past the king.

¹⁹The king said to Ittai of Gath, “Why are you also going with us? Go back and stay with the new king since you’re both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland.

²⁰Besides, you only arrived yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I go wherever I can? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.”

²¹But in response, Ittai vowed to the king, “As the LORD lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether it means life or death, your servant will be there!”

²²“March on,” David replied to Ittai. So Ittai of Gath marched past with all his men and the dependents who were with him.

²³Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly while all the people were marching out of the city. As the king was crossing the Kidron Valley, all the people were marching past on the road that leads to the wilderness.

²⁴Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had finished marching past.

²⁵Then the king instructed Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor with the LORD, he will bring me back and allow me to see both it and its dwelling place.

²⁶However, if he should say, ‘I do not delight in you,’ then here I am — he can do with me whatever pleases him.”

²⁷The king also said to the priest Zadok, “Look, return to the city in peace and your two sons with you: your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan.

²⁸Remember, I’ll wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”

²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.

³⁰David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.

³¹Then someone reported to David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” “LORD,” David pleaded, “please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

³²When David came to the summit where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.

³³David said to him, “If you go away with me, you’ll be a burden to me,

³⁴but if you return to the city and tell Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, Your Majesty! Previously, I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can counteract Ahithophel’s counsel for me.

³⁵Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Report everything you hear from the palace to the priests Zadok and Abiathar.

³⁶Take note: their two sons are there with them—Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. Send them to tell me everything you hear.”

³⁷So Hushai, David’s personal adviser, entered Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.

¹When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba, Mephibosheth’s servant, was right there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruit, and a clay jar of wine.

²The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for those to drink who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

³“Where is your master’s grandson?” the king asked. “Why, he’s staying in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied to the king, “for he said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore my grandfather’s kingdom to me.’”

⁴The king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” “I bow before you,” Ziba said. “May I find favor with you, my lord the king!”

⁵When King David got to Bahurim, a man belonging to the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he was yelling curses as he approached.

⁶He threw stones at David and at all the royal servants, the people and the warriors on David’s right and left.

⁷Shimei said as he cursed: “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, you wicked man!

⁸The LORD has paid you back for all the blood of the house of Saul in whose place you became king, and the LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. Look, you are in trouble because you’re a man of bloodshed!”

⁹Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and remove his head!”

¹⁰The king replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, do we agree on anything? He curses me this way because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David! ’ Therefore, who can say, ‘Why did you do that? ’”

¹¹Then David said to Abishai and all his servants, “Look, my own son, my own flesh and blood, intends to take my life  — how much more now this Benjaminite! Leave him alone and let him curse me; the LORD has told him to.

¹²Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and restore goodness to me instead of Shimei’s curses today.”

¹³So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei was going along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he cursed David, threw stones at him, and kicked up dust.

¹⁴Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived exhausted, so they rested there.

¹⁵Now Absalom and all the Israelites came to Jerusalem. Ahithophel was also with him.

¹⁶When David’s friend Hushai the Archite came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷“Is this your loyalty to your friend?” Absalom asked Hushai. “Why didn’t you go with your friend?”

¹⁸“Not at all,” Hushai answered Absalom. “I am on the side of the one that the LORD, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen. I will stay with him.

¹⁹Furthermore, whom will I serve if not his son? As I served in your father’s presence, I will also serve in yours.”

²⁰Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me your advice. What should we do?”

²¹Ahithophel replied to Absalom, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become repulsive to your father, everyone with you will be encouraged.”

²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

²³Now the advice Ahithophel gave in those days was like someone asking about a word from God  — such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.

¹Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out in pursuit of David tonight.

²I will attack him while he is weary and discouraged, throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will scatter. I will strike down only the king

³and bring all the people back to you. When everyone returns except the man you’re looking for, all the people will be at peace.”

⁴This proposal seemed right to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite also. Let’s hear what he has to say as well.”

⁶So Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom told him: “Ahithophel offered this proposal. Should we carry out his proposal? If not, what do you say?”

⁷Hushai replied to Absalom, “The advice Ahithophel has given this time is not good.”

⁸Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men. They are warriors and are desperate like a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier who won’t spend the night with the people.

⁹He’s probably already hiding in one of the caves or some other place. If some of our troops fall first, someone is sure to hear and say, ‘There’s been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’

¹⁰Then, even a brave man with the heart of a lion will lose heart because all Israel knows that your father and the valiant men with him are warriors.

¹¹Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba — as numerous as the sand by the sea  — be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle.

¹²Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. Not even one will be left—neither he nor any of the men with him.

¹³If he retreats to some city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag its stones into the valley until not even a pebble can be found there.”

¹⁴Since the LORD had decreed that Ahithophel’s good advice be undermined in order to bring about Absalom’s ruin, Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel’s advice.”

¹⁵Hushai then told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “This is what Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I advised.

¹⁶Now send someone quickly and tell David, ‘Don’t spend the night at the wilderness ford, but be sure to cross over the Jordan, or the king and all the people with him will be devoured.’”

¹⁷Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, because they dared not be seen entering the city.

¹⁸However, a young man did see them and informed Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.

¹⁹Then his wife took the cover, placed it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain on it so nobody would know anything.

²⁰Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They passed by toward the water,” the woman replied to them. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹After they had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well and went and informed King David. They told him, “Get up and immediately ford the river, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”

²²So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He set his house in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

²⁴David had arrived at Mahanaim by the time Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.

²⁵Now Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in Joab’s place. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Israelite; Ithra had married Abigail daughter of Nahash. Abigail was a sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.

²⁶And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

²⁸brought beds, basins, and pottery items. They also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,

²⁹honey, curds, sheep, goats, and cheese from the herd for David and the people with him to eat. They had reasoned, “The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”

¹David reviewed his troops and appointed commanders of thousands and of hundreds over them.

²He then sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai of Gath. The king said to the troops, “I must also march out with you.”

³“You must not go!” the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”

⁴“I will do whatever you think is best,” the king replied to them. So he stood beside the city gate while all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands.

⁵The king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” All the people heard the king’s orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

⁶Then David’s forces marched into the field to engage Israel in battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim.

⁷Israel’s army was defeated by David’s soldiers, and the slaughter there was vast that day — twenty thousand dead.

⁸The battle spread over the entire area, and that day the forest claimed more people than the sword.

⁹Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David’s soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair.

¹⁰One of the men saw him and informed Joab. He said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”

¹¹“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten silver pieces and a belt!”

¹²The man replied to Joab, “Even if I had the weight of a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For we heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for me.’

¹³If I had jeopardized my own life — and nothing is hidden from the king — you would have abandoned me.”

¹⁴Joab said, “I’m not going to waste time with you!” He then took three spears in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s chest. While Absalom was still alive in the oak tree,

¹⁵ten young men who were Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.

¹⁶Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab restrained them.

¹⁷They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and raised up a huge mound of stones over him. And all Israel fled, each to his tent.

¹⁸When he was alive, Absalom had taken a pillar and raised it up for himself in the King’s Valley, since he thought, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he named the pillar after himself. It is still called Absalom’s Monument today.

¹⁹Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has vindicated him by freeing him from his enemies.”

²⁰Joab replied to him, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but today you aren’t taking good news, because the king’s son is dead.”

²¹Joab then said to a Cushite, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.

²²However, Ahimaaz son of Zadok persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to run since you won’t get a reward?”

²³“No matter what, I want to run!” “Then run!” Joab said to him. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.

²⁴David was sitting between the city gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the city gate and over to the wall. The watchman looked out and saw a man running alone.

²⁵He called out and told the king. The king said, “If he’s alone, he bears good news.” As the first runner came closer,

²⁶the watchman saw another man running. He called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” “This one is also bringing good news,” said the king.

²⁷The watchman said, “The way the first man runs looks to me like the way Ahimaaz son of Zadok runs.” “This is a good man; he comes with good news,” the king commented.

²⁸Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well,” and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He delivered up the men who rebelled against my lord the king.”

²⁹The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a big disturbance, but I don’t know what it was.”

³⁰The king said, “Move aside and stand here.” So he stood to one side.

³¹Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: The LORD has vindicated you today by freeing you from all who rise against you!”

³²The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” The Cushite replied, “I wish that the enemies of my lord the king, along with all who rise up against you with evil intent, would become like that young man.”

³³The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber above the city gate and wept. As he walked, he cried, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”

¹It was reported to Joab, “The king is weeping. He’s mourning over Absalom.”

²That day’s victory was turned into mourning for all the troops because on that day the troops heard, “The king is grieving over his son.”

³So they returned to the city quietly that day like troops come in when they are humiliated after fleeing in battle.

⁴But the king covered his face and cried loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, “Today you have shamed all your soldiers — those who saved your life as well as your sons, your wives, and your concubines —

⁶by loving your enemies and hating those who love you! Today you have made it clear that the commanders and soldiers mean nothing to you. In fact, today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, it would be fine with you!

⁷“Now get up! Go out and encourage your soldiers, for I swear by the LORD that if you don’t go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the trouble that has come to you from your youth until now!”

⁸So the king got up and sat in the city gate, and all the people were told: “Look, the king is sitting in the city gate.” Then they all came into the king’s presence. Meanwhile, each Israelite had fled to his tent.

⁹People throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king rescued us from the grasp of our enemies, and he saved us from the grasp of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

¹⁰But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?”

¹¹King David sent word to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace? The talk of all Israel has reached the king at his house.

¹²You are my brothers, my flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’

¹³And tell Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me and do so severely if you don’t become commander of my army from now on instead of Joab! ’”

¹⁴So he won over all the men of Judah, and they unanimously sent word to the king: “Come back, you and all your servants.”

¹⁵Then the king returned. When he arrived at the Jordan, Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and escort him across the Jordan.

¹⁶Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David.

¹⁷There were a thousand men from Benjamin with him. Ziba, an attendant from the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants also rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king.

¹⁸They forded the Jordan to bring the king’s household across and do whatever the king desired. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell facedown before the king

¹⁹and said to him, “My lord, don’t hold me guilty, and don’t remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart.

²⁰For your servant knows that I have sinned. But look! Today I am the first one of the entire house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”

²¹Abishai son of Zeruiah asked, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’s anointed?”

²²David answered, “Sons of Zeruiah, do we agree on anything? Have you become my adversary today? Should any man be killed in Israel today? Am I not aware that today I’m king over Israel?”

²³So the king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” Then the king gave him his oath.

²⁴Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.

²⁵When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Mephibosheth, why didn’t you come with me?”

²⁶“My lord the king,” he replied, “my servant Ziba betrayed me. Actually your servant said: ‘I’ll saddle the donkey for myself so that I may ride it and go with the king’ — for your servant is lame.

²⁷Ziba slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do whatever you think best.

²⁸For my grandfather’s entire family deserves death from my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. So what further right do I have to keep on making appeals to the king?”

²⁹The king said to him, “Why keep on speaking about these matters of yours? I hereby declare: you and Ziba are to divide the land.”

³⁰Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has come to his palace safely, let Ziba take it all!”

³¹Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim and accompanied the king to the Jordan River to see him off at the Jordan.

³²Barzillai was a very old man — eighty years old — and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the needs of the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.

³³The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I’ll provide for you at my side in Jerusalem.”

³⁴Barzillai replied to the king, “How many years of my life are left that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king?

³⁵I’m now eighty years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of male and female singers? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

³⁶Since your servant is only going with the king a little way across the Jordan, why should the king repay me with such a reward?

³⁷Please let your servant return so that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham: let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him what seems good to you.”

³⁸The king replied, “Chimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you, and whatever you desire from me I will do for you.”

³⁹So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned to his home.

⁴⁰The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went with him. All the troops of Judah and half of Israel’s escorted the king.

⁴¹Suddenly, all the men of Israel came to the king. They asked him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and transport the king and his household across the Jordan, along with all of David’s men?”

⁴²All the men of Judah responded to the men of Israel, “Because the king is our relative. Why does this make you angry? Have we ever eaten anything of the king’s or been honored at all?”

⁴³The men of Israel answered the men of Judah: “We have ten shares in the king, so we have a greater claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Weren’t we the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than those of the men of Israel.

¹Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram’s horn and shouted: We have no portion in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Each man to his tent, Israel!

²So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bichri, but the men of Judah from the Jordan all the way to Jerusalem remained loyal to their king.

³When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

⁴The king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to me within three days and be here yourself.”

⁵Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him.

⁶So David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bichri will do more harm to us than Absalom. Take your lord’s soldiers and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”

⁷So Joab’s men, the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors marched out under Abishai’s command; they left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

⁸They were at the great stone in Gibeon when Amasa joined them. Joab was wearing his uniform and over it was a belt around his waist with a sword in its sheath. As he approached, the sword fell out.

⁹Joab asked Amasa, “Are you well, my brother?” Then with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.

¹⁰Amasa was not on guard against the sword in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it and spilled his intestines out on the ground. Joab did not stab him again, and Amasa died. Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.

¹¹One of Joab’s young men had stood over Amasa saying, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!”

¹²Now Amasa had been writhing in his blood in the middle of the highway, and the man had seen that all the troops stopped. So he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him because he realized that all those who encountered Amasa were stopping.

¹³When he was removed from the highway, all the men passed by and followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

¹⁴Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah. All the Berites came together and followed him.

¹⁵Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the outer wall of the city. While all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to make it collapse,

¹⁶a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here and let me speak with him.”

¹⁷When he had come near her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. “Listen to the words of your servant,” she said to him. He answered, “I’m listening.”

¹⁸She said, “In the past they used to say, ‘Seek counsel in Abel,’ and that’s how they settled disputes.

¹⁹I am one of the peaceful and faithful in Israel, but you’re trying to destroy a city that is like a mother in Israel. Why would you devour the LORD’s inheritance?”

²⁰Joab protested: “Never! I would never devour or demolish!

²¹That is not the case. There is a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, who has rebelled against King David. Deliver this one man, and I will withdraw from the city.” The woman replied to Joab, “Watch! His head will be thrown over the wall to you.”

²²The woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn, and they dispersed from the city, each to his own tent. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

²³Joab commanded the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;

²⁴Adoram was over forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was court historian;

²⁵Sheva was court secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

²⁶and in addition, Ira the Jairite was David’s priest.

¹During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the LORD. The LORD answered, “It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”

²The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them.

³He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on the LORD’s inheritance?”

⁴The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for silver and gold from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.” “Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.

⁵They replied to the king, “As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel,

⁶let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang them in the presence of the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the LORD’s chosen.” The king answered, “I will hand them over.”

⁷David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD that was between David and Jonathan, Saul’s son.

⁸But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, who were the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, and the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite

⁹and handed them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged them on the hill in the presence of the LORD; the seven of them died together. They were executed in the first days of the harvest at the beginning of the barley harvest.

¹⁰Rizpah, Aiah’s daughter, took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until the rain poured down from heaven on the bodies. She kept the birds of the sky from them by day and the wild animals by night.

¹¹When it was reported to David what Saul’s concubine Rizpah daughter of Aiah had done,

¹²he went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa.

¹³David had the bones brought from there. They gathered up the bones of Saul’s family who had been hanged

¹⁴and buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan at Zela in the land of Benjamin in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king commanded. After this, God was receptive to prayer for the land.

¹⁵The Philistines again waged war against Israel. David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted.

¹⁶Then Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giant, whose bronze spear weighed about eight pounds and who wore new armor, intended to kill David.

¹⁷But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him: “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giant.

¹⁹Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath of Gath. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam.

²⁰At Gath there was still another battle. A huge man was there with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot — twenty-four in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.

²¹When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him.

²²These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.

¹David spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul.

²He said: The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

³my God, my rock where I seek refuge. My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, you save me from violence.

⁴I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

⁵For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me.

⁶The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

⁷I called to the LORD in my distress; I called to my God. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry for help reached his ears.

⁸Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they shook because he burned with anger.

⁹Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; coals were set ablaze by it.

¹⁰He bent the heavens and came down, total darkness beneath his feet.

¹¹He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

¹²He made darkness a canopy around him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.

¹³From the radiance of his presence, blazing coals were ignited.

¹⁴The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High made his voice heard.

¹⁵He shot arrows and scattered them; he hurled lightning bolts and routed them.

¹⁶The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of deep water.

¹⁸He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.

²⁰He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

²¹The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²²For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not turned from my God to wickedness.

²³Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me and have not disregarded his statutes.

²⁴I was blameless before him and kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁵So the LORD repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless,

²⁷with the pure you prove yourself pure; but with the crooked you prove yourself shrewd.

²⁸You rescue an oppressed people, but your eyes are set against the proud — you humble them.

²⁹LORD, you are my lamp; the LORD illuminates my darkness.

³⁰With you I can attack a barricade, and with my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹God — his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.

³²For who is God besides the LORD? And who is a rock? Only our God.

³³God is my strong refuge; he makes my way perfect.

³⁴He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.

³⁵He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶You have given me the shield of your salvation; your help exalts me.

³⁷You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.

³⁸I pursue my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out.

³⁹I wipe them out and crush them, and they do not rise; they fall beneath my feet.

⁴⁰You have clothed me with strength for battle; you subdue my adversaries beneath me.

⁴¹You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me.

⁴²They look, but there is no one to save them — they look to the LORD, but he does not answer them.

⁴³I pulverize them like dust of the earth; I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴You have freed me from the feuds among my people; you have preserved me as head of nations; a people I had not known serve me.

⁴⁵Foreigners submit to me cringing; as soon as they hear, they obey me.

⁴⁶Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.

⁴⁷The LORD lives — blessed be my rock! God, the rock of my salvation, is exalted.

⁴⁸God — he grants me vengeance and casts down peoples under me.

⁴⁹He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; you rescue me from violent men.

⁵⁰Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, LORD; I will sing praises about your name.

⁵¹He is a tower of salvation for his king; he shows loyalty to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

¹These are the last words of David: The declaration of David son of Jesse, the declaration of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob. This is the most delightful of Israel’s songs.

²The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me, his word was on my tongue.

³The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, “The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,

⁴is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”

⁵Is it not true my house is with God? For he has established a permanent covenant with me, ordered and secured in every detail. Will he not bring about my whole salvation and my every desire?

⁶But all the wicked are like thorns raked aside; they can never be picked up by hand.

⁷The man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear. They will be completely burned up on the spot.

⁸These are the names of David’s warriors: Josheb-basshebeth the Tahchemonite was chief of the officers. He wielded his spear against eight hundred men that he killed at one time.

⁹After him, Eleazar son of Dodo son of an Ahohite was among the three warriors with David when they defied the Philistines. The men of Israel retreated in the place they had gathered for battle,

¹⁰but Eleazar stood his ground and attacked the Philistines until his hand was tired and stuck to his sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. Then the troops came back to him, but only to plunder the dead.

¹¹After him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had assembled in formation where there was a field full of lentils. The troops fled from the Philistines,

¹²but Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.

¹³Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁴At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.

¹⁵David was extremely thirsty and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!”

¹⁶So three of the warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.

¹⁷David said, “LORD, I would never do such a thing! Is this not the blood of men who risked their lives?” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

¹⁸Abishai, Joab’s brother and son of Zeruiah, was leader of the Three. He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three.

¹⁹Was he not more honored than the Three? He became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

²⁰Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the son of a brave man from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

²¹He also killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went down to him with a club, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear.

²²These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors.

²³He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁴Among the Thirty were Joab’s brother Asahel, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁵Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

²⁷Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

²⁹Heleb son of Baanah the Netophahite, Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjaminites,

³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash,

³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan son of

³³Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,

³⁴Eliphelet son of Ahasbai son of the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

³⁵Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

³⁶Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer for Joab son of Zeruiah,

³⁸Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

³⁹and Uriah the Hethite. There were thirty-seven in all.

¹The LORD’s anger burned against Israel again, and he stirred up David against them to say: “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”

²So the king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the troops so I can know their number.”

³Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times more than they are  — while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this?”

⁴Yet the king’s order prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the king’s presence to register the troops of Israel.

⁵They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and then proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.

⁶They went to Gilead and to the land of the Hittites and continued on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.

⁷They went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Afterward, they went to the Negev of Judah at Beer-sheba.

⁸When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹Joab gave the king the total of the registration of the troops. There were eight hundred thousand valiant armed men from Israel and five hundred thousand men from Judah.

¹⁰David’s conscience troubled him after he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, LORD, because I’ve been very foolish, please take away your servant’s guilt.”

¹¹When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer:

¹²“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.’”

¹³So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, consider carefully what answer I should take back to the one who sent me.”

¹⁴David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the LORD’s hands because his mercies are great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men died.

¹⁶Then the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, but the LORD relented concerning the destruction and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough, withdraw your hand now!” The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the LORD, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let your hand be against me and my father’s family.”

¹⁸Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up and set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

¹⁹David went up in obedience to Gad’s command, just as the LORD had commanded.

²⁰Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, so he went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.

²¹Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the LORD, so the plague on the people may be halted.”

²²Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wants and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.

²³Your Majesty, Araunah gives everything here to the king.” Then he said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

²⁴The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for twenty ounces of silver.

²⁵He built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD was receptive to prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel ended.

¹Now King David was old and advanced in age. Although they covered him with bedclothes, he could not get warm.

²So his servants said to him: “Let us search for a young virgin for my lord the king. She is to attend the king and be his caregiver. She is to lie by your side so that my lord the king will get warm.”

³They searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel; they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.

⁴The girl was of unsurpassed beauty, and she became the king’s caregiver. She attended to him, but he was not intimate with her.

⁵Adonijah son of Haggith kept exalting himself, saying, “I will be king!” He prepared chariots, cavalry, and fifty men to run ahead of him.

⁶But his father had never once infuriated him by asking, “Why did you do that?” In addition, he was quite handsome and was born after Absalom.

⁷He conspired with Joab son of Zeruiah and with the priest Abiathar. They supported Adonijah,

⁸but the priest Zadok, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the prophet Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David’s royal guard did not side with Adonijah.

⁹Adonijah sacrificed sheep, goats, cattle, and fattened cattle near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel. He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king,

¹⁰but he did not invite the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, the royal guard, or his brother Solomon.

¹¹Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king and our lord David does not know it?

¹²Now please come and let me advise you. Save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³Go, approach King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to your servant: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne? So why has Adonijah become king?’

¹⁴At that moment, while you are still there speaking with the king, I’ll come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵So Bathsheba went to the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was attending to him.

¹⁶Bathsheba knelt low and paid homage to the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”

¹⁷She replied, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, ‘Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne.’

¹⁸Now look, Adonijah has become king. And, my lord the king, you didn’t know it.

¹⁹He has lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the king’s sons, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not invite your servant Solomon.

²⁰Now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

²¹Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be regarded as criminals.”

²²At that moment, while she was still speaking with the king, the prophet Nathan arrived,

²³and it was announced to the king, “The prophet Nathan is here.” He came into the king’s presence and paid homage to him with his face to the ground.

²⁴“My lord the king,” Nathan said, “did you say, ‘Adonijah is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne’?

²⁵For today he went down and lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and the priest Abiathar. And look! They’re eating and drinking in his presence, and they’re saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

²⁶But he did not invite me — me, your servant — or the priest Zadok or Benaiah son of Jehoiada or your servant Solomon.

²⁷I’m certain my lord the king would not have let this happen without letting your servant know who will sit on my lord the king’s throne after him.”

²⁸King David responded by saying, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.

²⁹The king swore an oath and said, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every difficulty,

³⁰just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne in my place, that is exactly what I will do this very day.”

³¹Bathsheba knelt low with her face to the ground, paying homage to the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”

³²King David then said, “Call in the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada for me.” So they came into the king’s presence.

³³The king said to them, “Take my servants with you, have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon.

³⁴There, the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him as king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon! ’

³⁵You are to come up after him, and he is to come in and sit on my throne. He is the one who is to become king in my place; he is the one I have commanded to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶“Amen,” Benaiah son of Jehoiada replied to the king. “May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so affirm it.

³⁷Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down, had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon.

³⁹The priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”

⁴⁰All the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.

⁴¹Adonijah and all the invited guests who were with him heard the noise as they finished eating. Joab heard the sound of the ram’s horn and said, “Why is the town in such an uproar?”

⁴²He was still speaking when Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest, suddenly arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are an important man, and you must be bringing good news.”

⁴³“Unfortunately not,” Jonathan answered him. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king.

⁴⁴And with Solomon, the king has sent the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have had him ride on the king’s mule.

⁴⁵The priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king in Gihon. They have gone up from there rejoicing. The town has been in an uproar; that’s the noise you heard.

⁴⁶Solomon has even taken his seat on the royal throne.

⁴⁷“The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may he make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.

⁴⁸And the king went on to say this: ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel! Today he has provided one to sit on my throne, and I am a witness.’”

⁴⁹Then all of Adonijah’s guests got up trembling and went their separate ways.

⁵⁰Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.

⁵¹It was reported to Solomon: “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”

⁵²Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, he dies.”

⁵³So King Solomon sent for him, and they took him down from the altar. He came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your home.”