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2 Samuel 15 When Family Conflict Becomes A National Crisis

2 Samuel 15:1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

2 Samuel 15:2 And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

2 Samuel 15:3 And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed ofthe king to hear thee.

2 Samuel 15:4 Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!

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2 Samuel 15:5 And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.

2 Samuel 15:6 And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

2 Samuel 15:7 And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron.

2 Samuel 15:9 And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron.

2 Samuel 15:10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.

2 Samuel 15:11 And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything.

2 Samuel 15:12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.

2 Samuel 15:13 And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts ofthe men of Israel are after Absalom.

2 Samuel 15:14 And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtakes us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge ofthe sword.

2 Samuel 15:15 And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.

2 Samuel 15:16 And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house.

2 Samuel 15:17 And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.

2 Samuel 15:18 And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

2 Samuel 15:19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile

2 Samuel 15:20 Whereas thou earnest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.

2 Samuel 15:21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

2 Samuel 15:23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way ofthe wilderness.

2 Samuel 15:24 And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark ofthe covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out ofthe city.

2 Samuel 15:25 And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:

2 Samuel 15:26 But if he thus says, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.

2 Samuel 15:27 The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

2 Samuel 15:28 See, I will tarry in the plain ofthe wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.

2 Samuel 15:29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.

2 Samuel 15:30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

2 Samuel 15:31 And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.

2 Samuel 15:32 And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:

2 Samuel 15:34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.

2 Samuel 15:35 And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that whatthing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

2 Samuel 15:36 Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them, ye shall send unto me everything that ye can hear.

2 Samuel 15:37 So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 16 Betrayal, Mockery, And A King’s Trust In God

2 Samuel 16:1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine,

2 Samuel 16:2 And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

2 Samuel 16:3 And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

2 Samuel 16:4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.

2 Samuel 16:5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth and cursed still as he came.

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2 Samuel 16:6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

2 Samuel 16:7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:

2 Samuel 16:8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.

2 Samuel 16:10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?

2 Samuel 16:11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him.

2 Samuel 16:12 It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.

2 Samuel 16:13 And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

2 Samuel 16:14 And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary and refreshed themselves there.

2 Samuel 16:15 And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

2 Samuel 16:16 And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king.

2 Samuel 16:17 And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?

2 Samuel 16:18 And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom he LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

2 Samuel 16:19 And again, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in thy father’s presence, so will I be in thy presence.

2 Samuel 16:20 Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.

2 Samuel 16:21 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.

2 Samuel 16:23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle or God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

2 Samuel 17 Trusting God’s Providence In Times Of Crisis

2 Samuel 17:1 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:

2 Samuel 17:2 And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee, and I will smite the king only:

2 Samuel 17:3 And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.

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2 Samuel 17:4 And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.

2 Samuel 17:5 Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith.

2 Samuel 17:7 And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time.

2 Samuel 17:8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodÿe with the people.

2 Samuel 17:9 Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.

2 Samuel 17:10 And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.

2 Samuel 17:11 Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

2 Samuel 17:12 So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

2 Samuel 17:13 Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until there be not one small stone found there.

2 Samuel 17:14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.

2 Samuel 17:15 If Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.

2 Samuel 17:16 Now, therefore, send quickly, and tell David, saying Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

2 Samuel 17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-Rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them, and they went and told King David.

2 Samuel 17:18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.

2 Samuel 17:20 And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 17:21 And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you

2 Samuel 17:22 Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.

2 Samuel 17:23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.

2 Samuel 17:24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

2 Samuel 17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went into Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.

2 Samuel 17:26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.

2 Samuel 17:28 Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse,

2 Samuel 17:29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.

2 Samuel 18 The Tragic Conclusion To Absalom’s Rebellion

2 Samuel 18:1 And David numbered the people that were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.

2 Samuel 18:2 And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand ofAbishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.

2 Samuel 18:3 But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out ofthe city.

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2 Samuel 18:4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best 1 will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.

2 Samuel 18:5 And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.

2 Samuel 18:6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;

2 Samuel 18:8 For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth, and the mule that was under him went away.

2 Samuel 18:10 And a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.

2 Samuel 18:11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver and a girdle.

2 Samuel 18:12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would 1 not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.

2 Samuel 18:13 Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.

2 Samuel 18:14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst ofthe oak

2 Samuel 18:15 And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.

2 Samuel 18:17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

2 Samuel 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom’s place.

2 Samuel 18:19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath avenged him of his enemies.

2 Samuel 18:20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings because the king’s son is dead.

2 Samuel 18:21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab and ran

2 Samuel 18:22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?

2 Samuel 18:23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain and overran Cushi.

2 Samuel 18:24 And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.

2 Samuel 18:25 And the watchman cried and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace and drew near.

2 Samuel 18:26 And the watchman saw another man running and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.

2 Samuel 18:27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running ofthe foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.

2 Samuel 18:28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.

2 Samuel 18:29 And the king said, s the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

2 Samuel 18:30 And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside and stood still.

2 Samuel 18:32 And the king said unto Cushi, is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

2 Samuel 18:33 If And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son

2 Samuel 19 A Story of Grace, Loyalty, And Political Complexity

2 Samuel 19:1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.

2 Samuel 19:2 And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son,

2 Samuel 19:3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed to steal away when they flee in battle.

2 Samuel 19:4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!

2 Samuel 19:5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;

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2 Samuel 19:6 In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.

2 Samuel 19:7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.

2 Samuel 19:9 And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.

2 Samuel 19:10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?

2 Samuel 19:11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech ofall Israel is come to the king, even to his house.

2 Samuel 19:12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?

2 Samuel 19:13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

2 Samuel 19:14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.

2 Samuel 19:15 So the king returned and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.

2 Samuel 19:16 And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David.

2 Samuel 19:17 And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant ofthe house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.

2 Samuel 19:18 And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan

2 Samuel 19:19 And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.

2 Samuel 19:21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’S anointed?

2 Samuel 19:22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons ofZeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

2 Samuel 19:23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.

2 Samuel 19:24 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.

2 Samuel 19:25 And it came to pass when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?

2 Samuel 19:26 And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame.

2 Samuel 19:27 And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king, but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.

2 Samuel 19:28 For all of my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have 1 yet to cry any more unto the king?

2 Samuel 19:29 And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.

2 Samuel 19:30 And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.

2 Samuel 19:31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.

2 Samuel 19:32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man

2 Samuel 19:34 And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?

2 Samuel 19:35 I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?

2 Samuel 19:36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?

2 Samuel 19:37 Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee.

2 Samuel 19:38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.

2 Samuel 19:39 And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place.

2 Samuel 19:40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel.

2 Samuel 19:41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan?

2 Samuel 19:42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?

2 Samuel 19:43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

2 Samuel 20 Joab’s Pursuit And The End Of Sheba’s Rebellion

2 Samuel 20:1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.

2 Samuel 20:2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 20:3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in the ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

2 Samuel 20:4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.

2 Samuel 20:5 So it piasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

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2 Samuel 20:6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.

2 Samuel 20:7 And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

2 Samuel 20:8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.

2 Samuel 20:9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.

2 Samuel 20:10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again, and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

2 Samuel 20:12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that everyone that came by him stood still.

2 Samuel 20:13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.

2 Samuel 20:14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-Maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together and went also after him.

2 Samuel 20:15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.

2 Samuel 20:16 If Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that 1 may speak with thee.

2 Samuel 20:17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of ake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.

2 Samuel 20:19 am one of them that are peaceable oJfe faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?

2 Samuel 20:20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy

2 Samuel 20:22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

2 Samuel 20:23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:

2 Samuel 20:24 And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:

2 Samuel 20:25 And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

2 Samuel 20:26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.

2 Samuel 21 Justice, Atonement, And The Sovereignty Of God

2 Samuel 21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORO. And the LORO answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house because he slew the Gibeonites.

2 Samuel 21:2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)

2 Samuel 21:3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?

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2 Samuel 21:4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

2 Samuel 21:5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

2 Samuel 21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

2 Samuel 21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Aimoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

2 Samuel 21:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning, of barley harvest.

2 Samuel 21:10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds ofthe air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

2 Samuel 21:11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

2 Samuel 21:12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

2 Samuel 21:13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

2 Samuel 21:14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulcher of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

2 Samuel 21:15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel, and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.

2 Samuel 21:16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

2 Samuel 21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

2 Samuel 21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-origin, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

2 Samuel 21:20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

2 Samuel 21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.

2 Samuel 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants

2 Samuel 22 Lessons In Accountability And Reconciliation

2 Samuel 22:1 And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

2 Samuel 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

2 Samuel 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence.

2 Samuel 22:4 will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall 1 be saved from mine enemies.

2 Samuel 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;

2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

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2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook because he was wroth.

2 Samuel 22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

2 Samuel 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

2 Samuel 22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

2 Samuel 22:13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

2 Samuel 22:15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.

2 Samuel 22:16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

2 Samuel 22:17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

2 Samuel 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

2 Samuel 22:19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me because he delighted in me.

2 Samuel 22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

2 Samuel 22:23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

2 Samuel 22:24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.

2 Samuel 22:25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eyesight.

2 Samuel 22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

2 Samuel 22:27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure, and with the froward, thou wilt shew thyself unsavory.

2 Samuel 22:29 For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

2 Samuel 22:30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?

2 Samuel 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

2 Samuel 22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds’/ect: and setteth me upon my high places.

2 Samuel 22:35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

2 Samuel 22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

2 Samuel 22:37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.

2 Samuel 22:38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.

2 Samuel 22:39 And I have consumed them and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.

2 Samuel 22:40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.

2 Samuel 22:41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.

2 Samuel 22:42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

2 Samuel 22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.

2 Samuel 22:44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.

2 Samuel 22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.

2 Samuel 22:46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.

2 Samuel 22:48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me,

2 Samuel 22:49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathery and I will sing praises unto thy name.

2 Samuel 22:51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore

2 Samuel 23 The Final Words Of A King After God’s Own Heart

2 Samuel 23:1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

2 Samuel 23:2 The Spirit ofthe LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

2 Samuel 23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

2 Samuel 23:4 And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

2 Samuel 23:5 Although my house is not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he makes it not to grow.

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2 Samuel 23:6 If But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away because they cannot be taken with hands:

2 Samuel 23:7 But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear, and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.

2 Samuel 23:8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

2 Samuel 23:9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:

2 Samuel 23:10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil.

2 Samuel 23:12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

2 Samuel 23:13 And three ofthe thirty chiefs went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.

2 Samuel 23:14 And David was then in a hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem.

2 Samuel 23:15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me a drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate!

2 Samuel 23:16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.

2 Samuel 23:17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

2 Samuel 23:18 And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three.

2 Samuel 23:19 Was he not most honorable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three.

2 Samuel 23:20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:

2 Samuel 23:21 And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear.

2 Samuel 23:23 He was more honorable than the thirty, but he attained not to theÿzret three. And David set him over his guard.

2 Samuel 23:24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem,

2 Samuel 23:25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

2 Samuel 23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

2 Samuel 23:27 Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

2 Samuel 23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

2 Samuel 23:29 Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son ofRibai out of Gibeah ofthe children of Benjamin,

2 Samuel 23:30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,

2 Samuel 23:31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

2 Samuel 23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,

2 Samuel 23:33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,

2 Samuel 23:34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

2 Samuel 23:35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

2 Samuel 23:36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

2 Samuel 23:38 Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite,

2 Samuel 23:39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.

2 Samuel 24 Trusting God Over Numbers And Strength

2 Samuel 24:1 And again the anger ofthe LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah,

2 Samuel 24:2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.

2 Samuel 24:3 And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, a hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?

2 Samuel 24:5 And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:

2 Samuel 24:6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan, and about to Zidon,

2 Samuel 24:7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beer-sheba.

2 Samuel 24:8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

2 Samuel 24:9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

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2 Samuel 24:10 And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

2 Samuel 24:11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

2 Samuel 24:12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

2 Samuel 24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

2 Samuel 24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

2 Samuel 24:15 So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.

2 Samuel 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing place of Araunah the Jebusite.

2 Samuel 24:17 And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.

2 Samuel 24:19 And David, according to the saying of God, went up as the LORD commanded.

2 Samuel 24:20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.

2 Samuel 24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

2 Samuel 24:22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.

2 Samuel 24:24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will 1 offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

2 Samuel 24:25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.