II Samuel 10-14

II Samuel 10

¹And it cometh to pass afterwards, that the king of the Bene-Ammon dieth, and Hanun his son reigneth in his stead,

²and David saith, ‘I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did with me kindness;' and David sendeth to comfort him by the hand of his servants concerning his father, and the servants of David come in to the land of the Bene-Ammon.

³And the heads of the Bene-Ammon say unto Hanun their lord, ‘Is David honouring thy father in thine eyes because he hath sent to thee comforters? for to search the city, and to spy it, and to overthrow it, hath not David sent his servants unto thee?'

⁴And Hanun taketh the servants of David, and shaveth off the half of their beard, and cutteth off their long robes in the midst -- unto their buttocks, and sendeth them away;

⁵and they declare it to David, and he sendeth to meet them, for the men have been greatly ashamed, and the king saith, ‘Abide in Jericho till your beard doth spring up -- then ye have returned.'

⁶And the Bene-Ammon see that they have been abhorred by David, and the Bene-Ammon send and hire Aram of Beth-Rehob, and Aram of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and Ish-Tob with twelve thousand men;

⁷and David heareth, and sendeth Joab, and all the host -- the mighty men.

⁸And the Bene-Ammon come out, and set battle in array, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, are by themselves in the field;

⁹and Joab seeth that the front of the battle hath been unto him before and behind, and he chooseth of all the chosen in Israel, and setteth in array to meet Aram,

¹⁰and the rest of the people he hath given into the hand of Abishai his brother, and setteth in array to meet the Bene-Ammon.

¹¹And he saith, ‘If Aram be stronger than I, then thou hast been to me for salvation, and if the Bene-Ammon be stronger than thou, then I have come to give salvation to thee;

¹²be strong and strengthen thyself for our people, and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah doth that which is good in His eyes.'

¹³And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who are with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence;

¹⁴and the Bene-Ammon have seen that Aram hath fled, and they flee from the presence of Abishai, and go in to the city; and Joab turneth back from the Bene-Ammon, and cometh in to Jerusalem.

¹⁵And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together;

¹⁶and Hadadezer sendeth, and bringeth out Aram which is beyond the River, and they come in to Helam, and Shobach head of the host of Hadadezer is before them.

¹⁷And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in to Helam, and Aram setteth itself in array to meet David, and they fight with him;

¹⁸and Aram fleeth from the presence of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven hundred charioteers, and forty thousand horsemen, and Shobach head of its host he hath smitten, and he dieth there.

¹⁹And all the kings -- servants of Hadadezer -- see that they have been smitten before Israel, and make peace with Israel, and serve them; and Aram is afraid to help any more the Bene-Ammon.

II Samuel 11

¹And it cometh to pass, at the revolution of the year -- at the time of the going out of the messengers -- that David sendeth Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroy the Bene-Ammon, and lay siege against Rabbah. And David is dwelling in Jerusalem,

²and it cometh to pass, at evening-time, that David riseth from off his couch, and walketh up and down on the roof of the king's house, and seeth from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman is of very good appearance,

³and David sendeth and inquireth about the woman, and saith, ‘Is not this Bath-Sheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?'

⁴And David sendeth messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her -- and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness -- and she turneth back unto her house;

⁵and the woman conceiveth, and sendeth, and declareth to David, and saith, ‘I am conceiving.'

⁶And David sendeth unto Joab, ‘Send unto me Uriah the Hittite,' and Joab sendeth Uriah unto David;

⁷and Uriah cometh unto him, and David asketh of the prosperity of Joab, and of the prosperity of the people, and of the prosperity of the war.

⁸And David saith to Uriah, ‘Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet;' and Uriah goeth out of the king's house, and there goeth out after him a gift from the king,

⁹and Uriah lieth down at the opening of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and hath not gone down unto his house.

¹⁰And they declare to David, saying, ‘Uriah hath not gone down unto his house;' and David saith unto Uriah, ‘Hast thou not come from a journey? wherefore hast thou not gone down unto thy house?'

¹¹And Uriah saith unto David, ‘The ark, and Israel, and Judah, are abiding in booths, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, on the face of the field are encamping; and I -- I go in unto my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife! -- thy life, and the life of thy soul -- if I do this thing.'

¹²And David saith unto Uriah, ‘Abide in this place also to-day, and to-morrow I send thee away;' and Uriah abideth in Jerusalem, on that day, and on the morrow,

¹³and David calleth for him, and he eateth before him, and drinketh, and he causeth him to drink, and he goeth out in the evening to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, and unto his house he hath not gone down.

¹⁴And it cometh to pass in the morning, that David writeth a letter unto Joab, and sendeth by the hand of Uriah;

¹⁵and he writeth in the letter, saying, ‘Place ye Uriah over-against the front of the severest battle, and ye have turned back from after him, and he hath been smitten, and hath died.'

¹⁶And it cometh to pass in Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men are;

¹⁷and the men of the city go out and fight with Joab, and there fall some of the people, of the servants of David; and there dieth also Uriah the Hittite.

¹⁸And Joab sendeth and declareth to David all the matters of the war,

¹⁹and commandeth the messenger, saying, ‘At thy finishing all the matters of the war to speak unto the king,

²⁰then, it hath been, if the king's fury ascend, and he hath said to thee, Wherefore did ye draw nigh unto the city to fight? did ye not know that they shoot from off the wall?

²¹Who smote Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast on him a piece of a rider from the wall, and he dieth in Thebez? why drew ye nigh unto the wall? that thou hast said, Also thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'

²²And the messenger goeth, and cometh in, and declareth to David all that with which Joab sent him,

²³and the messenger saith unto David, ‘Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out unto us into the field, and we are upon them unto the opening of the gate,

²⁴and those shooting shoot at thy servants from off the wall, and some of the servants of the king are dead, and also, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.

²⁵And David saith unto the messenger, ‘Thus dost thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing be evil in thine eyes; for thus and thus doth the sword devour; strengthen thy warfare against the city, and throw it down -- and strengthen thou him.'

²⁶And the wife of Uriah heareth that Uriah her husband is dead, and lamenteth for her lord;

²⁷and the mourning passeth by, and David sendeth and gathereth her unto his house, and she is to him for a wife, and beareth to him a son; and the thing which David hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah.

II Samuel 12

¹And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: ‘Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor;

²The rich hath flocks and herds very many;

³And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;

⁴And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'

⁵And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, ‘Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death is the man who is doing this,

⁶and the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'

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

⁸and I give to thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and I give to thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if little, then I add to thee such and such things.

⁹‘Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do the evil thing in His eyes? Uriah the Hittite thou hast smitten by the sword, and his wife thou hast taken to thee for a wife, and him thou hast slain by the sword of the Bene-Ammon.

¹⁰‘And now, the sword doth not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;

¹¹thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am raising up against thee evil, out of thy house, and have taken thy wives before thine eyes, and given to thy neighbour, and he hath lain with thy wives before the eyes of this sun;

¹²for thou hast done it in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'

¹³And David saith unto Nathan, ‘I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, ‘Also -- Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;

¹⁴only, because thou hast caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son who is born to thee doth surely die.'

¹⁵And Nathan goeth unto his house, and Jehovah smiteth the lad, whom the wife of Uriah hath born to David, and it is incurable;

¹⁶and David seeketh God for the youth, and David keepeth a fast, and hath gone in and lodged, and lain on the earth.

¹⁷And the elders of his house rise against him, to raise him up from the earth, and he hath not been willing, nor hath he eaten with them bread;

¹⁸and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the lad dieth, and the servants of David fear to declare to him that the lad is dead, for they said, ‘Lo, in the lad being alive we spake unto him, and he did not hearken to our voice; and how do we say unto him, The lad is dead? -- then he hath done evil.'

¹⁹And David seeth that his servants are whispering, and David understandeth that the lad is dead, and David saith unto his servants, ‘Is the lad dead?' and they say, ‘Dead.'

²⁰And David riseth from the earth, and doth bathe and anoint himself, and changeth his raiment, and cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and boweth himself, and cometh unto his house, and asketh and they place for him bread, and he eateth.

²¹And his servants say unto him, ‘What is this thing thou hast done? because of the living lad thou hast fasted and dost weep, and when the lad is dead thou hast risen and dost eat bread.'

²²And he saith, ‘While the lad is alive I have fasted, and weep, for I said, Who knoweth? -- Jehovah doth pity me, and the lad hath lived;

²³and now, he hath died, why is this -- I fast? am I able to bring him back again? I am going unto him, and he doth not turn back unto me.'

²⁴And David comforteth Bath-Sheba his wife, and goeth in unto her, and lieth with her, and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Solomon; and Jehovah hath loved him,

²⁵and sendeth by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and calleth his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah.

²⁶And Joab fighteth against Rabbah of the Bene-Ammon, and captureth the royal city,

²⁷and Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, ‘I have fought against Rabbah -- also I have captured the city of waters;

²⁸and now, gather the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it, lest I capture the city, and my name hath been called upon it.'

²⁹And David gathereth all the people, and goeth to Rabbah, and fighteth against it, and captureth it;

³⁰and he taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight is a talent of gold, and precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and the spoil of the city he hath brought out, very much;

³¹and the people who are in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes of iron, and hath caused them to pass over into the brick-kiln; and so he doth to all the cities of the Bene-Ammon; and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.

II Samuel 13

¹And it cometh to pass afterwards that Absalom son of David hath a fair sister, and her name is Tamar, and Amnon son of David loveth her.

²And Amnon hath distress -- even to become sick, because of Tamar his sister, for she is a virgin, and it is hard in the eyes of Amnon to do anything to her.

³And Amnon hath a friend, and his name is Jonadab, son of Shimeah, David's brother, and Jonadab is a very wise man,

⁴and saith to him, ‘Wherefore art thou thus lean, O king's son, morning by morning? dost thou not declare to me?' And Amnon saith to him, ‘Tamar -- sister of Absalom my brother -- I am loving.'

⁵And Jonadab saith to him, ‘Lie down on thy couch, and feign thyself sick, and thy father hath come in to see thee, and thou hast said unto him, ‘Let, I pray thee, Tamar my sister come in and give me bread to eat; and she hath made the food before mine eyes so that I see it, and have eaten from her hand.'

⁶And Amnon lieth down, and feigneth himself sick, and the king cometh in to see him, and Amnon saith unto the king, ‘Let, I pray thee, Tamar my sister come, and she maketh before mine eyes two cakes, and I eat from her hand.'

⁷And David sendeth unto Tamar, to the house, saying, ‘Go, I pray thee, to the house of Amnon thy brother, and make for him food.'

⁸And Tamar goeth to the house of Amnon her brother, and he is lying down, and she taketh the dough, and kneadeth, and maketh cakes before his eyes, and cooketh the cakes,

⁹and taketh the frying-pan, and poureth out before him, and he refuseth to eat, and Amnon saith, ‘Take ye out every one from me;' and they go out every one from him.

¹⁰And Amnon saith unto Tamar, ‘Bring the food into the inner chamber, and I eat from thy hand;' and Tamar taketh the cakes that she hath made, and bringeth in to Amnon her brother, into the inner chamber,

¹¹and she bringeth nigh unto him to eat, and he layeth hold on her, and saith to her, ‘Come, lie with me, my sister.'

¹²And she saith to him, ‘Nay, my brother, do not humble me, for it is not done so in Israel; do not this folly.

¹³And I -- whither do I cause my reproach to go? and thou -- thou art as one of the fools in Israel; and now, speak, I pray thee, unto the king; for he doth not withhold me from thee.'

¹⁴And he hath not been willing to hearken to her voice, and is stronger than she, and humbleth her, and lieth with her.

¹⁵And Amnon hateth her -- a very great hatred -- that greater is the hatred with which he hath hated her than the love with which he loved her, and Amnon saith to her, ‘Rise, go.'

¹⁶And she saith to him, ‘Because of the circumstances this evil is greater than the other that thou hast done with me -- to send me away;' and he hath not been willing to hearken to her,

¹⁷and calleth his young man, his servant, and saith, ‘Send away, I pray thee, this one from me without, and bolt the door after her;'

¹⁸-- and upon her is a long coat, for such upper robes do daughters of the king who are virgins put on, -- and his servant taketh her out without, and hath bolted the door after her.

¹⁹And Tamar taketh ashes for her head, and the long coat that is on her she hath rent, and putteth her hand on her head, and goeth, going on and crying;

²⁰and Absalom her brother saith unto her, ‘Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? and now, my sister, keep silent, he is thy brother; set not thy heart to this thing;' and Tamar dwelleth -- but desolate -- in the house of Absalom her brother.

²¹And king David hath heard all these things, and it is very displeasing to him;

²²and Absalom hath not spoken with Amnon either evil or good, for Absalom is hating Amnon, because that he humbled Tamar his sister.

²³And it cometh to pass, after two years of days, that Absalom hath shearers in Baal-Hazor, which is with Ephraim, and Absalom calleth for all the sons of the king.

²⁴And Absalom cometh unto the king, and saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, thy servant hath shearers, let the king go, I pray thee, and his servants, with thy servant.'

²⁵And the king saith unto Absalom, ‘Nay, my son, let us not all go, I pray thee, and we are not too heavy on thee;' and he presseth on him, and he hath not been willing to go, and he blesseth him.

²⁶And Absalom saith, ‘If not -- let, I pray thee, Amnon my brother go with us;' and the king saith to him, ‘Why doth he go with thee?'

²⁷and Absalom urgeth on him, and he sendeth with him Amnon, and all the sons of the king.

²⁸And Absalom commandeth his young men, saying, ‘See, I pray thee, when the heart of Amnon is glad with wine, and I have said unto you, Smite Amnon, that ye have put him to death; fear not; is it not because I have commanded you? be strong, yea, become sons of valour.'

²⁹And the young men of Absalom do to Amnon as Absalom commanded, and rise do all the sons of the king, and they ride, each on his mule, and flee.

³⁰And it cometh to pass -- they are in the way -- and the report hath come unto David, saying, ‘Absalom hath smitten all the sons of the king, and there is not left of them one;'

³¹and the king riseth, and rendeth his garments, and lieth on the earth, and all his servants are standing by with rent garments.

³²And Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, answereth and saith, ‘Let not my lord say, The whole of the young men, the sons of the king, they have put to death; for Amnon alone is dead, for by the command of Absalom it hath been appointed from the day of his humbling Tamar his sister;

³³and now, let not my lord the king lay unto his heart the word, saying, All the sons of the king have died, for Amnon alone is dead.'

³⁴And Absalom fleeth, and the young man who is watching lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, much people are coming by the way behind him, on the side of the hill.

³⁵And Jonadab saith unto the king, ‘Lo, the sons of the king have come; as the word of thy servant, so it hath been.'

³⁶And it cometh to pass at his finishing to speak, that lo, the sons of the king have come, and they lift up their voice, and weep, and also the king and all his servants have wept -- a very great weeping.

³⁷And Absalom hath fled, and goeth unto Talmai, son of Ammihud, king of Geshur, and David mourneth for his son all the days.

³⁸And Absalom hath fled, and goeth to Geshur, and is there three years;

³⁹and the soul of king David determineth to go out unto Absalom, for he hath been comforted for Amnon, for he is dead.

II Samuel 14

¹And Joab son of Zeruial knoweth that the heart of the king is on Absalom,

²and Joab sendeth to Tekoah, and taketh thence a wise woman, and saith unto her, ‘Feign thyself a mourner, I pray thee, and put on, I pray thee, garments of mourning, and anoint not thyself with oil, and thou hast been as a woman these many days mourning for the dead,

³and thou hast gone unto the king, and spoken unto him, according to this word;' and Joab putteth the words into her mouth.

⁴And the woman of Tekoah speaketh unto the king, and falleth on her face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and saith, ‘Save, O king.'

⁵And the king saith to her, ‘What -- to thee?' and she saith, ‘Truly a widow woman am I, and my husband dieth,

⁶and thy maid-servant hath two sons; and they strive both of them in a field, and there is no deliverer between them, and the one smiteth the other, and putteth him to death;

⁷and lo, the whole family hath risen against thy maid-servant, and say, Give up him who smiteth his brother, and we put him to death for the life of his brother whom he hath slain, and we destroy also the heir; and they have quenched my coal which is left -- so as not to set to my husband a name and remnant on the face of the ground.'

⁸And the king saith unto the woman, ‘Go to thine house, and I give charge concerning thee.'

⁹And the woman of Tekoah saith unto the king, ‘On me, my lord, O king, is the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne are innocent.'

¹⁰And the king saith, ‘He who speaketh aught unto thee, and thou hast brought him unto me, then he doth not add any more to come against thee.'

¹¹And she saith, ‘Let, I pray thee, the king remember by Jehovah thy God, that the redeemer of blood add not to destroy, and they destroy not my son;' and he saith, ‘Jehovah liveth; if there doth fall of the hair of thy son to the earth.'

¹²And the woman saith, ‘Let, I pray thee, thy maid-servant speak unto my lord the king a word;' and he saith, ‘Speak.'

¹³And the woman saith, ‘And why hast thou thought thus concerning the people of God? yea, the king is speaking this thing as a guilty one, in that the king hath not brought back his outcast;

¹⁴for we do surely die, and are as water which is running down to the earth, which is not gathered, and God doth not accept a person, and hath devised devices in that the outcast is not outcast by Him.

¹⁵‘And now that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, it is because the people made me afraid, and thy maid-servant saith, Let me speak, I pray thee, unto the king; it may be the king doth do the word of his handmaid,

¹⁶for the king doth hearken to deliver his handmaid out of the paw of the man seeking to destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God,

¹⁷and thy maid-servant saith, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so is my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and Jehovah thy God is with thee.'

¹⁸And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, ‘Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, ‘Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.'

¹⁹And the king saith, ‘Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the woman answereth and saith, ‘Thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, none doth turn to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab he commanded me, and he put in the mouth of thy maid-servant all these words;

²⁰in order to bring round the appearance of the thing hath thy servant Joab done this thing, and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all that is in the land.'

²¹And the king saith unto Joab, ‘Lo, I pray thee, thou hast done this thing; and go, bring back the young man Absalom.'

²²And Joab falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and blesseth the king, and Joab saith, ‘To-day hath thy servant known that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king hath done the word of his servant.'

²³And Joab riseth and goeth to Geshur, and bringeth in Absalom to Jerusalem,

²⁴and the king saith, ‘Let him turn round unto his house, and my face he doth not see.' And Absalom turneth round unto his house, and the face of the king he hath not seen.

²⁵And like Absalom there was no man so fair in all Israel, to praise greatly; from the sole of his foot even unto his crown there was no blemish in him;

²⁶and in his polling his head -- and it hath been at the end of year by year that he polleth it, for it is heavy on him, and he hath polled it -- he hath even weighed out the hair of his head -- two hundred shekels by the king's weight.

²⁷And there are born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, and her name is Tamar; she was a woman of a fair appearance.

²⁸And Absalom dwelleth in Jerusalem two years of days, and the face of the king he hath not seen;

²⁹and Absalom sendeth unto Joab, to send him unto the king, and he hath not been willing to come unto him; and he sendeth again a second time, and he hath not been willing to come.

³⁰And he saith unto his servants, ‘See, the portion of Joab is by the side of mine, and he hath barley there; go, and burn it with fire;' and the servants of Absalom burn the portion with fire.

³¹And Joab riseth and cometh unto Absalom in the house, and saith unto him, ‘Why have thy servants burned the portion that I have with fire?'

³²And Absalom saith unto Joab, ‘Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? -- good for me while I am there -- and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.'

³³And Joab cometh unto the king, and declareth it to him, and he calleth unto Absalom, and he cometh unto the king, and boweth himself to him, on his face, to the earth, before the king, and the king giveth a kiss to Absalom.