Bible in 90 Days

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Listen very carefully!

“‘I’m raising up evil against you right out of your own household.

“‘I’m going to take your wives away from you right before your eyes.

“‘Then I’ll give them to your neighbor.

“‘And then he’s going to have sex with your wives in broad daylight!

¹² “‘What you did in secret I’m going to do right in front of all Israel and in broad daylight as well!’”

¹³ At this point, David told Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan responded to David, “There’s one other thing: the Lord has forgiven your sin.^[a] You won’t die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because you have despised the Lord’s enemies with utter contempt,^[b] the son born to you will most certainly die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went home.

David’s Infant Son Dies

After this, the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife had born to David, and the child^[c] became very ill. ¹⁶ David begged God on behalf of the youngster. He^[d] fasted, went inside, and spent the night lying on the ground. ¹⁷ His closest advisors at the palace^[e] got up, remained with him, and tried to help him get up from the ground, but he would not do so. He also wouldn’t eat with them.

¹⁸ A week later, the child died, and David’s staff was afraid to tell him that the child had died. They were telling themselves, “Look, when the child was still alive, we talked to him but he wouldn’t listen to what we said. Now what kind of trouble will he bring on himself if we tell him that the child has died?”

¹⁹ But as David observed his staff whispering together, he perceived that the child had died, so he asked his staff, “Is the child dead?”

They replied, “He has died.”

²⁰ At this, David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the Lord’s tent^[f] to worship. Then he went back to his palace where, at his request, they served him food and he ate.

²¹ His staff asked him, “What’s this about? When the child was alive, you fasted and cried. Now that the child has died, you get up and eat!”

²² He answered, “When the child was alive, I fasted and cried. I asked myself, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will show grace to me and the child will live.’ ²³ But now that he has died, what’s the point of fasting? Can I bring him back again? I’ll be going to be with him, but he won’t be returning to me.”

The Birth of Solomon

²⁴ Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba. He went in and had sex with her, and she bore a son whom he named Solomon. The Lord loved him, ²⁵ and sent a message written by Nathan the prophet to call his name Jedidiah,^[g] for the Lord’s sake.

The Ammonites are Defeated

²⁶ Meanwhile, Joab attacked the Ammonite city of^[h] Rabbah and captured its stronghold. ²⁷ Then Joab sent messengers to David to tell him, “I just attacked Rabbah and captured its municipal water supply, ²⁸ so call out the rest of the army, attack the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I’ll take the city myself and name it after me.” ²⁹ So David mustered his entire army and marched on Rabbah, attacked it, and captured it. ³⁰ He confiscated the crown of their king^[i] from his head—it weighed one talent^[j] in gold and was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He confiscated a great amount of war booty that had been plundered from the city, ³¹ brought back the people who had lived in it, placing them under conscripted labor with saws, iron picks, and axes. He did this to every Ammonite city, and then David and his entire army^[k] returned to Jerusalem.

Amnon’s Rape of Tamar

13 Sometime after this, David’s son Amnon fell in love with David’s other^[l] son Absalom’s beautiful sister Tamar. ² Amnon became so emotionally distressed that he fell sick over his half-sister Tamar. She was a virgin, and Amnon found it difficult to do anything to her.

³ Meanwhile, Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man. ⁴ “Why are you so depressed these past few mornings,”^[m] Jonadab^[n] asked Amnon, “since you’re a son of the king? Why not tell me?”

Amnon replied, “I’m in love with my brother Absalom’s sister Tamar.”

⁵ Jonadab advised him, “Lie down and pretend to be sick. When your father visits you, ask him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat that she prepares especially for me,^[o] and after she makes dinner for me, let her feed it to me personally.’”^[p]

⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to visit him, Amnon asked the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make some of her bread especially for me,^[q] so she can feed it to me personally.”^[r]

⁷ So David sent for Tamar back at the palace, telling her, “Please go to your brother Amnon’s home and prepare some food for him.” ⁸ Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s home, where he was lying down. She brought along some dough, kneaded it, prepared some cakes especially for him,^[s] baked them, ⁹ and emptied the baking skillet just for him, but he refused to eat.

“Send everybody out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left the room. ¹⁰ Amnon told Tamar, “Bring the food into my private bedroom, so I can eat it with you personally.”^[t] So Tamar took the cakes she had prepared and brought them into the private bedroom for her brother Amnon.

¹¹ But as soon as she brought them near him to eat, he overpowered her and told her, “Come here and have sex with me, my sister!”

¹² “No, my brother!” she kept telling him. “Don’t humiliate me like this! This just isn’t done in Israel! Don’t do this utterly foolish thing! ¹³ And what about me? Where will I go to escape^[u] this disgrace? And as for you, you’ll be known as one of Israel’s greatest fools! So please talk to the king, because he won’t withhold me from you!”

¹⁴ But he was unwilling to listen to what she was saying. Since he was stronger than she was, he forced her into having sex with him. ¹⁵ Afterwards, though, Amnon hated her very intensely. As a result, his hatred for her exceeded the love that he had previously for her. So Amnon told her, “Get up! Leave!”

¹⁶ Even so, she tried to tell him, “No! After all, it’s more wrong to send me away than what you just did to me!”

But he was unwilling to listen to her. ¹⁷ So he called out to a young man who was serving him, and told him: “Send this woman away from me and lock the door after her.”

¹⁸ Now she was clothed in a long sleeved, multi-colored ornamental tunic, commonly worn by the king’s virgin daughters. When Amnon’s^[v] servant threw her out and locked the door after her, ¹⁹ Tamar rubbed her head with ashes, tore her tunic that she was wearing, put her hand to her head, and ran off, crying aloud as she went away.

Absalom’s Plans Revenge

²⁰ Later, her brother Absalom asked her, “Has Amnon, that brother of yours, raped^[w] you? Then keep quiet about your half-brother for now, my sister. Stop taking this so personally.”^[x] From that time on, Tamar lived in continuous desolation within her brother Absalom’s house. ²¹ When King David heard all about these developments, he flew into a rage over it. ²² But Absalom never said a word, either good or bad, to Amnon. Nevertheless, he hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar.

Absalom’s Men Kill Amnon

²³ Two full years later, Absalom took some men to Baal-hazor near Ephraim to shear his sheep. He^[y] also invited all of the king’s sons to come. ²⁴ Absalom had gone to the king to ask him, “I’ve brought some men to shear the sheep. Won’t you please come and join me, along with your senior staff?”

²⁵ But King David declined,^[z] saying to Absalom, “No, my son, we won’t all go, since that would be too much trouble for you.” Although Absalom begged David, he would not go, even though he did give his blessing.

²⁶ So Absalom responded, “If you aren’t coming, please allow my brother Amnon to accompany us.”

The king asked, “Why should he go with you?”

²⁷ But Absalom kept begging David^[aa] until he sent Amnon and all of David’s^[ab] sons to accompany Absalom.

²⁸ Then Absalom instructed his young men, “Please keep watching Amnon until he’s drunk. Then I’ll tell you, ‘Attack Amnon!’ As soon as I do, kill him and don’t be afraid! You have your orders, so be strong and brave!” ²⁹ So Absalom’s young men did to Amnon just as they had been^[ac] ordered, but the rest of David’s sons jumped up, mounted their mules, and escaped.

³⁰ While they were still on the road, this rumor came to David: “Absalom has struck down all of the king’s sons and none of them has survived.” ³¹ David arose, ripped his clothes in anguish,^[ad] and collapsed to the ground while all of his staff stood by with their own clothes torn.

³² But David’s brother Shimeah’s son Jonadab reported, “Your majesty, don’t assume they’ve killed all of the young men—the king’s sons—only Amnon has died, since that was Absalom’s intention from the day Amnon raped^[ae] his sister Tamar. ³³ Now your majesty, don’t be concerned about this rumor that all the king’s sons have died, because only Amnon is dead.”

³⁴ Meanwhile, Absalom had run away. While the young man standing watch was looking around, all of a sudden he observed many people coming down the road behind and to the west of the mountain! So the watchman left his post and reported, “I have seen men coming from the direction of Horonaim.”^[af]

³⁵ Jonadab told the king, “Look! Here come the king’s sons. This thing has turned out just like your servant reported.” ³⁶ Just as he finished his comments, the king’s sons arrived, crying loudly. At this, with tears overflowing, the king and his entire staff wept bitterly.

³⁷ Absalom continued to flee, eventually going to Ammihud’s son King Talmai of Geshur, while King David continued to mourn for his son every day. ³⁸ After fleeing to Geshur, Absalom remained there for three years. ³⁹ Meanwhile, King David longed to visit Absalom, since he was moved to compassion over Amnon’s death.

Joab’s Plan Regarding Absalom

14 Meanwhile, Zeruiah’s son Joab knew that the king’s attention was focused on Absalom,^{[ag] 2} so he^[ah] sent messengers^[ai] to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please play the role of a mourner, wear the clothes of a mourner, and refrain from using makeup.^[aj] Act like a woman who’s been in mourning for the dead for many days. ³ Then go to the king and speak to him like this…” Then Joab told her what to say.

⁴ When the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, prostrating herself to address him, “Help, your majesty!”

⁵ The king asked her, “What’s your problem?”^[ak]

“I’ve been a widowed woman^[al] ever since my husband died,” she answered. ⁶ “Your humble servant used to have two sons, but they got into a fight out in the field. Because there was no one to keep them apart, one of them attacked the other and killed him. ⁷ Now please pay attention closely! My^[am] whole family is attacking your humble servant! They’re saying, ‘Turn over the one who attacked his brother and we’ll put him to death in retribution for his brother, whose life he took. That way, we’ll kill the heir also!’ They’re going to extinguish the only light^[an] left in my family, leaving my late husband neither an ongoing name nor a survivor on the face of the earth!”

⁸ Then the king replied to the woman, “Go home and I’ll issue a special order just for you.”

⁹ But the woman from Tekoa told the king, “Your majesty, let any guilt for this be on me and on my ancestors’ household, and not on my king or his throne!”

¹⁰ The king replied, “Bring anyone who talks to you about this to me, and he certainly won’t be bothering^[ao] you anymore!”

¹¹ Then she said, “Your majesty, please remember the Lord your God, so that blood avengers don’t do any more damage! Otherwise, they’ll destroy my son!”

So he promised, “As the Lord lives, not even a single hair from your son’s head^[ap] will fall to the ground!”

¹² At this, the woman responded, “Would your majesty the king please allow your humble servant to say one more thing?”

“Say it…”^[aq] he replied.

¹³ “Why, then,” the woman asked, “are you planning to act just like this against God’s people? Based on what your majesty has said, you’re acting like one who is guilty himself, because you’re not bringing back the one whom you’ve banished! ¹⁴ After all, even though we all die,^[ar] and we’re^[as] all like water being spilled on the ground that cannot be recovered, nevertheless God doesn’t take away life, but carries out his plans so as not to cast away permanently from him those who are presently estranged.^[at]

¹⁵ “Now as to why I’ve come to speak with your majesty the king, it’s because the people have made me afraid, so your humble servant told herself,^[au] ‘I’ll go speak to the king, so perhaps the king will do what his humble servant has requested. ¹⁶ Perhaps the king will listen and deliver his humble servant from the oppression^[av] of the man who intends to eliminate both me and my son from what God has apportioned to us!’^[aw]

¹⁷ “So your humble servant is saying, ‘Please, your majesty, let what the king has to say be of comfort, because just as the angel of God is, so also is your majesty the king to discern both good and evil. And may the Lord your God remain present with you.’”

¹⁸ In reply, the king asked the woman, “Please don’t conceal anything about which I’m going to be asking you now.”

So the woman replied, “Please, your majesty, let the king speak.”

¹⁹ Then the king asked, “Is Joab behind all of this with you?”^[ax]

“As your soul lives, your majesty, the king,” the woman answered, “no one can divert anything left or right from what your majesty the king has spoken! As a matter of fact, it was your servant Joab! He was there, giving me precise orders about everything that your humble servant was to say. Your servant Joab did this, ²⁰ intending to change the outcome of this matter. Nevertheless, your majesty is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to be aware of everything that’s going on throughout the earth.”^[ay]

David Authorizes Absalom’s Return

²¹ Then the king addressed Joab, “Look! I’ll do this thing that you’ve requested.^[az] Go bring back the young man Absalom.”

²² At this, Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrating himself to bless the king, and then^[ba] said, “Today your servant realizes that he’s found favor with you, your majesty, in that the king has acted on the request of his servant.” ²³ Then Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.

²⁴ Nevertheless, the king said, “Let him return to his own home and not show his face to me.” So Absalom returned to his own home and did not show his face to the king.

David’s Son Absalom

²⁵ Now throughout all of Israel no one was as handsome as Absalom or so highly praised, from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there wasn’t a single thing wrong about him. ²⁶ Whenever he cut his hair —he cut it at the end of every year, because it grew thick on his head,^[bb] which is why he cut it—his hair weighed in at 200 shekels^[bc] measured by the royal standard.^{[bd] 27} Absalom fathered three sons and one daughter, whom he named Tamar. She was a beautiful woman, both in form and appearance.

²⁸ Meanwhile, Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but never saw the king’s face. ²⁹ After this, Absalom sent for Joab, intending to send him to the king, but Joab^[be] would not come. Absalom^[bf] sent for him a second time, but he still^[bg] would not come. ³⁰ So Absalom^[bh] told his servants, “Observe that Joab’s grain field lies next to mine. He has barley planted there. Go set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹ At this, Joab got up, went to Absalom’s home, and demanded of him, “Why did your servants set fire to my grain field?”

³² In answer to Joab, Absalom replied, “Look, I sent for you, telling you ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask him “What’s the point in moving here from Geshur? I would have been better off to have remained there!”’ So let me see the king’s face, and if I’m guilty of anything, let him execute me!”

³³ So when Joab approached the king and told him what Absalom had said,^[bi] he summoned Absalom, who then came to the king and fell to the ground on his face in front of him.^[bj] Then the king kissed Absalom.

Absalom Instigates Civil War

15 Sometime later, Absalom acquired a chariot equipped with horses and recruited^[bk] 50 men to accompany^[bl] him.^{[bm] 2} Then he^[bn] would get up early, stand near the passageway to the palace^[bo] gate, and when anyone arrived to file a legal complaint for a hearing before the king, Absalom would call to him and ask, “You’re from what city?” If^[bp] he replied, “Your servant is from one of Israel’s tribes,” ³ Absalom would respond, “Look, your claims are valid and defensible, but nobody will listen to you on behalf of the king. ⁴ Who will appoint me to be a judge in the land? When anyone arrived to file a legal complaint or other cause, he could approach me for justice and I would settle it!” ⁵ Furthermore, if a man approached him to bow down in front of him, he would put out his hand, grab him, and embrace him. ⁶ By doing all of this to anyone who came to the king for a hearing, Absalom stole the loyalty^[bq] of the men of Israel.

⁷ And so it was that forty^[br] years after Israel had demanded a king,^[bs] Absalom asked the king, “Please let me go to Hebron so I can pay my vow that I made to the Lord, ⁸ because when I was living at Geshur in Aram, your servant made this solemn promise:^[bt] ‘If the Lord ever brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’”

⁹ The king replied to him, “Go in peace!” So Absalom^[bu] got up and left for Hebron.

¹⁰ But Absalom sent agents throughout all of the tribes of Israel, telling them, “When you hear the sound of the battle trumpet, you’re to announce that Absalom is king in Hebron.” ¹¹ Meanwhile, 200 men left Jerusalem with Absalom. They had been invited to go along, but were innocent, not knowing anything about what was happening.^{[bv] 12} Absalom also sent for Ahithophel^[bw] the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come^[bx] from his home town of Giloh while Absalom^[by] was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.

David Flees from Jerusalem

¹³ Then a messenger arrived to inform David, “The loyalties of the men^[bz] of Israel have shifted to^[ca] Absalom.”

¹⁴ So David told all of his staff who were with him in Jerusalem, “Let’s get up and get out of here! Otherwise, none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he’ll overtake us quickly, bring disaster on all of us, and execute the inhabitants of the city!”

¹⁵ “Look!” the king’s staff replied. “Your servants will do whatever the king chooses.” ¹⁶ So the king left, taking his entire household with him except for ten mistresses,^[cb] who were to keep the palace in order. ¹⁷ The king left, along with all of his people with him, and they paused at the last house. ¹⁸ All of his staff were going on ahead of^[cc] him—that is, all of the special forces^[cd] and mercenaries,^[ce] all of the Gittites, and 600 men who had come to serve^[cf] him from Gath, went on ahead of the king.

¹⁹ Then the king suggested to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you have to go with us? Return and stay with the new^[cg] king, since you’re a foreigner and exile. Stay where you want to stay.^{[ch] 20} It seems only yesterday that you arrived, so should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May gracious love and truth accompany you!”

²¹ “As the Lord lives,” Ittai answered in reply, “and as your majesty the king lives, wherever your majesty my king may be—whether living or dying—that’s where your servant will be!”

²² So David replied, “Come along, then!” So Ittai the Gittite went along also, accompanied by all of his men and all of his little ones. ²³ With all of the people in^[ci] the territory crying loudly, everybody passed over the Kidron brook, along with the king. Then everyone headed out toward the road that leads to the wilderness.

²⁴ Meanwhile, Zadok showed up also, along with all of the descendants of Levi with him, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God and Abiathar approached while all the people finished abandoning the city. ²⁵ The king told Zadok, “Take the Ark of God back to the city. If I’m shown favor in the Lord’s sight, then he’ll bring me back again and show me both it and the place where it rests.^{[cj] 26} But if he should say something like ‘I’m not pleased with you,’ well then, here I am—let him do to me whatever seems right to him.”

²⁷ The king also asked Zadok the priest, “Aren’t you a seer, too? Go back to the city in comfort, along with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. ²⁸ Look! I’ll camp at the wilderness fords until you send word to inform me.”

²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there. ³⁰ David then left, going up the Mount of Olives,^[ck] crying as he went, with his head covered and his feet bare. All of the people who were with him covered their own heads and climbed up the Mount of Olives,^[cl] crying as they went along.

³¹ Just then, someone told David, “Ahithophel is one of Absalom’s conspirators!”

So David prayed, “Lord, please turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

Hushai Serves as a Spy

³² Just as David was coming to the top of the Mount of Olives where God was being worshipped, there was Hushai the Archite to meet him, with his coat ripped and dust all over his head! ³³ David greeted him, “If you come along with me, you’ll be a burden to me. ³⁴ So go back to the city and tell Absalom, ‘I’ll be your servant, your majesty! Just as I served your father in the past, I can be your servant now.’ That way you can manipulate Ahithophel’s advice to my benefit. ³⁵ Won’t Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? So whatever you hear from the king’s palace, you’re to report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Their two sons—Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan—are with them there. You’ll be sending me everything that you hear through them.” ³⁷ So David’s friend Hushai went back to the city just as Absalom was arriving in Jerusalem.

David’s Experience with His Adversaries

16 Now just as David happened to have passed the summit of the Mount of Olives,^[cm] suddenly Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba met him, accompanied by a couple of saddled donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 pieces of summer fruit, and a skin of wine! ² The king asked Ziba, “What are those for?”

Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for your young men to eat, and the wine is for whoever wants to drink if they get weary in the wilderness.”

³ Then the king asked, “Where is your master’s son?”

“He’s staying in Jerusalem!” Ziba answered the king. “He’s saying ‘The nation^[cn] of Israel will restore my father’s kingdom to me today!’”

⁴ So the king told Ziba, “Pay attention! Everything that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!”

In response Ziba said, “I’m submitting to you. Let me find favor in your sight, your majesty the king!”

Shimei Curses David

⁵ Later on, as King David approached Bahurim, Gera’s son Shimei, who was related to the family of Saul’s household, went out to meet David,^[co] cursing continually as he approached. ⁶ He threw rocks at David and all of David’s staff who were accompanying him, while all the rest of the entourage, including all of David’s security detail, were close by him.^{[cp] 7} “Get out of here!^[cq] Get out!” Shimei yelled as he cursed. “You murderer! You who think you’re above the law!^{[cr] 8} The Lord has repaid you personally for murdering the entire dynasty of Saul, whose place you’ve taken to reign! And the Lord has given the kingdom into your son Absalom’s control. Now look! Your own evil has caught up with you, because you’re guilty of murder!”

⁹ At this point, Zeruiah’s son Abishai asked the king, “Why should this dead dog be cursing your majesty the king? May I have permission to go over and cut off his head?”

¹⁰ But the king responded, “What do I have in common with you sons of Zeruiah? If he continues to curse—and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David!’—then who are you to be demanding to know^[cs] ‘Why have you done this?’”

¹¹ So David ordered Abishai and all of his staff: “Look! My own son wants to kill me! How much more now is this descendant of Benjamin? Leave him alone and let him go on cursing, because the Lord has ordered him to do this.^{[ct] 12} Perhaps the Lord will take note of my troubles and return good to me instead of curses today!”

¹³ So David and his entourage went on their way, and Shimei walked along the hillside with him, cursing, throwing rocks, and tossing dirt at David^[cu] as they went along. ¹⁴ Eventually, the king and his entourage arrived exhausted at their destination, and David^[cv] refreshed himself there.

Absalom Captures Jerusalem

¹⁵ Right about then, Absalom and his entourage from the people of Israel entered Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. ¹⁶ When David’s friend Hushai the Archite approached Absalom, Hushai greeted Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷ But Absalom asked Hushai, “So this is how you demonstrate your loyalty^[cw] to your closest friends? Why didn’t you leave with your friend?”

¹⁸ Hushai replied, “No! On the contrary, whomever the Lord, this group, and all the men of Israel choose is where I’ll be, and I’ll remain with him! ¹⁹ Besides, who else should I be serving? Why not the son? The same way I served your father, I’ll serve you.”^[cx]

Ahithophel Counsels Absalom

²⁰ So Absalom asked Ahithophel, “What’s your advice? What should we do?”

²¹ Ahithophel responded, “Go inside and have sex with your father’s mistresses^[cy], whom he left to keep the palace in order. Then everyone in Israel will hear how your father has come to hate you and everyone who has joined you will be emboldened to act.” ²² So they erected a tent for Absalom on the palace roof and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s mistresses right in front of all Israel.

Ahithophel Tries to Crush David’s Supporters

²³ Now Ahithophel’s advice that he provided at that time was being compared to one who inquired of God, so highly regarded was Ahithophel’s counsel by both David and Absalom. 17 ¹ “Give me 12,000 men! I’ll leave^[cz] tonight and pursue David,” Ahithophel advised Absalom. ² “I’ll catch him while he is still tired and weak.^[da] I’ll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I’ll only kill the king. ³ Then I’ll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you’re looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly.”

⁴ Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, ⁵ Absalom replied, “Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!” ⁶ When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, “Here’s what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!”

Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice

⁷ “Ahithophel’s advice is not best at this time,” Hushai suggested to Absalom. ⁸ “You know how strong your father and his men are. They’re as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won’t stay with his army at night. ⁹ Look! He’s probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, ‘Absalom’s army is losing!’ ¹⁰ Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! ¹¹ So here’s my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other!^[db] You’ll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you’ll go into battle! ¹² We’ll go find David wherever he’s hiding. We’ll fall on him like dew on the ground! We’ll kill him and all of his men, and we won’t leave even one man alive! ¹³ If he escapes into a city, we’ll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won’t leave a single stone left in the valley!”

¹⁴ Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel’s!”

Hushai Warns David

But the Lord had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the Lord could bring Absalom to destruction. ¹⁵ So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported what he himself had proposed. Hushai said, ¹⁶ “Quick! Get word to David! Tell him not to spend the night at the crossings that lead to the desert. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately. That way, if he crosses the river, the king and his entourage^[dc] will survive.”

¹⁷ Meanwhile, since they could not risk being seen entering the city, Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at En-rogel, where a young servant woman was to go to inform them and they would then go brief King David. ¹⁸ But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard. ¹⁹ The man’s wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place.^[dd]

²⁰ When Absalom’s servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

“They’ve already crossed the brook,” the woman answered. So Absalom’s servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn’t find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, “Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you…” ²² So David got up and all of his entourage crossed the Jordan River.^[de] Everyone had crossed the Jordan River by dawn’s first light.

Ahithophel’s Suicide

²³ Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged^[df] himself. After his death he was buried in his father’s tomb.

David Receives Supplies in the Wilderness

²⁴ Later, David arrived at Mahanaim. Absalom and all of the Israelis who supported him crossed the Jordan River. ²⁵ Absalom had installed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite. His mother was Abigail, a daughter of Nahash and a sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.) ²⁶ Absalom and the Israelis with him^[dg] camped in the territory of Gilead. ²⁷ When David arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi (Nahash’s son from the Ammonite town of Rabbah), Makir (Ammiel’s son from Lo-debar), and Barzillai (from Rogelim in Gilead) were already there. ²⁸ They brought along bedding, bowls, clay basins, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grains, beans, peas, ²⁹ honey, cheeses,^[dh] sheep, and cheese made from cow’s milk for David and his entourage because they had been reasoning, “The people are hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the wilderness.”

The Battle Begins

18 David mustered his forces and appointed officers in charge of regiments and companies.^{[di] 2} Dividing his forces into three groups, he set Joab as commander of one third of his army, Zeruiah’s son Abishai, Joab’s brother, as commander of another third, and Ittai from Gath as commander of another third. The king informed the army, “I’m going out to battle^[dj] with you, too.”

³ “No way!” his army responded. “If we have to retreat from the battle, Absalom’s men won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care about us. But you are worth 10,000 of us. The best thing you can do for us is to remain in the city.”

⁴ So David responded, “I’ll do what you think best.” Then he stood alongside the city gate as the army went out in battle array by hundreds and thousands. ⁵ As they were going out, the king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat young Absalom gently for my sake.” Everyone heard what the king had ordered his commanders about Absalom.

⁶ David’s army left for the battlefield to fight Absalom and his Israeli followers, and they also fought in the Ephraim forest, ⁷ where David’s army of servants defeated the Israelis. Many died that day—20,000 men. ⁸ The battle spread throughout the entire countryside, and the forest claimed more casualties that day than did the sword fighting.

Joab Kills Absalom

⁹ Absalom happened to run into David’s soldiers. While Absalom was trying to get away on his mule, it ran under the thick branches of a giant oak tree, and Absalom’s head got caught in the tree! As his mule ran out from under him, Absalom was left hanging above the ground. ¹⁰ When one of the soldiers saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I saw Absalom stuck in an oak tree!”

¹¹ Joab asked the man who was reporting to him, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you kill him right then and there? I would’ve given you ten pieces^[dk] of silver and a warrior’s sash!”^[dl]

¹² But the soldier replied to Joab, “I wouldn’t have touched the king’s son even if you dropped 1,000 pieces^[dm] of silver right into my hands, because we heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Watch how you treat the young man Absalom!’ ¹³ If I had taken his life,^[dn] the king would have uncovered everything about it, and you would never have protected me!”

¹⁴ “There’s no reason to wait for you!” Joab retorted. Then he took three spears^[do] in his hand and stabbed Absalom in the heart while he was still alive, dangling from the branches of^[dp] the oak tree. ¹⁵ Ten young men who served as Joab’s personal assistants then surrounded Absalom, striking him repeatedly and killing him. ¹⁶ At this, Joab sounded his battle trumpet and his troops stopped pursuing the other^[dq] Israelis. ¹⁷ Meanwhile, Joab’s army grabbed Absalom’s body, tossed it into a large pit in the forest, and filled it up with a huge pile of rocks. Then the Israelis ran away back to their homes.

¹⁸ While Absalom had been living, he had erected a pillar as a monument^[dr] to himself in King’s Valley because he had been telling himself, “I don’t have a son to carry on my family name.”^[ds] So he named the pillar after himself—it’s called Absalom’s Monument even today.

David Learns of Absalom’s Death

¹⁹ Zadok’s son Ahimaaz told Joab, “Let me run over to King David and take him the news. I’ll mention that the Lord has delivered him from his enemies.”

²⁰ But Joab answered Ahimaaz, “You’re not the man to deliver news today. Do it any other time, but not today, because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹ So Joab ordered a man from Ethiopia,^[dt] “Go tell the king what you’ve seen.” So the Ethiopian^[du] saluted^[dv] Joab and then ran to tell David.

²² “Please,” Zadok’s son Ahimaaz continued, “No matter what happens, let me follow the Ethiopian!”

Joab asked him, “Why this request^[dw] to run, my son? There’s no reward in it for you.”

²³ “No matter what, I’m running,” Ahimaaz replied.^[dx]

So Joab told Ahimaaz, “Run!” And Ahimaaz ran, taking the Jordan Valley road, passing the Ethiopian.

²⁴ Meanwhile, David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the city. The watchman was up on the roof of the gateway near the walls, looking around, and there was a man running by himself! ²⁵ So the watchman^[dy] called out his news to the king.

The king responded, “If he’s alone, he’s bringing some news to report.”^[dz] As the man continued to draw near and approach the palace,^{[ea] 26} the watchman observed another man running. So he called out to the gatekeeper, “There’s another^[eb] man running by himself!”

The king replied, “He’s also bringing some news to report!”

²⁷ Then the watchman observed, “It looks to me that the runner out in front is running like Zadok’s son Ahimaaz!”

The king replied, “This is a good man bearing good news!”

²⁸ “Everything’s fine!”^[ec] Ahimaaz announced to the king. He bowed low with his face to the ground^[ed] before the king and said, “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has handed over the men who rebelled against your majesty the king.”

²⁹ “Are things fine^[ee] with respect to the young man Absalom?” the king asked.

Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a lot of confusion about the time Joab was getting ready to send the king’s courier and me, your servant, but I’m not sure what was going on.”^[ef]

³⁰ The king replied, “Stand here at attention and wait.” So he stepped to the side and stood there waiting.

³¹ Just then the Ethiopian arrived. He^[eg] reported, “Good news, your majesty the king! The Lord has delivered you from the control of everyone who rebelled against you!”

³² The king asked the Ethiopian, “Is the young man safe?”

The Ethiopian answered, “May the enemies of your majesty the king—including everyone who rebels and tries to harm you—become like that young man….”

David Mourns for Absalom

^33 [eh]Deeply shaken, the king went up to the chamber overlooking the city gate, weeping bitterly and crying out as he went along, “My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you, Absalom my son, my son!”

Joab Rebukes David

19 ^[ei]Someone informed Joab, “The king is weeping bitterly, mourning for Absalom.” ² The victory had become an occasion for the army to mourn, because on that very day the troops heard the announcement, “The king is grieving for his son!” ³ So men snuck into the city that day like men do who are ashamed after they’ve run away from a battle.

⁴ Meanwhile, the king veiled his face and kept on crying loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom my son, my son!”

⁵ Joab went up to the palace and rebuked the king: “Today you’ve humiliated your entire army who just saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and mistresses! ⁶ You love those who hate you and hate those who love you! You’ve made it abundantly clear today that your officers and the men under them^[ej] mean nothing to you! I’ve learned today that you would rather have Absalom alive today and all the rest of us dead! ⁷ Now get up and restore the morale of^[ek] your army. I swear by the Lord that if you don’t get out there, you won’t have a single man left in your army^[el] by nightfall! You’ll be in more trouble today than all the disasters you’ve been through from your boyhood until now!” ⁸ So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the army was informed, “The king is sitting in the gateway!” they all gathered together in his presence.

David is Reinstated as King

Meanwhile, the Israelis had run away back to their own homes. ⁹ Throughout the tribes of Israel, everyone was quarreling with one another:

“The king delivered us from the domination of our enemies….”

“He’s the one who rescued us from Philistine control….”

“Now he’s fleeing the country because of Absalom…!”

¹⁰ “The very same Absalom we anointed to rule just died in battle…!”

“Now then, why remain silent about bringing the king back…?”

¹¹ So King David sent this message^[em] to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Ask the elders of Judah, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his palace, considering that what’s being reported throughout all of Israel has come to the king at his palace? ¹² You’re my relatives! You’re my own flesh and blood! So why are you the last to bring back the king?’ ¹³ Then ask Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my own flesh and blood? So may God deal with me, no matter how severely, if from this day forward you don’t take Joab’s place as commander of my army.’

¹⁴ By doing things like this,^[en] he persuaded all the men of Judah to unite in support of him.^[eo] They sent the king this message: “Come on back, you and all of your army!” ¹⁵ So the king returned to Israel as far as the Jordan River.^[ep]

Shimei is Shown Mercy

The men of Judah went out as far as Gilgal to greet the king and escort him across the Jordan River ¹⁶ while Gera’s son Shimei,^[eq] a descendant of Benjamin from Bahurim, accompanied them to meet King David. ¹⁷ Ziba, the steward in charge of Saul’s household, and 1,000 descendants of Benjamin accompanied him, along with Ziba’s fifteen sons and 20 servants. They rushed toward the Jordan River ahead of the king ¹⁸ and forded it to assist the king at the crossing so he could do whatever he wished.

Just as the king was about to ford the Jordan River, Gera’s son Shimei fell down in front of the king ¹⁹ and addressed him,^[er] “May your majesty not hold me guilty. Don’t remember how your servant did wrong the day your majesty the king left Jerusalem. May the king not let it burden his heart, ²⁰ because your servant knows that I have sinned, but today I have come here as the first one from the entire house of Joseph to meet your majesty the king.”

²¹ But Zeruiah’s son Abishai asked, “Why shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this? After all, he cursed the Lord’s anointed!”

²² David replied, “What do you sons of Zeruiah have in common with me?^[es] You’ve become my enemies today! Should anyone be executed in Israel today? Don’t you know that I’ve been reinstated as king over Israel today?” ²³ Then the king addressed Shimei, “You won’t die!” affirming his promise with an oath.

David Meets Mephibosheth

²⁴ Meanwhile, Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth also went out to greet 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. ²⁵ When he arrived from Jerusalem to greet the king, the king asked him, “So why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?”

²⁶ He replied, “Well, your majesty, since your servant is lame, I told myself, ‘I’ll have my donkey saddled and I’ll ride on it so I can leave with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me ²⁷ by slandering your servant to your majesty.^[et] But your majesty the king is like an angel from God: so do what you think is best. ²⁸ Everyone from my grandfather’s household deserved nothing but death from your majesty the king, but you provided a place for your servant among those who have been eating from your table. So what right do I have to ask for anything more from the king?”

²⁹ In response, the king told him, “What’s the point of us talking anymore? My decision is that you and Ziba divide the fields.”

³⁰ But Mephibosheth told the king, “Let him take all of it, now that your majesty the king has returned safely to his palace.”

David’s Mercy for Barzillai

³¹ Barzillai the Gileadite also had come down from Rogelim to cross the Jordan River with the king and to see him on his way from there. ³² Now Barzillai was a very old man at the age of 80 years. A very wealthy man, Barzillai^[eu] had provided for king David during his sojourn in Mahanaim.^{[ev] 33} So the king invited Barzillai, “Cross the Jordan River^[ew] with me, live with me in Jerusalem, and I’ll provide for you there.”^[ex]

³⁴ “How many more years do I have to live,” Barzillai replied to the king, “that I should move to Jerusalem with the king? ³⁵ I’m now 80 years old! I can hardly tell the difference between what tastes^[ey] good or bad! I can’t tell what I eat or drink! I can’t hear the voice of men and women when they sing! So why should your servant be an added burden to your majesty the king? ³⁶ Your servant will cross the Jordan River^[ez] with the king for a short distance, but why should the king offer me this reward? ³⁷ Please let your servant return so I can die in my own home town near the grave of my father and mother. Meanwhile, here is your servant Chimham!^[fa] Let him accompany your majesty the king. Please do for him whatever seems best to you.”

³⁸ So the king answered, “Chimham will accompany me, and I’ll do for him whatever seems best to you! I’ll do anything for you that you want!” ³⁹ Then all the people crossed the Jordan River,^[fb] followed by the king. The king embraced^[fc] Barzillai, blessed him, and then Barzillai^[fd] returned to his home.^{[fe] 40} As the king crossed over the Jordan River^[ff] to Gilgal, Chimham accompanied him, as did all the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel.

Petty Quarrels Arise between Israel and Judah

⁴¹ Not long afterward, all the men of Israel started coming to the king, complaining to him,^[fg] “Why did our relatives in Judah’s army sneak you away, taking the king and his household over the Jordan River,^[fh] along with David’s army?”

⁴² Everybody from Judah shouted to the men from Israel, “We did this because the king is closely related to us. So why are you angry about this? Have we lived off^[fi] the king’s expense? Have we appropriated anything for ourselves?”

⁴³ But the men from Israel answered the men from Judah: “We^[fj] represent ten of the tribes^[fk] of Israel! So we^[fl] have more right to David than you^[fm] do! Why haven’t you^[fn] taken us^[fo] seriously? Weren’t we^[fp] the first to talk about bringing back our^[fq] king?” But what the people of Judah had to say was harsher than what the people of Israel were saying.

Sheba’s Rebellion

20 Right about then, Bichri’s son Sheba, an ungodly man^[fr] from the tribe of Benjamin, sounded a battle trumpet and announced:

² So all of the other Israeli soldiers^[fs] abandoned David to follow Bichri’s son Sheba, while the army of Judah remained with the king all the way from the Jordan River^[ft] to Jerusalem.

³ When David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, the king took the ten mistresses^[fu] whom he had left behind to keep the palace in order and placed them in a separate house, providing for them under the care of a protective guard. He never visited them again, so they were under care until they died, living as if their husbands had died.

⁴ Meanwhile, David ordered Amasa, “Muster the army of Judah here within three days, and be here yourself!”

⁵ But when Amasa went out to muster the army of^[fv] Judah, he delayed to act within the time allotted to him. ⁶ So David told Abishai, “Now Bichri’s son Sheba is about to do more damage than did Absalom. So take my personal guards and go after them. Otherwise, he’ll run to one of the fortified cities and escape from us.” ⁷ So Joab’s men, the special forces^[fw] and mercenaries,^[fx] and all of David’s elite forces left Jerusalem in pursuit of Bichri’s son Sheba.

Joab Murders Amasa

⁸ When they arrived at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came out to meet them. Joab was dressed in a soldier’s uniform, over which was a belt that fastened a sword sheath to his thigh. As he walked forward, the sword was exposed. ⁹ Joab asked Amasa, “Is everything going well with you, my brother?” As Joab took Amasa by his beard to greet him, ¹⁰ Amasa did not notice the sword that Joab was holding in his hand. Joab stabbed him in the abdomen, spilling his intestines to the ground in a single stroke and killing him. After this, Joab and his brother pursued Bichri’s son Sheba.

¹¹ One of Joab’s soldiers stood by Amasa while he lay dying^[fy] and announced, “Whoever is in favor of Joab and David, let him follow Joab.” ¹² While Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway, everybody who passed by was stopping to stare at him, so when the soldier saw that all of the army was stopping, he carried Amasa off the highway into a nearby field and covered him with a garment. ¹³ After Amasa^[fz] had been removed from the highway, the rest of the army followed Joab in pursuit of Bichri’s son Sheba.

Sheba Dies at Abel of Beth-maacah

¹⁴ Meanwhile, Sheba traveled throughout the tribes of Israel in the direction of Abel and Beth-maacah, and all of the descendants of Beri^[ga] gathered together and followed him inside. ¹⁵ All of the men who had accompanied Joab arrived and besieged Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah. They threw up a siege ramp against the city rampart and began to batter the wall to demolish it. ¹⁶ Just then a wise woman called out from the city. “Attention!” she said, “Go tell Joab ‘Come here! I want to talk to you!’” ¹⁷ Joab came over and the woman asked him, “Are you Joab?”

“I am,” he answered.

So she told him, “Listen to what your servant has to say!”

“I’m listening,” he replied.

¹⁸ So she said, “In days past, people used to settle a dispute by saying ‘Let’s ask for advice at Abel!’ ¹⁹ I’m one of the peaceful and faithful citizens of Israel. You’re trying to destroy a city that’s a mother in Israel. Why are you devouring the heritage of the Lord?”

²⁰ But Joab replied, “No way! No way! I’m not here to devour or destroy! ²¹ That’s a lie! But there is a man from the Ephraim hill country—he’s known as Bichri’s son Sheba—who has rebelled against King David. Turn him over and I’ll withdraw from the city!”

So the woman replied, “Watch this! His head will be thrown to you over the city wall.” ²² Then the woman wisely went back to her people. They cut off the head of Bichri’s son Sheba and threw it out to Joab, so Joab sounded his battle trumpet and they withdrew from the city. Everybody went back home and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.

²³ Joab commanded the entire army of Israel, Jehoiada’s son Benaiah commanded the special forces^[gb] and mercenaries,^{[gc] 24} Adoram supervised conscripted labor, Ahilud’s son Jehoshaphat was the recorder, ²⁵ Sheva was secretary, Zadok and Abiathar were priests, ²⁶ and Ira the Jairite^[gd] was David’s priest.

Retribution for the Gibeonites

21 One time there was a famine during David’s reign that went on for three straight years. David sought the Lord, who^[ge] said, “Saul and his household are guilty because he executed the Gibeonites.”

² So the king called together the Gibeonites and conferred with them. Now the Gibeonites weren’t part of the nation of Israel, but were the survivors from the Amorites. Although the Israelis had promised to spare them, Saul had started to execute them in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.

³ So David asked the Gibeonites, “What am I to do for you? How am I to make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s heritage?”

⁴ “We’re not looking for mere silver or gold to be paid by Saul or his household to us,” the Gibeonites responded to him. “And it’s not for us to execute anyone in Israel.”

In reply, David^[gf] asked, “So what are you asking me to do for you?”

⁵ They told the king, “The man who consumed us, who planned our destruction—intending to leave us with nothing in the territory of Israel— ⁶ is to have^[gg] seven of his sons turned over to us. We will hang^[gh] them in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah, which belonged to Saul, whom the Lord chose.”

So the king answered, “I will give them.”^{[gi] 7} The king exempted Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the promise to the Lord that existed between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.

⁸ Instead, the king arrested Aiah’s daughter Rizpah’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whom she had borne to Saul, and the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Barzillai the Meholathite’s son Adriel. ⁹ Then he turned them over to the custody of the Gibeonites, who hanged them on the mountain in the presence of the Lord. All seven of them died at the same time. They were executed during the first days of harvest, just as the barley began to be gathered in.

¹⁰ Then Aiah’s daughter Rizpah grabbed some sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock where her children had been hanged^[gj] from the beginning of harvest until the first rain fell from the sky. She would not allow any scavenger birds^[gk] to land on them during the day nor the beasts of the field to approach them^[gl] at night.

¹¹ When David was informed what Rizpah, the daughter of Saul’s mistress^[gm] had done, ¹² David had Saul’s bones and the bones of his son Jonathan removed from the custody of certain men from Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square in Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them—that is, back on the day when the Philistines had killed Saul on Mount^[gn] Gilboa. ¹³ He brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there along with the bones of those who had been hanged, ¹⁴ and they buried Saul’s bones and his son Jonathan’s bones in the territory of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Saul’s^[go] father Kish. After they had done everything that the king commanded, God responded to prayers for the land.^[gp]

Israel Battles Four Giants from Gath^(A)

¹⁵ Afterwards, war broke out between the Philistines and Israel, so David went down to fight the Philistines. David became weary, ¹⁶ and Ishbi-benob, who had been fathered by giants,^[gq] said he intended to kill David. (His bronze spearhead weighed 300 shekels,^[gr] and he carried state-of-the-art^[gs] weaponry.) ¹⁷ But Zeruiah’s son Abishai came to David’s aid, attacked the Philistine, and killed him. After this, David’s army told him, “You’re not going out anymore with us to battle, so Israel’s beacon won’t be extinguished!” ¹⁸ Sometime later after this incident, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who had been fathered by giants. ¹⁹ In yet another battle at Gob, Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite’s son Elhanan killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear resembled that of a weaver’s beam. ²⁰ Later on, there was another battle at Gath, where there was a very tall man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—24 in number—who had also been fathered by giants. ²¹ When he defied Israel, David’s brother Shimeah’s son Jonathan killed him. ²² These four giants, who had been fathered by a giant in Gath, were killed at the hands of David and his servants.

David’s Psalm of Deliverance

22 David composed the words of this song to the Lord the very day the Lord delivered him from the domination^[gt] of all of his enemies, including from Saul’s hands. ² This is what^[gu] he said: