<p class="poetry">You widen my path;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">my feet<n id="2" /> do not slip.p>

Then Joab blew the ram&#8217;s horn and all the people stopped in their tracks.<n id="1" /> They stopped chasing Israel and ceased fighting.<n id="2" />

I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle<n id="1" /> them there; they will live there and not be disturbed<n id="2" /> any more. Violent men<n id="3" /> will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning

The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them.p>

Then Absalom sent a message to Joab asking him to send him to the king, but Joab was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message to him, but he still was not willing to come.

<p class="poetry">For I have obeyed the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s commands;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I have not rebelled against my God.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">I chase my enemies and destroy them;p> <p class="poetry">I do not turn back until I wipe them out.p>

<p class="poetry">I wipe them out and beat them to death;p> <p class="poetry">they cannot get up;p> <p class="poetry">they fall at my feet.p>

<p class="poetry">They cry out,<n id="1" /> but there is no one to help them;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">they cry out to the <sc>Lordsc>,<n id="3" /> but he does not answer them.p>

Ish-bosheth<n id="1" /> was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.p>

But he refused to listen to her.<n id="1" /> He overpowered her and humiliated her by raping her.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">The king said, &#8220;Bring to me whoever speaks to you, and he won&#8217;t bother you again!&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">But the king said to Absalom, &#8220;No, my son. We shouldn&#8217;t all go. We shouldn&#8217;t burden you in that way.&#8221; Though Absalom<n id="1" /> pressed<n id="2" /> him, the king<n id="3" /> was not willing to go. Instead, David<n id="4" /> blessed him.p>

<p class="bodytext">Now Mephibosheth, Saul&#8217;s grandson,<n id="1" /> came down to meet the king. From the day the king had left until the day he safely<n id="2" /> returned, Mephibosheth<n id="3" /> had not cared for his feet<n id="4" /> nor trimmed<n id="5" /> his mustache nor washed his clothes.p>

Asahel chased Abner, without turning to the right or to the left as he followed Abner.p>

So David was no longer willing to bring the ark of the <sc>Lordsc> to be with him in the City of David. David left it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

But Uriah stayed at the door of the palace with all<n id="1" /> the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house.p>

<p class="bodytext">But she said to him, &#8220;No I won&#8217;t, for sending me away now would be worse than what you did to me earlier!&#8221;<n id="1" /> But he refused to listen to her.

<p class="bodytext">Then Absalom said, &#8220;If you will not go,<n id="1" /> then let my brother Amnon go with us.&#8221; The king replied to him, &#8220;Why should he go with you?&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">While they were still on their way, the following report reached David: &#8220;Absalom has killed all the king&#8217;s sons; not one of them is left!&#8221;