Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him. ¹ 

Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God! ¹  May your words prove to be true! ²  You have made this good promise to your servant! ³ 

¹ David sang ²  to the Lord the words of this song when ³  the Lord rescued him from the power ⁴  of all his enemies, including Saul. ⁵ 

These are the final words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ¹  Israel’s beloved ²  singer of songs:

When he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?” ¹  The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth.

These words of Ish-bosheth really angered Abner and he said, “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating ¹  loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives ²  and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today! ³ 

David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ¹  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ²  Press the battle against the city and conquer ³  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ⁴ 

Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say. ¹ 

The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and we have a greater claim on David than you do! Why do you want ¹  to curse us? Weren’t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?” But the comments of the men of Judah were more severe than those of the men of Israel.

He said: “The Lord is my high ridge, ¹  my stronghold, ²  my deliverer.

The Lord’s spirit spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.

“So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd ¹  to make you leader of my people Israel.

And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family. ¹  Is this your usual way of dealing with men, ²  O Lord God?

The woman said, “Why have you devised something like this against God’s people? When the king speaks in this fashion, he makes himself guilty, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished.

I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. ¹  But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant ²  asks.

So Joab went to the king and informed him. The king ¹  summoned Absalom, and he came to the king. Absalom ²  bowed down before the king with his face toward the ground and the king kissed him. ³ 

he ¹  sent his son Joram ²  to King David to extend his best wishes ³  and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Toi had been at war with Hadadezer. ⁴  He brought with him various items made of silver, gold, and bronze. ⁵ 

David said, “I will express my loyalty ¹  to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal ²  to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death. ³  When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites,

So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to ¹  your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”