The Lord thundered ¹  from the sky; the sovereign One ²  shouted loudly. ³ 

They confronted ¹  me in my day of calamity, but the Lord helped me. ² 

So David asked the Lord what he should do. ¹  This time ²  the Lord ³  said to him, “Don’t march straight up. Instead, circle around behind them and come against them opposite the trees. ⁴ 

When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David’s soldiers ¹  fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.

But she said to him, “No I won’t, for sending me away now would be worse than what you did to me earlier!” ¹  But he refused to listen to her.

Absalom would then say to him, “Look, your claims are legitimate and appropriate. ¹  But there is no representative of the king who will listen to you.”

But Absalom, whom we anointed as our king, ¹  has died in battle. So now why do you hesitate to bring the king back?” ² 

Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers ¹  and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted.

The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.” ¹ 

Uriah replied to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord’s soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and have marital relations ¹  with my wife? As surely as you are alive, ²  I will not do this thing!”

Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored. ¹ 

The Gibeonites said to him, “We ¹  have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, ²  nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel.” David asked, ³  “What then are you asking me to do for you?”

When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him ¹  in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. ² 

Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely ¹  if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”

Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite – Recab and Baanah – went at the hottest part of the day to the home of Ish-bosheth, as he was enjoying his midday rest.

When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, act decisively. For at that moment the Lord is going before you to strike down the army ¹  of the Philistines.”

David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family ¹  and appointed me as leader over the Lord’s people Israel.

When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long ¹  and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds ²  according to the king’s weight.

When I catch up with ¹  him he will be exhausted and worn out. ²  I will rout him, and the entire army that is with him will flee. I will kill only the king

The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”