All the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, &#8220;Because the king is our close relative! Why are you so upset about this? Have we eaten at the king&#8217;s expense?<n id="1" /> Or have we misappropriated anything for our own use?&#8221;

Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab&#8217;s other hand, and Joab<n id="1" /> stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa&#8217;s<n id="2" /> intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal.<n id="3" /> Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.p>

<p class="bodytext">Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba&#8217;s head and threw it out to Joab. Joab<n id="1" /> blew the trumpet, and his men<n id="2" /> dispersed from the city, each going to his own home.<n id="3" /> Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.p>

<p class="poetry">I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan!p> <p class="poetry">You were very dear to me.p> <p class="poetry">Your love was more special to me than the love of women.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">As the war continued between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was becoming more influential<n id="1" /> in the house of Saul.

<p class="bodytext">David was angry because the <sc>Lordsc> attacked<n id="1" /> Uzzah; so he called that place Perez Uzzah,<n id="2" /> which remains its name to this very day.

The ark of the <sc>Lordsc> remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. The <sc>Lordsc> blessed Obed-Edom and all his family.<n id="1" />

So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!&#8217;

But when she took the pan and set it before him, he refused to eat. Instead Amnon said, &#8220;Get everyone out of here!&#8221;<n id="1" /> So everyone left.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Two years later Absalom&#8217;s sheepshearers were in Baal Hazor,<n id="1" /> near Ephraim. Absalom invited all the king&#8217;s sons.

<p class="bodytext">Just as he finished speaking, the king&#8217;s sons arrived, wailing and weeping.<n id="1" /> The king and all his servants wept loudly<n id="2" /> as well.

Absalom acted this way toward everyone in Israel who came to the king for justice. In this way Absalom won the loyalty<n id="1" /> of the citizens<n id="2" /> of Israel.p>

<p class="bodytext">When David reached the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite met him with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

Moreover, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

But he said,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Whatever happens, I want to go!&#8221; So Joab<n id="2" /> said to him, &#8220;Then go!&#8221; So Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Jordan plain, and he passed the Cushite.p>

But my servant<n id="1" /> has slandered me<n id="2" /> to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like an angel of God. Do whatever seems appropriate to you.

<p class="bodytext">So all the people crossed the Jordan, as did the king. After the king had kissed him and blessed him, Barzillai returned to his home.<n id="1" />

David said to the Gibeonites, &#8220;What can I do for you, and how can I make amends so that you will bless<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s inheritance?&#8221;p>

<t /><n id="1" /><p class="bodytext">David sang<n id="2" /> to the <sc>Lordsc> the words of this song when<n id="3" /> the <sc>Lordsc> rescued him from the power<n id="4" /> of all his enemies, including Saul.<n id="5" />

David inquired, &#8220;How were things going?<n id="1" /> Tell me!&#8221; He replied, &#8220;The people fled from the battle and many of them<n id="2" /> fell dead.<n id="3" /> Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!&#8221;