<p class="bodytext">Ziba said to the king, &#8220;Your servant will do everything that my lord the king has instructed his servant to do.&#8221; So Mephibosheth was a regular guest<n id="1" /> at David&#8217;s table,<n id="2" /> just as though he were one of the king&#8217;s sons.p>

David said, &#8220;I will express my loyalty<n id="1" /> to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal<n id="2" /> to me.&#8221; So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father&#8217;s death.<n id="3" /> When David&#8217;s servants entered the land of the Ammonites,

Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked<n id="1" /> the king. Joab said, &#8220;Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your<n id="2" /> servant!&#8221;p>

So he said to his servants, &#8220;Look, Joab has a portion of field adjacent to mine and he has some barley there. Go and set it on fire.&#8221;<n id="1" /> So Absalom&#8217;s servants set Joab&#8217;s<n id="2" /> portion of the field on fire.p>

<p class="bodytext">The king replied, &#8220;How is the young man Absalom?&#8221; Ahimaaz replied, &#8220;I saw a great deal of confusion when Joab was sending the king&#8217;s servant and me, your servant, but I don&#8217;t know what it was all about.&#8221;

Let me<n id="1" /> return so that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But look, here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever seems appropriate to you.&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">So they got up and crossed over by number: twelve belonging to Benjamin and to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

<p class="bodytext">Now the battle was very severe that day; Abner and the men of Israel were overcome by David&#8217;s soldiers.<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">Now Joab returned from chasing Abner and assembled all the people. Nineteen of David&#8217;s soldiers were missing, in addition to Asahel.

<p class="bodytext">Then the king said to his servants, &#8220;Do you not realize that a great leader<n id="1" /> has fallen this day in Israel?

&#8220;Go, tell my servant David: &#8216;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in?

And you didn&#8217;t stop there, O <sc>Lordsc> God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant&#8217;s family.<n id="1" /> Is this your usual way of dealing with men,<n id="2" /> O <sc>Lordsc> God?

So now, O <sc>Lordsc> God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality.<n id="1" /> Do as you promised,<n id="2" />

so you may gain lasting fame,<n id="1" /> as people say,<n id="2" /> &#8216;The <sc>Lordsc> of hosts is God over Israel!&#8217; The dynasty<n id="3" /> of your servant David will be established before you,

Now, O sovereign <sc>Lordsc>, you are the true God!<n id="1" /> May your words prove to be true!<n id="2" /> You have made this good promise to your servant!<n id="3" />

David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David&#8217;s subjects and brought tribute. The <sc>Lordsc> protected<n id="1" /> David wherever he campaigned.<n id="2" />

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground.<n id="1" /> David said, &#8220;Mephibosheth?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;Yes, at your service.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">So Hanun seized David&#8217;s servants and shaved off half of each one&#8217;s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed,<n id="1" /> and then sent them away.

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>

Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house.p>