David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

So Joab and his men ¹  marched out to do battle with the Arameans, and they fled before him.

I chase my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until I wipe them out.

I wipe them out and beat them to death; they cannot get up; they fall at my feet.

So the watchman called out and informed the king. The king said, “If he is by himself, he brings good news.” ¹  The runner ²  came ever closer.

a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, ‘Come near so that I may speak to you.’”

So Amasa went out to call Judah together. But in doing so he took longer than the time that the king had allotted him.

After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan ¹  climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream ²  quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.” ³ 

The battle there was spread out over the whole area, and the forest consumed more soldiers than the sword devoured that day.

The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

Then the king said to them, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” So the king stayed beside the city gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

He also killed an impressive-looking Egyptian. ¹  The Egyptian wielded a spear, while Benaiah attacked ²  him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.

When they were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire and had a dagger in its sheath belted to his waist. When he advanced, it fell out. ¹ 

As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him. ¹ 

At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first, ¹  whoever hears about it will say, ‘Absalom’s army has been slaughtered!’

In the spring of the year, at the time when kings ¹  normally conduct wars, ²  David sent out Joab with his officers ³  and the entire Israelite army. ⁴  They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. ⁵ 

Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?”

So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord

Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David also went out and confronted them at the pool of Gibeon. One group stationed themselves on one side of the pool, and the other group on the other side of the pool.

Then the watchman saw another man running. The watchman called out to the gatekeeper, “There is another man running by himself.” The king said, “This one also is bringing good news.”