I am willing to shame and humiliate myself even more than this! ¹  But with the slave girls whom you mentioned let me be distinguished!”

So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger ¹  said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

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 

“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.

The king gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake deal gently with the young man Absalom.” Now the entire army was listening when the king gave all the leaders this order concerning Absalom.

Nonetheless, because you have treated the Lord with such contempt ¹  in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.”

Later there was another battle with the Philistines, this time in Gob. On that occasion Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of Rapha.

For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose ¹  you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant. ² 

Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, “What! You saw this? Why didn’t you strike him down right on the spot? ¹  I would have given you ten pieces of silver ²  and a commemorative belt!” ³ 

All the people noticed this and it pleased them. ¹  In fact, everything the king did pleased all the people.

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?

for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told ¹  your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’ ²  That is why your servant has had the courage ³  to pray this prayer to you.

Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me pick out twelve thousand men. Then I will go and pursue David this very night.

The king said to Shimei, “You won’t die.” The king vowed an oath ¹  concerning this.

Prior to this ¹  Absalom had set up a monument ²  and dedicated it to himself in the King’s Valley, reasoning “I have no son who will carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom’s Memorial.

“Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in?

I will cross the Jordan with the king and go a short distance. ¹  Why should the king reward me in this way?

When David later heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner!

and said, “O Lord, I will not do this! ¹  It is equivalent to the blood of the men who risked their lives by going.” ²  So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. ³ 

When one ¹  of the men saw this, he reported it to Joab saying, “I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.