But the king said, &#8220;What do we have in common,<n id="1" /> you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because the <sc>Lordsc> has said to him, &#8216;Curse David!&#8217;, who can say to him, &#8216;Why have you done this?&#8217;&#8221;

<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;

But David said, &#8220;What do we have in common,<n id="1" /> you sons of Zeruiah? You are like my enemy today! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don&#8217;t you realize that today I am king over Israel?&#8221;

After all, there was no one in the entire house of my grandfather<n id="1" /> who did not deserve death from my lord the king. But instead you allowed me to eat at your own table!<n id="2" /> What further claim do I have to ask<n id="3" /> the king for anything?&#8221;p>

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;

<p class="bodytext">The Gibeonites said to him, &#8220;We<n id="1" /> have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family,<n id="2" /> nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel.&#8221; David asked,<n id="3" /> &#8220;What then are you asking me to do for you?&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">Joab replied to the king, &#8220;May the <sc>Lordsc> your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep &#8211; what have they done? Attack me and my family.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

King Solomon answered his mother, &#8220;Why just request Abishag the Shunammite for him?<n id="1" /> Since he is my older brother, you should also request the kingdom for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!&#8221;p>

This temple will become a heap of ruins;<n id="1" /> everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn,<n id="2" /> saying, &#8216;Why did the <sc>Lordsc> do this to this land and this temple?&#8217;

He asked them, &#8220;How do you advise me<n id="1" /> to respond to these people who said to me, &#8216;Lessen the demands your father placed on us&#8217;?&#8221;<n id="2" />

When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, &#8220;Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news.<n id="1" />

He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, &#8220;Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.&#8221; Elijah<n id="1" /> said to him, &#8220;Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, &#8220;What can I do for you,<n id="1" /> before I am taken away from you?&#8221; Elisha answered, &#8220;May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">Elisha said to the king of Israel, &#8220;Why are you here?<n id="1" /> Go to your father&#8217;s prophets or your mother&#8217;s prophets!&#8221; The king of Israel replied to him, &#8220;No, for the <sc>Lordsc> is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.&#8221;

Elisha said to Gehazi,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Tell her, &#8216;Look, you have treated us with such great respect.<n id="2" /> What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?&#8217;&#8221; She replied, &#8220;I&#8217;m quite secure.&#8221;<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">When Elisha the prophet<n id="1" /> heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, &#8220;Why did you tear your clothes? Send him<n id="2" /> to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.&#8221;

Then the king asked her, &#8220;What&#8217;s your problem?&#8221; She answered, &#8220;This woman said to me, &#8216;Hand over your son; we&#8217;ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.&#8217;

Hazael said, &#8220;How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?&#8221;<n id="1" /> Elisha answered, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.&#8221;<n id="2" />

So the horseman<n id="1" /> went to meet him and said, &#8220;This is what the king says, &#8216;Is everything all right?&#8217;&#8221;<n id="2" /> Jehu replied, &#8220;None of your business!<n id="3" /> Follow me.&#8221; The watchman reported, &#8220;The messenger reached them, but hasn&#8217;t started back.&#8221;