Ish-bosheth ¹  was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.

This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders ¹  of Israel.

He made the sky sink ¹  as he descended; a thick cloud was under his feet.

When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him.

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

Then Mephibosheth ¹  bowed and said, “Of what importance am I, your servant, that you show regard for a dead dog like me?” ² 

Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. All the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants.

So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning ¹  and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time. ² 

King Hiram of Tyre ¹  sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons. They built a palace ²  for David.

Those who carried the ark of the Lord took six steps and then David ¹  sacrificed an ox and a fatling calf.

The king and all the people set out on foot, pausing ¹  at a spot ²  some distance away.

Some time later Absalom managed to acquire ¹  a chariot and horses, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard. ² 

Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth ¹  said to Abner, “Why did you have sexual relations with ²  my father’s concubine?” ³ 

Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. In the course of time David’s son Amnon fell madly in love with her. ¹ 

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

The one who touches them must use an iron instrument or the wooden shaft of a spear. They are completely burned up right where they lie!” ¹ 

Now a wicked man ¹  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ²  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ³  and said, “We have no share in David; we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse! Every man go home, ⁴  O Israel!”

So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, ¹  and Absalom had sex with ²  his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba.

But Barzillai was very old – eighty years old, in fact – and he had taken care of the king when he stayed in Mahanaim, for he was a very rich ¹  man.