He then handed out to each member of the entire assembly of Israel,<n id="1" /> both men and women, a portion of bread, a date cake,<n id="2" /> and a raisin cake. Then all the people went home.<n id="3" />

Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say<n id="1" /> to any of the leaders<n id="2" /> whom I appointed to care for<n id="3" /> my people Israel, &#8220;Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?&#8221;&#8217;p>

Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation<n id="1" /> on the earth? Their God<n id="2" /> went<n id="3" /> to claim<n id="4" /> a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land,<n id="5" /> before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods.<n id="6" />

He placed garrisons throughout Edom,<n id="1" /> and all the Edomites became David&#8217;s subjects. The <sc>Lordsc> protected David wherever he campaigned.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace.<n id="1" /> From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive.<n id="2" />

How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools<n id="1" /> in Israel! Just<n id="2" /> speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.&#8221;

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>

While he was offering sacrifices, Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David&#8217;s adviser,<n id="1" /> to come from his city, Giloh.<n id="2" /> The conspiracy was gaining momentum, and the people were starting to side with Absalom.p>

So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Come on!<n id="2" /> Let&#8217;s escape!<n id="3" /> Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom! Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring<n id="4" /> disaster on us and kill the city&#8217;s residents with the sword.&#8221;<n id="5" />

<p class="bodytext">Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, &#8220;Why should you come with us? Go back and stay with the new<n id="1" /> king, for you are a foreigner and an exile from your own country.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">As David was going up the Mount of Olives, he was weeping as he went; his head was covered and his feet were bare. All the people who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went up.

My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba &#8211; in number like the sand by the sea! &#8211; be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle.

<p class="bodytext">When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and returned to his house in his hometown. After setting his household in order, he hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the grave<n id="1" /> of his father.p>

<p class="bodytext">Now David was sitting between the inner and outer gates,<n id="1" /> and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate at the wall. When he looked, he saw a man running by himself.

<p class="bodytext"><v id="(19:1)" /><n id="1" /> The king then became very upset. He went up to the upper room over the gate and wept. As he went he said, &#8220;My son, Absalom! My son, my son,<n id="2" /> Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Now Mephibosheth, Saul&#8217;s grandson,<n id="1" /> came down to meet the king. From the day the king had left until the day he safely<n id="2" /> returned, Mephibosheth<n id="3" /> had not cared for his feet<n id="4" /> nor trimmed<n id="5" /> his mustache nor washed his clothes.p>

He replied, &#8220;My lord the king, my servant deceived me! I<n id="1" /> said, &#8216;Let me get my donkey saddled so that I can ride on it and go with the king,&#8217; for I<n id="2" /> am lame.

That&#8217;s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled<n id="1" /> against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.&#8221; The woman said to Joab, &#8220;This very minute<n id="2" /> his head will be thrown over the wall to you!&#8221;p>

he<n id="1" /> went and took the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan<n id="2" /> from the leaders<n id="3" /> of Jabesh Gilead. (They had secretly taken<n id="4" /> them from the plaza at Beth Shan. It was there that Philistines<n id="5" /> publicly exposed their corpses<n id="6" /> after<n id="7" /> they<n id="8" /> had killed Saul at Gilboa.)