So the <sc>Lordsc> says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, &#8220;None of his line will occupy the throne of David.<n id="1" /> His dead body will be thrown out to be exposed to scorching heat by day and frost by night.<n id="2" />

They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it &#8211; they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever.

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;I will pour out on the kingship<n id="1" /> of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me,<n id="2" /> the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn.<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">When David&#8217;s<n id="1" /> oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry<n id="2" /> with David and said, &#8220;Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit!<n id="3" /> You have come down here to watch the battle!&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The priest replied, &#8220;The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there&#8217;s nothing here.&#8221; David said, &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing like it! Give it to me!&#8221;

Then the king said to the messengers<n id="1" /> who were stationed beside him, &#8220;Turn and kill the priests of the <sc>Lordsc>, for they too have sided<n id="2" /> with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.&#8221; But the king&#8217;s servants refused to harm<n id="3" /> the priests of the <sc>Lordsc>.p>

<p class="bodytext">The leaders of the Philistines asked, &#8220;What about these Hebrews?&#8221; Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time?<n id="1" /> I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">So Achish summoned David and said to him, &#8220;As surely as the <sc>Lordsc> lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you<n id="1" /> serving<n id="2" /> with me in the army.<n id="3" /> I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion<n id="4" /> of the leaders, you are not reliable.<n id="5" />

But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, &#8220;Since they didn&#8217;t go with us,<n id="1" /> we won&#8217;t give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">These words of Ish-bosheth really angered Abner and he said, &#8220;Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating<n id="1" /> loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives<n id="2" /> and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today!<n id="3" />

They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron, saying to the king, &#8220;Look! The head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life! The <sc>Lordsc> has granted vengeance to my lord the king this day against<n id="1" /> Saul and his descendants!&#8221;p>

he<n id="1" /> sent his son Joram<n id="2" /> to King David to extend his best wishes<n id="3" /> and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Toi had been at war with Hadadezer.<n id="4" /> He brought with him various items made of silver, gold, and bronze.<n id="5" />

<p class="bodytext">When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them,<n id="1" /> they<n id="2" /> sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah,<n id="3" /> in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob.<n id="4" />p>

Uriah replied to David, &#8220;The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord&#8217;s soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and have marital relations<n id="1" /> with my wife? As surely as you are alive,<n id="2" /> I will not do this thing!&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, &#8220;While the child was still alive he would not listen to us<n id="1" /> when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Jonadab, the son of David&#8217;s brother Shimeah, said, &#8220;My lord should not say, &#8216;They have killed all the young men who are the king&#8217;s sons.&#8217; For only Amnon is dead. This is what Absalom has talked about<n id="1" /> from the day that Amnon<n id="2" /> humiliated his sister Tamar.

<p class="bodytext">Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests saying, &#8220;Tell the elders of Judah, &#8216;Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back to his palace,<n id="1" /> when everything Israel is saying has come to the king&#8217;s attention.<n id="2" />

The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, &#8220;We have ten shares in the king, and we have a greater claim on David than you do! Why do you want<n id="1" /> to curse us? Weren&#8217;t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?&#8221; But the comments of the men of Judah were more severe than those of the men of Israel.p>

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.)