When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house, ¹  Michal, Saul’s daughter, came out to meet him. ²  She said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished ³  himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants’ slave girls the way a vulgar fool ⁴  might do!”

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

and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone. ¹  The entire army will return unharmed.” ² 

In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. ¹  The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’”

If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!”

David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

David also brought along the men who were with him, each with his family. They settled in the cities ¹  of Hebron.

He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent. ¹ 

I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated ¹  all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. ² 

The watchman said, “It appears to me that the first runner is Ahimaaz ¹  son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and he comes with good news.”

The beauty ¹  of Israel lies slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

How the warriors have fallen! The weapons of war ¹  are destroyed!

So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to ¹  your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”

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 

David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand: ¹  “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired ²  for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

David was thirsty and said, “How I wish someone would give me some water to drink from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate!”

The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?” ¹  The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth.

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

Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored. ¹ 

While he was offering sacrifices, Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s adviser, ¹  to come from his city, Giloh. ²  The conspiracy was gaining momentum, and the people were starting to side with Absalom.