He turned them over to the Gibeonites, and they executed them on a hill before the <sc>Lordsc>. The seven of them<n id="1" /> died<n id="2" /> together; they were put to death during harvest time &#8211; during the first days of the beginning<n id="3" /> of the barley harvest.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" />

You will cultivate<n id="1" /> the land for him &#8211; you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce<n id="2" /> and it will be<n id="3" /> food for your master&#8217;s grandson to eat.<n id="4" /> But Mephibosheth, your master&#8217;s grandson, will be a regular guest at my table.&#8221; (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)p>

<p class="bodytext">But the soldiers replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;You should not do this!<n id="2" /> For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won&#8217;t be too concerned about us.<n id="3" /> Even if half of us should die, they won&#8217;t be too concerned about us. But you<n id="4" /> are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support.&#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>

So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn&#8217;t live in such a condition.<n id="1" /> Then I took the crown which was on his head and the<n id="2" /> bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

Absalom said to Joab, &#8220;Look, I sent a message to you saying, &#8216;Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message:<n id="1" /> &#8220;Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.&#8221;&#8217; Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!&#8221;p>

<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" />

So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the <sc>Lordsc>

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>

Ira the Jairite was David&#8217;s personal priest.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">When one<n id="1" /> of the men saw this, he reported it to Joab saying, &#8220;I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.

I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city<n id="1" /> in Israel. Why should you swallow up the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s inheritance?&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">He trains<n id="1" /> my hands for battle;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">my arms can bend even the strongest bow.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">He shrouded himself in darkness,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">in thick rain clouds.<n id="2" />p>

His wife then took the covering and spread it over the top of the well and scattered some grain over it. No one was aware of what she had done.p>

The king covered his face and cried out loudly,<n id="1" /> &#8220;My son, Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!&#8221;p>

The three sons of Zeruiah were there &#8211; Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. (Now Asahel was as quick on his feet as one of the gazelles in the field.)

And you didn&#8217;t stop there, O <sc>Lordsc> God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant&#8217;s family.<n id="1" /> Is this your usual way of dealing with men,<n id="2" /> O <sc>Lordsc> God?

However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.p>