After all, there was no one in the entire house of my grandfather ¹  who did not deserve death from my lord the king. But instead you allowed me to eat at your own table! ²  What further claim do I have to ask ³  the king for anything?”

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

Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do everything that my lord the king has instructed his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth was a regular guest ¹  at David’s table, ²  just as though he were one of the king’s sons.

But a young man saw them on one occasion and informed Absalom. So the two of them quickly departed and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. There was a well in his courtyard, and they got down in it.

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 

He removed ¹  the people who were in it and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, putting them to work at the brick kiln. This was his policy ²  with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem. ³ 

They confronted ¹  me in my day of calamity, but the Lord helped me. ² 

The king longed ¹  to go to Absalom, for he had since been consoled over the death of Amnon. ² 

After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he remained there for three years.

Benaiah son of Jehoida supervised ¹  the Kerithites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests. ² 

They cry out, ¹  but there is no one to help them; ²  they cry out to the Lord, ³  but he does not answer them.

When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace. ¹  She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord. ² 

So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers ¹  were.

Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see ¹  Absalom.

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 

When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long ¹  and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds ²  according to the king’s weight.

When David reached the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite met him with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

Once he had removed Amasa ¹  from the path, everyone followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

Included with the thirty were the following: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem, ¹ 

Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ¹