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

But David’s soldiers had slaughtered the Benjaminites and Abner’s men – in all, 360 men had died!

As he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Leave! Leave! You man of bloodshed, you wicked man! ¹ 

When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him.

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 

But when she took the pan and set it before him, he refused to eat. Instead Amnon said, “Get everyone out of here!” ¹  So everyone left. ² 

He ¹  won over the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man. Then they sent word to the king saying, “Return, you and all your servants as well.”

So all the men of Israel deserted ¹  David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stuck by their king all the way from the Jordan River ²  to Jerusalem. ³ 

The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and we have a greater claim on David than you do! Why do you want ¹  to curse us? Weren’t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?” But the comments of the men of Judah were more severe than those of the men of Israel.

He delivers me from my enemies; ¹  you snatch me away ²  from those who attack me; ³  you rescue me from violent men.

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

“When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, ¹  he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed ²  the traveler who had come to visit him. ³  Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked ⁴  it for the man who had come to visit him.”

Then all the men of Israel began coming to the king. They asked the king, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, sneak the king away and help the king and his household cross the Jordan – and not only him but all of David’s men as well?”

Now a wicked man ¹  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ²  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ³  and said, “We have no share in David; we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse! Every man go home, ⁴  O Israel!”

Joab reported the number of warriors ¹  to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.

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 

David then grabbed his own clothes ¹  and tore them, as did all the men who were with him.

So Ish-bosheth took her ¹  from her husband Paltiel ²  son of Laish.

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him. ¹ 

Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very crafty man.