The Lord thundered ¹  from the sky; the sovereign One ²  shouted loudly. ³ 

So Amasa went out to call Judah together. But in doing so he took longer than the time that the king had allotted him.

From ¹  the three he was given honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of the three.

He received honor from ¹  the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

David inquired, “How were things going? ¹  Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them ²  fell dead. ³  Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!”

So David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. David built all around it, from the terrace inwards.

When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David’s soldiers ¹  fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.

The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them.

If I had acted at risk of my own life ¹  – and nothing is hidden from the king! – you would have abandoned me.” ² 

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 

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

a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, ‘Come near so that I may speak to you.’”

So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba.

On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. ¹  When he approached David, the man ²  threw himself to the ground. ³ 

Surely when wicked men have killed an innocent man as he slept ¹  in his own house, should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove ²  you from the earth?”

“So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd ¹  to make you leader of my people Israel.

Zadok and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. When they positioned the ark of God, Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving ¹  the city.

All the people throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies. He rescued us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

All the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative! Why are you so upset about this? Have we eaten at the king’s expense? ¹  Or have we misappropriated anything for our own use?”

Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will cause greater disaster for us than Absalom did! Take your lord’s servants and pursue him. Otherwise he will secure ¹  fortified cities for himself and get away from us.”