So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. ¹  How then could I show ²  my face in the presence of Joab your brother?”

So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner ¹  has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! ² 

But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back? I will go to him, but he cannot return to me!’”

Then Absalom said, “If you will not go, ¹  then let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king replied to him, “Why should he go with you?”

Then Joab got up and came to Absalom’s house. He said to him, “Why did your servants set my portion of field on fire?”

Absalom said to Hushai, “Do you call this loyalty to your friend? Why didn’t you go with your friend?”

But Absalom, whom we anointed as our king, ¹  has died in battle. So now why do you hesitate to bring the king back?” ² 

When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?”

Then the king replied to him, “Why should you continue speaking like this? You and Ziba will inherit the field together.”

I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city ¹  in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”

Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say ¹  to any of the leaders ²  whom I appointed to care for ³  my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?”’

Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone ¹  down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come with us? Go back and stay with the new ¹  king, for you are a foreigner and an exile from your own country. ² 

Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”

Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again spoke to Joab, “Whatever happens, let me go after the Cushite.” But Joab said, “Why is it that you want to go, my son? You have no good news that will bring you a reward.”

Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?”

Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent a message to you saying, ‘Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: ¹  “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.”’ Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!”

Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests saying, “Tell the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back to his palace, ¹  when everything Israel is saying has come to the king’s attention. ²