The Lord’s spirit spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.

Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him. ¹ 

Ish-bosheth ¹  was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.

The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.”

Look, I will be waiting at the fords of the desert until word from you ¹  reaches me.”

and sent word through Nathan the prophet that he should be named Jedidiah ¹  for the Lord’s sake.

Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God! ¹  May your words prove to be true! ²  You have made this good promise to your servant! ³ 

¹ David sang ²  to the Lord the words of this song when ³  the Lord rescued him from the power ⁴  of all his enemies, including Saul. ⁵ 

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.”

These are the final words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ¹  Israel’s beloved ²  singer of songs:

When he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

So your servant said, ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the Lord your God be with you!’”

Why have you shown contempt for the word of the Lord by doing evil in my ¹  sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife as your own! ²  You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?” ¹  The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth.

These words of Ish-bosheth really angered Abner and he said, “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating ¹  loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives ²  and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today! ³ 

David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ¹  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ²  Press the battle against the city and conquer ³  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ⁴ 

Now send word quickly to David and warn him, ¹  “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert ²  tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, ³  or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.” ⁴ 

That night the Lord told Nathan, ¹ 

Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say. ¹ 

When David got up the next morning, the Lord had already spoken ¹  to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: