14Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart longed for Absalom. 2So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don't use any cosmetic lotions. A...
13In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. 2Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him...
12The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he h...
11In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2One evening David got up from his bed and...
10In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2David thought, I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent a delegation to express his sympath...
9David asked, Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake? 2Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, Are you Ziba? Yo...
8In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines. 2David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord....
7After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2he said to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent. 3Nathan replied to the king, Wh...
6David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned betwe...
5All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, We are your own flesh and blood. 2In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, 'You will shepherd my peopl...