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¹ AND it was told Joab, Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.² And there was mourning that day among all the people; for the people heard that day how the king was grieved for his son.³ And the people concealed themselves as they entered into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee from battle.⁴ But the king covered his face, and cried with a loud voice, saying, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!⁵ And Joab came into the kings house and said to him, You have shamed this day the faces of all your servants who this day have saved your life and the lives of all your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,⁶ Because you have loved your enemies and hated your friends. For you have declared this day that you have neither noblemen nor servants; for this day I perceive that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, it would have pleased you better.⁷ Now therefore arise, go out and speak comfortingly to your servants; for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you this night; and this will be worse for you than all the evils that have befallen you from your youth until now.⁸ Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate. And all the people came before the king; for Israel had fled every man to his tent.

⁹ And all the people were thinking in all the tribes of Israel and saying, The king delivered us from the hand of all our enemies and rescued us from the hand of the Philistines; so now let us flee from the land and from following Absalom.¹⁰ And Absalom, whom we anointed and made king over us, is dead in battle. And they said every man to his neighbor, Why therefore hesitate to go back with the king?¹¹ Come, therefore, let us bring him back to his house. And the words of the Israelites came to the king.¹² And the king said to them, You are my brethren and my flesh and my bones, why then are you the last to return to the king?¹³ And he said to Amasa, Behold, you are my flesh and my bone. God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of my army permanently instead of Joab.¹⁴ And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man; so that they sent word to the king, saying, Return you and all your servants.¹⁵ So the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring the king over the Jordan.

¹⁶ And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, made haste and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.¹⁷ And Ziba the servant of Saul and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him crossed over and constructed a bridge over the Jordan before the king.¹⁸ And they constructed rafts to bring over the kings household and to do whatever was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was crossing the Jordan;¹⁹ And said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity to me, neither remember that which your servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem; let not my lord the king take it to his heart.²⁰ For your servant does know that I have sinned; therefore, behold, I have come this day the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.²¹ But Abishai the son of Zoriah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORDS anointed?²² And David said, What is it to me and to you, you sons of Zoriah, that you should this day be deceivers to me? Shall any man be put to death this day in Israel? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?²³ Then the king said to Shimei. You shall not die. And the king swore to him.

²⁴ And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king, and he had neither trimmed his beard nor changed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day the king came again in peace.²⁵ And it came to pass, when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, Mephibosheth, why did you not go with me?²⁶ Mephibosheth answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for I said to him, Saddle me an ass that I may ride upon it and go with my lord the king; because your servant is lame.²⁷ And my servant has lied about me, O my lord the king; but you, my lord the king, you are as an angel of God; do therefore what is good in your eyes.²⁸ For all of my fathers house were worthy of death before my lord the king; yet you counted your servant among those who eat at your table. Now therefore I cannot justify myself, neither speak before my lord the king.²⁹ And the king said to him, You have spoken more than enough, I have already commanded that you and Ziba shall divide the fields.³⁰ And Mephibosheth said to the king, Yea, let him take all the produce also forasmuch as my lord the king has come again in peace to his own house.

³¹ Now Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Dobelin and went with the king to conduct him over the Jordan.³² Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old; and he had provided the king with food while he remained at Mahanaim; for he was a very wealthy man.³³ And the king said to Barzillai, Come along with me, and I will feed you with me in Jerusalem.³⁴ And Barzillai said to the king, How many years have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?³⁵ I am this day eighty years old; and I cannot discern between luxury and simple living; neither can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks. Nor can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women. Why then should your servant be a burden to my lord the king?³⁶ Your servant can hardly cross the Jordan with my lord the king; let not my lord the king recompense me with such a reward.³⁷ Let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city and be buried beside the grave of my father and my mother. But behold here is with you your servant Bimham my son; let him go over with my lord the king, and do you to him what seems good in your sight.³⁸ And the king said, Bimham shall go over with me and I will do to him that which seems good to you; and whatever you shall ask of me, that will I do for you.³⁹ And when all the people had crossed the Jordan and the king had crossed also, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him; and he returned to his own place.

⁴⁰ Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Bimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah went on with the king, and also half the people of Israel.⁴¹ And, behold, the men of Israel came to the king and said to him, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen you away and have brought you over the Jordan and all your household and all men of Judah with you?⁴² And all the men of Judah answered and said to the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us; why then are you displeased over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the kings cost? Or has he given us any gifts?⁴³ And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than you; why then did you go ahead of us? We should have been the first to bring back the king. And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.