David recovers the spoil, and divideth it. and when David came near to the people he faluted them. Chap. xxxj. Purfue; for thou shalt furely overke them, and without fail recover all. So David went, he and the fix huned men that were with him, and came the brook Befor, where thofe that were ft behind, ftayed. to But David purfued, he and four huned men: for two hundred abode beod, which were fo faint that they could go over the brook Befor.) And they found an Egyptian in feld, and brought him to David, and him bread, and he did eat, and they de him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake and twoclafters of raifins: and when bed eaten, his fpirit came again to him: he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any er, three days and three nights. 13 And David faid unto him, To whom get thou? and whence art thou? dhe faid, I am a young man of Egypt yant to an Amalekite, and my mafter ime because three days agone I fell fick. We made an invafion upon the of the Cherethites, and upon the which belongeth to Judah, and upon fouth of Caleb, and we burnt Ziklag hfire. And David faid to him, Canft thou me down to this company? And he Swear unto me by God, that thou neither kill me, nor deliver me into hands of my mafter, and I will bring e down to this company, 16: And when he had brought him behold, they were fpread abroad up all the earth, eating and drinking, and king, becaufe of all the great (poil that bid taken out of the land of the Phies, and out of the land of Judah. And David fmote them from the ight, even unto the evening of the By: and there efcaped not a man of 22 Then anfwered all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of thofe that went with David, and faid, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the fpoil that we have recovered, fave to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23 Then faid David, Ye fhall not do fo my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preferved us, and delivered the company that came againk us into our hand. 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? But as his part is that goeth down to the battel, fo fhall his part be that tarrieth by the ftuff: they hall part alike. 25 And it was fo from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Ifrael unto this day. 26 And when David came to Ziklag he fent of the fpoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, (faying, Behold, a prefent for you, of the fpoil of the enemies of the LORD.) 27 To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were fouth Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, 28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in S phmoth, and to them which were in Efhtemoa, 29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 And to them which were in Hormahi and to them which were in Chor-afhan, and to them which were in Athach, 31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt. CHAP. XXXI. Ow the Philiftines fought againft ave four hundred young men which N Ifracl, and the men of Ifrael fled pon camels, and fied. And David recovered all that the kies had carried away: and David his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to Bither mall nor great, neither fons aghen, neither fpoil, nor any thing bad taken to them: David reco led David took all the flocks, and herds which they drave before thofe canel, and faid, This is Davids fpoil. And David came to the two hunwhich were fo faint that they follow David, whom they had allo to abide at the brook Befor: went forth to meet David, and et the people that were with him, from before the Philiftines, and fell down flain in mount Gilboa, 2 And the Philiftines followed hard up on Saul, and upon his fons, and the Phili fines flew Jonathan and Abinadab, and Malchi-hua, Sauls fons. 3 And the Battel went fore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was fore wounded of the archers. 4 Then faid Saul unto his armour-bearer, Draw thy fword and thruft me through therewith, left thefe uncircumcifed come and thruft me through, and abufe me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was fore afraid: therefore Saul took a fword, and fell upon it. s And when his armour-bearer faw Tidings brought to David Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his fword, and died with him. I. Samuel. of Saul and Jonathans de off his armour,and (ent into the land Philiftines round about,to publish it houfe of their idols, and among the p To And they put his armoar houfe of Afhtaroth: and they faftn body to the wall of Beth-fhan. 6 So Saul died, and his three fons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men that fame day together. 7 And when the men of Ifrael that were on the other fide of the valley, and they that were on the other fide Jordan, faw that the men of Ifrael fled, and that Saul and his fons were dead, they forfook the cities and fled, and the Philiftines came and dwelt in them. 8 And it came to pafs on the morrow, when the Philiftines came to ftrip the flain, that they found Saul and his three fons fallen in mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head, and ftripped N II And when the inhabitants befh-gilead heard of that which the liftines had done to Saul: 12 All the valiant men arofe, and all night, and took the body of Saul the bodies of his fons from the w Beth-than, and came to Jabesh, and them there. 13 And they took their bones, buried them under a tree at Jabeh, fafted feven days. T The Second Book of SAMUEL, otherwife called, CHAP. I. OW it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the flaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag: 2 It came even to pafs on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his cloaths rent, and earth upon his head and fo it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeifance. 3 And David faid unto him, From whence comeft thou? And he faid unto him, Out of the camp of Ifrael am I elcaped. 4 And David faid unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he anfwered, That the people are fled from the battel, and many of the people alfo are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his fon are dead alfo. s And David faid unto the young man that told him, How knoweft thou that Saul and Jonathan his fon be dead? 6 And the young man that told him, faid, As I hapned by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his fpear: and lo, the chariots and horfemen followed hard after him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he faw me, and called unto me: and I anfwered, Here am I. 8 And he faid unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. 9 He faid unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and flay me: for anguish is come upon me, becaufe my life is yet whole in me. 10 So I ftood upon him, and flew him, because I was fure that he could no after that he was fallen; and I tox crown that was upon his head, a bracelet that was on his arm, and brought them hither unto my lord. 11 Then David took hold on his d and rent them, and likewife all th that were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept fafted until even, for Saul and for than his fon, and for the people LORD, and for the houfe of Ifrael,1 they were fallen by the fword. 13 And David faid unto the man that told him, Whence art tho he answered, I am the son of a f an Amalekite. 14 And David faid unto him, Ho thou not afraid to ftretch forth thin to deftroy the LORDS anointed? Is And David called one of the men, and faid, Go near, and him. And he fmote him that he d 16 And David faid unto hi blood be upon thy head: for th hath teftified against thee, faying flain the LORDS anointed. 17 And David lamented lamentation over Saul, and over) his fon, 18 (Alfo he bade them teach dren of Judah the use of the bow: it is written in the book of Jaber 19 The beauty of Ifrael is flain high places: how are the might 20 Tell it not in Gath, publi the ftreets of Askelon: left the of the Philiftines rejoyce, left th ters of the uncircumcifed triumph 21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, no dew, neither let there be rain t Judah make David king. Chap. ij. or helds of offerings: for there the fhield f the mighty is vilely caft away, the hield of Saul, as though be had not been nointed with oyl. 22 From the blood of the flain, from he fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the fword of Saul returned not empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and lealant in their lives, and in their death hey were not divided; they were fwifter eagles, they were ftronger than lions. Ye daughters of Ifrael, weep over who cloathed you in fcarlet, with delights, who put on ornaments of upon your apparel. 25 How are the mighty fallen in the 27. How are the mighty fallen, and the CHAP. II. Nd it came to pafs after this, that David enquired of the LORD, fayShall I go up into any of the cities of dah? And the LORD faid unto him, Go And David faid, Whither fhall I go 12 And he faid, Unto Hebron. So David went up thither, and his two ves alfo, Ahinoam the Jezreelitefs, and bagail Nabals wife the Carmelite. And his men that were with him, David bring up every man with his Bold: and they dwelt in the cities of ebron. 4 Andthe men of Judah came, and there Sanointed David king over the house Judah and they told David, faying, the men of Jabeth-gilead were they Suried Saul. And David fent meffengers unto a of Jaben-gilead, and faid unto Bieffed be ye of the LORD, that ye Sewed this kindness unto your lord, acto Saul, and have buried him. And now the LORD fhew kindness Grath unto you: and I alfo will reyou this kindness, becaufe ye have this thing. herefore now let your hands be And he made him king over Gilead, over the Aburites, and over Jezreel, Afahel fain and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin and over all Ifrael. 10 Ifh-bofheth Sauls fon was forty years old, when he began to reign over Ifrael, and reigned two years: but the houfe of Judah followed David. II (And the time that David was king in Hebron over the houfe of Judah, was feven years and fix months) 12 And Abner the fon of Ner, and the fervants of Ifh-bofheth the fon of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the fervants of David went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they fat down, the one on the one fide of the pool, and the other on the other fide of the pool. 14 And Abner faid to Joab, Let the young men now arife, and play before us. And Joab faid, Let them arife. 15 Then there arofe and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bofheth the fon of Saul, and twelve of the fervants of David. 16 And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his fword in his fellows fide, fo they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. 17 And there was a very fore battel that day and Abner was beaten, and the men of Ifrael, before the fervants of David. 18 And there were three fons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Afahel: and Afahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. 19 And Afahel purfued after Abner,and in going he turned not to the right hand, nor to the left, from following Abner. 20 Then Abner looked behind him, and faid, Art thou Afahel? And he anfwered, I am. 21 And Abner faid to him, Turn thee afide to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Afahel would not turn afide from following of him. 22 And Abner faid again to Afahel, Turn thee afide from following me: wherefore fhould fmite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? 23 Howbeit he refused to turn afide : wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the fpear fmote him under the fifth rib, that the fpear came out behind him, and he fell down there, and died in the fame place: and it came to país, that as many as came to the place where Afahel fell down and died, ftood ftill. 24 Joab alfo and Abishai pursued afte M 3 Abr Afahels burial. II Samuel. Abner revolteth to Dav Abner and the fun went down when haft thou gone in unto my fathers co they were come to the hill of Ammah, bine? that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the children of Benjamin gathered themfelves together after Abner, and became one troop, and food on the top of an hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab, and faid, Shall the fword devour for ever? knoweft thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? 27 And Joab faid, As God liveth, unJefs thou hadft fpoken, furely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. 28 So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people food still, and purfued after Ifrael no more, neither fought they any more. 29 And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and paffed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim. 30 And Joab retured from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of Davids fervants nineteen men and Afahel. 31 But the fervants of David had fmitten of Benjamin and of Abners men so that three hundred and threefcore men died. 32 And they took up, Afahel, and buried him in the fepulchre of his father, which was in Beth-lehem: and Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day. CHAP. III. TOw there wastong war between the 8 Then was Abner very wroth for words of Ifh-bofheth, and faid, An dogs head, which againft Judah do kindness this day unto the houfe of thy father, to his brethren, and t friends, and have not delivered the the hand of David, that thou chargeft day with a fault concerning this won 9 So do God to Abner, and more except as the LORD hath fworn to Da even fo I do to him: 10 To tranflate the kingdom from houfe of Saul, and to fet up the thro David over Ifrael, and over Judah, Dan even to Beer sheba. II And he could not answer Ab word again, because he feared him. 12 And Abner fent meffengerst vid on his behalf, faying, Whofe land? faying allo, Make thy league me, and behold, my hand shall be thee, to bring about all Ifrael unto 13 And he said, Well, I will a league with thee: but one thing quire of thee, That is, Thou shalt n my face, except thou firft bring M Sauls daughter, when thou comeft my face. 14 And David fent meffengers to bofheth Sauls fon, faying, Deliver wife Michal which I efpoufed to mer hundred foreskins of the Philiftines. Is And Ifh-bofheth fent, and foo from her husband, even from Phalt fon of Laish. 16 And her husband went with along weeping behind her to Bahu Now whe of Da pinner third him, Go, 1 vid: but David waxed ftronger and ftronger, and the houfe of Saul, waxed weaker and weaker. 2 And unto David were fons born in Hebron: and his firft-born was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitefs : 3 And his fecond Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite: and the third, Abfalom the fon of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Gethur: 4 And the fourth Adonijah the fon of Haggith: and the fifth, Shephatiah the fon of Abital: And the fixth Ithream, by Eglah Davids wife: thefe were born to David in Hebron. 6 And it came to pafs while there was war between the houfe of Saul and the houfe of David, that Abner made himfelf Arong for the houfe of Saul. 7 And Saul had a concubine, whofe name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: fb befheth said to Abner, Wherefore And he returned. 17 And Abner had communi with the elders of Ifrael, faying fought for David in times paft to b over you. 18 Now then do it, for the Lox spoken of David, faying, By the h my fervant David I will fave my Ifrael out of the hand of the Phil and out of the hand of all their ene 19 And Abner also spake in the Benjamin: and Abner went alfo to in the ears of David in Hebron, a feemed good to Ifrael, and that fe good to the whole houfe of Benjam 20 So Abner came to David to H and twenty men with him: and made Abner and the men that wer him a feaft. 21 And Abner faid unto David, arife, and go, and will gather a unto my lord the king, that the make a league with thee, and the Web Lilleth Alner. Chap. iv. ayeft reign over all that thine heart deerh And David fent Abner away; d he went in peace. 22 And behold, the fervants of Daid and loeb came from pursuing a troop, nd brought in a great fpoil with them: but Abner was not with David in Herop, for he had kent him away, and he gone in peace. When Joab and all the hoft that was hhim, were come, they told Joab, fayAbner the fon of Ner came to the ng, and he hath fent him away, and he gode in peace. Then Joab came to the king and faid, That haft thou done? behold Abner came to thee, Why is it that thou haft rent im away, and he is ghite gone? 15 Thou knoweft Abner the fon of Ner, at he came to deceive thee,and to know going out, and thy coming in, and to ow all that thou doeft. 26 And when Joab was come out from vid, he fent meffengers after Abner, uch brought him again from the well of ah, but David knew it not. 27 And when Abner was returned to birea, Joab took him afide in the gate to zak with him quietly: and more him ere under the fifth rib, that he died, for e blood of Afahel his brother. 28 And afterward when David heard he faid, I and my kingdom are guilt before the LORD for ever, from the bod of Abner the fon of Ner: 29 Let it reft on the bead of Joab, and hall his fathers houfe, and let there not from the houfe of Joab one that hath title, or that is a leper, or that leaneth naftaff, or that falleth on the fword, or ut lacketh bread. So Joab and Abishai his brother slew per, because he had flain their brother hel at Gibeon in the battel. And David faid to Joab, and to all people that were with him, Rent your th, and gird you with fackcloth, and an before Abner. And king David followed the biere. And they buried Abner in Hebron: the king lift up his voice, and wept at grave of Abner,and all the people wept. And the king lamented over Abner, ad, Died Abner as a fool dieth? 34 g hands were not bound, nor thy pet into fetters: as a man falleth bewicked men, fo felleft thou. And all people wept again over him. 35 And when all the people came to afe David to eat meat while it was yet David (ware, faying, So do God to and more alfo, if I tafte bread or ghs elfe, till the fun be down. If-bofheth murdered.” 36 And all the people took notice of it and it pleafed them: as whatsoever the king did, pleafed all the people. 37 For all the people, and all Ifrael underftood that day, that it was not of the king to flay Abner the fon of Ner. 38 And the king faid unto his fervants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Ifrael? 39 And I am this day weak, though anointed king, and thefe men the fons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD fhall reward the doer of evil, according to his wickedness. CHAP. IV. Nd when Sauls fon heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Ifraelites were troubled. 2 And Sauls fon had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the fons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth alfo was reckoned to Benjamin; 3 And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were fojourners there until this day.) 4 And Jonathan Sauls fon, had a fon that was lame of his feet, and was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurfe took him up and fled: and it came to pafs as the made hafte to flee, that he fell, and became lame; and his name was Mephibofheth. 5 And the fons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went and came about the heat of the day to the houfe of Ish-bofheth, who lay on a bed at noon. 6 And they came thither into the midft of the houfe, as though they would have fetched wheat, and they fmote him under the fifth rib; and Rechab and Baanah his brother efcaped. 7 For when they came into the houfe, he lay on his bed in his bed-chamber, and they fmote him,and flew him,and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbofheth unto David to Hebron, and faid to the king, Behold, the head of Ish-bofheth the fon of Saul, thine enemy, which fought thy life, and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his feed. 9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the fons of Rimmon, the Beerothite, and faid unto them,, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my foul out of all adversity, |