2.Samuel 19 | King James Version

1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. 2 And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. 3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! 5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; 6 In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. 7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. 8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit 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 at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom. 10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? 11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house. 12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? 13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. 14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants. 15 So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan. 16 And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. 17 And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. 18 And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king' household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan; 19 And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. 20 For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king. 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD' anointed? 22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? 23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him. 24 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. 25 And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth? 26 And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame. 27 And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes. 28 For all of my father' house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king? 29 And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land. 30 And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house. 31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man. 33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. 34 And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? 35 I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? 36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward? 37 Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee. 38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee. 39 And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place. 40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel. 41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David' men with him, over Jordan? 42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king' cost ? or hath he given us any gift? 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 ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

New International Reader’s Version

1 Someone told Joab, ‘The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. He’s filled with sadness because his son has died.’ 2 The army had won a great battle that day. But their joy turned into sadness. That’s because someone had told the troops, ‘The king is filled with sorrow because his son is dead.’ 3 The men came quietly into the city that day. They were like fighting men who are ashamed because they’ve run away from a battle. 4 The king covered his face. He cried loudly, ‘My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!’ 5 Then Joab went into the king’s house. He said to him, ‘Today you have made all your men feel ashamed. They have just saved your life. They have saved the lives of your sons and daughters. And they have saved the lives of your wives and concubines. 6 You love those who hate you. You hate those who love you. The commanders and their troops don’t mean anything to you. You made that very clear today. I can see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. 7 Now go out there and cheer up your men. If you don’t, you won’t have any of them left with you by sunset. That will be worse for you than all the troubles you have ever had in your whole life. That’s what I promise you in the LORD’s name.’ 8 So the king got up and took his seat in the entrance of the city gate. His men were told, ‘The king is sitting in the entrance of the gate.’ Then all of them came and stood in front of him. While all of that was going on, the Israelites had run back to their homes.

David returns to Jerusalem

9 People from all the tribes of Israel began to argue among themselves. They were saying, ‘The king saved us from the power of our enemies. He saved us from the power of the Philistines. But now he has left the country to escape from Absalom. 10 We anointed Absalom to rule over us. But he has died in battle. So why aren’t any of you talking about bringing the king back?’ 11 King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. David said, ‘Speak to the elders of Judah. Tell them I said, “News has reached me where I’m staying. People all over Israel are talking about bringing me back to my palace. Why should you be the last to do something about it? 12 You are my relatives. You are my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to bring me back?” 13 Say to Amasa, “Aren’t you my own flesh and blood? You will be the commander of my army for life in place of Joab. If that isn’t true, may God punish me greatly.” ’ 14 So the hearts of all the men of Judah were turned towards David. All of them had the same purpose in mind. They sent a message to the king. They said, ‘We want you to come back. We want all your men to come back too.’ 15 Then the king returned. He went as far as the River Jordan. The men of Judah had come to Gilgal to welcome the king back. They had come to bring him across the Jordan. 16 Shimei, the son of Gera, was among them. Shimei was from Bahurim in the territory of Benjamin. He hurried down to welcome King David back. 17 There were 1,000 people from Benjamin with him. Ziba, the manager of Saul’s house, was with him too. And so were Ziba’s 15 sons and 20 servants. All of them rushed down to the River Jordan. That’s where the king was. 18 They went across at the place where people usually cross it. Then they brought the king’s family back over with them. They were ready to do anything he wanted them to do. Shimei, the son of Gera, had also gone across the Jordan. When he did, he fell down flat with his face towards the ground in front of the king. 19 He said to him, ‘You are my king and master. Please don’t hold me guilty. Please forgive me for the wrong things I did on the day you left Jerusalem. Please forget all about them. 20 I know I’ve sinned. But today I’ve come down here to welcome you. I’m the first member of Joseph’s whole family to do it.’ 21 Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said, ‘Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for what he did? He cursed you. And you are the LORD’s anointed king.’ 22 But David replied, ‘You and Joab are sons of Zeruiah. What does this have to do with you? What right do you have to interfere? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t I know that today I am king over Israel again?’ 23 So the king made a promise to Shimei. He said to him, ‘You aren’t going to be put to death.’ 24 Mephibosheth was Saul’s grandson. He had also gone down to welcome the king back. He had not taken care of his feet. He hadn’t trimmed his moustache or washed his clothes. He hadn’t done any of those things from the day the king left Jerusalem until the day he returned safely. 25 He came from Jerusalem to welcome the king. The king asked him, ‘Mephibosheth, why didn’t you go with me?’ 26 He said, ‘You are my king and master. I’m not able to walk. So I thought, “I’ll have a saddle put on my donkey. I’ll ride on it. Then I can go with the king.” But my servant Ziba turned against me. 27 He has told you lies about me. King David, you are like an angel of God. So do what you wish. 28 You should have put all the members of my grandfather’s family to death, including me. Instead, you always provided what I needed. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to you?’ 29 The king said to him, ‘You don’t have to say anything else. I order you and Ziba to divide up Saul’s land between you.’ 30 Mephibosheth said to the king, ‘I’m happy that you have returned home safely. So just let Ziba have everything.’ 31 Barzillai had also come down to go across the River Jordan with the king. He wanted to send the king on his way from there. Barzillai was from Rogelim in the land of Gilead. 32 He was very old. He was 80 years old. He had given the king everything he needed while the king was staying in Mahanaim. That’s because Barzillai was very wealthy. 33 The king said to Barzillai, ‘Come across the river with me. Stay with me in Jerusalem. I’ll take good care of you.’ 34 But Barzillai said to the king, ‘I shan’t live for many more years. So why should I go up to Jerusalem with you? 35 I’m already 80 years old. I can hardly tell the difference between what is enjoyable and what isn’t. I can hardly taste what I eat and drink. I can’t even hear the voices of male and female singers anymore. So why should I add my problems to yours? 36 I’ll go across the River Jordan with you for a little way. Why should you reward me by taking care of me? 37 Let me go back home. Then I can die in my own town. I can be buried there in the tomb of my father and mother. But let Kimham take my place. Let him go across the river with you. Do for him whatever you wish.’ 38 The king said, ‘Kimham will go across with me. I’ll do for him whatever you wish. And I’ll do for you anything you wish.’ 39 So all the people went across the River Jordan. Then the king crossed over. The king kissed Barzillai and said goodbye to him. And Barzillai went back home. 40 After the king had gone across the river, he went to Gilgal. Kimham had gone across with him. All the troops of Judah and half of the troops of Israel had taken the king across. 41 Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king. They were saying to him, ‘Why did the men of Judah take you away from us? They are our relatives. What right did they have to bring you and your family across the River Jordan? What right did they have to bring all your men over with you?’ 42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel. They said, ‘We did that because the king is our close relative. So why should you be angry about what happened? Have we eaten any of the king’s food? Have we taken anything for ourselves?’ 43 Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah. They said, ‘We have ten of the 12 tribes in the kingdom. So we have a stronger claim on David than you have. Why then are you acting as if you hate us? Weren’t we the first ones to talk about bringing back our king?’ But the men of Judah argued their side even more forcefully than the men of Israel.

2.Samuel 19 | King James Version New International Reader’s Version

David returns to Jerusalem