2 Samuel 13–18

Chapter 13

¹And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David having a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar, Amnon the son of David loved her. ²And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and it seemed difficult for Amnon to do the least thing to her. ³And Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very shrewd man. ⁴And he said to him, Why dost thou, the king’s son, get thinner from morning to morning? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. ⁵And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed and feign thyself sick; and when thy father comes to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand. ⁶So Amnon lay down and feigned himself sick; and the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand. ⁷And David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go, I pray thee, to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him food. ⁸And Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he had lain down. And she took flour and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. ⁹And she took the pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Put every man out from me. And they went out every man from him. ¹⁰And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the dish into the chamber, that I may eat of thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes that she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. ¹¹And she presented them to him to eat; and he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. ¹²And she said to him, No, my brother, do not humble me; for no such thing is done in Israel: do not this infamy. ¹³And I, whither shall I carry my reproach? and thou wouldest be as one of the infamous in Israel. And now, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. ¹⁴But he would not hearken to her voice, and was stronger than she, and humbled her and lay with her. ¹⁵And Amnon hated her with an exceeding great hatred, for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone. ¹⁶And she said to him, There is no cause for this evil in sending me away, which is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her. ¹⁷Then he called his young man that attended upon him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. ¹⁸Now she had a vest of many colours upon her; for so were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. And his attendant brought her out, and bolted the door after her. ¹⁹And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her vest of many colours which was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went away, crying out as she went. ²⁰And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon thy brother been with thee? and now, my sister, be still: he is thy brother; take not this thing to heart. And Tamar remained, and that desolate, in her brother Absalom’s house.

²¹And king David heard of all these things, and he was very angry. ²²And Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had humbled his sister Tamar. ²³And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-Hazor, which is beside Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. ²⁴And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold, now, thy servant has sheepshearers; let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant. ²⁵And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to thee. And he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him. ²⁶And Absalom said, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee? ²⁷But Absalom pressed him; and he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. ²⁸And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Smite Amnon; then slay him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. ²⁹And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and they rode each upon his mule and fled.

³⁰And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom has smitten all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. ³¹Then the king arose, and rent his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their garments rent. ³²And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead; for by the appointment of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he humbled his sister Tamar. ³³And now let not my lord the king take the thing to heart, to say, All the king’s sons are dead; for Amnon only is dead. ³⁴And Absalom fled. And the young man that watched lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there came much people from the way behind him, from the hill-side. ³⁵And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king’s sons come: as thy servant said, so it is. ³⁶And as soon as he had ended speaking, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept; and the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly. ³⁷And Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸Now Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. ³⁹And king David longed to go forth to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.

Chapter 14

¹And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom. ²And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, I pray, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead; ³and come to the king, and speak after this manner to him. And Joab put the words into her mouth. ⁴And the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, Save, O king! ⁵And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead. ⁶And thy bondmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him. ⁷And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth. ⁸And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee. ⁹And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon my father’s house; and the king and his throne be guiltless. ¹⁰And the king said, Whoever speaks to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. ¹¹Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they cut off my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. ¹²And the woman said, Let thy bondmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak. ¹³And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against God’s people? and the king in saying this thing, is as one guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one. ¹⁴For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and God has not taken away his life, but devises means that the banished one be not expelled from him. ¹⁵And now that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy bondmaid said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps the king will perform the request of his handmaid. ¹⁶For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. ¹⁷And thy bondmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and Jehovah thy God will be with thee. ¹⁸And the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. ¹⁹And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy bondmaid: ²⁰in order to turn the appearance of the thing has thy servant Joab done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is in the earth.

²¹And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: so go, bring back the young man Absalom. ²²And Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and blessed the king; and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found favour in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant. ²³And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. And Absalom withdrew to his own house, and saw not the king’s face. ²⁵But in all Israel there was none to…