Study Desk

But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and they said to him, "Make this man return, so that he may go back to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may [turn and] become our adversary. For how could David reconcile himself to his lord [Saul]? Would it not be with the heads of these [Philistine] men?

"So return now and go in peace [to your place], so that you do not displease the Philistine lords."

But the servants of David had struck down many of Benjamin and Abner's men; so that three hundred and sixty men died.

Abner said to David, "Let me stand up and go, and gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant (treaty) with you, and that you may reign over all that your soul desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why did you send him away, so that he is already gone?

So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate to speak to him privately, and there he struck Abner in the abdomen so that he died, to avenge the blood of Asahel, Joab's brother.

"I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in a place of their own and not be disturbed again. The wicked will not afflict them again, as formerly,

so that Your Name may be magnified forever, saying, 'The LORD of hosts (armies) is God over Israel;' and may the house (royal dynasty) of Your servant David be established before You.

"Therefore now, may it please You to bless the house (royal dynasty) of Your servant, so that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever."

"You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce, so that your master's grandson may have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

Now David called him [to dinner], and he ate and drank with him, so that he made Uriah drunk; in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, and [still] did not go down to his house.

He wrote in the letter, "Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and leave him, so that he may be struck down and die."

'Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth (Gideon)? Was it not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?' Then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.'"

Jonadab said to him, "Go to bed and pretend you are sick; and when your father [David] comes to see you, say to him, 'Just let my sister Tamar come and serve me food, and let her prepare it in my sight, so that I may see it and eat it from her hand.'"

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat from her hand."

Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into the bedroom, so that I may eat from your hand." So Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her [half-] brother Amnon.

"Now behold, the entire family has risen against your maidservant, and they say, 'Hand over the one who killed his brother, so that we may put him to death [to pay] for the life of his brother whom he killed and destroy the heir also.' By doing this they will extinguish my coal that is left, leaving my husband without a name or a remnant (heir) on the face of the earth."

Then she said, "Please let the king remember the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son." And David said, "As the LORD lives, not a single hair [from the head] of your son shall fall to the ground."

"For we will certainly die and are like water that is spilled on the ground and cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not [simply] take away life, but devises plans so that the one who is banished is not driven away from Him.

Absalom answered Joab, "I sent for you, saying, 'Come here, so that I may send you to the king to ask, "Why have I come [back] from Geshur? It would be better for me to still be there."' Now then, let me see the king's face, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death."