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David ruled over all Isra'el; David administered law and justice for all his people.

M'fivoshet the son of Y'honatan, the son of Sha'ul, came to David, fell on his face and prostrated himself. David said, "M'fivoshet!" and he answered, "Here is your servant!"

The king called to Tziva, Sha'ul's servant, and said to him, "I have given everything Sha'ul and his family owned to your master's [grand]son.

You are to work the land for him, you, your sons and your slaves. Harvest the crops, so that your master's [grand]son will have food to feed his family; but M'fivoshet your master's [grand]son will always eat at my table." Tziva had fifteen sons and twenty slaves.

Tziva said to the king, "Your servant will do everything my lord the king commands his servant, although M'fivoshet has been eating at my table as one of the king's descendants."

Some time later, when the king of the people of ‘Amon died, his son Hanun became king in his place.

David said, "I will show grace to Hanun the son of Nachash, as his father showed grace to me." So David sent his servants to pass him a message of comfort concerning his father. David's servants entered the territory of the people of ‘Amon;

but the leaders of the people of ‘Amon said to Hanun their lord, "Do you really think David is honoring your father by sending people to comfort you? Hasn't David actually sent his servants to you in order to look the city over, reconnoiter it and overthrow it?"

When David heard of it, he sent Yo'av with his entire army of trained soldiers.

while the rest of the army he put under the command of Avishai his brother to deploy against the army of ‘Amon.

In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo'av, his servants who were with him and all Isra'el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim.

Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king's palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.

But Uriyah slept at the door of the king's palace with all the servants of his lord and didn't go down to his house.

When they told David, "Uriyah didn't go down to his house," David said to Uriyah, "Haven't you just arrived from a journey? Why didn't you go down to your house?"

David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord's servants and did not go down to his house.

When the mourning was over, David sent and took her home to his palace, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But Adonai saw what David had done as evil.

but the poor man had nothing, except for one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and reared. It had grown up with him and his children; it ate from his plate, drank from his cup, lay on his chest — it was like a daughter to him.

One day a traveler visited the rich man, and instead of picking an animal from his own flock or herd to cook for his visitor, he took the poor man's lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to him."

"‘So why have you shown such contempt for the word of Adonai and done what I see as evil? You murdered Uriyah the Hitti with the sword and taken his wife as your own wife; you put him to death with the sword of the people of ‘Amon.

Then Natan returned to his house. Adonai struck the child that Uriyah's wife had borne to David, and it became very ill.