| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1 Word soon reached Joab that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom. | 1Then it was told Joab, "Behold, the king is weeping and mourns for Absalom." |
| 2As all the people heard of the king’s deep grief for his son, the joy of that day’s victory was turned into deep sadness. | 2The victory that day was turned to mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day, "The king is grieved for his son." |
| 3They crept back into the town that day as though they were ashamed and had deserted in battle. | 3So the people went by stealth into the city that day, as people who are humiliated steal away when they flee in battle. |
| 4The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!” | 4The king covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, "O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!" |
| 5Then Joab went to the king’s room and said to him, “We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves. | 5Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, |
| 6You seem to love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased. | 6by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. |
| 7Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the LORD that if you don’t go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before.” | 7"Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, surely not a man will pass the night with you, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now." |
| 8So the king went out and took his seat at the town gate, and as the news spread throughout the town that he was there, everyone went to him. Meanwhile, the Israelites who had supported Absalom fled to their homes. | 8So the king arose and sat in the gate. When they told all the people, saying, "Behold, the king is sitting in the gate," then all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled, each to his tent. |
| 9And throughout all the tribes of Israel there was much discussion and argument going on. The people were saying, “The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but Absalom chased him out of the country. | 9All the people were quarreling throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. |
| 10Now Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, is dead. Why not ask David to come back and be our king again?” | 10"However, Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now then, why are you silent about bringing the king back?" |
| 11Then King David sent Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, to say to the elders of Judah, “Why are you the last ones to welcome back the king into his palace? For I have heard that all Israel is ready. | 11Then King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, 'Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house? |
| 12You are my relatives, my own tribe, my own flesh and blood! So why are you the last ones to welcome back the king?” | 12'You are my brothers; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?' |
| 13And David told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place.” | 13"Say to Amasa, 'Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.'" |
| 14Then Amasa convinced all the men of Judah, and they responded unanimously. They sent word to the king, “Return to us, and bring back all who are with you.” David’s Return to Jerusalem | 14Thus he turned the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, saying, "Return, you and all your servants." |
| 15So the king started back to Jerusalem. And when he arrived at the Jordan River, the people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the river. | 15The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to bring the king across the Jordan. |
| 16Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin, hurried across with the men of Judah to welcome King David. | 16Then Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. |
| 17A thousand other men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, and Ziba’s fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan to meet the king. | 17There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, with Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. |
| 18They crossed the shallows of the Jordan to bring the king’s household across the river, helping him in every way they could. David’s Mercy to Shimei As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him. | 18Then they kept crossing the ford to bring over the king's household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan. |
| 19“My lord the king, please forgive me,” he pleaded. “Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. | 19So he said to the king, "Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart. |
| 20I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king.” | 20"For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king." |
| 21Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shimei should die, for he cursed the LORD’s anointed king!” | 21But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, "Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD'S anointed?" |
| 22“Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah!” David exclaimed. “Why have you become my adversary today? This is not a day for execution, for today I am once again the king of Israel!” | 22David then said, "What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an adversary to me? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?" |
| 23Then, turning to Shimei, David vowed, “Your life will be spared.” David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth | 23The king said to Shimei, "You shall not die." Thus the king swore to him. |
| 24Now Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem. | 24Then Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. |
| 25“Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him. | 25It was when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?" |
| 26Mephibosheth replied, “My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. | 26So he answered, "O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, 'I will saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go with the king,' because your servant is lame. |
| 27Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. | 27"Moreover, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight. |
| 28All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?” | 28"For all my father's household was nothing but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right do I have yet that I should complain anymore to the king?" |
| 29“You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.” | 29So the king said to him, "Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have decided, 'You and Ziba shall divide the land.'" |
| 30“Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!” David’s Kindness to Barzillai | 30Mephibosheth said to the king, "Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come safely to his own house." |
| 31Barzillai of Gilead had come down from Rogelim to escort the king across the Jordan. | 31Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; and he went on to the Jordan with the king to escort him over the Jordan. |
| 32He was very old—eighty years of age—and very wealthy. He was the one who had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim. | 32Now Barzillai was very old, being eighty years old; and he had sustained the king while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. |
| 33“Come across with me and live in Jerusalem,” the king said to Barzillai. “I will take care of you there.” | 33The king said to Barzillai, "You cross over with me and I will sustain you in Jerusalem with me." |
| 34“No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem. | 34But Barzillai said to the king, "How long have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? |
| 35I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king. | 35"I am now eighty years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear anymore the voice of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? |
| 36Just to go across the Jordan River with the king is all the honor I need! | 36"Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward? |
| 37Then let me return again to die in my own town, where my father and mother are buried. But here is your servant, my son Kimham. Let him go with my lord the king and receive whatever you want to give him.” | 37"Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. However, here is your servant Chimham, let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight." |
| 38“Good,” the king agreed. “Kimham will go with me, and I will help him in any way you would like. And I will do for you anything you want.” | 38The king answered, "Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight; and whatever you require of me, I will do for you." |
| 39So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai returned to his own home. | 39All the people crossed over the Jordan and the king crossed too. The king then kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place. |
| 40The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king on his way. An Argument over the King | 40Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel accompanied the king. |
| 41But all the men of Israel complained to the king, “The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.” | 41And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, "Why had our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king and his household and all David's men with him over the Jordan?" |
| 42The men of Judah replied, “The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!” | 42Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "Because the king is a close relative to us. Why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king's expense, or has anything been taken for us?" |
| 43“But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the others replied. “So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again?” The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel. | 43But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, "We have ten parts in the king, therefore we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not our advice first to bring back our king?" Yet the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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