The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side ¹  joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, ¹  I will let you know.”

Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. ¹ 

But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, “I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.

Ish-bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he began to rule over Israel. He ruled two years. However, the people ¹  of Judah followed David.

So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. ¹  How then could I show ²  my face in the presence of Joab your brother?”

However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.

Then Abner sent messengers ¹  to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement ²  with me, and I will do whatever I can ³  to cause all Israel to turn to you.”

When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him ¹  in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. ² 

The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them.

While he was offering sacrifices, Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s adviser, ¹  to come from his city, Giloh. ²  The conspiracy was gaining momentum, and the people were starting to side with Absalom.

He threw stones at David and all of King David’s servants, as well as all the people and the soldiers who were on his right and on his left.

Now send word quickly to David and warn him, ¹  “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert ²  tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, ³  or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.” ⁴ 

When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported ¹  Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he ²  ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. ³ 

One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house.

On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep; ¹  there were also supports and frames on top of the stands.

Some men came by ¹  and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it. ²  They went and reported what they had seen ³  in the city where the old prophet lived.

He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it; ¹  the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey.

The Lord will attack Israel, making it like a reed that sways in the water. ¹  He will remove Israel from this good land he gave to their ancestors ²  and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, ³  because they angered the Lord by making Asherah poles. ⁴ 

Zedekiah son of Kenaanah approached, hit Micaiah on the jaw, and said, “Which way did the Lord’s spirit go when he went from me to speak to you?”