The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him ¹  and Abner at his side. ²  But David’s place was vacant.

Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me.

Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them.

David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Won’t you answer, Abner?” Abner replied, “Who are you, that you have called to the king?”

David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there.

Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink.

The young man who was telling him this ¹  said, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him.

Then Hadadezer sent for Arameans from ¹  beyond the Euphrates River, ²  and they came to Helam. Shobach, the general in command of Hadadezer’s army, led them. ³ 

The battle there was spread out over the whole area, and the forest consumed more soldiers than the sword devoured that day.

But he said, ¹  “Whatever happens, I want to go!” So Joab ²  said to him, “Then go!” So Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Jordan plain, and he passed the Cushite.

Shimei son of Gera the Benjaminite from Bahurim came down quickly with the men of Judah to meet King David.

There were a thousand men from Benjamin with him, along with Ziba the servant ¹  of Saul’s household, and with him his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They hurriedly crossed ²  the Jordan within sight of the king.

When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Kimham ¹  crossed over with him. Now all the soldiers ²  of Judah along with half of the soldiers of Israel had helped the king cross over. ³ 

Sheba ¹  traveled through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of ²  Beth Maacah and all the Berite region. When they had assembled, ³  they too joined him.

He found another man and said, “Wound me!” So the man wounded him severely. ¹ 

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?”

Elijah took his cloak, folded it up, and hit the water with it. The water divided, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. ¹  Hazael attacked their eastern border. ² 

I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. ¹  With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’

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?”