¹  Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants. His name was held in high esteem.

Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much. ¹ 

On the third day ¹  you should go down quickly ²  and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. ³  Stay near the stone Ezel.

David thought about what they said ¹  and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath.

There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; ¹  he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together ¹  in the field.

I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan! You were very dear to me. Your love was more special to me than the love of women.

Now the battle was very severe that day; Abner and the men of Israel were overcome by David’s soldiers. ¹ 

Messengers ¹  told David what had happened, ²  so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho ³  until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ¹ 

Then Amnon greatly despised her. ¹  His disdain toward her surpassed the love he had previously felt toward her. ²  Amnon said to her, “Get up and leave!”

Just as he finished speaking, the king’s sons arrived, wailing and weeping. ¹  The king and all his servants wept loudly ²  as well.

Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom. ¹  From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance. ² 

David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” ¹ 

(Now his father had never corrected ¹  him ²  by saying, “Why do you do such things?” He was also very handsome and had been born right after Absalom. ³ )

So Bathsheba visited the king in his private quarters. ¹  (The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.)

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding ¹  was as infinite as the sand on the seashore.

(Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems.

Pharaoh liked Hadad so well ¹  he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife. ² 

So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord. ¹