Then Gad the prophet said to David, “Don’t stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”

David said to Saul, “Why do you pay attention when men say, ‘David is seeking to do you harm’?

he ¹  sent ten servants, ²  saying to them, ³  “Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name. ⁴ 

But Nabal responded to David’s servants, “Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters!

When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground.

So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife.”

David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. ¹  David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow.

Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, “This is David’s plunder!”

When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him.

Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah ¹  from the Philistines. ² 

David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected ¹  David wherever he campaigned. ² 

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground. ¹  David said, “Mephibosheth?” He replied, “Yes, at your service.” ² 

So David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David.

Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven ¹  your sin. You are not going to die.

Then David prayed to ¹  God for the child and fasted. ²  He would even ³  go and spend the night lying on the ground.

Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. In the course of time David’s son Amnon fell madly in love with her. ¹ 

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.

Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers ¹  and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted.