2 Samuel
2 Samuel 3
King James Version · tap any highlighted word for context
2 Samuel 3 — Scripture text (King James Version)
Now there was long war between the house of and the house of : but waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of waxed weaker and weaker. And unto were sons born in : and his firstborn was , of the ; And his second, Chileab, of the wife of the ; and the third, the son of the daughter of king of ; And the fourth, the son of ; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of ; And the sixth, Ithream, by ’s wife. These were born to in . And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of and the house of , that made himself strong for the house of . And had a concubine, whose name was , the daughter of : and -bosheth said to , Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine? Then was very wroth for the words of -bosheth, and said, Am I a dog’s head, which against do shew kindness this day unto the house of thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of , that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman? So do God to , and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to , even so I do to him; To translate the kingdom from the house of , and to set up the throne of over and over , from even to -. And he could not answer a word again, because he feared him. And sent messengers to his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all unto thee. And he said, ; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring ’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face. And sent messengers to -bosheth ’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife , which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the . And -bosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from the son of . And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to . Then said unto him, Go, return. And he returned. And had communication with the elders of , saying, Ye sought for in times past to be king over you: Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of , saying, By the hand of my servant I will save my people out of the hand of the , and out of the hand of all their enemies. And also spake in the ears of : and went also to speak in the ears of in all that seemed good to , and that seemed good to the whole house of . So came to to , and twenty men with him. And made and the men that were with him a feast. And said unto , I will arise and go, and will gather all unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. And sent away; and he went in peace. And, Behold, the servants of and came from pursuing a troop, and brought in a great spoil with them: but was not with in ; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace. When and all the host that was with him were come, they told , saying, the son of came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace. Then came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? Thou knowest the son of , that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest. And when was come out from , he sent messengers after , which brought him again from the of : but knew it not. And when was returned to , took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of his brother. And afterward when heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of the son of : Let it rest the head of , and all his father’s house; and let there not fail from the house of one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth a , or that falleth the , or that lacketh bread. So and his brother slew , because he had slain their brother at in the battle. And said to , and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before . And king himself followed the bier. And they buried in : and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of ; and all the people wept. And the king lamented over , and said, Died as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him. And when all the people came to cause to eat meat while it was yet day, sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down. And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. For all the people and all understood that day that it was not of the king to slay the son of . And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in ? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.