For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.

1Do you rulers indeed speak justly?

Do you judge people with equity?

2No, in your heart you devise injustice,

and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

3Even from birth the wicked go astray;

from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.

4Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

5that will not heed the tune of the charmer,

however skillful the enchanter may be.

6Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;

Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!

7Let them vanish like water that flows away;

when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.

8May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,

like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.

9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—

whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.

10The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,

when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.

11Then people will say,

“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;

surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

2He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

3He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the Lord

and put their trust in him.

4Blessed is the one

who trusts in the Lord,

who does not look to the proud,

to those who turn aside to false gods.

5Many, Lord my God,

are the wonders you have done,

the things you planned for us.

None can compare with you;

were I to speak and tell of your deeds,

they would be too many to declare.

6Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—

but my ears you have opened—

burnt offerings and sin offeringsyou did not require.

7Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—

it is written about me in the scroll.

8I desire to do your will, my God;

your law is within my heart.”

9I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;

I do not seal my lips, Lord,

as you know.

10I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;

I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.

I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness

from the great assembly.

11Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;

may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

12For troubles without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart fails within me.

13Be pleased to save me, Lord;

come quickly, Lord, to help me.

14May all who want to take my life

be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin

be turned back in disgrace.

15May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”

be appalled at their own shame.

16But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who long for your saving help always say,

“The Lord is great!”

17But as for me, I am poor and needy;

may the Lord think of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

you are my God, do not delay.

1Vindicate me, Lord,

for I have led a blameless life;

I have trusted in the Lord

and have not faltered.

2Test me, Lord, and try me,

examine my heart and my mind;

3for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love

and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.

4I do not sit with the deceitful,

nor do I associate with hypocrites.

5I abhor the assembly of evildoers

and refuse to sit with the wicked.

6I wash my hands in innocence,

and go about your altar, Lord,

7proclaiming aloud your praise

and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

8 Lord, I love the house where you live,

the place where your glory dwells.

9Do not take away my soul along with sinners,

my life with those who are bloodthirsty,

10in whose hands are wicked schemes,

whose right hands are full of bribes.

11I lead a blameless life;

deliver me and be merciful to me.

12My feet stand on level ground;

in the great congregation I will praise the Lord.

1David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2David sent out his troops, a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”

3But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us.It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”

4The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.”

So the king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. 5The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.

6David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.

9Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.

10When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”

11Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekelsof silver and a warrior’s belt.”

12But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekelswere weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ 13And if I had put my life in jeopardy—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have kept your distance from me.”

14Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.

16Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.

18During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

David Mourns

19Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him by delivering him from the hand of his enemies.”

20“You are not the one to take the news today,” Joab told him. “You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”

21Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.

22Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite.”

But Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.”

23He said, “Come what may, I want to run.”

So Joab said, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plainand outran the Cushite.

24While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25The watchman called out to the king and reported it.

The king said, “If he is alone, he must have good news.” And the runner came closer and closer.

26Then the watchman saw another runner, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look, another man running alone!”

The king said, “He must be bringing good news, too.”

27The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.”

“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He comes with good news.”

28Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”

29The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

Ahimaaz answered, “I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was.”

30The king said, “Stand aside and wait here.” So he stepped aside and stood there.

31Then the Cushite arrived and said, “My lord the king, hear the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.”

32The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.”

33The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”

1Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. 2I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king 3and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed.” 4This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.

5But Absalom said, “Summon also Hushai the Arkite, so we can hear what he has to say as well.” 6When Hushai came to him, Absalom said, “Ahithophel has given this advice. Should we do what he says? If not, give us your opinion.”

7Hushai replied to Absalom, “The advice Ahithophel has given is not good this time. 8You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Besides, your father is an experienced fighter; he will not spend the night with the troops. 9Even now, he is hidden in a cave or some other place. If he should attack your troops first,whoever hears about it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’ 10Then even the bravest soldier, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a fighter and that those with him are brave.

11“So I advise you: Let all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba—as numerous as the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, with you yourself leading them into battle. 12Then we will attack him wherever he may be found, and we will fall on him as dew settles on the ground. Neither he nor any of his men will be left alive. 13If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not so much as a pebble is left.”

14Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

15Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to do such and such, but I have advised them to do so and so. 16Now send a message at once and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords in the wilderness; cross over without fail, or the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’ ”

17Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel. A female servant was to go and inform them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city. 18But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So the two of them left at once and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. 19His wife took a covering and spread it out over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it. No one knew anything about it.

20When Absalom’s men came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

The woman answered them, “They crossed over the brook.”The men searched but found no one, so they returned to Jerusalem.

21After they had gone, the two climbed out of the well and went to inform King David. They said to him, “Set out and cross the river at once; Ahithophel has advised such and such against you.” 22So David and all the people with him set out and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, no one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

Absalom’s Death

24David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 25Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of Jether,an Ishmaelite who had married Abigail,the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab. 26The Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

27When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim 28brought bedding and bowls and articles of pottery. They also brought wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans and lentils,29honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows’ milk for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become exhausted and hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.”

David and Ziba

1When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.

2The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”

Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

3The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”

Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’ ”

4Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”

“I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”

Shimei Curses David

5As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”

9Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”

10But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’ ”

11David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

13So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. 14The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

The Advice of Ahithophel and Hushai

15Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. 16Then Hushai the Arkite, David’s confidant, went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

17Absalom said to Hushai, “So this is the love you show your friend? If he’s your friend, why didn’t you go with him?”

18Hushai said to Absalom, “No, the one chosen by the Lord, by these people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and I will remain with him. 19Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.”

20Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”

21Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” 22So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

23Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.

Psalm 28

1To you, Lord, I call;

you are my Rock,

do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent,

I will be like those who go down to the pit.

2Hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

toward your Most Holy Place.

3Do not drag me away with the wicked,

with those who do evil,

who speak cordially with their neighbors

but harbor malice in their hearts.

4Repay them for their deeds

and for their evil work;

repay them for what their hands have done

and bring back on them what they deserve.

5Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord

and what his hands have done,

he will tear them down

and never build them up again.

6Praise be to the Lord,

for he has heard my cry for mercy.

7The Lord is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

and with my song I praise him.

8The Lord is the strength of his people,

a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

9Save your people and bless your inheritance;

be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 55

1Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

2hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

3because of what my enemy is saying,

because of the threats of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering on me

and assail me in their anger.

4My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen on me.

5Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

6I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

7I would flee far away

and stay in the desert;

8I would hurry to my place of shelter,

far from the tempest and storm.”

9Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

10Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

11Destructive forces are at work in the city;

threats and lies never leave its streets.

12If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were rising against me,

I could hide.

13But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,

14with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

at the house of God,

as we walked about

among the worshipers.

15Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,

for evil finds lodging among them.

16As for me, I call to God,

and the Lord saves me.

17Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

18He rescues me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

19God, who is enthroned from of old,

who does not change—

he will hear them and humble them,

because they have no fear of God.

20My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

21His talk is smooth as butter,

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil,

yet they are drawn swords.

22Cast your cares on the Lord

and he will sustain you;

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.

23But you, God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of decay;

the bloodthirsty and deceitful

will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.