Amnon and Tamar

131 Now after this, it came about that Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar; and David's son Amnon was in love with her. 2 And he was so deeply in love that he became ill because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin, and so it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother: and Jonadab was a very wise man. 4 And he said to him, O son of the king, why are you getting thinner day by day? will you not say what your trouble is? And Amnon said to him, I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. 5 Then Jonadab said to him, Go to your bed, and let it seem that you are ill: and when your father comes to see you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread, and get the food ready before my eyes, so that I may see it and take it from her hand. 6 So Amnon went to bed and made himself seem ill: and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come and make me one or two cakes before my eyes, so that I may take food from her hand. 7 Then David sent to the house for Tamar and said, Go now to your brother Amnon's house and get a meal for him. 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was in bed. And she took paste and made cakes before his eyes, cooking them over the fire. 9 And she took the cooking-pot, and put the cakes before him, but he would not take them. And Amnon said, Let everyone go away from me. So they all went out. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, Take the food and come into my bedroom, so that I may take it from your hand. So Tamar took the cakes she had made and went with them into her brother Amnon's bedroom. 11 And when she took them to give them to him, he put his arms round her and said, Come to bed, my sister. 12 And answering him, she said, O my brother, do not put shame on me; it is not right for such a thing to be done in Israel: do not this evil thing. 13 What will become of me in my shame? and as for you, you will be looked down on with disgust by all Israel. Now then, go and make your request to the king, for he will not keep me from you. 14 But he would not give attention to what she said: but being stronger than she, he took her by force, and had connection with her. 15 Then Amnon was full of hate for her, hating her with a hate greater than his earlier love for her. And he said to her, Get up and be gone. 16 And she said to him, Not so, my brother, for this great wrong in sending me away is worse than what you did to me before. But he gave no attention to her. 17 Then he gave a cry to the servant who was waiting on him and said, Put this woman out, and let the door be locked after her. 18 Now she had on a long robe, such as in past times the king's virgin daughters were dressed in. Then the servant put her out, locking the door after her. 19 And Tamar, in her grief, put dust on her head; and she put her hand on her head and went away crying loudly.

Absalom's Revenge and Flight

20 And her brother Absalom said to her, Has your brother Amnon been with you? but now, let there be an end to your crying, my sister: he is your brother, do not take this thing to heart. So Tamar went on living uncomforted in her brother's house.

21 But when King David had news of all these things he was very angry; but he did not make trouble for Amnon his son, for he was dear to David, being his oldest son. 22 But Absalom said nothing to his brother Amnon, good or bad: for he was full of hate for him, because he had taken his sister Tamar by force. 23 Now after two full years, Absalom had men cutting the wool of his sheep in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim: and he sent for all the king's sons to come to his feast. 24 And Absalom came to the king and said, See now, your servant is cutting the wool of his sheep; will the king and his servants be pleased to come? 25 And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, or the number will be over-great for you. And he made his request again, but he would not go, but he gave him his blessing. 26 Then Absalom said, If you will not go, then let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Is there any reason for him to go with you? 27 But Absalom went on requesting him till he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. And Absalom made a great feast like a feast for a king. 28 Now Absalom had given orders to his servants, saying, Now take note when Amnon's heart is glad with wine; and when I say to you, Make an attack on Amnon, then put him to death without fear: have I not given you orders? be strong and without fear. 29 So Absalom's servants did to Amnon as Absalom had given them orders. Then all the king's sons got up, and every man got on his beast and went in flight.

30 Now while they were on their way, news was given to David that Absalom had put to death all the sons of the king and that not one of them was still living. 31 Then the king got up in great grief, stretching himself out on the earth: and all his servants were by his side, with their clothing parted. 32 And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, Let not my lord have the idea that all the sons of the king have been put to death; for only Amnon is dead: this has been purposed by Absalom from the day when he took his sister Tamar by force. 33 So now, let not my lord the king take this thing to heart, with the idea that all the king's sons are dead: for only Amnon is dead. 34 But Absalom went in flight. And the young man who kept the watch, lifting up his eyes, saw that a great band of people was coming down the slope by the way of the Horons; and the watchman came and gave word to the king, saying, I saw men coming down by the way of the Horons, from the hillside. 35 And Jonadab said to the king, See, the king's sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is. 36 And while he was talking, the king's sons came, with weeping and loud cries: and the king and all his servants were weeping bitterly. 37 So Absalom went in flight and came to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur, where he was for three years. 38 And the king was sorrowing for his son all the time. 39 And the heart of David was wasted with desire for Absalom: for he was comforted for the death of Amnon.

31 Now there was a long war between Saul's people and David's people; and David became stronger and stronger, but those on Saul's side became more and more feeble.

David's Sons Born at Hebron

2 While David was in Hebron he became the father of sons: the oldest was Amnon, son of Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 And the second, Chileab, whose mother was Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom, son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; 4 And the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah, the son of Abital; 5 And the sixth, Ithream, whose mother was David's wife Eglah. These were the sons of David, whose birth took place in Hebron.

Abner Plans a League with David

6 Now while there was war between Saul's people and David's people, Abner was making himself strong among the supporters of Saul.

7 Now Saul had among his wives a woman named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Why have you taken my father's wife? 8 And Abner was very angry at the words of Ish-bosheth, and he said, Am I a dog's head of Judah? I am this day doing all in my power for the cause of your father Saul and for his brothers and his friends, and have not given you up into the hands of David, and now you say I have done wrong with a woman. 9 May God's punishment be on Abner, if I do not for David as the Lord in his oath has said, 10 And if I do not take away the kingdom from the family of Saul and make David ruler over Israel and Judah from Dan as far as Beer-sheba! 11 And so great was Ish-bosheth's fear of Abner that he was not able to say a word in answer. 12 And Abner sent men to David at Hebron, saying, Make an agreement with me, and I will give you my support in getting all Israel on your side. 13 And he said, It is well; I will make an agreement with you, but on one condition, which is, that when you come before me, Saul's daughter Michal is to come with you; till she comes you will not see my face. 14 And David sent men to Saul's son Ish-bosheth, saying, Give me back Michal, my wife, whom I made mine for the price of the private parts of a hundred Philistines. 15 So Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel, the son of Laish. 16 And her husband went with her as far as Bahurim, weeping while he went. Then Abner said to him, Go back. And he went back. 17 Then Abner had a talk with the chief men of Israel, saying, In the past it was your desire to make David your king: so now, do it: 18 For the Lord has said of David, By the hand of my servant David I will make my people Israel safe from the Philistines, and from all who are against them. 19 And Abner said the same things to Benjamin: and he went to David in Hebron to make clear to him what seemed good to Israel and to all the people of Benjamin. 20 So Abner, with twenty men, came to Hebron, to David. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 And Abner said to David, Now I will go, and make all Israel come to my lord the king, so that they may make an agreement with you, and your kingdom may be as wide as your heart's desire. Then David sent Abner away and he went in peace.

Joab Kills Abner

22 Now the servants of David and Joab had been out attacking a band of armed men, and they came back with a great store of goods taken in the fight: but Abner was no longer in Hebron with David, for he had sent him away and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and his men came, news was given them that Abner, the son of Ner, had come to the king, who had let him go away again in peace. 24 Then Joab came to the king, and said, What have you done? when Abner came to you why did you send him away and let him go? 25 Is it not clear to you that Abner, the son of Ner, came with deceit to get knowledge of your going out and your coming in and of all you are doing? 26 And when Joab had come out from David, he sent men after Abner, and they overtook him at the water-spring of Sirah, and made him come back with them: but David had no knowledge of it. 27 And when Abner was back in Hebron, Joab took him on one side by the doorway of the town to have a word with him quietly, and there he gave him a wound in the stomach, causing his death in payment for the death of his brother Asahel. 28 And when David had word of it he said, May I and my kingdom be clear for ever in the eyes of the Lord from the blood of Abner, the son of Ner: 29 May it come on the head of Joab and all his father's family: among the men of Joab's family may there ever be some who are diseased or lepers, or who do the work of women, or are put to the sword, or are wasted from need of food! 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother put Abner to death, because he had put to death their brother Asahel in the fight at Gibeon. 31 And David said to Joab and all the people who were with him, Go in grief and put haircloth about you, in sorrow for Abner. And King David went after the dead body. 32 And they put Abner's body to rest in Hebron; and the king and all the people were weeping loudly by the resting-place of Abner's body. 33 And the king made a song of grief for Abner and said, Was the death of Abner to be like the death of a foolish man? 34 Your hands were free, your feet were not chained: like the downfall of a man before evil men, so was your fall. And the weeping of the people over him went on again. 35 And the people came to make David take food, while it was still day, but David with an oath said, May God's punishment be on me if I take a taste of bread or any other thing till the sun has gone down! 36 And all the people took note of it and were pleased: like everything the king did, it was pleasing to the people. 37 So it was clear to Israel and to all the people on that day that the king was not responsible for the death of Abner, the son of Ner. 38 And the king said to his servants, Do you not see that a chief and a great man has come to his end today in Israel? 39 While I, though I am crowned king, have little strength, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are out of my control: may the Lord give to the evil-doer the reward of his evil-doing!