אֵת

I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.

Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.

Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.

You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”

After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child

…and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.

Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.

Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city.

Now, therefore, assemble the rest of the troops, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city, and it will be named after me.”

So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; and he fought against it and captured it.

Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.

David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

…and he asked Amnon, “Why are you, the son of the king, so depressed morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

Jonadab told him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare it in my sight so I may watch her and eat it from her hand.’”

So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked them.

Then she brought the pan and set it down before him, but he refused to eat. “Send everyone away!” said Amnon. And everyone went out.

Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, so that I may eat it from your hand.” Tamar took the cakes she had made and went to her brother Amnon’s bedroom.

“No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not violate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!

Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

Instead, he called to his attendant and said, “Throw this woman out and bolt the door behind her!”

So Amnon’s attendant threw her out and bolted the door behind her. Now Tamar was wearing a robe of many colors, because this is what the king’s virgin daughters wore.

Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has your brother Amnon been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take this thing to heart.” So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in the house of her brother Absalom.

When King David heard all this, he was furious.

And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad, because he hated Amnon for violating his sister Tamar.

But Absalom urged him, so the king sent Amnon and the rest of his sons.

Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”

While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom has struck down all the sons of the king; not one of them is left!”

Then the king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground. And all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.

But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, spoke up: “My lord must not think they have killed all the sons of the king, for only Amnon is dead. In fact, Absalom has planned this since the day Amnon violated his sister Tamar.

Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. When the young man standing watch looked up, he saw many people coming down the road west of him, along the side of the hill. And the watchman went and reported to the king, “I see men coming from the direction of Horonaim, along the side of the hill.”

Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.