¹ And it cometh to pass, in the seventh month, come hath Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and of the chiefs of the king, and ten men with him, unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and they eat there bread together in Mizpah.

² And Ishmael son of Nethaniah riseth, and the ten men who have been with him, and they smite Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and he putteth him to death whom the king of Babylon hath appointed over the land.

³ And all the Jews who have been with him, with Gedaliah, in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who have been found there -- the men of war -- hath Ishmael smitten.

⁴ And it cometh to pass, on the second day of the putting of Gedaliah to death, (and no one hath known,)

⁵ that men come in from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria -- eighty men -- with shaven beards, and rent garments, and cutting themselves, and an offering and frankincense in their hand, to bring in to the house of Jehovah.

⁶ And Ishmael son of Nethaniah goeth forth to meet them, from Mizpah, going on and weeping, and it cometh to pass, at meeting them, that he saith unto them, `Come in unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam.'

⁷ And it cometh to pass, at their coming in unto the midst of the city, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah doth slaughter them, at the midst of the pit, he and the men who [are] with him.

⁸ And ten men have been found among them, and they say unto Ishmael, `Do not put us to death, for we have things hidden in the field -- wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey.' And he forbeareth, and hath not put them to death in the midst of their brethren.

⁹ And the pit whither Ishmael hath cast all the carcases of the men whom he hath smitten along with Gedaliah, is that which the king Asa made because of Baasha king of Israel -- it hath Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled with the pierced.

¹⁰ And Ishmael taketh captive all the remnant of the people who [are] in Mizpah, the daughters of the king, and all the people who are left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, hath committed [to] Gedaliah son of Ahikam, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah taketh them captive, and goeth to pass over unto the sons of Ammon.

¹¹ And hear doth Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces that [are] with him, of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah hath done,

¹² and they take all the men, and go to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and they find him at the great waters that [are] in Gibeon.

¹³ And it cometh to pass, when all the people who [are] with Ishmael see Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces who [are] with him, that they rejoice.

¹⁴ And all the people whom Ishmael hath taken captive from Mizpah turn round, yea, they turn back, and go unto Johanan son of Kareah.

¹⁵ And Ishmael son of Nethaniah hath escaped, with eight men, from the presence of Johanan, and he goeth unto the sons of Ammon.

¹⁶ And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces who [are] with him, take all the remnant of the people whom he hath brought back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah -- after he had smitten Gedaliah son of Ahikam -- mighty ones, men of war, and women, and infants, and eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon,

¹⁷ and they go and abide in the habitations of Chimham, that [are] near Beth-Lehem, to go to enter Egypt,

¹⁸ from the presence of the Chaldeans, for they have been afraid of them, for Ishmael son of Nethaniah had smitten Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

¹ And it is declared to Joab, `Lo, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom;'

² and the salvation on that day becometh mourning to all the people, for the people hath heard on that day, saying, `The king hath been grieved for his son.'

³ And the people stealeth away, on that day, to go in to the city, as the people steal away, who are ashamed, in their fleeing in battle;

⁴ and the king hath covered his face, yea, the king crieth -- a loud voice -- `My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son.'

⁵ And Joab cometh in unto the king to the house, and saith, `Thou hast put to shame to-day the faces of all thy servants, those delivering thy life to-day, and the life of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the life of thy wives, and the life of thy concubines,

⁶ to love thine enemies, and to hate those loving thee, for thou hast declared to-day that thou hast no princes and servants, for I have known to-day that if Absalom [were] alive, and all of us to-day dead, that then it were right in thine eyes.

⁷ `And now, rise, go out and speak unto the heart of thy servants, for by Jehovah I have sworn, that -- thou art not going out -- there doth not lodge a man with thee to-night; and this [is] worse for thee than all the evil that hath come upon thee from thy youth till now.'

⁸ And the king riseth, and sitteth in the gate, and to all the people they have declared, saying, `Lo, the king is sitting in the gate;' and all the people come in before the king, and Israel hath fled, each to his tents.

⁹ And it cometh to pass, all the people are contending through all the tribes of Israel, saying, `The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, yea, he himself delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines, and now he hath fled out of the land because of Absalom,

¹⁰ and Absalom whom we anointed over us [is] dead in battle, and now, why are ye silent -- to bring back the king?'

¹¹ And king David sent unto Zadok and unto Abiathar the priests, saying, `Speak ye unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye last to bring back the king unto his house? (and the word of all Israel hath come unto the king, unto his house;)

¹² my brethren ye [are], my bone and my flesh ye [are], and why are ye last to bring back the king?

¹³ And to Amasa say ye, Art not thou my bone and my flesh? Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add, if thou art not head of the host before me all the days instead of Joab.'

¹⁴ And he inclineth the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and they send unto the king, `Turn back, thou, and all thy servants.'

¹⁵ And the king turneth back, and cometh in unto the Jordan, and Judah hath come to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan,

¹⁶ and Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite, who [is] from Bahurim, hasteth, and cometh down with the men of Judah, to meet king David,

¹⁷ and a thousand men [are] with him from Benjamin, and Ziba servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him, and they have gone prosperously over the Jordan before the king.

¹⁸ And passed over hath the ferry-boat to carry over the household of the king, and to do that which [is] good in his eyes, and Shimei son of Gera hath fallen before the king in his passing over into Jordan,

¹⁹ and saith unto the king, `Let not my lord impute to me iniquity; neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely in the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, -- for the king to set [it] unto his heart;

²⁰ for thy servant hath known that I have sinned; and lo, I have come to-day, first of all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king.'

²¹ And Abishai son of Zeruiah answereth and saith, `For this is not Shimei put to death -- because he reviled the anointed of Jehovah?'

²² And David saith, `What -- to me and to you, O sons of Zeruiah, that ye are to me to-day for an adversary? to-day is any man put to death in Israel? for have I not known that to-day I [am] king over Israel?'

²³ And the king saith unto Shimei, `Thou dost not die;' and the king sweareth to him.

²⁴ And Mephibosheth son of Saul hath come down to meet the king -- and he prepared not his feet, nor did he prepare his upper lip, yea, his garments he washed not, even from the day of the going away of the king, till the day that he came in peace --

²⁵ and it cometh to pass, when he hath come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king saith to him, `Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?'

²⁶ And he saith, `My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for thy servant said, I saddle for me the ass, and ride on it, and go with the king, for thy servant [is] lame;

²⁷ and he uttereth slander against thy servant unto my lord the king, and my lord the king [is] as a messenger of God; and do thou that which is good in thine eyes,

²⁸ for all the house of my father have been nothing except men of death before my lord the king, and thou dost set thy servant among those eating at thy table, and what right have I any more -- even to cry any more unto the king?'

²⁹ And the king saith to him, `Why dost thou speak any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba -- share ye the field.'

³⁰ And Mephibosheth saith unto the king, `Yea, the whole let him take, after that my lord the king hath come in peace unto his house.'

³¹ And Barzillai the Gileadite hath gone down from Rogelim, and passeth over the Jordan with the king, to send him away over the Jordan;

³² and Barzillai [is] very aged, a son of eighty years, and he hath sustained the king in his abiding in Mahanaim, for he [is] a very great man;

³³ and the king saith unto Barzillai, `Pass thou over with me, and I have sustained thee with me in Jerusalem.'

³⁴ And Barzillai saith unto the king, `How many [are] the days of the years of my life, that I go up with the king to Jerusalem?

³⁵ A son of eighty years I [am] to-day; do I know between good and evil? doth thy servant taste that which I am eating, and that which I drink? do I hearken any more to the voice of singers and songstresses? and why is thy servant any more for a burden unto my lord the king?

³⁶ As a little thing, thy servant doth pass over the Jordan with the king, and why doth the king recompense me this recompense?

³⁷ Let, I pray thee, thy servant turn back again, and I die in mine own city, near the burying-place of my father and of my mother, -- and lo, thy servant Chimham, let him pass over with my lord the king, and do thou to him that which [is] good in thine eyes.'

³⁸ And the king saith, `With me doth Chimham go over, and I do to him that which [is] good in thine eyes, yea, all that thou dost fix on me I do to thee.'

³⁹ And all the people pass over the Jordan, and the king hath passed over, and the king giveth a kiss to Barzillai, and blesseth him, and he turneth back to his place.

⁴⁰ And the king passeth over to Gilgal, and Chimham hath passed over with him, and all the people of Judah, and they bring over the king, and also the half of the people of Israel.

⁴¹ And, lo, all the men of Israel are coming unto the king, and they say unto the king, `Wherefore have they stolen thee -- our brethren, the men of Judah?' (and they bring the king and his household over the Jordan, and all the men of David with him).

⁴² And all the men of Judah answer against the men of Israel, `Because the king [is] near unto us, and why [is] this -- ye are displeased about this matter? have we at all eaten of the king's [substance?] a gift hath he lifted up to us?'

⁴³ And the men of Israel answer the men of Judah, and say, `Ten parts we have in the king, and also in David more than you; and wherefore have ye lightly esteemed us, that our word hath not been first to bring back our king?' And the word of the men of Judah is sharper than the word of the men of Israel.