14:1Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom. 14:2And Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, I pray thee, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead: 14:3and go in to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.
14:4And when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. 14:5And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, Of a truth I am a widow, and my husband is dead. 14:6And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him. 14:7And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew, and so destroy the heir also. Thus will they quench my coal which is left, and will leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the face of the earth.
14:8And the king said unto the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee. 14:9And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless. 14:10And the king said, Whosoever saith aught unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. 14:11Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
14:12Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on. 14:13And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou devised such a thing against the people of God? for in speaking this word the king is as one that is guilty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished one. 14:14For we must needs die, and are as water split on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him. 14:15Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant. 14:16For the king will hear, to deliver his servant out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. 14:17Then thy handmaid said, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: and Jehovah thy God be with thee.
14:18Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, aught that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. 14:19And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid; 14:20to change the face of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
14:21And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom back. 14:22And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and did obeisance, and blessed the king: and Joab said, To-day thy servant knoweth that I have found favor in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath performed the request of his servant. 14:23So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 14:24And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, but let him not see my face. So Absalom turned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.
14:25Now in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 14:26And when he cut the hair of his head (now it was at every year's end that he cut it; because it was heavy on him, therefore he cut it); he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king's weight. 14:27And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
14:28And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem; and he saw not the king's face. 14:29Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and he sent again a second time, but he would not come. 14:30Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire. 14:31Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire? 14:32And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it were better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him kill me. 14:33So Joab came to the king, and told him; and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.
7:1Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 7:2Open your hearts to us: we wronged no man, we corrupted no man, we took advantage of no man. 7:3I say it not to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die together and live together. 7:4Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying on your behalf: I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our affliction. 7:5For even when we were come into Macedonia our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. 7:6Nevertheless he that comforteth the lowly, even God, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 7:7and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort wherewith he was comforted in you, while he told us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced yet more. 7:8For though I made you sorry with my epistle, I do not regret it: though I did regret it (for I see that that epistle made you sorry, though but for a season), 7:9I now rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly sort, that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing. 7:10For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 7:11For behold, this selfsame thing, that ye were made sorry after a godly sort, what earnest care it wrought in you, yea what clearing of yourselves, yea what indignation, yea what fear, yea what longing, yea what zeal, yea what avenging! In everything ye approved yourselves to be pure in the matter. 7:12So although I wrote unto you, I wrote not for his cause that did the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered the wrong, but that your earnest care for us might be made manifest unto you in the sight of God. 7:13Therefore we have been comforted: And in our comfort we joyed the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit hath been refreshed by you all. 7:14For if in anything I have gloried to him on your behalf, I was not put to shame; but as we spake all things to you in truth, so our glorying also which I made before Titus was found to be truth. 7:15And his affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. 7:16I rejoice that in everything I am of good courage concerning you.
21:1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 21:2Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 21:3and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 21:4Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 21:5and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more. 21:6Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes. 21:7And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah. 21:8And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 21:9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished; 21:10it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree. 21:11And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. 21:12Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; smite therefore upon thy thigh. 21:13For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah. 21:14Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded, which entereth into their chambers. 21:15I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter. 21:16Gather thee together, go to the right, set thyself in array, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is set. 21:17I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Jehovah, have spoken it. 21:18The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying, 21:19Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city. 21:20Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified. 21:21For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver. 21:22In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts. 21:23And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them; but he bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken. 21:24Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. 21:25And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, 21:26thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. 21:27I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. 21:28And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning; 21:29while they see for thee false visions, while they divine lies unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are deadly wounded, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end. 21:30Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth, will I judge thee. 21:31And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee; I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy. 21:32Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
For the Chief Musician; A Psalm of David, a song.
68:1Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;
Let them also that hate him flee before him.
68:2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away:
As wax melteth before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
68:3But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God:
Yea, let them rejoice with gladness.
68:4Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
Cast up a highway for him that rideth through the deserts;
His name is Jehovah; and exult ye before him.
68:5A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,
Is God in his holy habitation.
68:6God setteth the solitary in families:
He bringeth out the prisoners into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
68:7O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,
When thou didst march through the wilderness;
Selah
68:8The earth trembled,
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God:
Yon Sinai trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
68:9Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain,
Thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
68:10Thy congregation dwelt therein:
Thou, O God, didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor.
68:11The Lord giveth the word:
The women that publish the tidings are a great host.
68:12Kings of armies flee, they flee;
And she that tarrieth at home divideth the spoil.
68:13When ye lie among the sheepfolds,
It is as the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her pinions with yellow gold.
68:14When the Almighty scattered kings therein,
It was as when it snoweth in Zalmon.
68:15A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A high mountain is the mountain of Bashan.
68:16Why look ye askance, ye high mountains,
At the mountain which God hath desired for his abode?
Yea, Jehovah will dwell in it for ever.
68:17The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands;
The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the sanctuary.
68:18Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led away captives;
Thou hast received gifts among men,
Yea, among the rebellious also, that Jehovah God might dwell with them.
68:19Blessed be the Lord, who daily beareth our burden,
Even the God who is our salvation.
Selah
68:20God is unto us a God of deliverances;
And unto Jehovah the Lord belongeth escape from death.
68:21But God will smite through the head of his enemies,
The hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his guiltiness.
68:22The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan,
I will bring them again from the depths of the sea;
68:23That thou mayest crush them, dipping thy foot in blood,
That the tongue of thy dogs may have its portion from thine enemies.
68:24They have seen thy goings, O God,
Even the goings of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
68:25The singers went before, the minstrels followed after,
In the midst of the damsels playing with timbrels.
68:26Bless ye God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel.
68:27There is little Benjamin their ruler,
The princes of Judah and their council,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
68:28Thy God hath commanded thy strength:
Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
68:29Because of thy temple at Jerusalem
Kings shall bring presents unto thee.
68:30Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver:
He hath scattered the peoples that delight in war.
68:31Princes shall come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia shall haste to stretch out her hands unto God.
68:32Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth;
Oh sing praises unto the Lord;
Selah
68:33To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which are of old;
Lo, he uttereth his voice, a mighty voice.
68:34Ascribe ye strength unto God:
His excellency is over Israel,
And his strength is in the skies.
68:35O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places:
The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people.
Blessed be God.