Scriptures

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

2 Samuel 19
⁷ Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, surely not a man will pass the night with you, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now."
⁸ So the king arose and sat in the gate. When they told all the people, saying, "Behold, the king is sitting in the gate," then all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled, each to his tent.
⁹ All the people were quarreling throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.
¹⁰ However, Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now then, why are you silent about bringing the king back?"
¹¹ Then King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ’Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house?
¹² You are my brothers; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’
¹³ Say to Amasa, ’Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.’"
¹⁴ Thus he turned the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, saying, "Return, you and all your servants."
¹⁵ The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to bring the king across the Jordan.
¹⁶ Then Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
¹⁷ There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, with Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.