2 Samuel 9; 2 Samuel 10; 2 Samuel 11; Luke 15:11-32

1 And David said: Is there any one, think you, left of the house of Saul, that I may shew kindness to him for Jonathan’s sake?

2 Now there was of the house of Saul, a servant named Siba: and when the king had called him to him, he said to him: Art thou Siba? And he answered: I am Siba thy servant.

3 And the king said: Is there any one left of the house of Saul, that I may shew the mercy of God unto Him? And Siba said to the king: There is a son of Jonathan left, who is lame of his feet.

4 Where is he? said he. And Siba said to the king: Behold he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lodabar.

5 Then King David sent, and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodabar.

6 And when Miphiboseth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul was come to David, he fell on his face and worshipped. And David said: Miphiboseth? And he answered: Behold thy servant.

7 And David said to him: Fear not, for I will surely shew thee mercy for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and I will restore the lands of Saul the father, and thou shalt eat bread at my table always.

8 He bowed down to him, and said: Who am I thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?

9 Then the King called Siba the servant of Saul, and said to him: All that belonged to Saul, and all his house, I have given to thy master’s son.

10 Thou therefore and the sons and thy servants shall till the land for him: and thou shalt bring in food for thy master’s son, that he may be maintained: and Miphiboseth the son of thy master shall always eat bread at my table. And Siba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

11 And Siba said to the king: As thou my lord the hast commanded thy servant, so will thy servant do: and Miphiboseth shall eat at my table, as one of the sons of the King.

12 And Miphiboseth had a young son whose name was Micha: and all that kindred of the house of Siba served Miphiboseth.

13 But Miphiboseth dwelt in Jerusalem: because he ate always of the king’s table: and he was lame of both feet.

1 And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanon his son reigned in his stead.

2 And David said: I will shew kindness to Hanon the son of Daas, as his father shewed kindness to me. So David sent his servants to comfort him for the death of his father. But when the servants of David were come into the land of the children of Ammon,

3 The princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanon their lord: Thinkest thou that for the honour of thy father, David hath sent comforters to thee, and hath not David rather sent his servants to thee to search, and spy into the city, and overthrow it?

4 Wherefore Hanon took the servants of David, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut away half of their garments even to the buttocks, and sent them away.

5 When this was told David, he sent to meet them: for the men were sadly put to confusion, and David commanded them, saying: Stay at Jericho, till your beards be grown, and then return.

6 And the children of Ammon seeing that they had done an injury to David, sent and hired the Syrians of Rohob, and the Syrians of Soba, twenty thousand footmen, and of the king of Maacha a thousand men, and of Istob twelve thousand men.

7 And when David heard this, he sent Joab and the whole army of warriors.

8 And the children of Ammon came out, and set their men in array at the entering in of the gate: but the Syrians of Soba, and of Rohob, and of Istob, and of Maacha were by themselves in the field.

9 Then Joab seeing that the battle was prepared against him, both before and behind, chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians:

10 And the rest of the people he delivered to Abisai his brother, who set them in array against the children of Ammon.

11 And Joab said: If the Syrians are too strong for me, then thou shalt help me, but if the children of Ammon are too strong for thee, then I will help thee.

12 Be of good courage, and let us fight for our people, and for the city of our God: and the Lord will do what is good in his sight.

13 And Joab and the people that were with him, began to fight against the Syrians: and they immediately fled before him.

14 And the children of Ammon seeing that the Syrians were fled, they fled also before Abisai, and entered into the city: and Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

15 Then the Syrians seeing that they had fallen before Israel, gathered themselves together.

16 And Adarezer sent and fetched the Syrians, that were beyond the river, and brought over their army: and Sobach, the captain of the host of Adarezer, was their general.

17 And when this was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam: and the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought against him.

18 And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David slew of the Syrians the men of seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen: and smote Sobach the captain of the army, who presently died.

19 And all the kings that were auxiliaries of Adarezer, seeing themselves overcome by Israel, were afraid and fled away, eight and fifty thousand men before Israel. And they made peace with Israel: and served them, and all the Syrians were afraid to help the children of Ammon any more.

1 And it came to pass at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth to war, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they spoiled the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabba: but David remained in Jerusalem.

2 In the mean time it happened that David arose from his bed after noon, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: And he saw from the roof of his house a woman washing herself, over against him: and the woman was very beautiful.

3 And the king sent, and inquired who the woman was. And it was told him, that she was Bethsabee the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urias the Hethite.

4 And David sent messengers, and took her, and she came in to him, and he slept with her: and presently she was purified from her uncleanness:

5 And she returned to her house having conceived. And she sent and told David, and said: I have conceived.

6 And David sent to Joab, saying: Send me Urias the Hethite. And Joab sent Urias to David.

7 And Urias came to David. And David asked how Joab did, and the people, and how the war was carried on.

8 And David said to Urias: Go into thy house, and wash thy feet. And Urias went out from the king’s house, and there went out after him a mess of meat from the king.

9 But Urias slept before the gate of the king’s house, with the other servants of his lord, and went not down to his own house.

10 And it was told David by some that said: Urias went not to his house. And David said to Urias: Didst thou not come from thy journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?

11 And Urias said to David: The ark of God and Israel and Juda dwell in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord abide upon the face of the earth: and shall I go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to sleep with my wife? By thy welfare and by the welfare of thy soul I will not do this thing.

12 Then David said to Urias: Tarry here to day, and to morrow I will send thee away. Urias tarried in Jerusalem that day and the next.

13 And David called him to eat and to drink before him, and he made him drunk: and he went out in the evening, and slept on his couch with the servants of his lord, and went not down into his house.

14 And when the morning was come, David wrote a letter to Joab: and sent it by the hand of Urias,

15 Writing in the letter: Set ye Urias in the front of the battle, where the fight is strongest: and leave ye him, that he may be wounded and die.

16 Wherefore as Joab was besieging the city, he put Urias in the place where he knew the bravest men were.

17 And the men coming out of the city, fought against Joab, and there fell some of the people of the servants of David, and Urias the Hethite was killed also.

18 Then Joab sent, and told David all things concerning the battle.

19 And he charged the messenger, saying: When thou hast told all the words of the battle to the king,

20 If thou see him to be angry, and he shall say: Why did you approach so near to the wall to fight? knew you not that many darts are thrown from above off the wall?

21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerobaal? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall and slew him in Thebes? Why did you go near the wall? Thou shalt say: Thy servant Urias the Hethite is also slain.

22 So the messenger departed, and came and told David all that Joab had commanded him.

23 And the messenger said to David: The men prevailed against us, and they came out to us into the field: and we vigorously charged and pursued them even to the gate of the city.

24 And the archers shot their arrows at thy servants from off the wall above: and some of the king’s servants are slain, and thy servant Urias the Hethite is also dead.

25 And David said to the messenger: Thus shalt thou say to Joab: Let not this thing discourage thee: for various is the event of war: and sometimes one, sometimes another is consumed by the sword: encourage thy warriors against the city, and exhort them that thou mayest overthrow it.

26 And the wife of Urias heard that Urias her husband was dead, and she mourned for him.

27 And the mourning being over, David sent and brought her into his house, and she became his wife, and she bore him a son: and this thing which David had done, was displeasing to the Lord.

11 And he said: A certain man had two sons.

12 And the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his substance.

13 And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously.

14 And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country: and he began to be in want.

15 And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine.

16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

17 And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father’s house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger!

18 I will arise and will go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee.

19 I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20 And rising up, he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion and running to him fell upon his neck and kissed him.

21 And the son said to him: Father: I have sinned against heaven and before thee I am not now worthy to be called thy son.

22 And the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe and put it on him: and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet.

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it: and let us eat and make merry:

24 Because this my son was dead and is come to life again, was lost and is found. And they began to be merry.

25 Now his elder son was in the field and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said to him: Thy brother is come and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe.

28 And he was angry and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him.

29 And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve thee and I have never transgressed thy commandment: and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends.

30 But as soon as this thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31 But he said to him: Son, thou art always with me; and all I have is thine.

32 But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found.