Gunnar wrote:If human skin cells can be converted into sperm cells...
I have, somewhere in my attic, a lock of Elvis Presley's hair. Think of the possibilities...
Keep it save! Otherwise, in the next decade the small elvis kids will proliferate in Your district.
by the way (as English uses the same word to every type of fur) --- Is it hair of the head, or pubic hair ?
- Whenever a poet or preacher, chief or wizard spouts gibberish, the human race spends centuries deciphering the message. - Umberto Eco - To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. - Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galilei
The Erotic Apologist wrote:I have, somewhere in my attic, a lock of Elvis Presley's hair.
Pubic?
That said, with the Book of Mormon, we are not dealing with a civilization with no written record. What we are dealing with is a written record with no civilization. (Runtu, Feb 2015)
Gunnar wrote:Sorry, it is my understanding that they have to be live skin cells. As you surely know, hair cells are not live--especially the cells in a lock of hair from someone who is long dead. Though, of course, if you are talking about merely extracting the DNA from Elvis' hair cells, I suppose one could do that. Cells don't necessarily have to be alive to merely extract DNA from them.
That's okay, because I'd really rather have a female pleasure robot instead of an Elvis clone.
Well, of course! That's perfectly understandable!
No precept or claim is more likely to be false than one that can only be supported by invoking the claim of Divine authority for it--no matter who or what claims such authority.
“If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.”
― Harlan Ellison
I have started a new thread on the Terrestrial forum entitled: Biblical Perspective on Homosexuality I was concerned that this thread (devoted to the Bible) was being derailed. Homosexuality is presently hot button issue and deserves its own thread. This thread is to read through the Bible and consider its truth and meaning.
Last edited by Guest on Mon May 12, 2014 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
LittleNipper wrote:I has started a new thread on the Terrestrial forum entitled: Biblical Perspective on Homosexuality I was concerned that this thread (devoted to the Bible) was being derailed. Homosexuality is presently hot button issue and deserves its own thread. This thread is to read through the Bible and consider its truth and meaning.
103 pages and you've just reached the conclusion that this thread might be being derailed?
That said, with the Book of Mormon, we are not dealing with a civilization with no written record. What we are dealing with is a written record with no civilization. (Runtu, Feb 2015)
2 Samuel 18:1-33 David reviewed the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains to lead them --- sending the troops out in three groups. One group was placed under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai from Gath. The king wanted to go to battle with his troops. His men objected strongly. Their concern was if they had to turn and run—even if half died—it would make no difference to Absalom’s troops. They were after David. They insisted the king stay here in the town and send help if needed.
So David remained alongside the gate of the town, as all the troops marched out in groups of hundreds and of thousands. The king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.
The battle began in the forest of Ephraim, and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a slaughter that day of 20,000 men. The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword. During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his beautiful long hair became tangled in an oak tree branch. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”
“What?” Joab demanded. “You saw him there and didn’t kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero’s belt!”
“I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver,” the man replied to Joab. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’ And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son—and the king would certainly find out who did it—you yourself would be the first to abandon me.”
“Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took 3 daggers and plunged them all into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and stabbed him. Joab blew the ram’s horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes. During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, saying, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s Monument to the writing of this portion of scripture.
Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has rescued him from his enemies.” “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger another time, but not today.”
Joab said to a man from Ethiopia to tell the king what he saw. Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.” Joab finally relented and Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian. While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. He saw a man running and shouted the news down to David. The king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer, the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted that there approaches another runner. “The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said. “He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied. Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the Lord your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.” “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?” Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn’t know what was happening.” “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside. Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the Lord has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.” “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. The Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!”
The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died in your place! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
1 And David inspecteth the people who [are] with him, and setteth over them heads of thousands and heads of hundreds,
2 and David sendeth the third of the people by the hand of Joab, and the third by the hand of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, and the third by the hand of Ittai the Gittite, and the king saith unto the people, `I certainly go out -- I also -- with you.'
3 And the people say, `Thou dost not go out, for if we utterly flee, they do not set [their] heart upon us; and if half of us die, they do not set [their] heart unto us -- for now like us [are] ten thousand; and now, better that thou be to us from the city for an helper.'
4 And the king saith unto them, `That which is good in your eyes I do;' and the king standeth at the side of the gate, and all the people have gone out by hundreds and by thousands,
5 and the king chargeth Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, `Gently -- for me, for the youth, for Absalom;' and all the people heard in the king's charging all the heads concerning Absalom.
6 And the people goeth out into the field to meet Israel, and the battle is in a forest of Ephraim;
7 and smitten there are the people of Israel before the servants of David, and the smiting there is great on that day -- twenty thousand;
8 and the battle is there scattered over the face of all the land, and the forest multiplieth to devour among the people more than those whom the sword hath devoured in that day.
9 And Absalom meeteth before the servants of David, and Absalom is riding on the mule, and the mule cometh in under an entangled bough of the great oak, and his head taketh hold on the oak, and he is placed between the heavens and the earth, and the mule that [is] under him hath passed on.
10 And one man seeth, and declareth to Joab, and saith, `Lo, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.'
11 And Joab saith to the man who is declaring [it] to him, `And lo, thou hast seen -- and wherefore didst thou not smite him there to the earth -- and on me to give to thee ten silverlings and one girdle?'
12 And the man saith unto Joab, `Yea, though I am weighing on my hand a thousand silverlings, I do not put forth my hand unto the son of the king; for in our ears hath the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Observe ye who [is] against the youth -- against Absalom;
13 or I had done against my soul a vain thing, and no matter is hid from the king, and thou -- thou dost station thyself over-against.'
14 And Joab saith, `Not right -- I tarry before thee;' and he taketh three darts in his hand, and striketh them into the heart of Absalom, while he [is] alive, in the midst of the oak.
15 And they go round -- ten youths bearing weapons of Joab -- and smite Absalom, and put him to death.
16 And Joab bloweth with a trumpet, and the people turneth back from pursuing after Israel, for Joab hath kept back the people;
17 and they take Absalom and cast him in the forest unto the great pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel have fled -- each to his tent.
18 And Absalom hath taken, and setteth up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that [is] in the king's valley, for he said, `I have no son to cause my name to be remembered;' and he calleth the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called `The monument of Absalom' unto this day.
19 And Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, `Let me run, I pray thee, and I bear the king tidings, for Jehovah hath delivered him out of the hand of his enemies;'
20 and Joab saith to him, `Thou art not a man of tidings this day, but thou hast borne tidings on another day, and this day thou dost not bear tidings, because the king's son [is] dead.'
21 And Joab saith to Cushi, `Go, declare to the king that which thou hast seen;' and Cushi boweth himself to Joab, and runneth.
22 And Ahimaaz son of Zadok addeth again, and saith unto Joab, `And whatever it be, let me run, I pray thee, I also, after the Cushite.' And Joab saith, `Why [is] this -- thou art running, my son, and for thee there are no tidings found?' --
23 `And, whatever it be, [said he,] let me run.' And he saith to him, `Run;' and Ahimaaz runneth the way of the circuit, and passeth by the Cushite.
24 And David is sitting between the two gates, and the watchman goeth unto the roof of the gate, unto the wall, and lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, a man running by himself.
25 And the watchman calleth, and declareth to the king, and the king saith, `If by himself, tidings [are] in his mouth;' and he cometh, coming on and drawing near.
26 And the watchman seeth another man running, and the watchman calleth unto the gatekeeper, and saith, `Lo, a man running by himself;' and the king saith, `Also this one is bearing tidings.'
27 And the watchman saith, `I see the running of the first as the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.' And the king saith, `This [is] a good man, and with good tidings he cometh.'
28 And Ahimaaz calleth and saith unto the king, `Peace;' and he boweth himself to the king, on his face, to the earth, and saith, `Blessed [is] Jehovah thy God who hath shut up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.'
29 And the king saith, `Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And Ahimaaz saith, `I saw the great multitude, at the sending away of the servant of the king, even thy servant [by] Joab, and I have not known what [it is].'
30 And the king saith, `Turn round, station thyself here;' and he turneth round and standeth still.
31 And lo, the Cushite hath come, and the Cushite saith, `Let tidings be proclaimed, my lord, O king; for Jehovah hath delivered thee to-day out of the hand of all those rising up against thee.'
32 And the king saith unto the Cushite, `Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And the Cushite saith, `Let them be -- as the youth -- the enemies of my lord the king, and all who have risen up against thee for evil.'
33 And the king trembleth, and goeth up on the upper chamber of the gate, and weepeth, and thus he hath said in his going, `My son! Absalom my son; my son Absalom; oh that I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son.'
Another person, situation, or god, is always a convenient excuse for our own shortcomings and defeats in life. The winner makes mistakes and learns from them not to make the same mistake again. The loser makes mistakes and never learns a thing from them. Next we come to step number two in the preparation for witch‐hood—glamour. Glamour is the term by which the enchantments and manipulations of witches and sorcerers was known for many years. Now the meaning of the word has changed to denote a dazzling display of beauty. We will simply define glamour as that which will compel visual attention, thereby distracting the viewer from other things. Closely akin to this is another word long used in connection with sorcery—fascination. It has been said that you can’t tell a book by its cover, but nevertheless people do! In fact, if most people didn’t tell books by their covers, there would be no need for such a saying. A successful witch must have glamour in her presence, whether it be in her sex appeal, her bizarre ugliness, the devices and conveyances with which she surrounds herself, or the place in which she lives. No girl who presents a dowdy, uninteresting appearance will ever make it as a witch.
The reason people are intrigued by magic and witchcraft In the first place is because it represents one of the secret facets of life—the element of wonder. If the fascination for the occult itself is what makes it so popular, then it stands to reason that anything that intrigues, fascinates, or causes one to wonder, will meet with the same reaction on the part of the onlooker—potential compulsion. Just look at any successful prostitute; invariably she will be dressed in a manner that will attract men and alienate women. Their choice of clothing is that which will titillate, intrigue, and command the attention of potential customers—in short, a promise of more and better things to come. Who is the man most likely to cause an arousal in the women at a social gathering? Surely not the loud, boisterous and totally open‐book type, but the guy who is obviously different from all the rest in appearance, but with what appears to be an underlying sensual strength, promising deep emotions. We are still animals, despite our attempts to hide from the fact, and intellect is dandy but it’s the old gut reaction that will win out every time.
CONCEPT OF GOD
This is why the Devil has always had it so easy, ruling the world. The spiritual, the higher planes, the concert of God, is basically an intellectual development, an idealistic invention—and must be thought about in order to function. On the other hand the necessities, desires, indulgences, and compulsions are purely emotional and need no analysis to put them into operation! Therefore the aspiring witch or warlock should learn well the importance of emotional appeal, and first in order of importance is visual stimulation. There is one hard, fast rule that applies to successful visual stimulation of a sexual nature—one that will always serve the witch who is reasonable attractive, in fascinating others. That rule is: That which is most intriguing is that which is not meant to be seen. This is so aptly proven by the men in a topless club who will shift their gaze from an almost totally nude girl who is throwing her body about erotically, to an attractive young woman sitting with her husband at the bar, who while watching the show is displaying a generous amount of thigh above the tops of her nylons. The difference between the woman on stage and the woman in the audience is, the gal up there dancing is viewed by other women present with amusement, and even secret identification. The young housewife, with her apparent carelessness in keeping her skirt under control, is observed by other women present in a resentful and critical manner. The reason for the disapproval from other women and the sneaky but approving glances from the men is obvious to those who know. The woman sitting at the bar, well dressed from her neatly styled hair to her high heels, is presenting a far better show with her revealed garters and an occasional glimpse of her underwear than the near‐nude on the stage because the married gal (who probably has three kids at home) is showing something that is NOT MEANT TO BE SEEN! Do you know what the most disheartening thing in the world to the Devil is? Such things as the “unisexual look,” where you can’t tell the boys from the girls because they dress the same. An honest homosexual likes guys that look like guys!
A HEALTHY TRANSVESTITE
A healthy transvestite wants to look like a woman when dressed up! A confirmed lesbian likes gals that look like either guys OR gals, but not both! Either people ought to wear no clothes at all, or wear garments that signify one sex or the other. If a woman has feminine charms, she should show them. If a man has sensual appeal, he should display it. The wearing of “cod pieces” in the middle ages is no different than the padding of the “basket” in the gay world of today—it displays something that is not meant to be seen! Of course all of these uses of sexual intrigue are as the result of unfounded guilt established by the men of “God,” but nevertheless they’re here and we’re stuck with them, so we might as well use them and enjoy them. There is an opportunity to free oneself from these “hang‐ups” by the use of drugs, but look what it produces—lack of discrimination resulting in the aforementioned “unisexual look.” I would rather be “hung‐up.” It’s a lot more fun. This is why the Satanist revels in what are considered to be sins. We Satanists consider “hang‐ups” to be “hang‐ONS”—the very foundations of what makes our personality, our likes and dislikes what they are. We like our fetishes and resent any attempt to remove them. This is why we are not a “love” religion that claims to like everything and everybody. We feel that when one loses their sense of discrimination, they become like ants in an anthill. Fortunately, most people are still possessed of “hang‐ups” and are “up tight” about some things. Those that think they are “free” are usually working at it so hard that they have become enslaved by their “freedom.” Next week I will answer some of the letters that have been coming in, asking the Devil’s opinion on various matters concerning the black arts, manners and morals, and other subjects approachable from a Satanic point of view. I will also add further ingredients to our study of PRACTICAL witchery. Until then, sin well!
On Occultism of the Past Anton Szandor LaVey The Cloven Hoof, September VI A.S. (1971 c.e.) Volume Three, Number Nine
“When anyone invokes the devil with intentional ceremonies, the devil comes and is seen. To escape dying from horror at that sight, to escape catalepsy or idiocy, one must already be mad....There are two houses in heaven, and the tribunal of Satan is restrained in its extremes by the Senate of Divine Wisdom.
“This explains the bizarre nature and atrocious character of the operations of Black Magic....the diabolical masses, administration of sacraments to reptiles, effusions of blood, human sacrifices and other monstrosities, which are the very essence and reality of Goetia or Nigromancy. Such are the practices which from all time have brought down upon sorcerers the just reputation of the laws. Black Magic is really only a graduated combination of sacrileges and murders designed for the permanent perversion of a human will and for the realization in a living man of the hideous phantom of the demon. It is therefore, properly speaking, the religion of the devil, the cultus of darkness, hatred of good carried to the height of paroxism; it is the incarnation of death and the persistent creation of hell.”
— Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levi
This is the writing of Eliphas Levi, one of the sustainers of occult unwisdom of the nineteenth century. In Levi’s works we are confronted by page after page extolling the merits of Jesus Christ as king and master. Any Satanist who has ever read Transcendental Magic cannot help but see Levi’s great contribution to Christian theology and Dennis Wheatley.
I MEANT what I said in The Satanic Bible, when I referred to such prior garbage as “sanctimonious fraud—guilt‐ridden ramblings and esoteric gibberish by chroniclers of magical lore unable or unwilling to present an objective view of the subject.” Yet it not only saddens but antagonizes me when I find a member impressively stating his adherence to or compatibility with these worthless ravings.
It is bad enough to hear of the “great teachings” of Aleister Crowley—who hypocritically called himself by the Christian devil’s number, yet steadfastly denied any Satanic connections, who wrote and had published millions of words of Kabbalistic mulligatawny, the distilled wisdom of which could have been contained in a single volume of once‐popular E. Haldeman Julius’ Little Blue Books (which sold for a nickel). Strange, how seldom one hears plaudits for Crowley’s poetry, worthy of inclusion with the likes of James Thompson, Baudelaire, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard. If Crowley was a magician, it was the beauty of his creative art which made him so, not his drug‐befuddled callings‐up of Choronzon, et al. Unfortunately, his followers today have taken up his worst, while neglecting his best.
I get fed up to the stomach‐turning point, listening to would‐be students waxing eloquent over Israel Regardie’s Golden Dawn, with its ponderous bulk blotched by sigil after sigil of holy esoterica. The very jacket design fairly screams out, “Oh God, how good and light and righteous we are!” with a rayed cross of a magnitude that should have awakened Bela Lugosi back to life out of sheer shock. Mr. Regardie, like his white‐light predecessors, rambles through five pounds of accumulated Kabbalistic toxemia and burned‐out Rosicrucianism before his literary enema yields a scant few pages of today’s dinner, namely, a watered‐down version of the Enochian Keys.
2 Samuel 19:1-43 Word reached Joab that the king is mourning for Absalom. All the people heard of the king’s deep grief for his son. Joy of that day’s victory was turned into deep sadness. Joab went to the king’s room and said to him, “We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves. You seem to love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased. Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before.”
The king went out and took his seat at the town gate, and as the news spread throughout the town, everyone went to him. The Israelites who had supported Absalom fled to their homes. Throughout all the tribes of Israel there was much discussion and argument going on. The people were saying, “The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but Absalom chased him out of the country. Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, is dead. Why not ask David to come back and be our king again?”
King David sent Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, to say to the elders of Judah, “Why are you the last ones to welcome back the king into his palace? For I have heard that all Israel is ready. You are my relatives, my own tribe, my own flesh and blood! So why are you the last ones to welcome back the king?” David told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place.”
Amasa convinced all the men of Judah who now responded unanimously. They sent word to the king, “Return to us, and bring back all who are with you.”
The king started back to Jerusalem. And when he arrived at the Jordan River, the people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the river. Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin, hurried across with the men of Judah to welcome King David. 1000 other men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, and Ziba’s 15 sons & 20 servants. They crossed the shallows of the Jordan to bring the king’s household across the river, helping him in every way they could.
As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him. “My lord the king, please forgive me,” he pleaded. “Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king.”
Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shimei should die, for he cursed the Lord’s anointed king!” “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah!” David exclaimed. “Why have you become my adversary today? This is not a day for execution but for celebration! Today I am once again the king of Israel!” Turning to Shimei, David vowed, “Your life will be spared.”
Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem. “Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him. Mephibosheth replied, “My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?”
“You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.” “Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!”
Barzillai of Gilead came down from Rogelim to escort the king across the Jordan. He was very old, about eighty, and wealthy. He was had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim. “Come across with me and live in Jerusalem,” the king said to Barzillai. “I will take care of you there.” “No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king. Just to go across the Jordan River with the king is all the honor I need! Then let me return again to die in my own town, where my father and mother are buried. But here is your servant, my son Kimham. Let him go with my lord the king and receive whatever you want to give him.”
The king agreed. “Kimham will go with me, and I will help him in any way you would like. And I will do for you anything you want.” So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai returned to his own home. The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king on his way.
The men of Israel complained to the king, “The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.” The men of Judah replied, “The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!” The arguing continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
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.
