<p class="poetry">Foreigners are powerless before me;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">when they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.<n id="2" />p>

a wise woman called out from the city, &#8220;Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, &#8216;Come near so that I may speak to you.&#8217;&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">When he approached her, the woman asked, &#8220;Are you Joab?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;I am.&#8221; She said to him, &#8220;Listen to the words of your servant.&#8221; He said, &#8220;Go ahead. I&#8217;m listening.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">When Ish-bosheth<n id="1" /> the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he was very disheartened,<n id="2" /> and all Israel was afraid.

<p class="bodytext">When King Toi<n id="1" /> of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,

<p class="bodytext">When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them.<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">When Uriah&#8217;s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him.<n id="1" />

But he refused to listen to her.<n id="1" /> He overpowered her and humiliated her by raping her.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">Now King David heard about all these things and was very angry.<n id="1" />

Absalom would then say to him, &#8220;Look, your claims are legitimate and appropriate.<n id="1" /> But there is no representative of the king who will listen to you.&#8221;

But Absalom said, &#8220;Call for<n id="1" /> Hushai the Arkite, and let&#8217;s hear what he has to say.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="poetry">In my distress I called to the <sc>Lordsc>;p> <p class="poetry">I called to my God.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">From his heavenly temple<n id="2" /> he heard my voice;p> <p class="poetry">he listened to my cry for help.<n id="3" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">When the Philistines heard that David had been designated<n id="1" /> king over Israel, they all<n id="2" /> went up to search for David. When David heard about it, he went down to the fortress.

At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first,<n id="1" /> whoever hears about it will say, &#8216;Absalom&#8217;s army has been slaughtered!&#8217;

<p class="bodytext">When David later heard about this, he said, &#8220;I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the <sc>Lordsc> of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner!

When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, act decisively. For at that moment the <sc>Lordsc> is going before you to strike down the army<n id="1" /> of the Philistines.&#8221;

Therefore you are great, O <sc>Lordsc> God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true!<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">But she said to him, &#8220;No I won&#8217;t, for sending me away now would be worse than what you did to me earlier!&#8221;<n id="1" /> But he refused to listen to her.

Yes!<n id="1" /> The king may<n id="2" /> listen and deliver his female servant<n id="3" /> from the hand of the man who seeks to remove<n id="4" /> both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!&#8217;<n id="5" />

<p class="bodytext">Then Absalom sent spies through all the tribes of Israel who said, &#8220;When you hear the sound of the horn, you may assume<n id="1" /> that Absalom rules in Hebron.&#8221;