19:1
    [kjv]  And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.
    [bbe]  And word was given to Joab that the king was weeping and sorrowing for Absalom.
19:2  
    [kjv]  And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.
    [bbe]  And the salvation of that day was changed to sorrow for all the people: for it was said to the people, The king is in bitter grief for his son.
19:3  
    [kjv]  And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
    [bbe]  And the people made their way back to the town quietly and secretly, as those who are shamed go secretly when they go in flight from the war.
19:4
    [kjv]  But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
    [bbe]  But the king, covering his face, gave a great cry, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
19:5  
    [kjv]  And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
    [bbe]  And Joab came into the house to the king and said, Today you have put to shame the faces of all your servants who even now have kept you and your sons and your daughters and your wives and all your women safe from death;
19:6
    [kjv]  In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.
    [bbe]  For your haters, it seems, are dear to you, and your friends are hated. For you have made it clear that captains and servants are nothing to you: and now I see that if Absalom was living and we had all been dead today, it would have been right in your eyes.
19:7  
    [kjv]  Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.
    [bbe]  So get up now, and go out and say some kind words to your servants; for, by the Lord, I give you my oath, that if you do not go out, not one of them will keep with you tonight; and that will be worse for you than all the evil which has overtaken you from your earliest years.
19:8
    [kjv]  Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.
    [bbe]  Then the king got up and took his seat near the town-door. And word was given to all the people that the king was in the public place: and all the people came before the king. Now all the men of Israel had gone back in flight to their tents.
19:9 
    [kjv]  And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.
    [bbe]  And through all the tribes of Israel the people were having arguments, saying, The king made us safe from the hands of those who were against us and made us free from the hands of the Philistines; and now he has gone in flight from the land, because of Absalom.
19:10
    [kjv]  And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
    [bbe]  And Absalom, whom we made a ruler over us, is dead in the fight. So now why do you say nothing about getting the king back? And word of what all Israel was saying came to the king.
19:11 
    [kjv]  And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.
    [bbe]  And King David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, Say to the responsible men of Judah, Why are you the last to take steps to get the king back to his house?
19:12  
    [kjv]  Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
    [bbe]  You are my brothers, my bone and my flesh; why are you the last to get the king back again?
19:13 
    [kjv]  And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
    [bbe]  And say to Amasa, Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God's punishment be on me, if I do not make you chief of the army before me at all times in place of Joab!
19:14  
    [kjv]  And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.
    [bbe]  And the hearts of the men of Judah were moved like one man; so that they sent to the king, saying, Come back, with all your servants.
19:15  
    [kjv]  So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.
    [bbe]  So the king came back, and came as far as Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, meeting the king there, to take him back with them over Jordan.
19:16  
    [kjv]  And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David.
    [bbe]  And Shimei, the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, got up quickly and went down with the men of Judah for the purpose of meeting King David;
19:17  
    [kjv]  And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
    [bbe]  And with him a thousand men of Benjamin, and Ziba, the servant of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, came rushing to Jordan before the king,
19:18 
    [kjv]  And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan;
    [bbe]  And kept going across the river to take the people of the king's house over, and to do whatever was desired by the king. And Shimei, the son of Gera, went down on his face in the dust before the king, when he was about to go over Jordan,
19:19  
    [kjv]  And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.
    [bbe]  And said to him, Let me not be judged as a sinner in your eyes, O my lord, and do not keep in mind the wrong I did on the day when my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, or take it to heart.
19:20  
    [kjv]  For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.
    [bbe]  For your servant is conscious of his sin: and so, as you see, I have come today, the first of all the sons of Joseph, for the purpose of meeting my lord the king.
19:21
    [kjv]  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD's anointed?
    [bbe]  But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said, Is not death the right fate for Shimei, because he has been cursing the one marked by the holy oil?
19:22
    [kjv]  And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to............