d with men
that are wicked doers, and esteem your vile actions, when you are become
murderers of your master, as grateful to me, when you have slain a
righteous man upon his bed, who never did evil to any body, and treated
you with great good-will and respect? Wherefore you shall suffer the
punishment due on his account, and the vengeance I ought to inflict upon
you for killing Ishbosheth, and for supposing that I should take his
death kindly at your hands; for you could not lay a greater blot on my
honor, than by making such a supposal." When David had said this, he
tormented them with all sorts of torments, and then put them to death;
and he bestowed all accustomed rites on the burial of the head of
Ishbosheth, and laid it in the grave of Abner.

2. When these things were brought to this conclusion, all the principal
men of the Hebrew people came to David to Hebron, with the heads of
thousands, and other rulers, and delivered themselves up to him, putting
him in mind of the good-will they had borne to him in Saul's lifetime,
and the respect they then had not ceased to pay him when he was captain
of a thousand, as also that he was chosen of God by Samuel the prophet,
he and his sons; [2] and declaring besides, how God had given him
power to save the land of the Hebrews, and to overcome the Philistines.
Whereupon he received kindly this their alacrity on his account; and
exhorted them to continue in it, for that they should have no reason to
repent of being thus disposed to him. So when he had feasted them, and
treated them kindly, he sent them out to bring all the people to him;
upon which came to him about six thousand and eight hundred armed men of
the tribe of Judah, who bare shields and spears for their weapons, for
these had [till now] continued with Saul's son, when the rest of the
tribe of Judah had ordained David for their king. There came also seven
thousand and one hundred out of the tribe of Simeon. Out of the tribe
of Levi came four thousand and seven hundred, having Jehoiada for their
leader. After these came Zadok the high priest, with twenty-two captains
of his kindred. Out of the tribe of Benjamin the armed men were four
thousand; but the rest of the tribe continued, still expecting that some
one of the house of Saul should reign over them. Those of the tribe of
Ephraim were twenty thousand and eight hundred, and these mighty men of
valor, and eminent for their strength. Out of the half tribe of Manasseh