Original subtitles

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in addition, all amalekite land

to be given to Israel

together with a ransom of 100,000 shekels.

The prophet Samuel wishes to speak with Saul.

He cannot speak with him now.

The king's engaged in the affairs of state.

Affairs of state don't take precedence

over the affairs of God.

Samuel,

we welcome you.

With God's blessing, our victory is complete.

Is this how you show gratitude,

by robbing the amalekites of their women and cattle

and holding their king in chains?

We were... Discussing a possible treaty.

The king's to be ransomed...

treaty?

Ransom?

Saul,

for this you have betrayed your own soul

in the sight of God.

His instructions were plain enough.

He said, "I'm resolved to blot out these heathen

"from the face of the land,

"for I am a jealous God.

"I abhor their abominable practices.

Therefore, send for my servant Saul..."

"And tell him to fall upon the amalekites

"and utterly destroy them.

"Put them all to death...

"men and women, children,

"babes in arms, sheep and cattle.

"Spare nothing from the sword.

Nothing."

When our tribes clamored for a king,

to make us like other nations,

I answered them,

"we're not like other nations.

The lord of hosts is our God and our king."

The people said,

"we want a king we can see.

We want a king of our own flesh and blood."

Here are your kings of flesh and blood.

Here is a king you can see.

I have sinned.

Saul... I weep in the dark for you.

Forgive me.

I beg of you!

Even so...

As the lord tore the kingdom of Israel

from the house of Saul.

Soon he'll give it to another...

a man after his own heart.

A worthier man than you.

And the lord said to Samuel,

"do not mourn for Saul.

"Fill your horn with oil,

for I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem."

Blessings be upon you, Jesse.

On this day

shall the lord God of Israel choose himself a king

from among your sons.

But...

But Saul is our king.

God is not a man that he should deceive you.

Which of my sons must it be?

My first son, eliab.

The lord does not see as man sees.

Men judge by outward appearances,

but the lord judges by the heart alone.

My second son, abinadab.

My third son, shammah.

The lord has chosen none of these men.

You've no other sons?

David.

You kneel before me

as the Shepherd of your father's flock,

but God's chosen you

to be the Shepherd of his people Israel,

to unite his scattered tribes into one nation,

and to send the heathen from his promised land.

My brothers are all soldiers.

Why not choose one of them?

It was not I who chose you.

It was the lord God.

I am the least in my father's house.

You are a child after God's own heart.

If I am so favored,

let him command me face to face.

No man may see God and live.

God speaks to man through his prophet.

So be it.

When I die,

you'll be brought before the king by one of his sons.

Then shall God challenge you

as you have challenged him

to defend his name and his honor.

Have no fear, David.

The lord shall not forsake you

so long as you keep his laws

and obey his prophets without question.

There's no sense in waiting longer, my lord.

Samuel will not come.

He will come.

No, my lord.

He will come!

Is Israel governed by a king

or the whims of a senile old prophet?

You cannot have one without the other.

What if Samuel's a false prophet?

If Samuel is a false prophet,

I'm a false king.

It was Samuel who anointed me,

even as he's rejected me.

The people look to you as king, father.

The people will not fight without Samuel's blessing.

Then permit me to move them into position

while we await his arrival!

Abner's right, father.

But what was his name?

The man who wrestled with me until daybreak.

What man, my lord?

It was only a dream.

If it was a dream,

send in my musician.

Let me dream on.

Where is Samuel?

These are Samuel's last words...

"tell Saul to lead the people out

"against the philistines.

"The lord shall deliver them into their hands,

"for, though he's rejected Saul,

he won't forsake his people Israel."

Samuel is dead?

He is.

His soul rests at peace.

The levite...

peace!

You talk to me of peace?

Dear God,

my God...

Why have you forsaken me?

David!

You're David.

I'm Jonathan, son of Saul.

Your cousin jerod says you're a fine singer.

You've come to bring me to the king.

How do you know?

The prophet Samuel is dead, isn't he?

Who told you?

David!

What are you doing here?

Who's minding father's sheep?

I know. You've come to watch the battle.

What are you doing here?

Father?

I've brought the boy.

Have you seen him face to face?

I saw him. Once.

He smiled on me, too.

But at daybreak...

He was gone.

¶

¶ the lord ¶

¶ is my Shepherd ¶

¶ shall not want ¶

¶ he lies me down ¶

¶ in green pastures ¶

¶ he leads me beside ¶

¶ still waters ¶

¶ he restores ¶

¶ my soul ¶

slaves of a nameless God,

once again I bring you

the challenge of goliath of goth,

champion of the philistines.

Where is your faith in your God?

Where is your trust in his protection?

You boast that he can move mountains,

and yet he cannot move one man among you

to defend his honor.

6 times have we challenged you

to put forward a champion,

and 6 times have you cowered in silence!

Send out a champion.

Whoever wins the combat

wins the day for his country and God.

Well, israelites,

what is your answer?

Then let all the world bear witness...

there is no God in Israel!

¶ Yea, though I walk ¶

¶ through the valley of the shadow of death ¶

¶ I will fear no evil ¶

¶ for thou art with me ¶

goliath!

Yea! Yea!

He will feed your flesh to the birds

and the beasts of the field.

So be it, lord.

So be it!

An entire army at my command...

It takes a Shepherd boy to wipe out our disgrace?

He's given us back our pride.

From that day,

David did not return to his father's house,

but remained with Saul at gibeah,

where he served in the army for 10 years.

He fought so bravely

that Saul placed him over his men of war.

Each victory was greeted with exultation

in the sight of all the people.

Saul has killed his thousands,

and David his tens of thousands!

Saul has killed his thousands,

and David his tens of thousands!

Saul has killed his thousands,

and David his tens of thousands!

Saul has killed his thousands...

May the lord bless you and keep you

and be gracious to you.

May the lord lift his face towards you

and give you peace.

From this day forth,

no man shall cover thee but me.

It was I who taught him the harp.

Ah, but I taught him to use the sling.

Father taught him both, didn't you, father?

Any man can teach,

but David's gifts are the gifts of God.

Ha. There he goes again.

David's a man after God's own heart, isn't he?

Is it true that he once killed a lion?

With his own bare hands.

Which were tied behind his back no doubt.

Yes. And with a blindfold.

David's a man after God's own heart, you say?

That's what the prophet said, wasn't it, father?

Did I please you, my lord?

You only have to smile,

and I am pleased.

Did I smile... My lord?

My name is David.

Ah. Forgive me.

The confusion is easily made.

By whom?

The people who worship you as their God.

Well, as for Jonathan...

He loves me as a brother...

As I love him.

And his sister?

The resemblance is marked...

But I suspect it's only skin deep.

Then why did you marry me?

You're my prize for Goliath's head.

Is that your only reason?

Is love not reason enough?

You scarcely know me.

Your mystery overwhelms me.

And my beauty?

Bless your modesty.

Uh...

a king's daughter has cause to be proud.

As does the man who has won her.

Because it was a moonlit night...

And David and I led the way.

We were climbing up the hill.

At the top,

hittites and ammonites faced us on either side.

I urged David to turn back,

but he said,

"God will deliver them into our hands."

Hear him warbling in praise of the cuckoo bird.

What cuckoo bird?

He ate from my table and lies with my daughter.

He's robbed me of my God, my people, even my children.

What else can he take but my crown?

That's a lie.

While David lives,

neither I nor you nor the throne shall be safe.

What proof do you have?

Did Samuel anoint your brother?

The prophet blessed him, my lord.

David has done nothing wrong, father.

You cannot harm an innocent man.

Samuel anointed him in my place!

David!

The boy I trusted and loved as my own son.

Then be glad of it!

Give thanks Israel's future

belongs to a man worthy of your love.

No!

Oh! Oh!

Where have you hidden him?

I don't know where he is.

Don't lie to me!

When I awoke, he was gone.

Shammah.

That's the important thing.

Who cares about her mother? Ha ha...

Find David Ben-Jesse!

Find him!

Search the courtyard and stables!

Get horses!

Find David Ben-Jesse!

You look in the storage room!

Go to the South tower!

David...

You must go at once to the sanctuary of nome

and ask for the high priest ahemelek

and show him this.

Come with me.

I cannot.

But we have a covenant to friendship between us.

What of the covenant of honor between the father and his son?

I would lay down my life for you willingly,

but I will not break faith with my father...

As I will not break faith with you.

Forgive me.

You have the love of one far greater than I to care for you.

My father has no one.

May the lord be with you.

May his light shine within your heart...

Even as you shine within mine.

"So Jacob was alone,

"and a man struggled with him there until daybreak,

"and the man said, let me go. The day is breaking.

"But Jacob replied,

"I will not go unless you tell me your name.

"And the man said, why do you ask my name?

"I am that I am. That is who I am.

"And so Jacob called the place paneil,

"which means the face of God,

"because, he said, I have seen God face to face,

and my life has been spared."

Were Moses and Jacob the only men to have seen him face to face?

Even Abraham was denied the supreme revelation.

Then why did God choose Jacob?

Why has he chosen you?

God may have created man in his own image and likeness,

but he has denied us all understanding of his purpose.

I knew him once.

As a boy, I could feel his presence all around me.

If only I, too, could see him.

Are you aware of the presence that you are in?

The ark of the covenant.

None but a priest may gaze upon it.

The 10 commandments lie within,

written on tablets of stone

by the finger of God himself.

Why is it kept here?

It should be enthroned on high,

not hidden away like this.

For 250 years it has awaited such a home.

Then hear, o lord, the vow of thy servant David...

When once my feet have found their rest,

I will give no sleep to my eyes

until I have built a temple for the lord...

A dwelling place for the mighty one of Jacob.

Shelmo.

Prince jonsan says that...

who are you?

I am the high priest ahimine.

Where is the guardian of the ark?

He's at his station in the cavern.

Prince jonsan says the guardian

sent word to the king that you are here.

Joab and our brothers have escaped to the caves of adurnam.

Stand before the ark.

Now swear to me in the sight of God

that you have not betrayed our guest.

Shobread...

Law forbids anyone but a priest to partake of it.

May God forgive us both.

This I return to you with a clear conscience.

Goliath's sword.

It was sent here for safekeeping.

David!

May the lord bless you for your kindness.

And protect you, my son.

We must bar the gates.

No. We have no one to hide.

¶ It is good to give thanks to the lord ¶

¶ for his love endures forever ¶

¶ declare it, people of Israel ¶

¶ for his love endures forever ¶

¶ give thanks to the God of gods ¶

¶ for his love endures forever ¶

¶ he made the great lights ¶

¶ for his love endures forever ¶

¶ a son to whom... ¶

silence!

Where is David Ben-Jesse?

I do not know.

You are lying.

A priest does not lie.

He was here, was he not?

He was here.

When did he leave?

Some time ago.

In what direction did he go?

I did not see.

The guardian of the ark, my lord, he will know.

Where is the guardian?

He, too, is no longer with us.

Abner...

I want these priests killed one by one

until their high priest changes his mind.

Then the killing will stop.

No soldier would carry out such an order.

These priests...

these priests...

Are maggots

in carrion...

Fattening themselves

on the offerings people give to the lord.

They are traitors, every one of them!

And so is any soldier

who refuses to obey the king's command.

You.

I cannot.

You.

No, father!

Will no one obey the king?

I will, my lord.

It takes a gentile to obey.

¶ It is good ¶

¶ to give thanks to the lord ¶

¶ his love endures forever ¶

¶ he brought Israel out of Egypt ¶

¶ his love endures forever ¶

¶ no king shall bring him low ¶

¶ His love endures forever ¶

¶ no enemy shall strike him down ¶

¶ his love endures forever ¶

¶ for the lord has sworn ¶

¶ to his servant ¶

¶ David ¶

haah!

His love for him...

Endures...

Forever.

And it came to pass

that David remained in the wilderness

for 6 years,

while Saul sought him day after day.

Everyone that was in distress,

everyone that was in debt,

and everyone that was discontented

gathered themselves unto him.

David took unto himself 3 wives:

Abigail, ahinoam, and maacah.

Ahinoam bore David a first-born,

whom he called amnon.

Maacah bore him a second son,

whom he called absalom.

And David loved absalom with all his heart.

Lord God of all Israel,

king of the universe,

we have circumcised this child

that he may enter into Abraham's covenant.

God of our fathers,

preserve this child.

As he's entered into the covenant,

so may he enter into the law,

natural grace, and good deeds.

David.

David!

Where's Saul?

In the cave.

Abner and his men are in there, too.

Let's move the women and children at once.

They'll move against us at daybreak.

Where are you going?

To visit Saul.

David!

David, don't be a fool.

Saul hasn't come to talk,

but to kill.

The lord didn't anoint me

to die at Saul's hand.

My lord, the day is broken!

He was here.

He was here.

Who?

David.

That's not possible, my lord.

I guarded you...

he was here!

He was very close.

I felt him.

Saul!

Can you not answer me, Saul?

Who are you, David,

to shout to Israel's king?

Who are you, abner,

to call yourself commander in the king's army?

Why did you not

keep watch over the king while he slept?

Where's the king's sword that was by his side?

Here is the king's sword,

in the hands of his enemy.

A lie!

The lord delivered you into my hands,

and I spared your life.

David...

My son.

May the lord bless you.

Let all Israel witness

how the king loves David.

He has held my life precious this day.

Put up your arms.

We return to gibeah.

He's in our palm.

Abner!

The king...

Has spoken.

He'll be back.

I know.

Make way for the blind!

Make way for the blind!

Make way for the blind!

Make way for the blind!

Make way for the blind!

Make way for the blind!

Make way for the blind!

My master wishes to see achish,

lord of the philistines.

He's israelite?

He is mad.

Therefore israelite.

My master has a message for the king.

From who?

God.

I apologize

for the necessity of your performance.

But in our country, madmen are held sacred.

Grasp that, and you've grasped

the very essence of religion.

Another samson?

My son absalom.

Hmm.

Absalom, I'd be obliged

if you'd keep away from those pillars.

Youth is no barrier to strength,

as you yourself so ably demonstrated, David.

God's victory, not mine.

I was but the means to his end.

Or goliath, perhaps.

It's your God's motive that seems less clear.

If he can deliver you of a giant,

why can't he free you of Saul?

If you grant us refuge,

he will have done so.

What about dagon, God of this temple?

Will not he deserve some measure of thanks,

hmm?

It's you who'll thank him.

We'll be yours to command

against any enemy you choose to name.

Except Saul, of course.

I won't raise my hand against the lord's king.

He's ready to raise his hand against you.

He could no sooner rid himself of me

than I could bring myself to kill him.

To love one's enemy is a fine sentiment,

but for a poet, not for a king.

Very well,

we'll grant you ziklag as a place of refuge.

But in addition to the services of your men,

we want a sworn undertaking from you

that once you become king in Israel,

you will renounce all claims to philistine lands.

Respect what is ours,

and we shall keep faith with you.

I refer to the so-called...

Promised land.

Didn't your God promise Moses...

or was it Abraham...

all the lands between Lebanon and Egypt?

Between the Syrian wilderness

and the Western sea?

The land of the hittites,

the jebozites,

the amorites,

and, uh, need I add...

The philistines, hmm?

What God chooses to give,

we cannot refuse.

The law of Moses isn't renowned

for its impartiality towards heathen races.

The law of David

shall deal justly with all men,

Hebrew and heathen alike.

On that I give you my solemn oath.

The lord of hosts is the God of Israel!

If you leave the promised land,

you'll be placing yourself

beyond his divine protection,

into the mercy of heathen gods.

We've been hounded from every cesspit

and rat hole in the promised land.

Is that your idea of protection?

Whose shield has guarded you thus far?

By what miracle have you survived

without the lord's grace?

You're right.

Will his sun be less warm,

his wind less cool...

Across this border?

Go then.

And may the lord be with you,

for I cannot.

David dwelt in the country of the philistines

a full year and 4 months.

So that achish said,

"he shall be my servant forever."

It came to pass

the philistines sent word to Saul,

challenging Israel to battle at mount gilboa.

My lord, I honestly beg you to reconsider.

We're outnumbered by 20,000 men.

Let's withdraw while we can.

Still tarnished. Polish again. Again.

David isn't among the enemy.

Your honor isn't at stake.

Our men's lives are.

I will ride against the philistines,

if I ride alone...

So be it.

The prophet Nathan is ready to offer the sacrifice.

There will be no sacrifice.

Still tarnished at the bottom.

Polish more. More.

They won't fight without Nathan's blessing.

Rouse yourselves in anger!

Lord God, avenge us!

Lay nations at our feet!

Lord God, avenge us!

With your flashing swords...

Lord God, avenge us!

Make your arrows drunk with blood.

Lord God, avenge us!

There will be no sacrifice!

Lord...

I am your sacrifice.

This day you will surely die.

Then my prayer will be answered at last.

The lord scorns your prayers.

He has utterly rejected you.

And Samuel, too.

And Abraham and Isaac and Jacob!

Even David will be forsaken at the end.

For in death,

we are all cut off from God's care.

What purpose, then, in serving him?

He wrestles with man

for the nighttime of his life,

but at daybreak he is gone.

Gone.

Father.

Who marches with the king?

Who marches with the king

and his son?

I march with the king

and his son.

And his sons!

The sword of the lord and of Saul!

Beware!

Yaah!

Yaah!

Aah!

Aah!

Aah!

Aah!

The beauty of Israel

is slain upon its high places.

How are the mighty fallen.

You mountains of gilboa...

Let there be no dew or rain upon you,

for there the life of Jonathan

is vilely cast away.

From the blood of the slain,

the bow of Jonathan held not back,

and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

In life and in their death,

they were not divided.

They were swifter than eagles,

stronger than lions.

You daughters of Israel,

weep over Saul

who clothed you in Scarlet

and ornaments of gold.

My brother Jonathan,

thy love to me was wonderful.

How are the mighty fallen...

And the weapons of war perished.

This is the word of the lord of hosts:

"I took you from the pastures

"and from following the sheep

"to be prince over my people Israel.

"I have been with you wherever you have gone

"and have destroyed all the enemies in your path.

"I will make you a great name

"among the great ones of the earth.

"I will assign a place for my people in Israel.

"There I will plant them,

and they shall dwell in their own land."

Why am I brought before you?

Shall not the husband

enjoy the company of his wife?

My husband is paltiel Ben-laish.

The king knows that.

I am your husband,

your first and only husband

in the eyes of God.

I've never loved another woman

as I once loved you.

If you truly cared,

you'd let me go to the man I love.

You have many wives,

but he has only me.

But I need you.

Indeed you do, my lord,

as a symbol of unity

between the house of David and my father's house.

I'm nothing more to you than a political necessity.

Today, all of Israel praised the lord,

except you.

By your absence,

you insult both your God and your king.

I saw no king.

I saw only a dancing man,

flaunting his nakedness in the sight of every...

in the sight of God,

who created man in the perfection of his own image.

So your search is over.

What search?

Behold,

the king of glory,

face to face.

Your other women are better able

to flatter your vanity than I.

A love untouched by human care,

a love that endures forever.

He who has saved us from our enemies,

who has delivered Jerusalem into our hands.

How have we repaid him?

By rewarding ourselves alone

with the wealth he has bestowed upon us.

I, too, am guilty,

for here I live

in a palace of cedar,

while the ark of God is housed in a tent.

How then can we demonstrate our love for him?

I will tell you how.

By building him this,

a great and glorious temple!

Here on this holy hill of zion,

in which his sacred presence

may abide forevermore.

Is there a man among you,

indeed, in this nation,

who would not gladly give 1/10

of his God-given wealth to such an endeavor?

Has the lord considered my request?

God doesn't gird himself about

with the trappings of kingship.

If he desired the ark in a temple,

would he not have commanded Moses to build him one?

Perhaps he didn't consider 40 years in the wilderness

as either the time or place for such a venture.

The tent was intended as a symbol

of simplicity and humility,

the 2 virtues you seem to have forsaken.

Let the lord be my judge.

When will you bring me his answer?

When you've finished the task

you were chosen to perform:

Destroy the heathen nations

that occupy our lands.

Haven't I done so?

Their armies, not their inhabitants.

Moses' law commands that nothing be left alive.

God's kingdom can't be brought about

by slaughtering women and children.

Who are you to question his laws?

A man after God's own heart.

God gave the law unto Moses face to face.

Absalom.

Now it came to pass

that maacah bore David a daughter called tamar,

and amnon, his first-born, was sick with love for her.

Where's absalom?

Am I my brother's keeper?

Half-brother. Oh!

Let go!

Father!

Absalom,

have you some grievance against me?

On behalf of one of your subjects, father.

Has he a good case?

An excellent case.

My niece awaits your presence in the throne room.

Who?

Why, bathsheba, my lord.

The petition, father, will you read it?

Perhaps you and absalom

would care to consider the other petitions

until my return?

Certainly, my lord.

Shall we begin, my prince?

Guard.

I've seen you once before.

I know.

My lord, I'm married.

To captain uriah...

An alien hittite.

He's still my husband.

How long have you been married to uriah?

5 years, my lord.

And yet you have no children?

He scorns to lie with me.

He refuses even to touch me

except with a whip.

He shall be punished.

A woman has no redress

against her husband, my lord.

I can endure the pain.

But where's the child for my suffering?

You shall have him.

No, my lord...

Not while my husband lives.

Deliver this to captain joab.

Yes, my lord.

Uriah.

See that joab receives it in person.

Yes, my lord.

And the messenger said to David,

"the bowmen upon the walls of ekron

"fired their arrows at your servants.

"Among the dead is uriah the hittite

who had been placed in the forefront of the attack."

David said,

"who knows where the angel of death will strike?"

He'll marry me.

He said so.

Who? Who said so?

Who did this thing?

Your brother amnon.

Half-brother. Half-brother.

Half-brother marry half-sister.

He will marry me.

Oh, tamar, don't...

Absalom.

Forgive me, father.

"Wherever hurt is done, you shall show no mercy.

"You shall take eye for eye,

"tooth for tooth, hand for hand,

"burn for burn, wound for wound,

"strike for strike...

Life for life."

Prince absalom must die.

The law has long recognized

a brother's right to avenge his sister's death.

But the princess is alive.

She is dead!

Both here and here.

Let the king sentence.

Prince absalom shall be banished

to our estates in hebron,

there to live in permanent exile.

May the lord be with you.

May his light shine within your heart,

even as you shine within mine.

Save me, o God,

for the waters are come in unto my soul.

I sink in deep mire

where there is no standing.

I am come into deep waters

where the floods overflow me.

I am weary of my crying.

My throat is dry.

My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

I have become a stranger unto my children.

I would value your judgment on a matter.

Since when have you ever valued my judgment?

Have your powers of divination forsaken you?

It's a civil petition, David,

concerning a merchant and one of his servants.

The merchant is a man of great prominence

who owns large flocks and herds,

but the servant on whose behalf I speak

owned nothing but one small ewe lamb.

He had reared it himself,

and it grew up in his own home.

It was as an only child to him.

It ate from his dish,

drank from his cup,

and even slept in his arms.

Not long ago,

a traveler came to the merchant's house

to dine with him.

The merchant was too selfish

to take a sheep from his own flock

to serve his guest,

so he took his servant's lamb...

And killed it...

And served that instead.

As the lord lives,

the man who did this deserves to die.

Thou art the man.

This is the word of the lord thy God.

"I anointed you king over Israel

"and gave you the daughters of Israel

"for your own.

"I have blessed you with honor and glory.

"I have given you silver and gold,

"the treasures of kings.

"Why then did you murder my servant uriah

"and take his wife...

his only wife... to be your own?"

Ohh.

Do with me what you will, lord.

Only do not take her from me.

You shall not die,

nor shall uriah's wife be taken from you.

As punishment for your great sin,

the first child born to you shall not survive,

and you will never again have rest from the sword.

Wash away my guilt.

Cleanse me of my sin.

Wash me,

that I may become whiter than snow.

And the first child of David and bathsheba

lived only 7 days.

Then bathsheba bore a second child, a son,

and the lord loved him.

The prophet Nathan

says the lord has chosen Solomon to be your heir.

Might I urge you to name him so.

Prince absalom is my oldest son.

But, my lord,

absalom's not only in exile...

let the king's wish prevail.

Is it not a fine-looking son?

Solomon found favor in the sight of David,

but his love remained bound to absalom,

and his heart went out to him in longing,

and absalom remained in exile for 3 years.

Everyone that was in distress,

everyone that was in debt,

and everyone that was discontented

gathered themselves unto him.

No matter how good a man's case is,

he'll receive no audience with the king

unless he pays a bribe.

Even that may not help,

for the king's judgment means nothing

without the approval of uriah's widow, bathsheba.

If only I were made a judge in the land,

I would see that everyone

who brought a petition received justice!

Promise.

All the pillars should be octagonal,

like this one,

instead of round, like that one.

What do you think?

Every day he stands in the marketplace

preaching to the people,

stealing their affections.

Well?

Um... That one.

The round ones?

The rabble are flocking to his side, David.

Some say he's planning a rebellion.

Why?

I would've thought that's obvious!

Why the round ones?

David, listen to me!

Absalom's a traitor who must be...

absalom is my son!

Any man who dares call my son a traitor

without the supporting evidence

shall himself meet the fate of a traitor

by my own hand!

I am giving you the evidence.

"Some say" is not evidence.

On the morning of passover,

your father will proclaim prince Solomon

as heir to the throne of Israel.

He swore to me he'd never name another.

His promises mean nothing.

You once loved him.

Why have you turned against him?

How many men can you muster?

Because I love my king beyond all others,

and it breaks my heart, too.

Love blinds you, my friend.

There are 1,000 supporters in Jerusalem alone.

More than sufficient for the task.

Strike now, my prince,

or regret it for the rest of your life.

Who is absalom, father?

A boy who was once like you.

Is he your enemy?

Perhaps I am his...

But he could never be mine.

Jerusalem!

For the sword of the lord...

And for David!

Whoa.

Turn back!

Keep firing!

Hyah!

Hyah!

Aah!

Aah!

My lord!

My lord!

My lord!

Is the young man absalom safe?

Praise be to God,

for he's delivered you

from all those that rose up against you!

Is the young man absalom safe?

May all my lord's enemies be as that young man.

All praise be to God!

All praise be to God!

All praise be to God!

All praise be to God!

Oh, my son.

My son.

Absalom...

My son.

My son!

My son absalom.

Would God I had died for you!

Absalom...

My son.

My son.

My son.

Why does the king lie in the dust

like a beggar at his gate?

Why weep for your enemies

and scorn those who serve you?

When will you learn to obey the lord

instead of your emotions?

He has forsaken me.

David, it is you who have forsaken him.

You've continuously disobeyed his laws

and have stubbornly presumed to know his will

better than we, his prophets.

I am beyond care.

I will go to my grave

mourning for my son.

I shall go to him...

For he shall never come back to me.

You have your will of me.

So be it.

Fear the lord

and serve him in truth with all your heart.

Consider the great things he has done for you.

Aah!

Aah!

Aah!

Aah!

And, behold, it came to pass

that David sinned no more.

And the lord smiled upon his servant David

and strengthened his hand

and gave him victory over his enemies

wheresoever he went.

And David smote the philistines

and conquered them

and drove them into the sea.

And he went forth and smote the moabites

and the ammonites and the edomites

and put them all to the sword.

And David ruled over the kingdom of Israel

for 40 years,

and he was a lamp unto his people

like the light of the sun.

And when David was old and stricken in years,

he caused the prophet Nathan

to anoint Solomon, his son,

king over Israel.

Mark this above all:

Be guided by the instincts of your own heart...

No matter what the prophets tell you.

For it's through the heart,

and the heart alone,

that God speaks to man.

Must you record every word I utter?

It's for the book of Samuel, my lord.

You ordered it yourself.

May the lord bless you.

May his light shine within your heart

even as you shine within mine.

I am waiting, lord.

Hide your face no more.

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captioning performed by the national captioning institute, inc.