David answered, “No, my son, we won't go. It would be too expensive for you.” Absalom tried to get him to change his mind, but David did not want to go. He only said that he hoped they would have a good time.
Joab went to David and told him what Absalom had said. David sent for Absalom, and Absalom came. He bowed very low, and David leaned over and kissed him.
David went home so he could ask the LORD to bless his family. But Saul's daughter Michal went out and started yelling at him. “You were really great today!” she said. “You acted like a dirty old man, dancing around half-naked in front of your servants' slave-girls.”
Elisha stopped ploughing and ran after him. “Let me kiss my parents goodbye, then I'll go with you,” he said. “You can go,” Elijah said. “But remember what I've done for you.”
Then he blessed them and told Mary, “This child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand. The child will be like a warning sign. Many people will reject him,