And Mephiḇosheth son of Sha’ul came down to meet the sovereign. And he had not attended to his feet, nor trimmed his moustache, nor washed his garments, from the day the sovereign went away until the day he came back in peace.
And it came to be, when Aḥaḇ heard those words, that he tore his garments and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
On that night the sleep of the sovereign fled, and he commanded to bring the book of the records of the annals. And they were read before the sovereign.
I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasures of sovereigns and of the provinces. I provided male and female singers for myself, and the pleasures of men – a woman and women.
I did not eat desirable food, and meat and wine did not come into my mouth, and I did not anoint myself at all, till the completion of three weeks of days.
“And the sound of harpists, and musicians, and flautists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you any more at all. And no craftsman of any trade shall be found in you any more at all. And the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you any more at all.