He Who is Kind to the Cruel will Become Cruel to the Kind

As David publicly weeps for his son Avshalom, turning his victory into a day of mourning,  Yoav (Joab) comes to admonish him. “By loving those that hate you, and hating those that love you… you have declared that you regard neither princes nor servants… if Absalom had lived and we all had died today, then it would have been proper in your eyes.”  This is reminiscent of the Talmudic dictum, “He who is kind to the cruel will eventually become cruel to the kind.”