Line-By-Line Order:
Verse-Reference
Reference-Verse
Separate Line
Verse Only
Reference Only
|
Reference Delimiters:
None — Jhn 1:1 KJV
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
Curly — {Jhn 1:1 KJV}
Parens — (Jhn 1:1 KJV)
|
Paragraph Order:
Verse-Reference
Reference-Verse
Reference-Only
|
Number Delimiters:*
No Number
No Delimiter — 15
Square — [15]
Curly — {15}
Parens — (15)
|
Other Options:
Abbreviate Books
Use SBL Abbrev.
En dash not Hyphen
|
Quotes Around Verses
Remove Square Brackets |
Select All Verses |
Clear All Verses |
* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'
* 'Remove Square Brackets' does not apply to the Amplified Bible
When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul loved him very much, and David became his armor-bearer.
Then Saul sent word to Jesse: “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor with me.”
Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
David said to Saul, “Don't let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine! ”
David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father's sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,
David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can't walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I'm not used to them.” So David took them off.
He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks? ”[fn] Then he cursed David by his gods.
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel — you have defied him.
David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground.
David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine's sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.
David took Goliath's[fn] head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath's weapons in his own tent.
As they danced, the women sang:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands.
Saul's servants reported these words directly to David, but he replied, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king's son-in-law? I am a poor commoner.”
David and his men went out and killed two hundred[fn] Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife.
When war broke out again, David went out and fought against the Philistines. He defeated them with such great force that they fled from him.
Now an evil spirit sent from the LORD came on Saul as he was sitting in his palace holding a spear. David was playing the lyre,
and Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. As the spear struck the wall, David eluded Saul, ran away, and escaped that night.
So David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel left and stayed at Naioth.
Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the large cistern at Secu and asked, “Where are Samuel and David? ”
“At Naioth in Ramah,” someone said.
David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What did I do wrong? How have I sinned against your father so that he wants to take my life? ”
But David said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor with you. He has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or else he will be grieved.' ” David also swore, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”
So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I'm supposed to sit down and eat with the king. Instead, let me go, and I'll hide in the countryside for the next two nights.[fn]
“If your father misses me at all, say, ‘David urgently requested my permission to go quickly to his hometown, Bethlehem, for an annual sacrifice there involving the whole clan.'
In the morning Jonathan went out to the countryside for the appointed meeting with David. A young servant was with him.
When the servant had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell facedown to the ground, and paid homage three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.
Jonathan then said to David, “Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the LORD when we said, ‘The LORD will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.' ” Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.
David went to the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Ahimelech was afraid to meet David, so he said to him, “Why are you alone and no one is with you? ”
David answered the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don't let anyone know anything about the mission I'm sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.' I have stationed my young men at a certain place.
David answered him, “I swear that women are being kept from us, as always when I go out to battle. The young men's bodies[fn] are consecrated even on an ordinary mission, so of course their bodies are consecrated today.”
David said to Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword on hand? I didn't even bring my sword or my weapons since the king's mission was urgent.”
The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it for yourself, then take it, for there isn't another one here.”
“There's none like it! ” David said. “Give it to me.”
But Achish's servants said to him, “Isn't this David, the king of the land? Don't they sing about him during their dances:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands? ”
So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When David's brothers and his father's whole family heard, they went down and joined him there.
From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay with you until I know what God will do for me.”
Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Don't stay in the stronghold. Leave and return to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. At that time Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree at the high place. His spear was in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him.
Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David? He is the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and honored in your house.
Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that Doeg the Edomite was there that day and that he was sure to report to Saul. I myself am responsible for[fn] the lives of everyone in your father's family.
So David inquired of the LORD: “Should I launch an attack against these Philistines? ”
The LORD answered David, “Launch an attack against the Philistines and rescue Keilah.”
Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go at once to Keilah, for I will hand the Philistines over to you.”
Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, drove their livestock away, and inflicted heavy losses on them. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.
When it was reported to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with barred gates.”
When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, “Bring the ephod.”
Then David said, “LORD God of Israel, your servant has reliable information that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the town because of me.
So David and his men, numbering about six hundred, left Keilah at once and moved from place to place. When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he called off the expedition.
David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.
David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw that Saul had come out to take his life.
Then the two of them made a covenant in the LORD's presence. Afterward, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
Some Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn't it true that David is hiding among us in the strongholds in Horesh on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?
So they went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
Now David and his men were in the wilderness near Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon,
Saul went along one side of the mountain and David and his men went along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away from Saul, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.
When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.”
When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself.[fn] David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave,
so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the LORD told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.' ” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul's robe.
He said to his men, “As the LORD is my witness, I would never do such a thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD's anointed.”
With these words David persuaded[fn] his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul.
Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.
After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called to Saul, “My lord the king! ” When Saul looked behind him, David knelt low with his face to the ground and paid homage.
David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you'?
When David finished saying these things to him, Saul replied, “Is that your voice, David my son? ” Then Saul wept aloud
So David swore to Saul. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Samuel died, and all Israel assembled to mourn for him, and they buried him by his home in Ramah. David then went down to the Wilderness of Paran.[fn]
so David sent ten young men instructing them, “Go up to Carmel, and when you come to Nabal, greet him[fn] in my name.
Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is Jesse's son? Many slaves these days are running away from their masters.
He said to his men, “All of you, put on your swords! ” So each man put on his sword, and David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
One of Nabal's young men informed Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them.
As she rode the donkey down a mountain pass hidden from view, she saw David and his men coming toward her and met them.
David had just said, “I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good.
Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!
Then David accepted what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. See, I have heard what you said and have granted your request.”
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD who championed my cause against Nabal's insults and restrained his servant from doing evil. The LORD brought Nabal's evil deeds back on his own head.”
Then David sent messengers to speak to Abigail about marrying him.
When David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to bring you to him as a wife.”
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah saying, “David is hiding on the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon.”
Saul camped beside the road at the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon. David was living in the wilderness and discovered Saul had come there after him.
Immediately, David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were lying down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp with the troops camped around him.
Then David asked Ahimelech the Hethite and Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, “Who will go with me into the camp to Saul? ”
“I'll go with you,” answered Abishai.
That night, David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the troops were lying around him.
But David said to Abishai, “Don't destroy him, for who can lift a hand against the LORD's anointed and be innocent? ”
David added, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will certainly strike him down: either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
So David took the spear and the water jug by Saul's head, and they went their way. No one saw them, no one knew, and no one woke up; they all remained asleep because a deep sleep from the LORD came over them.
David crossed to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance; there was a considerable space between them.
Then David shouted to the troops and to Abner son of Ner, “Aren't you going to answer, Abner? ”
“Who are you who calls to the king? ” Abner asked.
David called to Abner, “You're a man, aren't you? Who in Israel is your equal? So why didn't you protect your lord the king when one of the people came to destroy him?
Saul recognized David's voice and asked, “Is that your voice, my son David? ”
“It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.
Saul responded, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David, I will never harm you again because today you considered my life precious. I have been a fool! I've committed a grave error.”
David answered, “Here is the king's spear; have one of the young men come over and get it.
Saul said to him, “You are blessed, my son David. You will certainly do great things and will also prevail.” Then David went on his way, and Saul returned home.
David said to himself, “One of these days I'll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me everywhere in Israel, and I'll escape from him.”
So David set out with his six hundred men and went over to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
David and his men stayed with Achish in Gath. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow.
When it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
Now David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you? ”
The length of time that David stayed in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.
David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites,[fn] and the Amalekites. From ancient times they had been the inhabitants of the region through Shur as far as the land of Egypt.
who inquired, “Where did you raid today? ”[fn]
David replied, “The south country of Judah,” “The south country of the Jerahmeelites,” or “The south country of the Kenites.”
David did not let a man or woman live to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Or they will inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.' ” This was David's custom during the whole time he stayed in the Philistine territory.
So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself repulsive to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
David replied to Achish, “Good, you will find out what your servant can do.”
So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.”
As the Philistine leaders were passing in review with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were passing in review behind them with Achish.
Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here? ”
Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time.[fn] From the day he defected until today, I've found no fault with him.”
“Isn't this the David they sing about during their dances:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands? ”
“But what have I done? ” David replied to Achish. “From the first day I entered your service until today, what have you found against your servant to keep me from going to fight against the enemies of my lord the king? ”
So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and attacked and burned Ziklag.
When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped.
David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,
and David asked the LORD, “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them? ”
The LORD replied to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.”
So David and the six hundred men with him went. They came to the Wadi Besor, where some stayed behind.
Then David said to him, “Who do you belong to? Where are you from? ”
“I'm an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man,” he said. “My master abandoned me when I got sick three days ago.
David then asked him, “Will you lead me to these raiders? ”
He said, “Swear to me by God that you won't kill me or turn me over to my master, and I will lead you to them.”
David slaughtered them from twilight until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped, except four hundred young men who got on camels and fled.
Nothing of theirs was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, and all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back.
He took all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, “This is David's plunder! ”
When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them,
But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He protected us and handed over to us the raiders who came against us.
When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD's enemies.”
to those in Hebron, and to those in all the places where David and his men had roamed.
David asked him, “Where have you come from? ”
He replied to him, “I've escaped from the Israelite camp.”
“What was the outcome? Tell me,” David asked him.
“The troops fled from the battle,” he answered. “Many of the troops have fallen and are dead. Also, Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? ”
Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men with him did the same.
David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from? ”
“I'm the son of a resident alien,” he said. “I'm an Amalekite.”
David questioned him, “How is it that you were not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed? ”
Then David summoned one of his servants and said, “Come here and kill him! ” The servant struck him, and he died.
For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood is on your own head because your own mouth testified against you by saying, ‘I killed the LORD's anointed.' ”
Some time later, David inquired of the LORD: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah? ”
The LORD answered him, “Go.”
Then David asked, “Where should I go? ”
“To Hebron,” the LORD replied.
So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The LORD bless you because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.
The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
David replied, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. However, there's one thing I require of you: You will not see my face unless you first bring Saul's daughter Michal when you come to see me.”
Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife Michal. I was engaged to her for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
When Abner and twenty men came to David at Hebron, David held a banquet for him and his men.
Abner said to David, “Let me now go and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king. They will make a covenant with you, and you will reign over all you desire.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.
Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well[fn] of Sirah, but David was unaware of it.
David heard about it later and said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.
David then ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner.” And King David walked behind the coffin.[fn]
Then they came to urge David to eat food while it was still day, but David took an oath: “May God punish me and do so severely if I taste bread or anything else before sunset! ”
But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the LORD lives, the one who has redeemed my life from every distress,
So David gave orders to the young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took Ish-bosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb in Hebron.
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the LORD's presence, and they anointed David king over Israel.
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites had said to David, “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you” thinking, “David can't get in here.”
David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward.
Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
After he arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of David, but he heard about it and went down to the stronghold.
Then David inquired of the LORD: “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? ”
The LORD replied to David, “Attack, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”
So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated them there and said, “Like a bursting flood, the LORD has burst out against my enemies before me.” Therefore, he named that place The Lord Bursts Out.[fn]
So David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, “Do not attack directly, but circle around behind them and come at them opposite the balsam trees.
So David did exactly as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.
He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah.[fn] The ark bears the Name, the name of the LORD of Armies who is enthroned between the cherubim.
David was angry because of the LORD's outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah,[fn] as it is today.
David feared the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me? ”
So he was not willing to bring the ark of the LORD to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath.
It was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom's house to the city of David with rejoicing.
He and the whole house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of the ram's horn.
They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the LORD's presence.
When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Armies.
When David returned home to bless his household, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today! ” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”
David replied to Michal, “It was before the LORD who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the LORD's people Israel. I will dance before the LORD,
Then King David went in, sat in the LORD's presence, and said,
Who am I, Lord GOD, and what is my house that you have brought me this far?
He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David's subjects and brought tribute.
David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control at the Euphrates River.
When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men.
Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
King David also took huge quantities of bronze from Betah[fn] and Berothai, Hadadezer's cities.
King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued —
So David reigned over all Israel, administering justice and righteousness for all his people.
David asked, “Is there anyone remaining from the family of Saul I can show kindness to for Jonathan's sake? ”
Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, fell facedown, and paid homage. David said, “Mephibosheth! ”
“I am your servant,” he replied.
“Don't be afraid,” David said to him, “since I intend to show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all your grandfather Saul's fields, and you will always eat meals at my table.”
Then David said, “I'll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”
So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he's showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn't David sent his emissaries in order to scout out the city, spy on it, and demolish it? ”
But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers.[fn] He also struck down Shobach commander of their army, who died there.
In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing — a very beautiful woman.
So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he said, “Isn't this Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hethite? ”[fn]
David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home.
When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going.
Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.
When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn't go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven't you just come from a journey? Why didn't you go home? ”
“Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master's servants, but he did not go home.
Then the messenger left.
When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don't let this matter upset you because the sword devours all alike. Intensify your fight against the city and demolish it.' Encourage him.”
When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the LORD considered what David had done to be evil.
David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Then Nathan replied to David, “And the LORD has taken away your sin; you will not die.
David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.
When David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, he guessed that the baby was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the baby dead? ”
“He is dead,” they replied.
Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the LORD's house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat. So they served him food, and he ate.
He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.'
So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; he fought against it and captured it.
He removed the people who were in the city and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at brickmaking. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
Some time passed. David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and David's son Amnon was infatuated with her.
David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Please go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare a meal for him.”
But Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son[fn] every day.
David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Get up. We have to flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! Leave quickly, or he will overtake us quickly, heap disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.
Then someone reported to David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.”
“LORD,” David pleaded, “please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness! ”
When David came to the summit where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.
When David had gone a little beyond the summit,[fn] Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, was right there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruit, and a clay jar of wine.
When King David got to Bahurim, a man belonging to the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he was yelling curses as he approached.
Then David said to Abishai and all his servants, “Look, my own son, my own flesh and blood,[fn] intends to take my life — how much more now this Benjaminite! Leave him alone and let him curse me; the LORD has told him to.
So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei was going along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he cursed David, threw stones at him, and kicked up dust.
So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one who had not crossed the Jordan.
David had arrived at Mahanaim by the time Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.
When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim
David reviewed his troops and appointed commanders of thousands and of hundreds over them.
He then sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai of Gath. The king said to the troops, “I must also march out with you.”
Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David's soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom's head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair.[fn]
David was sitting between the city gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the city gate and over to the wall. The watchman looked out and saw a man running alone.
People throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king rescued us from the grasp of our enemies, and he saved us from the grasp of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.
King David sent word to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace? The talk of all Israel has reached the king at his house.
David answered, “Sons of Zeruiah, do we agree on anything? Have you become my adversary today? Should any man be killed in Israel today? Am I not aware that today I'm king over Israel? ”
When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.
So David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bichri will do more harm to us than Absalom. Take your lord's soldiers and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”[fn]
During David's reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired[fn] of the LORD. The LORD answered, “It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them.
He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on[fn] the LORD's inheritance? ”
he went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa.
The Philistines again waged war against Israel. David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted.
David spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul.
These are the last words of David:
The declaration of David son of Jesse,
the declaration of the man raised on high,[fn]
the one anointed by the God of Jacob.
This is the most delightful of Israel's songs.
At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.
David was extremely thirsty[fn] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem! ”
He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
David's conscience troubled him after he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I've done. Now, LORD, because I've been very foolish, please take away your servant's guilt.”
When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to the prophet Gad, David's seer:
David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the LORD's hands because his mercies are great, but don't let me fall into human hands.”
When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the LORD, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one[fn] who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let your hand be against me and my father's family.”
Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant? ”
David replied, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the LORD, so the plague on the people may be halted.”
The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for twenty ounces[fn] of silver.
He built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD was receptive to prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel ended.
Now King David was old and advanced in age. Although they covered him with bedclothes, he could not get warm.
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king and our lord David does not know it?
King David responded by saying, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king's presence and stood before him.
Bathsheba knelt low with her face to the ground, paying homage to the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever! ”
King David then said, “Call in the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada for me.” So they came into the king's presence.
“Unfortunately not,” Jonathan answered him. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king.
The length of time David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
“The LORD will bring back his own blood on his head because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, without my father David's knowledge. With his sword, Joab murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army.
“If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”
As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances,
Solomon did what was evil in the LORD's sight, and unlike his father David, he did not remain loyal to the LORD.
When Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave, so I may go to my own country.”
“For they have abandoned me; they have bowed down to Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in my ways to do what is right in my sight and to carry out my statutes and my judgments as his father David did.
“ ‘After that, if you obey all I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight in order to keep my statutes and my commands as my servant David did, I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give you Israel.
When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him:
What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, return to your tents;
David, now look after your own house!
So Israel went to their tents,
He seized the treasuries of the LORD's temple and the treasuries of the royal palace. He took everything. He took all the gold shields that Solomon had made.
For David did what was right in the LORD's sight, and he did not turn aside from anything he had commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hethite.
He did what was right in the LORD's sight, but not like his ancestor David. He did everything his father Joash had done.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God like his ancestor David
These are the men David put in charge of the music in the LORD's temple after the ark came to rest there.
The total number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements. David and the seer Samuel had appointed them to their trusted positions.
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the LORD's presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the LORD's word through Samuel.
David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will become chief commander.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became the chief.
Then David took up residence in the stronghold; therefore, it was called the city of David.
At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.
David was extremely thirsty[fn] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem! ”
So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.
He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”
Then the Spirit enveloped[fn] Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:
We are yours, David,
we are with you, son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
and peace to him who helps you,
for your God helps you.
So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.
Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the LORD our God, let's spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.
So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath,[fn] to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
David and all Israel went to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah) to take from there the ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD who is enthroned between the cherubim.
David and all Israel were dancing with all their might before God with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
David was angry because of the LORD's outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah,[fn] as it is still named today.
So David did not bring the ark of God home[fn] to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath.
Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been exalted for the sake of his people Israel.
David took more wives in Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters.
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they all went in search of David; when David heard of this, he went out to face them.
so David inquired of God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? ”
The LORD replied, “Attack, and I will hand them over to you.”
So the Israelites went up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “Like a bursting flood, God has used me to burst out against my enemies.” Therefore, they named that place The Lord Bursts Out.[fn]
The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.
So David again inquired of God, and God answered him, “Do not pursue them directly. Circle around them and attack them opposite the balsam trees.
Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever.”
David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it.
David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments — harps, lyres, and cymbals.
David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom.
Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.
They brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God's presence.
When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD.
On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the LORD by Asaph and his relatives:
When David had settled into his palace, he said to the prophet Nathan, “Look! I am living in a cedar house while the ark of the LORD's covenant is under tent curtains.”
Then King David went in, sat in the LORD's presence, and said,
Who am I, LORD God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far?
After this, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its surrounding villages from Philistine control.
David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah at Hamath when he went to establish his control at the Euphrates River.
David captured one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, hamstrung all the horses, and kept a hundred chariots.[fn]
When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men.
Then he placed garrisons[fn] in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
David took the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officers and brought them to Jerusalem.
From Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer's cities, David also took huge quantities of bronze, from which Solomon made the bronze basin,[fn] the pillars, and the bronze articles.
When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah,
King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all the nations — from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.
So David reigned over all Israel, administering justice and righteousness for all his people.
Then David said, “I'll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.”
So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. However, when David's emissaries arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him,
the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he's showing respect for your father? Instead, haven't his emissaries come in order to scout out, overthrow, and spy on the land? ”
But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, commander of the army.
In the spring[fn] when kings march out to war, Joab led the army and destroyed the Ammonites' land. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it.
So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring a report to me so I can know their number.”
David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now, please take away your servant's guilt, for I've been very foolish.”
David answered Gad, “I'm in anguish. Please, let me fall into the LORD's hands because his mercies are very great, but don't let me fall into human hands.”
When David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, covered in sackcloth, fell facedown.
David said to God, “Wasn't I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? LORD my God, please let your hand be against me and against my father's family, but don't let the plague be against your people.”
David came to Ornan, and when Ornan looked and saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground.
Then David said to Ornan, “Give me this threshing-floor plot so that I may build an altar to the LORD on it. Give it to me for the full price, so the plague on the people may be stopped.”
King David answered Ornan, “No, I insist on paying the full price, for I will not take for the LORD what belongs to you or offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
He built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and he answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
but David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was terrified of the sword of the LORD's angel.
Then David said, “This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
So David gave orders to gather the resident aliens that were in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonecutters to cut finished stones for building God's house.
David supplied a great deal of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the fittings, together with an immeasurable quantity of bronze,
David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly great and famous and glorious in all the lands. Therefore, I will make provision for it.” So David made lavish preparations for it before his death.
“My son,” David said to Solomon, “It was in my heart to build a house for the name of the LORD my God,
When David was old and full of days, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.
Then David divided them into divisions according to Levi's sons: Gershom,[fn] Kohath, and Merari.
For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to his people, and he has come to stay in Jerusalem forever.
Together with Zadok from the descendants of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the descendants of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service.
David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy accompanied by lyres, harps, and cymbals. This is the list of the men who performed their service:
This Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries of what had been dedicated by King David, by the family heads who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders.
There were among Jerijah's relatives 2,700 capable men who were family heads. King David appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh as overseers in every matter relating to God and the king.
David didn't count the men aged twenty or under, for the LORD had said he would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.
David assembled all the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king's service, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials, the fighting men, and all the best soldiers.
Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the LORD's covenant and as a footstool for our God. I had made preparations to build,
Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple and its buildings, treasuries, upstairs rooms, inner rooms, and a room for the mercy seat.
David concluded, “By the LORD's hand on me, he enabled me to understand everything in writing, all the details of the plan.”[fn]
Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He won't leave you or abandon you until all the work for the service of the LORD's house is finished.
Then King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon — God has chosen him alone — is young and inexperienced. The task is great because the building will not be built for a human but for the LORD God.
Then the people rejoiced because of their leaders' willingness to give, for they had given to the LORD wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly.
Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly. David said,
May you be blessed, LORD God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity.
Then David said to the whole assembly, “Blessed be the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly praised the LORD God of their ancestors. They knelt low and paid homage to the LORD and the king.
The following day they offered sacrifices to the LORD and burnt offerings to the LORD: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.
Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place[fn] he had set up for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem,
Therefore, send me an artisan who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the artisans who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, appointed by my father David.
Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted, and the total was 153,600.
As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances,
Then Jehoiada put the oversight of the LORD's temple into the hands of the Levitical priests, whom David had appointed over the LORD's temple, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and song ordained by[fn] David.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the LORD's sight like his ancestor David,
There were also 220 of the temple servants, who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites. All were identified by name.
Woe to Ariel,[fn] Ariel,
the city where David camped!
Continue year after year;
let the festivals recur.
“I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
“My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my ordinances, and keep my statutes and obey them.
“ ‘They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your ancestors lived. They will live in it forever with their children and grandchildren, and my servant David will be their prince forever.
The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a wineskin, and one young goat and sent them by his son David to Saul.
Saul's servants reported these words directly to David, but he replied, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king's son-in-law? I am a poor commoner.”
When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,
Saul realized[fn] that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him,
and he became even more afraid of David. As a result, Saul was David's enemy from then on.
Jonathan spoke well of David to his father, Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn't sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.
Saul sent agents to David's house to watch for him and kill him in the morning. But his wife Michal warned David, “If you don't escape tonight, you will be dead tomorrow! ”
“By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If I find out that he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you?
“don't ever withdraw your kindness from my household — not even when the LORD cuts off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth.”
Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD hold David's enemies accountable.”[fn]
He sat at his usual place on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat facing him[fn] and Abner took his place beside Saul, but David's place was empty.
However, the day after the New Moon, the second day, David's place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why didn't Jesse's son come to the meal either yesterday or today? ”
So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.
Then the king ordered the guards standing by him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD because they sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they didn't tell me.” But the king's servants would not lift a hand to execute the priests of the LORD.
However, one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.
But David's men said to him, “Look, we're afraid here in Judah; how much more if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces! ”
and Saul and his men went to look for him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David there.
So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to engage the Philistines. Therefore, that place was named the Rock of Separation.
so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the LORD told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.' ” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul's robe.
When David finished saying these things to him, Saul replied, “Is that your voice, David my son? ” Then Saul wept aloud
Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is Jesse's son? Many slaves these days are running away from their masters.
David's young men retraced their steps. When they returned to him, they reported all these words.
He said to his men, “All of you, put on your swords! ” So each man put on his sword, and David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey and knelt down with her face to the ground and paid homage to David.
When David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to bring you to him as a wife.”
Then Abigail got up quickly, and with her five female servants accompanying her, rode on the donkey following David's messengers. And so she became his wife.
But Saul gave his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
Saul recognized David's voice and asked, “Is that your voice, my son David? ”
“It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.
David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped.
He took all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, “This is David's plunder! ”
When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them,
but all the corrupt and worthless men among those who had gone with David argued, “Because they didn't go with us, we will not give any of the plunder we recovered to them except for each man's wife and children. They may take them and go.”
So Joab son of Zeruiah and David's soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. The two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.
The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's soldiers.
When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David's soldiers were missing,
During the long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, David was growing stronger and the house of Saul was becoming weaker.
During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner kept acquiring more power in the house of Saul.
Abner was very angry about Ish-bosheth's accusation. “Am I a dog's head[fn] who belongs to Judah? ” he asked. “All this time I've been loyal to the family of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends and haven't betrayed you to David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman!
“to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beer-sheba.”
“Now take action, because the LORD has spoken concerning David: ‘Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and the power of all Israel's enemies.' ”
Abner also informed the Benjaminites and went to Hebron to inform David about all that was agreed on by Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.
Just then David's soldiers and Joab returned from a raid and brought a large amount of plundered goods with them. Abner was not with David in Hebron because David had dismissed him, and he had gone in peace.
Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well[fn] of Sirah, but David was unaware of it.
David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward.
So he was not willing to bring the ark of the LORD to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath.
As the ark of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
and David's sons were chief officials.[fn]
Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do all my lord the king commands.”
So Mephibosheth ate at David's[fn] table just like one of the king's sons.
Then David said, “I'll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”
So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved off half their beards, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.
When the Ammonites realized they had become repulsive to David, they hired twenty thousand foot soldiers from the Arameans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, one thousand men from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand men from Tob.
When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans lined up to engage David in battle and fought against him.
Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David's soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hethite also died.
On the seventh day the baby died. But David's servants were afraid to tell him the baby was dead. They said, “Look, while the baby was alive, we spoke to him, and he wouldn't listen to us. So how can we tell him the baby is dead? He may do something desperate.”
Some time passed. David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and David's son Amnon was infatuated with her.
Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, a son of David's brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,
But Jonadab, son of David's brother Shimeah, spoke up: “My lord must not think they have killed all the young men, the king's sons, because only Amnon is dead. In fact, Absalom has planned this[fn] ever since the day Amnon disgraced his sister Tamar.
While he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for David's adviser Ahithophel the Gilonite, from his city of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the people supporting Absalom continued to increase.
So Hushai, David's personal adviser, entered Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.
He threw stones at David and at all the royal[fn] servants, the people and the warriors on David's right and left.
When David's friend Hushai the Archite came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king! ”
Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out in pursuit of David tonight.
Israel's army was defeated by David's soldiers, and the slaughter there was vast that day — twenty thousand dead.
Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
Suddenly, all the men of Israel came to the king. They asked him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and transport the king and his household across the Jordan, along with all of David's men? ”
So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bichri, but the men of Judah from the Jordan all the way to Jerusalem remained loyal to their king.
One of Joab's young men had stood over Amasa saying, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab! ”
During David's reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired[fn] of the LORD. The LORD answered, “It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD that was between David and Jonathan, Saul's son.
But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”
These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.
These are the last words of David:
The declaration of David son of Jesse,
the declaration of the man raised on high,[fn]
the one anointed by the God of Jacob.
This is the most delightful of Israel's songs.
David's conscience troubled him after he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I've done. Now, LORD, because I've been very foolish, please take away your servant's guilt.”
When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to the prophet Gad, David's seer:
but the priest Zadok, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the prophet Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David's royal guard[fn] did not side with Adonijah.
“Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he[fn] be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down, had Solomon ride on King David's mule, and took him to Gihon.
Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingship was firmly established.
“And now, as the LORD lives — the one who established me, seated me on the throne of my father David, and made me a dynasty as he promised — I swear Adonijah will be put to death today! ”
“but King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain established before the LORD forever.”
Solomon loved the LORD by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.[fn] You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
“LORD my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David's place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.[fn]
Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon's wisdom.
King Hiram of Tyre sent his emissaries to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father's place, for Hiram had always been friends with David.
So all the work King Solomon did in the LORD's temple was completed. Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David — the silver, the gold, and the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of the LORD's temple.
At that time Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the tribal heads and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from the city of David, that is Zion.
He said:
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise by his power.
He said,
My father David had his heart set
on building a temple for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
The LORD has fulfilled what he promised.
I have taken the place of my father David,
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised.
I have built the temple for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon had imposed to build the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
Pharaoh's daughter moved from the city of David to the house that Solomon had built for her; he then built the terraces.
When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
and this is the reason he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the opening in the wall of the city of his father David.
Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one followed the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.
The man of God cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: “Altar, altar, this is what the LORD says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you.' ”
Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam[fn] became king in his place.
Abijam walked in all the sins his father before him had committed, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God as his ancestor David had been.
But for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp[fn] in Jerusalem by raising up his son after him and by preserving Jerusalem.
Abijam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place.
Then Asa rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat became king in his place.
Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.
Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoram became king in his place.
Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.
Then his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in his ancestors' tomb in the city of David.
The priest gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears and shields that were in the LORD's temple.
It was his servants Jozabad[fn] son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer who attacked him. He died and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Amaziah became king in his place.
They carried him back on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the city of David.
Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham became king in his place.
Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.
Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.
When the LORD tore Israel from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam led Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit grave sin.
“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the LORD's temple.
He did what was right in the LORD's sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn to the right or the left.
From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. Then the common people[fn] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.
These were David's sons who were born to him in Hebron:
Amnon was the firstborn, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
Daniel was born second, by Abigail of Carmel;
These were all David's sons, with their sister Tamar, in addition to the sons by his concubines.
Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until David became king.
Tola's sons: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their ancestral families.[fn] During David's reign, 22,600 descendants of Tola were recorded as valiant warriors in their family records.
The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.
Then David took up residence in the stronghold; therefore, it was called the city of David.
This is the list of David's warriors:
Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief of the Thirty;[fn] he wielded his spear against three hundred and killed them at one time.
He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines.
David and all Israel went to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah) to take from there the ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD who is enthroned between the cherubim.
So David did not bring the ark of God home[fn] to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath.
Then David's fame spread throughout the lands, and the LORD caused all the nations to be terrified of him.
David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping[fn] and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.
Let your name be confirmed and magnified forever in the saying, “The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, is God over Israel.” May the house of your servant David be established before you.
He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
and David's sons were the chief officials at the king's side.
Then David said, “I'll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.”
So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. However, when David's emissaries arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him,
So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.
When the Ammonites realized they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent thirty-eight tons[fn] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.
When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up against them. When David lined up to engage them, they fought against him.
But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, commander of the army.
When Hadadezer's subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans were never willing to help the Ammonites again.
for according to the last words of David, the Levites twenty years old or more were to be counted —
Joab son of Zeruiah began to count them, but he didn't complete it. There was wrath against Israel because of this census, and the number was not entered in the Historical Record[fn] of King David.
Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks.
All these were officials in charge of King David's property.
David's uncle Jonathan was a counselor; he was a man of understanding and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hachmoni attended[fn] the king's sons.
They ate and drank with great joy in the LORD's presence that day.
Then, for a second time, they made David's son Solomon king; they anointed him[fn] as the LORD's ruler, and Zadok as the priest.
Solomon sat on the LORD's throne as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.
All the leaders and the mighty men, and all of King David's sons as well, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon.
As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, note that they are written in the Events of the Seer Samuel, the Events of the Prophet Nathan, and the Events of the Seer Gad,
Solomon son of David strengthened his hold on his kingdom. The LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.
And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and you have made me king in his place.
Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram[fn] of Tyre:
Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.
He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David.
So all the work Solomon did for the LORD's temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David — the silver, the gold, and all the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of God's temple.
At that time Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel — all the tribal heads, the ancestral chiefs of the Israelites — in order to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the city of David, that is, Zion.
My father David had his heart set
on building a temple for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
So the LORD has fulfilled what he promised.
I have taken the place of my father David
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised.
I have built the temple for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
LORD God, do not reject your anointed one;[fn]
remember your servant David's acts of faithful love.
The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the LORD, which King David had made to give thanks to the LORD — “for his faithful love endures forever” — when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.
Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the house[fn] of King David of Israel because the places the ark of the LORD has come into are holy.”
According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement, and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.
Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked in the ways of David and Solomon for three years.
Rehoboam married Mahalath, daughter of David's son Jerimoth and of Abihail daughter of Jesse's son Eliab.
Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Abijah[fn] became king in his place.
“But Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
“And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the LORD's kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David's sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.[fn]
Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place. During his reign the land experienced peace for ten years.
He brought his father's consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into God's temple: silver, gold, and utensils.
He was buried in his own tomb that he had made for himself in the city of David. They laid him out in a coffin that was full of spices and various mixtures of prepared ointments; then they made a great fire in his honor.
Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jehoram[fn] became king in his place.
but for the sake of the covenant the LORD had made with David, he was unwilling to destroy the house of David since the LORD had promised to give a lamp[fn] to David and to his sons forever.
Then a letter came to Jehoram from the prophet Elijah, saying:
This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David says: “Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of King Asa of Judah
Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He died to no one's regret[fn] and was buried in the city of David but not in the tombs of the kings.
Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in God's temple. Jehoiada said to them, “Here is the king's son! He will reign, just as the LORD promised concerning David's sons.
The priest Jehoiada gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears, shields, and quivers[fn] that were in God's temple.
Then Jehoiada put the oversight of the LORD's temple into the hands of the Levitical priests, whom David had appointed over the LORD's temple, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and song ordained by[fn] David.
He was buried in the city of David with the kings because he had done what was good in Israel with respect to God and his temple.
When the Arameans saw that Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed, because he had shed the blood of the sons of the priest Jehoiada. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.
They carried him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.[fn]
Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.
Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city, in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah became king in his place.
Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the LORD's temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, Gad the king's seer, and the prophet Nathan. For the command was from the LORD through his prophets.
Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. When the burnt offerings began, the song of the LORD and the trumpets began, accompanied by the instruments of King David of Israel.
Then King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to sing praise to the LORD in the words of David and of the seer Asaph. So they sang praises with rejoicing and knelt low and worshiped.
There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.
Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He repaired the supporting terraces of the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields.
This same Hezekiah blocked the upper outlet of the water from the Gihon Spring and channeled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.
Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the ascent to the tombs of David's descendants. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh became king in his place.
After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate; he brought it around Ophel, and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
He did what was right in the LORD's sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.
He said to the Levites who taught all Israel the holy things of the LORD, “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders, now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.
“Organize your ancestral families[fn] by your divisions according to the written instruction of King David of Israel and that of his son Solomon.
The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer. Also, the gatekeepers were at each temple gate. None of them left their tasks because their Levite brothers had made preparations for them.
When the builders had laid the foundation of the LORD's temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph, holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as King David of Israel had instructed.
Gershom, from Phinehas's descendants;
Daniel, from Ithamar's descendants;
Hattush, from David's descendants,
Shallun[fn] son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and roofed it. Then he installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also made repairs to the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king's garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the city of David.
After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Warriors.
The heads of the Levites — Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their relatives opposite them — gave praise and thanks, division by division, as David the man of God had prescribed.
as well as his relatives — Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe went in front of them.
At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the city of David on the ascent of the wall and went above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed.
For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were heads[fn] of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
LORD, hear a just cause;
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer —
from lips free of deceit.
Vindicate me, LORD,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
The LORD is my light and my salvation —
whom should I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life —
whom should I dread?
LORD, I call to you;
my rock, do not be deaf to me.
If you remain silent to me,
I will be like those going down to the Pit.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
constructed in layers.
A thousand shields are hung on it —
all of them shields of warriors.
When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz[fn] and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind.
Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God?
The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of Armies will accomplish this.
a throne will be established in love,
and one will sit on it faithfully[fn]
in the tent of David,
judging and pursuing what is right,
quick to execute justice.
You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the city of David. You collected water from the lower pool.
“I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.
“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add fifteen years to your life.[fn]
“Pay attention and come to me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make a permanent covenant with you
on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.[fn]
“And you will say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to fill all who live in this land — the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the residents of Jerusalem — with drunkenness.
“kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David; they will ride in chariots and on horses with their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever.
“House of David, this is what the LORD says:
Administer justice every morning,
and rescue the victim of robbery
from his oppressor,
or my anger will flare up like fire
and burn unquenchably
because of your evil deeds.
“You are to say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David — you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates.
“For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David's throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses — they, their officers, and their people.
This is what the LORD says:
Record this man as childless,
a man who will not be successful in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will succeed
in sitting on the throne of David
or ruling again in Judah.
Therefore, this is what the LORD says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David's throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night.
In that day
I will restore the fallen shelter of David:
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
“The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David's house and the glory of Jerusalem's residents may not be greater than that of Judah.
“On that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD, before them.
“The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David's house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan's[fn] house by itself and their women by themselves;
Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom? ”
Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king's son-in-law.' ”
Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price except a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' ” Actually, Saul intended to cause David's death at the hands of the Philistines.
When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,
so he told him, “My father, Saul, intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning and hide in a secret place and stay there.
Saul sent agents to David's house to watch for him and kill him in the morning. But his wife Michal warned David, “If you don't escape tonight, you will be dead tomorrow! ”
Jonathan once again swore to David[fn] in his love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
The priest told him, “There is no ordinary bread on hand. However, there is consecrated bread, but the young men may eat it[fn] only if they have kept themselves from women.”
It was reported to David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and raiding the threshing floors.”
and Saul and his men went to look for him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David there.
“Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on a feast[fn] day. Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your son David.' ”
David's young men retraced their steps. When they returned to him, they reported all these words.
“The LORD has done[fn] exactly what he said through me: The LORD has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David.
Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
“May God punish Abner and do so severely if I don't do for David what the LORD swore to him:
Abner sent messengers as his representatives to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make your covenant with me, and you can be certain I am on your side to turn all Israel over to you.”
They brought Ish-bosheth's head to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here's the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who intended to take your life. Today the LORD has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites had said to David, “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you” thinking, “David can't get in here.”
King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David; he also sent cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
After he arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
It was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom's house to the city of David with rejoicing.
“So now this is what you are to say to my servant David: ‘This is what the LORD of Armies says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel.
He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David's subjects and brought tribute.
Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”
When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans lined up to engage David in battle and fought against him.
When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn't go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven't you just come from a journey? Why didn't you go home? ”
Then the messenger left.
When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
Then Nathan went home.
The LORD struck the baby that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became deathly ill.
Now the advice Ahithophel gave in those days was like someone asking about a word from God — such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel's advice.
Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, because they dared not be seen entering the city.
After they had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well and went and informed King David. They told him, “Get up and immediately ford the river, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”
honey, curds, sheep, goats, and cheese[fn] from the herd for David and the people with him to eat. They had reasoned, “The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, so we have a greater claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Weren't we the first to speak of restoring our king? ” But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than those of the men of Israel.
Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram's horn and shouted:
We have no portion in David,
no inheritance in Jesse's son.
Each man to his tent,[fn] Israel!
When it was reported to David what Saul's concubine Rizpah daughter of Aiah had done,
He is a tower of salvation for[fn] his king;
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
“The responsibility for their deaths will come back to Joab and to his descendants[fn] forever, but for David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne, there will be peace from the LORD forever.”
The king also said, “You yourself know all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore, the LORD has brought back your evil on your head,
When Hiram heard Solomon's words, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD today! He has given David a wise son to be over this great people! ”
You have kept what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him
and you fulfilled your promise by your power
as it is today.
Therefore, LORD God of Israel,
keep what you promised
to your servant, my father David:
You will never fail to have a man
to sit before me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons take care to walk before me
as you have walked before me.
I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.
“I will give one tribe to his son, so that my servant David will always have a lamp[fn] before me in Jerusalem, the city I chose for myself to put my name there.
“ ‘After that, if you obey all I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight in order to keep my statutes and my commands as my servant David did, I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give you Israel.
When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him:
What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, return to your tents;
David, now look after your own house!
So Israel went to their tents,
but he did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.
The following were the chiefs of David's warriors who, together with all Israel, strongly supported him in his reign to make him king according to the LORD's word about Israel.
They helped David against the raiders, for they were all valiant warriors and commanders in the army.
From Zebulun: 50,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, with one purpose to help David.[fn]
“So now this is what you are to say to my servant David: ‘This is what the LORD of Armies says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel.
Then he placed garrisons[fn] in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
It was reported to David about his men, so he sent messengers to meet them, since the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”
When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up against them. When David lined up to engage them, they fought against him.
Joab gave the total troop registration to David. In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand armed men[fn] and in Judah itself four hundred seventy thousand armed men.
David came to Ornan, and when Ornan looked and saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground.
and innumerable cedar logs because the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large quantity of cedar logs to David.
Hiram also said:
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
“But I have chosen Jerusalem
so that my name will be there,
and I have chosen David
to be over my people Israel.”
You have kept what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him,
and you fulfilled your promise by your power,
as it is today.
Therefore, LORD God of Israel,
keep what you promised
to your servant, my father David:
“You will never fail to have a man
to sit before me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons take care to walk in my Law
as you have walked before me.”
On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people home,[fn] rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for his people Israel.
I will establish your royal throne, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man ruling in Israel.
When all Israel saw[fn] that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king:
What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, each to your tent;
David, look after your own house now!
So all Israel went to their tents.
“Don't you know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?
but for the sake of the covenant the LORD had made with David, he was unwilling to destroy the house of David since the LORD had promised to give a lamp[fn] to David and to his sons forever.
Answer me when I call,
God, who vindicates me.[fn]
You freed me from affliction;
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
LORD, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
You have covered the heavens with your majesty.[fn]
Help, LORD, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.[fn]
The fool says in his heart, “There's no God.”
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
He gives great victories to his king;
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far from my deliverance
and from my words of groaning?
I will exalt you, LORD,
because you have lifted me up
and have not allowed my enemies
to triumph over me.
An oracle within my heart
concerning the transgression of the wicked person:
Dread of God has no effect on him.[fn]
I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
Happy is one who is considerate of the poor;
the LORD will save him in a day of adversity.
[fn]Vindicate me, God, and champion my cause
against an unfaithful nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust person.
Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
The fool says in his heart, “There's no God.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.
God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
God, hear my voice when I am in anguish.
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.
The LORD said,
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
Lord, where are the former acts of your faithful love
that you swore to David in your faithfulness?
The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed, enveloped in strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.
Come, let's shout joyfully to the LORD,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
Sing a new song to the LORD,
for he has performed wonders;
his right hand and holy arm
have won him victory.
The LORD reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He is enthroned between the cherubim.
Let the earth quake.
My soul, bless the LORD!
LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with majesty and splendor.
This is the declaration of the LORD
to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
LORD, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I do not get involved with things
too great or too wondrous for me.
The LORD swore an oath to David,
a promise he will not abandon:
“I will set one of your offspring[fn]
on your throne.
“There I will make a horn grow for David;
I have prepared a lamp[fn] for my anointed one.
I will give you thanks with all my heart;
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.[fn]
LORD, hear my prayer.
In your faithfulness listen to my plea,
and in your righteousness answer me.
Blessed be the LORD, my rock
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.
“Look, the days are coming” — this is the LORD's declaration —
“when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David.
He will reign wisely as king
and administer justice and righteousness in the land.
So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy,[fn] handsome appearance.
Then the LORD said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
Then Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
But Saul replied, “You can't go fight this Philistine. You're just a youth, and he's been a warrior since he was young.”
Then David said, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”
Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David's head and had him put on armor.
David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can't walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I'm not used to them.” So David took them off.
When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy[fn] and handsome.
He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks? ”[fn] Then he cursed David by his gods.
“Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts! ”
When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.
As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments.
Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David, and when it was reported to Saul, it pleased him.
Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul's son Jonathan liked David very much,
Jonathan spoke well of David to his father, Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn't sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.
“He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason? ”
So Jonathan summoned David and told him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he did before.
and Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. As the spear struck the wall, David eluded Saul, ran away, and escaped that night.
Saul sent the agents back to see David and said, “Bring him on his bed so I can kill him.”
he sent agents to seize David. However, when they saw the group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came on Saul's agents, and they also started prophesying.
He answered David, “Come on, let's go out to the countryside.” So both of them went out to the countryside.
“By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If I find out that he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you?
Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him, so he knew that his father was determined to kill David.
He got up from the table fiercely angry and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father's shameful behavior toward David.
Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Don't stay in the stronghold. Leave and return to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
Then Saul summoned all the troops to go to war at Keilah and besiege David and his men.
David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw that Saul had come out to take his life.
Then Saul's son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith[fn] in God,
Saul went along one side of the mountain and David and his men went along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away from Saul, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.
So Saul took three thousand of Israel's fit young men and went to look for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have done what is good to me though I have done what is evil to you.
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey and knelt down with her face to the ground and paid homage to David.
So Saul, accompanied by three thousand of the fit young men of Israel, went immediately to the Wilderness of Ziph to search for David there.
Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy to you. Let me thrust the spear through him into the ground just once. I won't have to strike him twice! ”
who inquired, “Where did you raid today? ”[fn]
David replied, “The south country of Judah,” “The south country of the Jerahmeelites,” or “The south country of the Kenites.”
At that time, the Philistines gathered their military units into one army to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You know, of course, that you and your men must march out in the army[fn] with me.”
David replied to Achish, “Good, you will find out what your servant can do.”
So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.”
Achish answered David, “I'm convinced that you are as reliable as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.'
David's men found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.
After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed at Ziklag two days.
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head came from Saul's camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.
Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
Saul's son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he became king over Israel; he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.
Abner conferred with the elders of Israel: “In the past you wanted David to be king over you.
When Abner and twenty men came to David at Hebron, David held a banquet for him and his men.
Abner said to David, “Let me now go and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king. They will make a covenant with you, and you will reign over all you desire.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.
Then they came to urge David to eat food while it was still day, but David took an oath: “May God punish me and do so severely if I taste bread or anything else before sunset! ”
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.[fn]
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the LORD's presence, and they anointed David king over Israel.
King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David; he also sent cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of David, but he heard about it and went down to the stronghold.
Then David inquired of the LORD: “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? ”
The LORD replied to David, “Attack, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”
As the ark of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
When David returned home to bless his household, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today! ” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”
“Go to my servant David and say, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you to build me a house to dwell in?
Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Toi and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Joram had items of silver, gold, and bronze with him.
He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
There was a servant of Saul's family named Ziba. They summoned him to David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba? ”
“I am your servant,” he replied.
Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, fell facedown, and paid homage. David said, “Mephibosheth! ”
“I am your servant,” he replied.
Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers[fn] are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this! ”
The messenger reported to David, “The men gained the advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we counterattacked right up to the entrance of the city gate.
So the LORD sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him:
There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from Saul.
David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Then Nathan replied to David, “And the LORD has taken away your sin; you will not die.
Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have also captured its water supply.
While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom struck down all the king's sons; not even one of them survived! ”
Then an informer came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”
When David came to the summit where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.
He threw stones at David and at all the royal[fn] servants, the people and the warriors on David's right and left.
The king replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, do we agree on anything? He curses me this way because the LORD[fn] told him, ‘Curse David! ' Therefore, who can say, ‘Why did you do that? ' ”
After they had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well and went and informed King David. They told him, “Get up and immediately ford the river, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”
“That is not the case. There is a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, who has rebelled against King David. Deliver this one man, and I will withdraw from the city.”
The woman replied to Joab, “Watch! His head will be thrown over the wall to you.”
After him, Eleazar son of Dodo son of an Ahohite was among the three warriors with David when they defied the Philistines. The men of Israel retreated in the place they had gathered for battle,
Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley.
So three of the warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.
The LORD's anger burned against Israel again, and he stirred up David against them to say, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”
“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.' ”
So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three[fn] years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, consider carefully[fn] what answer I should take back to the one who sent me.”
Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up and set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wants[fn] and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.
“Go, approach King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to your servant: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne? So why has Adonijah become king? '
“The king's servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may he make his throne greater than your throne.' Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.
King Hiram of Tyre sent his emissaries to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father's place, for Hiram had always been friends with David.
“You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the LORD his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.
“So I plan to build a temple for the name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for my name.'
“Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name would be there.
But I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.”
But the LORD said to my father David,
“Since your heart was set on building a temple for my name,
you have done well to have this desire.[fn]
“However, I will not do it during your lifetime for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of your son's hand.
“Yet I will not tear the entire kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem that I chose.”
Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom.
“but one tribe will remain his for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose out of all the tribes of Israel.
“ ‘However, I will not take the whole kingdom from him but will let him be ruler all the days of his life for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose and who kept my commands and my statutes.
For the sake of his servant David, the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah, since he had promised to give a lamp[fn] to David and his sons forever.
“I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
“I will add fifteen years to your life. I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.' ”
Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that the LORD had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.[fn]
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the LORD's presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the LORD's word through Samuel.
Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while the Philistine army was encamped in Rephaim Valley.
So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.
The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were valiant warriors, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.
Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”
At that time, men came day after day to help David until there was a great army, like an army of God.[fn]
The numbers of the armed troops who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul's kingdom over to him, according to the LORD's word, were as follows:
From half the tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.
All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron wholeheartedly determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.
King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters to build a palace for him.
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they all went in search of David; when David heard of this, he went out to face them.
Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.
As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping[fn] and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.
“Go to David my servant and say, ‘This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.
Then he placed garrisons[fn] in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Hadoram brought all kinds of gold, silver, and bronze items.
He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.' ”
So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Take your choice:
So the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go and set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Ornan said to David, “Take it! My lord the king may do whatever he wants.[fn] See, I give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering — I give it all.”
At that time, David offered sacrifices there when he saw that the LORD answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
He said:
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise
by his power.
He said,
However, the LORD said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for my name,
you have done well to have this desire.
Manasseh set up a carved image of the idol, which he had made, in God's temple that God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever[fn] in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
the one who gives victory to kings,
who frees his servant David
from the deadly sword.
I will camp in a circle around you;
I will besiege you with earth ramps,
and I will set up my siege towers against you.
“I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake
and for the sake of my servant David.”
They will serve the LORD their God
and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them.
“I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd.
So they got up and were counted off — twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from David's soldiers.
Loading
Loading
Interlinear |
Bibles |
Cross-Refs |
Commentaries |
Dictionaries |
Miscellaneous |