1 Chronicles 5-20

New American Standard Bible

Genealogy from Reuben

5 Now the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel (for ^(A)he was the firstborn, but because ^(B)he defiled his father’s bed, ^(C)his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; so he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. ^2 (D)Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and ^(E)from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), ^3 (F)the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, and Hezron and Carmi. ⁴ The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, ^(G)Shimei his son, ⁵ Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, ⁶ and Beerah his son, whom ^[a]Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria took into exile; he was leader of the Reubenites. ⁷ His relatives by their families, ^(H)in the genealogy of their generations, were Jeiel the chief, then Zechariah ⁸ and Bela, the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who lived in ^(I)Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹ Toward the east he settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, ^(J)because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰ In the days of Saul ^(K)they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand, so that they ^[b]occupied their tents throughout the ^[c]land east of Gilead.

¹¹ Now the sons of Gad lived opposite them in the land of ^(L)Bashan, as far as ^(M)Salecah. ¹² Joel was the head and Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat in Bashan. ¹³ Their relatives of their fathers’ households were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber, seven. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; ¹⁵ Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their fathers’ households. ¹⁶ They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasture lands of ^(N)Sharon, as far as their ^[d]borders. ¹⁷ All of these were enrolled in the genealogies in the days of ^(O)Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of ^(P)Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸ The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, consisting of valiant men, men who carried shield and sword and shot with a bow and were skillful in battle, totaled 44,760 who ^(Q)went to war. ¹⁹ They made war against ^(R)the Hagrites, ^(S)Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰ They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were handed over to them; for ^(T)they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because ^(U)they trusted in Him. ²¹ They took away their livestock: their fifty thousand camels, 250,000 sheep, and two thousand donkeys; and a hundred thousand ^[e]people. ²² For many fell mortally wounded, because ^(V)the war was of God. And ^(W)they settled in their place until the ^(X)exile.

²³ Now the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land; from Bashan to Baal-hermon, ^(Y)Senir, and Mount Hermon they were numerous. ²⁴ These were the heads of their fathers’ households: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, valiant mighty men, famous men, heads of their fathers’ households.

²⁵ But they were ^(Z)untrue to the God of their fathers and ^(AA)prostituted themselves ^(AB)with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶ So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of ^(AC)Pul, king of Assyria, that is, the spirit of ^[f]Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he ^(AD)took them into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.

Genealogy: The Priestly Line

6 ^[g](AE)The sons of Levi were ^[h]Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ² The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ³ The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁴ Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, ⁵ Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, ⁶ Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth, ⁷ Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, ^8 (AF)Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok ^(AG)fathered Ahimaaz, ⁹ Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, ¹⁰ Johanan fathered Azariah (^(AH)it was he who served as the priest in the house ^(AI)which Solomon built in Jerusalem), ^11 (AJ)Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, ¹² Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered ^[i]Shallum, ¹³ Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, ¹⁴ Azariah fathered ^(AK)Seraiah, and Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; ¹⁵ Jehozadak went along when the Lord led Judah and Jerusalem into exile ^[j]by Nebuchadnezzar.

^16 [k](AL)The sons of Levi were ^[l]Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁷ These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹⁹ The sons of ^(AM)Merari were Mahli and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households. ²⁰ Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, ²¹ Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son. ²² The sons of Kohath were Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, ²³ Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, ²⁴ Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. ²⁵ The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth. ²⁶ As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were Zophai his son, Nahath his son, ²⁷ Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. ²⁸ The sons of Samuel were ^(AN)Joel, the firstborn, and Abijah, the second. ²⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, ³⁰ Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

^31 (AO)Now these are the ones whom David appointed over the ^[m]service of song in the house of the Lord, ^(AP)after the ark rested there. ³² They were ministering in song in front of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon’s building of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; and they ^[n]served in their office according to their order. ³³ These are the ones who ^[o]served with their sons: From the sons of the Kohathites were Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, ³⁴ the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, ³⁵ the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, ³⁶ the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, ³⁷ the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, ³⁸ the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. ³⁹ Heman’s brother Asaph stood at his right hand, Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea, ⁴⁰ the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, ⁴¹ the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, ⁴² the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, ⁴³ the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. ⁴⁴ On the left hand were their kinsmen the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, ⁴⁵ the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, ⁴⁶ the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, ⁴⁷ the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. ⁴⁸ Their kinsmen the Levites were ^[p]appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

⁴⁹ But Aaron and his sons ^[q](AQ)offered on the altar of burnt offering and ^(AR)on the altar of incense, for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and ^(AS)to make atonement for Israel, in accordance with everything that Moses the servant of God had commanded. ^50 (AT)These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, ⁵¹ Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, ⁵² Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, ⁵³ Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.

⁵⁴ Now these are their settlements according to their camps within their borders. To the sons of Aaron of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the ^(AU)first lot), ⁵⁵ to them they gave ^(AV)Hebron in the land of Judah and its pasture lands around it; ^56 (AW)but they gave the fields of the city and its settlements to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ^57 (AX)To the sons of Aaron they gave the following cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah together with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ^58 [r]Hilen with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, ^59 [s]Ashan with its pasture lands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands; ⁶⁰ and from the tribe of Benjamin: Geba with its pasture lands, ^[t]Allemeth with its pasture lands, and Anathoth with its pasture lands. Their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities in all.

^61 (AY)Then to the rest of the sons of Kohath were given by lot, from the family of the tribe, from the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. ⁶² To the sons of Gershom, according to their families, were given from the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the tribe of Manasseh, thirteen cities in Bashan. ^63 (AZ)To the sons of Merari were given by lot, according to their families, from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. ^64 (BA)So the sons of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasture lands. ⁶⁵ They gave by lot from the tribe of the sons of Judah, the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, ^(BB)these cities which are mentioned by name.

^66 (BC)Now some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory from the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁷ They gave to them the following cities of refuge: Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim with its pasture lands, Gezer with its pasture lands, ⁶⁸ Jokmeam with its pasture lands, Beth-horon with its pasture lands, ⁶⁹ Aijalon with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; ⁷⁰ and from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Aner with its pasture lands and Bileam with its pasture lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.

⁷¹ To the sons of Gershom were given, from the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands; ⁷² and from the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ⁷³ Ramoth with its pasture lands, and Anem with its pasture lands; ⁷⁴ and from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ⁷⁵ Hukok with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands; ⁷⁶ and from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, Hammon with its pasture lands, and Kiriathaim with its pasture lands.

⁷⁷ To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, from the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasture lands, Tabor with its pasture lands, ⁷⁸ and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them, from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasture lands, Jahzah with its pasture lands, ⁷⁹ Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; ⁸⁰ and from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands, ⁸¹ Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands.

Genealogy from Issachar

7 Now the sons of Issachar were four: Tola, ^[u]Puah, ^[v]Jashub, and Shimron. ² The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Samuel, heads of their fathers’ households. The sons of Tola were valiant warriors in their generations. ^(BD)Their number in the days of David was 22,600. ³ The ^[w]son of Uzzi was Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah; all five of them were ^(BE)chief men. ⁴ And with them by their generations according to their fathers’ households were thirty-six thousand ^[x]troops of the army for war; for they had many wives and sons. ⁵ Their relatives among all the families of Issachar were valiant warriors, registered by genealogy, eighty-seven thousand in all.

Descendants of Benjamin

^6 (BF)Benjamin had three sons: Bela, Becher, and Jediael. ⁷ The sons of Bela were five: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. They were heads of fathers’ households, valiant warriors, 22,034 registered by genealogy. ⁸ The sons of Becher were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. ⁹ They were registered by genealogy according to their generations, heads of their fathers’ households, 20,200 valiant warriors. ¹⁰ The ^[y]son of Jediael was Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. ¹¹ All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their fathers’ households, 17,200 valiant warriors who were ^[z]ready to go out with the army to war. ^12 [aa]Shuppim and ^[ab]Huppim were the sons of ^[ac]Ir; Hushim was the ^[ad]son of ^[ae]Aher.

Sons of Naphtali

¹³ The sons of Naphtali were ^[af]Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and ^[ag]Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.

Descendants of Manasseh

¹⁴ The sons of Manasseh were Asriel, to whom his Aramean concubine gave birth; she also gave birth to Machir, the father of Gilead. ¹⁵ Machir took a wife from Huppim and Shuppim, ^[ah]whose name was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. ¹⁶ Maacah the wife of Machir gave birth to a son, and she named him Peresh; the name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. ¹⁷ The ^[ai]son of Ulam was Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. ¹⁸ His sister Hammolecheth gave birth to Ishhod, ^[aj]Abiezer, and Mahlah. ¹⁹ The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Descendants of Ephraim

^20 (BG)The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah and ^[ak]Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, ²¹ Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to take their livestock. ²² Their father Ephraim ^(BH)mourned for many days, and his relatives ^(BI)came to comfort him. ²³ Then he went in to his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son, and he named him ^[al]Beriah, because misfortune had come upon his house. ²⁴ His daughter was Sheerah, ^(BJ)who built lower and upper Beth-horon, as well as Uzzen-sheerah. ²⁵ Rephah was his son along with Resheph, Telah his son, Tahan his son, ²⁶ Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, ^27 [am]Non his son, and ^(BK)Joshua his son.

^28 (BL)Their possessions and dwelling places were Bethel with its towns, and to the east, ^[an]Naaran, and to the west, Gezer with its towns, and Shechem with its towns, as far as ^[ao]Ayyah with its towns, ²⁹ and along the borders of the sons of Manasseh, Beth-shean with its towns, Taanach with its towns, Megiddo with its towns, and Dor with its towns. In these regions lived the ^(BM)sons of Joseph the son of Israel.

Descendants of Asher

^30 (BN)The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah was their sister. ³¹ The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. ³² Heber fathered Japhlet, ^[ap]Shomer, and Hotham, and their sister Shua. ³³ The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were the sons of Japhlet. ³⁴ The sons of ^[aq]Shemer were Ahi and Rohgah, and Jehubbah and Aram. ³⁵ The ^[ar]sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. ³⁶ The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, ³⁷ Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. ³⁸ The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. ³⁹ The sons of Ulla were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. ⁴⁰ All these were the sons of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice, valiant mighty men, and heads of the leaders. And the number of them registered by genealogy for service in war was twenty-six thousand men.

Genealogy from Benjamin

8 And ^(BO)Benjamin fathered Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, ^(BP)Aharah the third, ² Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. ³ Bela had sons: ^[as]Addar, Gera, Abihud, ⁴ Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵ Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. ⁶ These are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of fathers’ households of the inhabitants of Geba, and they took them into exile to Manahath, ⁷ namely, Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera—he exiled them; and he fathered Uzza and Ahihud. ⁸ Shaharaim fathered children in the ^[at]country of Moab after he had sent his wives Hushim and Baara away. ⁹ By Hodesh his wife he fathered Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, ¹⁰ Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers’ households. ¹¹ By Hushim he fathered Abitub and Elpaal. ¹² The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod, with its towns; ¹³ and Beriah and Shema, who were heads of fathers’ households of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who put the inhabitants of Gath to flight; ¹⁴ and ^[au]Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. ¹⁵ Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶ Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah. ¹⁷ Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸ Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. ¹⁹ Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, ²⁰ Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹ Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of ^[av]Shimei. ²² Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³ Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, ²⁴ Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, ²⁵ Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. ²⁶ Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷ Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸ These were heads of the fathers’ households according to their generations, chief men ^[aw]who lived in Jerusalem.

^29 (BQ)Now, Jeiel, the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and his wife’s name was Maacah; ³⁰ and his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, ³¹ Gedor, Ahio, and ^[ax]Zecher. ³² Mikloth fathered ^[ay]Shimeah. They also lived with their relatives in Jerusalem opposite their other relatives.

Genealogy from King Saul

^33 (BR)Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, ^[az]Abinadab, and ^[ba]Eshbaal. ³⁴ The son of Jonathan was ^[bb]Merib-baal, and Merib-baal fathered Micah. ³⁵ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, ^[bc]Tarea, and Ahaz. ³⁶ Ahaz fathered ^[bd]Jehoaddah, Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri fathered Moza. ³⁷ Moza fathered Binea; ^[be]Raphah was his son, Eleasah, his son, and Azel, his son. ³⁸ Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹ The sons of his brother Eshek were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰ The sons of Ulam were valiant mighty men, archers, and they had many sons and grandsons, 150 of them. All these were among the sons of Benjamin.

People of Jerusalem

9 So all Israel was enrolled in genealogies; and behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And ^(BS)Judah was taken into exile to Babylon for their infidelity.

^2 (BT)Now the first inhabitants who lived on their own property in their cities were people of Israel, including the priests, the Levites, and ^(BU)the ^[bf]temple servants. ³ Some of the sons of Judah, some of the sons of Benjamin, and some of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh lived in ^(BV)Jerusalem: ⁴ Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, from the sons of Perez the ^(BW)son of Judah. ⁵ From the Shilonites were Asaiah the firstborn and his sons. ⁶ From the sons of Zerah were Jeuel and their relatives, 690 of them. ⁷ From the sons of Benjamin were Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah, ⁸ and Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; ⁹ and their relatives according to their generations, ^(BX)956. All these men were heads of fathers’ households according to their fathers’ houses.

^10 (BY)From the priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ and ^[bg]Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, ^(BZ)the chief officer of the house of God; ¹² and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; ¹³ and their relatives, heads of their fathers’ households, 1,760 competent men for the work of the service of the house of God.

^14 (CA)Of the Levites, there were Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; ¹⁵ and Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal; and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of ^[bh]Zichri, the son of Asaph, ¹⁶ and ^[bi]Obadiah the son of ^[bj]Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the settlements of the Netophathites.

¹⁷ Now the gatekeepers were ^[bk]Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives (Shallum the chief ¹⁸ being stationed until now at ^(CB)the king’s gate to the east). These were the gatekeepers for the camp of the sons of Levi. ¹⁹ Shallum the son of Kore, the son of ^[bl]Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his relatives of his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, doorkeepers of the tent; and their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance. ^20 (CC)Phinehas the son of Eleazar was supervisor over them previously, and the Lord was with him. ^21 (CD)Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper of the entrance of the tent of meeting. ²² Those who were chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds were 212 in all. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements, ^(CE)those whom David and Samuel the seer appointed ^(CF)in their official capacity. ²³ So they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, the house of the tent, in their divisions of service. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were ^[bm]on the four sides, to the east, west, north, and south. ²⁵ Their relatives in their settlements ^(CG)were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with ^[bn]them; ²⁶ for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, served in an official capacity, and were in charge of the chambers and in charge of the treasuries in the house of God. ²⁷ They spent the night around the house of God, ^(CH)because the watch was ^[bo]committed to them; and they were in charge of opening it morning by morning.

²⁸ Now some of them were in charge of the utensils of the service, for ^[bp]they counted them when they brought them in and when they took them out. ²⁹ Some of them also were appointed over the furniture and over all the utensils of the sanctuary, and ^(CI)over the finely milled flour, the wine, the olive oil, the frankincense, and the balsam oil. ³⁰ Some of ^(CJ)the sons of the priests prepared the mixing of the balsam oil. ³¹ Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had ^(CK)the ^[bq]responsibility for the baking of cakes in pans. ³² Some of their relatives of the sons of the Kohathites ^(CL)were in charge of the showbread to prepare it every Sabbath.

³³ Now these are ^(CM)the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple free of other duties; for they were ^[br]engaged ^(CN)in their work day and night. ³⁴ These were heads of fathers’ households of the Levites according to their generations, chief men ^[bs]who lived in Jerusalem.

Ancestry and Descendants of Saul

^35 (CO)Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and his wife’s name was Maacah, ³⁶ and his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸ Mikloth fathered Shimeam. And they also lived with their relatives in Jerusalem opposite their other relatives. ^39 (CP)Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰ The son of Jonathan was ^[bt]Merib-baal; and Merib-baal fathered Micah. ⁴¹ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, ^(CQ)and Ahaz. ⁴² Ahaz fathered Jarah, Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri fathered Moza. ⁴³ Moza fathered Binea, and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ⁴⁴ Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

Defeat and Death of Saul and His Sons

10 ^(CR)Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines ^[bu]killed Jonathan, ^[bv](CS)Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle became severe against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was wounded by the archers. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and abuse me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. ^(CT)So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died. ^6 (CU)So Saul died with his three sons, and all those of his house died together.

⁷ When all the people of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ It came about the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ^9 (CV)So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the house of their gods and ^[bw]impaled his head in the house of Dagon.

Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul

¹¹ When all Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (CW)all the valiant men got up and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh; and they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.

^13 (CX)So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also ^(CY)because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of her, ¹⁴ and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and ^(CZ)turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse.

David Made King over All Israel

11 ^(DA)Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron ^[bx]and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. ² In times past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘^(DB)You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be leader over My people Israel.’” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord; and ^(DC)they anointed David king over Israel, ^(DD)in accordance with the word of the Lord through Samuel.

Jerusalem Is the Capital City

⁴ Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (^(DE)that is, Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. ⁵ The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not enter here.” Nevertheless David took the mountain stronghold of Zion (that is, the city of David). ⁶ Now David had said, “Whoever is first to ^[by]kill a Jebusite shall be chief and commander.” ^(DF)Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. ⁷ Then David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. ⁸ He ^[bz]built the city all around, from the ^[ca]Millo to the surrounding area; and Joab ^[cb]repaired the rest of the city. ^9 (DG)And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of armies was with him.

David’s Mighty Men

^10 (DH)Now these are the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who remained faithful to him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, ^(DI)in accordance with the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹ These constitute the list of David’s mighty men: ^(DJ)Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, ^(DK)the chief of the thirty; he wielded his spear against three hundred ^[cc]whom he killed at one time.

¹² After him was Eleazar the son of ^(DL)Dodo, the Ahohite, who was ^[cd]one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at ^[ce]Pas-dammim ^(DM)when the Philistines were gathered together there to battle, and there was a plot of land full of barley; and the people fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴ But they took their stand in the midst of the plot and defended it, and defeated the Philistines; and the Lord saved them with a great ^[cf]victory.

¹⁵ Now three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam, while ^(DN)the army of the Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ David was then in the stronghold, while ^(DO)the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” ¹⁸ So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David; however, David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; ¹⁹ and he said, “Far be it from me before my God that I would do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went ^[cg]at the risk of their lives? For they brought it at the risk of their lives.” Therefore he would not drink it. The three mighty men did these things.

²⁰ As for ^[ch]Abshai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the ^[ci]thirty, and he wielded his spear against three hundred ^[cj]and killed them; and he had a name ^[ck]as well as the ^[cl]thirty. ²¹ Of the three in the second rank he was the most honored, and he became their commander; however, he did not attain the reputation of the first three.

^22 (DP)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a warrior of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck and killed the ^[cm]two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and struck and killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day. ²³ And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature ^[cn]five cubits tall. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was ^(DQ)a spear like a weaver’s beam, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did these things, and had a name ^[co]as well as the three mighty men. ²⁵ Behold, he was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain the reputation of the first three; and David appointed him over his bodyguard.

²⁶ Now the mighty men of the armies were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^27 [cp]Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the ^[cq]Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, ^29 [cr]Sibbecai the Hushathite, ^[cs]Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, ^[ct]Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹ Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ^32 [cu]Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, ^[cv]Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ the sons of ^[cw]Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of ^[cx]Sacar the Hararite, ^[cy]Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, ^[cz]Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³ Hanan the son of Maacah and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵ Jediael the son of Shimri and his brother Joha the Tizite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

David’s Supporters in Ziklag

12 ^(DR)Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ² They were equipped with bows, ^(DS)using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and shoot arrows with the bow; ^(DT)they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin. ³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah, and Jehu the Anathothite, ⁴ and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and in charge of the thirty. ^[da]Then Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, ^5 [db]Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the Korahites, ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ From the Gadites valiant mighty men went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness, men trained for war who could handle a large shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and ^(DU)they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains. ⁹ Ezer was the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹¹ Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹² Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbannai, the eleventh. ¹⁴ These men from the sons of Gad were ^[dc]captains of the army; ^(DV)the one who was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest, to a thousand. ^15 (DW)These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them, and said to them, “If you come peacefully to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no ^[dd]wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.” ¹⁸ Then ^(DX)the Spirit ^[de]covered ^(DY)Amasai like clothing, the chief of the thirty; and he said,

Then David received them and made them ^[df]captains of the troops.

^19 (EA)From Manasseh some also defected to David when he was about to go to battle with the Philistines against Saul. But they did not help them, because the governors of the Philistines sent him away after consultation, saying, “At the cost of our heads he might defect to his master Saul.” ²⁰ As he was going to Ziklag, men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, ^[dg]captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against ^(EB)the band of raiders, for they were all valiant mighty men, and were captains in the army. ²² For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army ^(EC)like the army of God.

Supporters Gathered at Hebron

²³ Now these are the numbers of the ^[dh]divisions equipped for war, ^(ED)who came to David at Hebron, ^(EE)to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, ^(EF)according to the ^[di]word of the Lord. ²⁴ The sons of Judah who carried shield and spear numbered 6,800, equipped for war. ²⁵ From the sons of Simeon, valiant mighty men of war, 7,100. ²⁶ From the sons of Levi, 4,600. ²⁷ Now Jehoiada was the leader of the house of Aaron, and with him were 3,700, ²⁸ also ^(EG)Zadok, a young valiant mighty man, and from his father’s house, twenty-two captains. ²⁹ From the sons of Benjamin, ^(EH)Saul’s kinsmen, three thousand; for until now ^(EI)the majority of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ From the sons of Ephraim 20,800, valiant mighty men, famous men in their fathers’ households. ³¹ From the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king. ³² From the sons of Issachar, ^(EJ)men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command. ³³ From Zebulun, there were fifty thousand who went out in the army, who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David ^[dj]with ^(EK)an undivided heart. ³⁴ From Naphtali there were a thousand captains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear. ³⁵ From the Danites who could draw up in battle formation, there were 28,600. ³⁶ From Asher there were forty thousand who went out in the army to draw up in battle formation. ³⁷ From the other side of the Jordan, from the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle.

³⁸ All of these, being men of war who helped in battle formation, came to Hebron with ^(EL)a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel also were of one mind to make David king. ³⁹ They were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their kinsmen had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover, those who were near to them, as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, ^(EM)brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes and bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep. There was joy indeed in Israel.

Peril in Transporting the Ark

13 Then David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, with every leader. ² David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, ^[dk]let us send word everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, and to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they meet with us; ³ and ^[dl]let us bring back the ark of our God to us, ^(EN)since we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” ⁴ Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for ^[dm]this was right in the eyes of all the people.

^5 (EO)So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath, ^(EP)to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ^6 (EQ)David and all Israel went up to ^(ER)Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord ^(ES)who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called. ⁷ And they ^[dn]carried the ark of God on a new cart from ^(ET)the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, ^(EU)with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ When they came to ^(EV)the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly overturned it. ¹⁰ But the anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, so He struck him ^(EW)because he had put out his hand toward the ark; ^(EX)and he died there before God. ¹¹ Then David became angry because ^[do]of the Lord’s outburst against Uzza; and he called that place ^[dp]Perez-uzza as it is to this day. ¹² David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³ So David did not take the ark with him to the city of David, but took it aside ^(EY)to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house for three months; and ^(EZ)the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom and all that he had.

David’s Family Enlarged

14 ^(FA)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, masons, and carpenters, to build a house for him. ² And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted, for the sake of His people Israel.

³ Then David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters. ^4 (FB)These are the names of the children ^[dq]born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

Philistines Defeated

⁸ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up in search of David; and David heard about it and went out against them. ⁹ Now the Philistines had come and ^(FC)carried out a raid in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰ David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will You hand them over to me?” Then the Lord said to him, “Go up, for I will hand them over to you.” ¹¹ So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David ^[dr]defeated them there; and David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore they named that place ^[ds]Baal-perazim. ¹² They abandoned their gods there; so David gave the order and they were burned with fire.

¹³ The Philistines carried out ^(FD)yet another raid in the valley. ¹⁴ David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around ^[dt]behind them and come at them in front of the baka-shrubs. ¹⁵ When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the baka-shrubs, then you shall go out to battle, for God will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” ¹⁶ David did just as God had commanded him, and they defeated the army of the Philistines from ^[du]Gibeon even as far as Gezer. ¹⁷ Then the fame of David spread in all the lands; and ^(FE)the Lord brought the fear of him on all the nations.

Plans to Move the Ark to Jerusalem

15 Now David built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and ^(FF)pitched a tent for it. ² Then David said, “^(FG)No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve Him forever.” ³ And ^(FH)David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord ^(FI)to its place which he had prepared for it. ⁴ David gathered together the sons of Aaron and ^(FJ)the Levites: ⁵ of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and 120 of his relatives; ⁶ of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and 220 of his relatives; ⁷ of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and 130 of his relatives; ⁸ of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and two hundred of his relatives; ⁹ of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and eighty of his relatives; ¹⁰ of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and 112 of his relatives.

¹¹ Then David called for the priests ^(FK)Zadok and ^(FL)Abiathar, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab; ¹² and he said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; ^(FM)consecrate yourselves, you and your relatives, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel ^(FN)to the place that I have prepared for it. ^13 (FO)Because you did not carry it at the first, the Lord our God made an outburst against us, since we did not seek Him according to the ordinance.” ^14 (FP)So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵ The sons of ^(FQ)the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles on them, just as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.

¹⁶ Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites ^(FR)to appoint their relatives as the singers, with musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, playing to raise sounds of joy. ¹⁷ So ^(FS)the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel, and from his relatives, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their relatives, Ethan the son of Kushaiah, ¹⁸ and with them their relatives of the second rank, Zechariah, ^[dv]Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. ¹⁹ So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound aloud cymbals of bronze; ²⁰ and Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with harps tuned to ^[dw](FT)alamoth; ²¹ and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, to lead with ^[dx]lyres tuned to ^(FU)the sheminith. ²² Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was in charge of the singing; he gave instruction in singing because he was skillful. ²³ Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the ark. ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, ^(FV)blew the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah also were gatekeepers for the ark.

^25 (FW)So it was David, with the elders of Israel and the captains of thousands, who went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from ^(FX)the house of Obed-edom with joy. ²⁶ Because God was helping the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed ^(FY)seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷ Now David was clothed with a robe of fine linen with all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the singing with the singers. ^(FZ)David also wore an ephod of linen. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets, with loud-sounding cymbals, with harps, and lyres.

²⁹ When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, ^(GA)Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating; and she despised him in her heart.

A Tent for the Ark

16 And they brought in the ark of God and ^(GB)placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. ² When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³ Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both men and women, to everyone a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a raisin cake.

⁴ He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then ^[dy]Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with musical instruments, harps, and lyres; also Asaph played loud-sounding cymbals, ⁶ and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷ Then on that day David ^(GC)first assigned ^[dz]Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.

Psalm of Thanksgiving

Then all the people ^(HB)said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Worship before the Ark

³⁷ So he left Asaph and his relatives there ^(HC)before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to minister before the ark continually, ^(HD)as every day’s work required, ³⁸ and ^(HE)Obed-edom with ^[ek]his sixty-eight relatives; Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and ^(HF)Hosah as gatekeepers. ³⁹ He left ^(HG)Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests ^(HH)before the ^[el]tabernacle of the Lord in the high place which was at Gibeon, ⁴⁰ to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, ^(HI)even according to everything that is written in the Law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel. ⁴¹ With them were ^(HJ)Heman and Jeduthun, and ^(HK)the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to ^(HL)give thanks to the Lord, because His ^[em]kindness is everlasting. ⁴² And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who were to play them, and with instruments for ^(HM)the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate.

^43 (HN)Then all the people departed, each to his house; and David returned to bless his household.

God’s Covenant with David

17 ^(HO)And it came about, when David lived in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.” ² Then Nathan said to David, “Do whatever is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³ But it happened that same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ “Go and tell David My servant, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(HP)You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; ⁵ for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, ^(HQ)but I have ^[en]gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. ⁶ In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word ^(HR)with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’ ⁷ Now, therefore, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have eliminated all your enemies from you; and I will make for you a name like the name of the great ones who are on the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them there, so that they may live in their own place and not tremble with anxiety again; and the ^[eo]wicked will not make them waste away anymore as they did previously, ¹⁰ even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.

Moreover, I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you. ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled that you must ^[ep]go to be with your fathers, then I will set up one of your ^[eq]descendants after you, who will be from your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. ^13 (HS)I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My favor away from him, ^(HT)as I took it from him who was before you. ¹⁴ But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.”’” ¹⁵ According to all these words and according to all of this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer in Response

¹⁶ Then King David came in and sat before the Lord, and said, “^(HU)Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? ¹⁷ This was a small thing in Your eyes, God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have viewed me according to the standard of a person of high degree, Lord God. ¹⁸ What more can David still say to You concerning the honor bestowed on Your servant? For You know Your servant. ¹⁹ Lord, ^(HV)for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished all this greatness, to make known all these great things. ²⁰ Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to everything that we have heard with our ears. ²¹ And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for You a name by great and awesome things, by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt? ^22 (HW)For You have made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, became their God.

²³ “Now, Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do just as You have spoken. ²⁴ Let Your name be established and be great forever, saying, ‘The Lord of armies is the God of Israel, a God to Israel; and the house of Your servant David is established before You.’ ²⁵ For You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You. ²⁶ Now, Lord, You are God, and have ^[er]promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁷ And now You have decided to bless the house of Your servant, that it may ^[es]continue forever before You; for You, Lord, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

David’s Kingdom Strengthened

18 Now after this ^(HX)it came about that David ^[et]defeated the Philistines and subdued them and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. ² And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

³ David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his ^[eu]rule to the river Euphrates. ⁴ David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵ When the Arameans of ^[ev]Damascus came to help Hadadezer king ^(HY)of Zobah, David ^[ew]killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans. ⁶ Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of ^[ex]Damascus; and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold which were ^[ey]carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ Also from ^[ez]Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a very large amount of bronze, with which ^(HZ)Solomon made the bronze ^[fa]Sea and the pillars and the bronze utensils.

⁹ Now when ^[fb]Tou king of Hamath heard that David had ^[fc]defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent ^[fd]Hadoram his son to King David to ^[fe]greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had ^[ff]defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze. ¹¹ King David also dedicated these to the Lord, with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹² Moreover, Abishai the son of Zeruiah ^[fg]defeated eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel; and he ^[fh]administered justice and righteousness for all his people. ^15 (IA)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary; ¹⁶ and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavsha was secretary; ¹⁷ and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of David were chiefs at the king’s side.

David’s Messengers Abused

19 ^(IB)Now it came about after this, that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son became king in his place. ² Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to console him. ³ But the commanders among the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, “^[fi]Do you think that David is honoring your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Have his servants not come to you to search, to demolish, and to spy out the land?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved them, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵ Then certain people went and told David about the men. And he sent messengers to meet them, because the men were very humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow back, then return.”

⁶ When the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent ^[fj]a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, Aram-maacah, and ^(IC)Zobah. ⁷ So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped opposite ^(ID)Medeba. And the sons of Ammon gathered together from their cities and came to the battle. ⁸ When David heard about it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. ⁹ The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the city; and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

Ammon and Aram Defeated

¹⁰ Now when Joab saw that the ^[fk]battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel and lined them up against the Arameans. ¹¹ But the remainder of the people he placed ^[fl]under the command of ^[fm]Abshai his brother; and they lined up against the sons of Ammon. ¹² He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. ¹³ Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the benefit of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” ¹⁴ So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to battle against the Arameans, and they fled from him. ¹⁵ When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from his brother Abshai and entered the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Arameans saw that they had been ^[fn]defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer ^[fo]leading them. ¹⁷ When it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came upon them and drew up in formation against them. And when David drew up in battle formation against the Arameans, they fought against him. ¹⁸ And the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed of the Arameans seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers; and he put Shophach the commander of the army to death. ¹⁹ So when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been ^[fp]defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

War with Philistine Giants

20 ^(IE)Then it happened ^[fq]in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the sons of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem. And ^(IF)Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it. ^2 (IG)David took the crown of ^[fr]their king from his head, and he found it to weigh a ^[fs]talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoils of the city, a very great amount.