¹³ Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. ¹⁴ David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.

¹⁵ David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” ¹⁶ So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁷ “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men^[a] who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.

¹⁰ So David asked God, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The Lord replied, “Yes, go ahead. I will hand them over to you.”

¹¹ So David and his troops went up to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. “God did it!” David exclaimed. “He used me to burst through my enemies like a raging flood!” So they named that place Baal-perazim (which means “the Lord who bursts through”). ¹² The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, so David gave orders to burn them.

¹³ But after a while the Philistines returned and raided the valley again. ¹⁴ And once again David asked God what to do. “Do not attack them straight on,” God replied. “Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar^[a] trees. ¹⁵ When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, go out and attack! That will be the signal that God is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.” ¹⁶ So David did what God commanded, and they struck down the Philistine army all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

¹⁷ So David’s fame spread everywhere, and the Lord caused all the nations to fear David.

Psalm 92

A psalm. A song to be sung on the Sabbath Day.

David Captures Jerusalem

⁶ David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. ⁷ But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.

⁸ On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, “I hate those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites.^[a] Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel.^[b]” That is the origin of the saying, “The blind and the lame may not enter the house.”^[c]

⁶ David had said to his troops, “Whoever is first to attack the Jebusites will become the commander of my armies!” And Joab, the son of David’s sister Zeruiah, was first to attack, so he became the commander of David’s armies.

⁷ David made the fortress his home, and that is why it is called the City of David. ⁸ He extended the city from the supporting terraces^[a] to the surrounding area, while Joab rebuilt the rest of Jerusalem. ⁹ And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was with him.

Psalm 101

A psalm of David.

David’s Palace and Family

14 Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber, and stonemasons and carpenters to build him a palace. ² And David realized that the Lord had confirmed him as king over Israel and had greatly blessed his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

Preparing to Move the Ark

15 David now built several buildings for himself in the City of David. He also prepared a place for the Ark of God and set up a special tent for it.

Psalm 30

A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple.