Bible in 90 Days

Defeat and Death of Saul and His Sons

10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from them and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines followed closely after Saul and his sons and overtook them, and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was [mortally] wounded by the archers. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised [Philistines] will come and abuse and humiliate me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. ⁶ So Saul died with his three sons and all those of his house died together.

⁷ When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army 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 (plunder) the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they stripped Saul and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to their ^[a]idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put Saul’s armor in the house of their gods and nailed up his head in the house (temple) of Dagon.

Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul

¹¹ When all Jabesh-gilead heard about everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the brave men arose, 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; then they fasted seven days.^(A)

¹³ So Saul died for his ^[b]trespass which he committed against the Lord, for his failure to keep the word of the Lord; and also because he consulted a medium [regarding a spirit of the dead], to inquire of her, ¹⁴ and did not inquire of the Lord [instead]. Therefore the Lord killed him and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.^(B)

David Made King over All Israel

11 ^[c]Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.^{(C) 2} In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over My people Israel.’” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant (solemn agreement) with them there before the Lord; and they anointed him king over Israel, in accordance with the word of the Lord through Samuel.^(D)

Jerusalem, Capital City

⁴ Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (that is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. ⁵ Then the Jebusites said to David, “You shall not come in here.” But David captured the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). ⁶ Now David said, “Whoever strikes down a Jebusite first shall be chief and commander.” Joab the son of Zeruiah [David’s half sister] went up first, and so he was made chief. ⁷ Then David lived in the stronghold; so it was called the City of David. ⁸ He built the city around it, from the Millo (fortification) to the surrounding area; and Joab repaired the rest of the [old Jebusite] city. ⁹ David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

David’s Mighty Men

¹⁰ Now these are the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who strongly supported him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, in accordance with the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹ This is the list of David’s mighty men: Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, the chief of the thirty [heroes]. He lifted up his spear against three hundred whom he killed at one time.

¹² Next to him [in rank] was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at Pasdammim [where David had killed Goliath] and there the Philistines were gathered together for battle, and there was a plot of ground full of barley; and the people [of Israel] fled before the Philistines. ¹⁴ But they took their stand in the midst of that plot and defended it, and killed the Philistines; and the Lord rescued them by a great victory.^(E)

¹⁵ Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is next to the gate!” ¹⁸ Then the three [mighty men] broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was next to the gate, and brought it to David. But David would not drink it; he poured it out to the Lord [as an offering]; ¹⁹ and he said, “Far be it from me before my God that I would do this thing! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For they brought it at the risk of their lives.” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

²⁰ Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the [other] ^[d]three, and he lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them, and he had a name as well as the three. ²¹ Of the three in the second [rank] he was the most honored and became their captain; however, he did not attain to the first three [Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah].

²² Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a courageous man of Kabzeel who had done great things, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. Also he went down and killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day. ²³ He killed an Egyptian also, a man of great stature, five ^[e]cubits tall. In the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam, and Benaiah went down to him with [only] a staff (rod) and grabbed 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 as well as the three mighty men. ²⁵ He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to [the rank of] the [first] three. 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 Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, ²⁹ Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹ Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjamites, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ³² Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, 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 [David’s half sister], ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite [Bathsheba’s husband], Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty [heroes] 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, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel and Obed and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

David’s Supporters in Ziklag

12 These are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he still concealed himself from Saul the son of Kish; they were among the courageous men who helped him in battle. ² They were armed with bows, and could use the right hand or the left to sling stones and shoot arrows from the bow; they were Saul’s relatives from [the tribe of] Benjamin. ³ The chief was Ahiezer and then Joash, the sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, and Jehu of Anathoth, ⁴ Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty, and [a leader] over them; ^[f]Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, ^5 [g]Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites, ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ Courageous men from the Gadites came over to David in the stronghold in the wilderness, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and who were swift as 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, Machbannai the eleventh. ¹⁴ These from the sons (descendants) of Gad were captains of the army; he who was least was ^[h]equal to a hundred, and the greatest was equal to a thousand. ¹⁵ These are the men who crossed over the Jordan in the first month when it had overflowed all its banks and they put to flight all those in the valleys, east and west.

¹⁶ Then some of the ^[i]men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no violence or wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on [what you are doing] and punish [you].” ¹⁸ Then the [Holy] Spirit came on Amasai, who was chief of the thirty, and he said,

Then David accepted and received them and made them officers of his troops.

¹⁹ Some [of the men] of Manasseh also defected to David when he came with the Philistines to go to battle against Saul. But David’s men did not [actually] assist the Philistines, for the lords (governors) of the Philistines after consultation sent him away, saying, “At the cost of our heads he may defect to his master Saul.”^{(F) 20} As David went to Ziklag, these men defected to him from Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all courageous men, and [all seven] became commanders in his army. ²² For day by day men kept coming to David to help him, until there was a great army, like the army of God.

Supporters Gathered at Hebron

²³ These are the numbers of the [armed] units equipped for war who came to David at Hebron to turn [over] the kingdom of Saul to him, in accordance with the word of the Lord. ²⁴ Those of the tribe of Judah who carried shield and spear were 6,800, armed for war; ²⁵ of the tribe of Simeon, brave warriors, 7,100; ²⁶ of the tribe of Levi, 4,600. ²⁷ Jehoiada was the leader of [the house of] Aaron, and with him were 3,700, ²⁸ and Zadok, a courageous young man, and twenty-two captains from his father’s house. ²⁹ Of the tribe of Benjamin, the relatives of [King] Saul, 3,000; for until now the majority of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³⁰ Of the tribe of Ephraim, 20,800, courageous men, famous in their fathers’ houses. ³¹ Of the half-tribe of Manasseh, 18,000, who were designated by name to come and make David king. ³² Of the tribe of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, two hundred chiefs; and all their relatives were at their command; ³³ of the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 in military service who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David, men with ^[j]an undivided heart. ³⁴ Of the tribe of Naphtali, there were 1,000 captains, and with them 37,000 [of the rank and file armed] with shield and spear. ³⁵ Of the tribe of Dan, 28,600 men who could draw up in battle formation. ³⁶ Of the tribe of Asher, 40,000 men in military service, able to draw up in battle formation. ³⁷ From the other side [east] of the Jordan River, of [the tribes of] Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000 men, armed with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle.

³⁸ All these, being men of war arrayed in battle formation, came to Hebron with a perfect (committed) heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were also of one mind to make David king. ³⁹ They were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their relatives had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Also those who were [living] near them [from] as far as [the tribes of] Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, abundant supplies of flour, cakes of figs and raisins, wine, [olive] oil, oxen, and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

Peril in Transporting the Ark

13 David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even 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, let us send word everywhere to our fellow countrymen who remain in all the land of Israel, and to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, so that they may meet with us; ³ and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, ^[k]for we did not seek it during the days of Saul.” ⁴ Then all the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

⁵ So David gathered all Israel together, from the Shihor [watercourse] of Egypt, to the entrance of Hamath [in the north], to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶ David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord who sits enthroned above the cherubim, the ark which is called by His name. ⁷ They ^[l]carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio [his brother] drove the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel celebrated [joyfully] before God with all their might, with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold and steady the ark, for the oxen [that were drawing the cart] ^[m]nearly overturned it. ¹⁰ The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, and He struck him down because he touched the ark; and there he died before God.^{(G) 11} David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzza; so that place is called ^[n]Perez-uzza to this day. ¹² David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home with me?” ¹³ So David did not bring the ark with him to the City of David, but took it aside to the house of ^[o]Obed-edom the Gittite.^{(H) 14} So the ark of God remained with the ^[p]family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord ^[q]blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that he had.

David’s Family Enlarged

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

³ Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁴ Now these are the ^[r]names of the children 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, they all went up in search of David; and he heard about it and went out against them. ⁹ Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰ So David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will You hand them over to me?” Then the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will hand them over to you.” ¹¹ So Israel came up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore they named that place ^[s]Baal-perazim. ¹² The Philistines abandoned their gods (idols) there; so David gave a command and they were burned in a fire [as the Law of Moses required].^(I)

¹³ The Philistines again made a raid in the valley. ¹⁴ So David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “Do not go up after them; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. ¹⁵ It shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the Philistine army.” ¹⁶ So David did just as God had commanded him, and they struck down the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer. ¹⁷ Then David’s fame spread into all the lands; and the Lord caused all nations to fear him.

Plans to Move the Ark to Jerusalem

15 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. ² Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.” ³ And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place which he had prepared for it. ⁴ David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: ⁵ of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his relatives; ⁶ of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his relatives; ⁷ of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his relatives; ⁸ of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his relatives; ⁹ of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his relatives; ¹⁰ of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his relatives.

¹¹ Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites—Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, ¹² and he said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves, both you and your relatives, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. ¹³ Because you did not [carry it as God directed] the first time, the Lord our God made an [angry] outburst against us, for we did not seek Him in accordance with the ordinance.”^{(J) 14} So the priests and the Levites consecrated (dedicated) themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵ The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.

¹⁶ Then David told the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives as the singers, with instruments of music—harps, lyres, and cymbals—to play loudly and to raise sounds of joy [with their voices]. ¹⁷ So 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, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. ¹⁹ So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were appointed to sound aloud the bronze cymbals; ²⁰ and Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah [were to play] with ^[t]harps tuned to Alamoth [that is, a high pitch]; ²¹ and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres set to Sheminith [that is, the eighth string, a low pitch]. ²² Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was in charge of the singing; he gave instruction in singing because he was skilled. ²³ Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the ark. ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests blew the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah (Jeiel) were also gatekeepers for the ark.

²⁵ So David, with the elders of Israel and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with joy. ²⁶ Because God was helping the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord [to do it carefully and safely], they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷ David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah, director of the music of the singers. David also wore an ephod (a priestly upper garment) of linen. ²⁸ Thus 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 It happened that as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, Michal [David’s wife] the daughter of Saul, looking down through a window, saw King David leaping and dancing [in celebration]; and ^[u]she despised him in her heart.

A Tent for the Ark

16 So they brought the ark of God and set 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 offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³ He distributed to everyone in Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a raisin cake.

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

⁷ Then on that day David first entrusted to Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord [as their chief task].

Psalm of Thanksgiving

And all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Worship before the Ark

³⁷ So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as each day’s work required; ³⁸ and Obed-edom with his sixty-eight relatives; also Obed-edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, were to be gatekeepers. ³⁹ David left Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests before the dwelling place (tabernacle) of the Lord in the high place which was at Gibeon,^{(N) 40} to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually, morning and evening, in accordance with all that is written in the Law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel. ⁴¹ With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen and designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness endures forever. ⁴² With them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who were to sound aloud, and instruments for [accompanying] the songs of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were to be at the gate.

⁴³ Then all the people departed, each to his house, and David returned [home] to bless his household.

God’s Covenant with David

17 As David sat in his house (palace), he said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I live in a house of cedars, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.” ² Then Nathan said to David, “^[x]Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³ But it came about that same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ “Go and tell David My servant, ‘Thus says the Lord, “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 Israel up [from Egypt] until this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. ⁶ Wherever I have walked with all Israel, did I say a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’”’ ⁷ Now, therefore, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “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 I have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make your name like the name of the great ones of the earth. ⁹ I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and not be moved again [nor tremble with fear]; and the ^[y]wicked will not waste (persecute) them anymore, as formerly, ¹⁰ since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will humble and subdue all your enemies.

“Furthermore, I tell you that the Lord will build you a house (a blessed posterity). ¹¹ And it shall come to pass that when your days are completed and you must go to be with your fathers [in death], I will raise up one of your descendants after you, one of your own sons; and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.^{(O) 13} I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My steadfast love and mercy away from him, as I took it from him (King Saul) who was before you.^{(P) 14} But I will settle ^[z]him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forevermore.”’”^{(Q) 15} According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer in Response

¹⁶ Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house and family that You have brought me this far? ¹⁷ This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the standard and estate of a man of high degree (prominence), O Lord God. ¹⁸ What more can David say to You for the honor granted to Your servant? For You know Your servant. ¹⁹ O Lord, for Your servant’s sake, and in accordance with Your own heart, You have accomplished all this greatness, to make known all these great things. ²⁰ O Lord, there is no one like You, nor is there any God except You, according to all 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 a name for Yourself by great and awesome and terrible things, by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt? ²² You made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, became their God.

²³ “Therefore now, O Lord, let the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house endure forever, and do as You have said. ²⁴ Let Your name [and the character that it denotes] endure and be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, yes, a God to Israel; and the house of Your servant David is established before You.’ ²⁵ For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house (descendants); therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You. ²⁶ And now, O Lord, You are God, and you have spoken and promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁷ Therefore may it please You to bless the house (descendants) of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for what You bless, O Lord, is blessed forever.”

David’s Kingdom Strengthened

18 After this it came about that David defeated and subdued the Philistines, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines. ² He defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants and brought tribute (gifts).

³ David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his ^[aa]dominion to the Euphrates River. ⁴ David took from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers (infantrymen). David also ^[ab]hamstrung [nearly] all the chariot horses [to make them lame and useless], but left enough of them for 100 chariots.

⁵ When the Arameans (Syrians) of ^[ac]Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of the Arameans. ⁶ Then David put military outposts among the Arameans in Damascus; and the Arameans became David’s servants and brought tribute. Thus the Lord helped David wherever he went. ⁷ David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ Likewise from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David brought a very large amount of bronze, with which Solomon later made the bronze Sea (large basin), the pillars, and the utensils of bronze.^(R)

⁹ When Tou king of Hamath heard how David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless (congratulate) him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had 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 [setting them apart for sacred use], with the silver and the gold which he brought from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹² Also Abishai the son of Zeruiah [David’s half sister] defeated 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ He put military outposts in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Thus the Lord helped David wherever he went.

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

David’s Messengers Abused

19 Now it came about after this, that Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son became king in his place. ² David said, “I will be kind (gracious) to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father was kind to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning [the death of] his father. And the servants of David came to the land of the Ammonites to comfort Hanun. ³ But the leaders of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “^[ae]Do you think that David has sent people to console and comfort you because he honors your father? Have his servants not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?” ⁴ Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them [cutting off half their beards], and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away [in humiliation]. ⁵ When David was told how the men were treated, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were very humiliated and ashamed [to return]. So the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow [back], and then return.”

⁶ When the Ammonites saw that they had made themselves hateful to David, Hanun and his people sent 1,000 talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, Aram-maacah, and Zobah. ⁷ So they hired for themselves 32,000 chariots and the king of Maacah and his troops, who came and camped before Medeba. And the Ammonites gathered together from their cities and came to battle. ⁸ When David heard about it, he sent Joab and all the army of courageous men. ⁹ The Ammonites came out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance of the city [Medeba], while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

Ammon and Aram Defeated

¹⁰ Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him in the front and in the rear, he chose warriors from all the choice men of Israel and put them in formation against the Arameans (Syrians). ¹¹ The rest of the soldiers he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and they lined up against the Ammonites. ¹² He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. ¹³ Be strong and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for 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 approached the Arameans for battle, and they fled before him. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they also fled before Abishai, Joab’s brother, and entered the city [Medeba]. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Arameans (Syrians) saw that they had been 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 leading them. ¹⁷ When this was told to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan, and came upon them and drew up in formation against them. So when David drew up in battle array against the Arameans, they fought against him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, and put to death Shophach the commander of the army. ¹⁹ When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to and served him. And the Arameans (Syrians) were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.

War with Philistine Giants

20 Then it happened at the end of the year, ^[af]at the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led out the army and ravaged and devastated the land of the Ammonites, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem [with Bathsheba]. Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it.^{(S) 2} David took the crown of their king from his head and found that it ^[ag]weighed a talent of gold and that there was a precious stone in it; so it was set on David’s head. He also brought a very great amount of spoil (plunder) out of the city [of Rabbah]. ³ He brought out the people who were in it, and ^[ah]put them [to work] with saws, iron picks, and axes. David dealt in this way with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

⁴ Now it came about after this that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the ^[ai]giants, and they were subdued. ⁵ There was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ⁶ Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants. ⁷ When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. ⁸ These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Census Brings Pestilence

21 Satan [the adversary] stood up against Israel and incited David to ^[aj]count [the population of] Israel. ² So David said to Joab and the leaders of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me their total, so that I may know it.” ³ Joab said, “May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this? Why will he bring guilt on Israel?” ⁴ But the king’s word prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ Then Joab gave the total of the census of the people to David. And all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and in Judah 470,000 men who drew the sword. ⁶ But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, because the king’s order was detestable to Joab.

⁷ Now God was displeased with this act [of arrogance and pride], and He struck Israel. ⁸ Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. But now, I beseech You, take away the wickedness and guilt of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

⁹ And the Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, ¹⁰ “Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I offer you three choices; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you [as punishment for your sin].”’” ¹¹ So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself ¹² either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your enemies, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord and plague in the land, and the angel of the Lord bringing destruction throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” ¹³ David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell. ¹⁵ God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; and as he was destroying it, the Lord looked, and relented concerning the catastrophe and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now remove your hand [of judgment].” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶ Then David raised his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered in sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷ David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

David’s Altar

¹⁸ Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the ^[ak]threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up at Gad’s word, which he spoke in the name of the Lord. ²⁰ Now Ornan was threshing wheat, and he turned back and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. ²¹ As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw him, and went out from the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground. ²² Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of this threshing floor, so that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall charge me the full price for it, so that the plague may be averted from the people.” ²³ Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. See, I will give you the oxen also for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges (heavy wooden platforms) for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.” ²⁴ But King David said to Ornan, “No, I will certainly pay the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” ²⁵ So David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site.^{(T) 26} Then David built an altar to the Lord there and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called on the Lord, and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷ Then the Lord commanded the [avenging] angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.

²⁸ At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ²⁹ For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon. ³⁰ But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

David Prepares for Temple Building

22 Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

² So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he assigned stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. ³ David prepared large quantities of iron to make nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps (trusses), and more bronze than could be weighed; ⁴ and cedar trees beyond number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. ⁵ David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous, and an object of glory and splendor throughout all lands [of the earth]. So now I will make preparations for it.” Therefore, David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon Charged with the Task

⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son and ordered him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house for the ^[al]Name (Presence) of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My Name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before me. ⁹ Behold, a son will be born to you, who will be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.^{(U) 10} He shall build a house for My Name (Presence). He shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish his royal throne over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, may the Lord be with you so that you may be successful and build the house of the Lord your God, just as He has spoken concerning you. ¹² Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ¹³ Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe and fulfill the statutes and ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Now listen, ^[am]with great trouble I have prepared and provided for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for they are great in quantity. I have also prepared and provided timber and stone, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Further, you have workmen in abundance: stonecutters and stonemasons and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. ¹⁶ As for the gold, the silver, the bronze, and the iron, there is no limit. So arise and begin working, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest and peace on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and your soul to seek (inquire of, require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles and utensils of God into the house built for the Name (Presence) of the Lord.”

Solomon Reigns

23 When David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. ² And he assembled together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and Levites.

Offices of the Levites

³ The Levites thirty years old and upward were counted, and their number man by man was 38,000. ⁴ Of these ^[an]24,000 were to oversee and inspect the work of the house of the Lord and 6,000 were to be administrators and judges, ⁵ and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 [musicians] were to praise the Lord with the instruments which David made for giving praise. ⁶ And David organized them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Gershonites

⁷ Of the Gershonites: Ladan (Libni) and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel—three in all. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. ¹⁰ The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina (Zizah), Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. ¹¹ Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons [not enough for a father’s house or clan], so they were [counted together] as one father’s household, one working group.

Kohathites

¹² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. ¹³ The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, attend to His service, and to bless [worshipers] in His name forever. ¹⁴ But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were counted among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The son of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷ The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very many [in number]. ¹⁸ The son of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

Merarites

²¹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, and their relatives, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. ²³ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.

Duties Revised

²⁴ These were the Levites by their fathers’ households, the heads of the fathers’ households of those registered, according to the number of names of the individuals who were the servants of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁵ For David said, “The Lord God of Israel, has given peace and rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.” ²⁷ For by the last words of David, the Levites from twenty years old and above were counted. ²⁸ For their duty is to assist [the priests] the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in [caring for] the courtyards, the chambers, the purifying of all holy things, and any work of the service of the house of God, ²⁹ and with the showbread, and the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or what is baked in the pan or what is well-mixed, and all measures of volume and size [as the Law of Moses required]. ³⁰ They are to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening, ³¹ and to offer all burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the festivals by number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord. ³² So they shall be responsible for the Tent of Meeting, the Holy Place, and the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.