The Lord's Covenant with David

17 ^(A)Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.” ² And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³ But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ⁴ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(B)It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. ⁵ For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, ^(C)but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. ⁶ In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word 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, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, ⁸ and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, ¹⁰ from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I ^(D)will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ^13 (E)I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, ^(F)as I took it from him who was before you, ¹⁴ but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” ¹⁵ In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David's Prayer

¹⁶ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? ¹⁷ And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations,^[a] O Lord God! ¹⁸ And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. ^19 (G)For your servant's sake, O Lord, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. ²⁰ There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²¹ And who is like your people Israel, the one^[b] nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? ²² And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. ²³ And now, O Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, ²⁴ and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. ²⁵ For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. ²⁶ And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. ²⁷ Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O Lord, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

David Defeats His Enemies

18 ^(H)After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

² And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

³ David also defeated ^(I)Hadadezer king of ^(J)Zobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument^[c] at the river Euphrates. ⁴ And David took from him 1,000 chariots, ^(K)7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. ⁵ And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king ^(L)of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. ⁶ Then David put garrisons^[d] in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David^[e] wherever he went. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from ^(M)Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze. ^(N)With it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

⁹ When ^(O)Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king ^(P)of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent his son ^(Q)Hadoram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against ^(R)Hadadezer and defeated him; for ^(S)Hadadezer had often been at war with Tou. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. ¹¹ These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from ^(T)Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

¹² And ^(U)Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David's Administration

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. ¹⁵ And ^(V)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; ^16 (W)and Zadok the son of Ahitub and ^(X)Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and ^(Y)Shavsha was secretary; ¹⁷ and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were the ^(Z)chief officials in the service of the king.

The Ammonites Disgrace David's Men

19 ^(AA)Now after this Nahash the king of the Ammonites died, and his son reigned in his place. ² And David said, “I will deal kindly with Hanun the son of Nahash, for his father dealt kindly with me.” So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came to the land of the Ammonites to Hanun to console him. ³ But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Have not his servants come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?” ⁴ So Hanun took David's servants and shaved them and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away; ⁵ and they departed. When David was told concerning the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.”

⁶ When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents^[f] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen ^(AB)from Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah, and from ^(AC)Zobah. ⁷ They hired 32,000 chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and encamped before ^(AD)Medeba. And the Ammonites were mustered from their cities and came to battle. ⁸ When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. ⁹ And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the city, and the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

Ammonites and Syrians Defeated

¹⁰ When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. ¹¹ The rest of his men he put in the charge of ^(AE)Abishai his brother, and they were arrayed against the Ammonites. ¹² And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will help you. ¹³ Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” ¹⁴ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near before the Syrians for battle, and they fled before him. ¹⁵ And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before ^(AF)Abishai, Joab's brother, and entered the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates,^[g] with ^(AG)Shophach the commander of the army of ^(AH)Hadadezer at their head. ¹⁷ And when it was told to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to them and drew up his forces against them. And when David set the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. ¹⁸ And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of ^(AI)7,000 chariots and 40,000 ^(AJ)foot soldiers, and put to death also ^(AK)Shophach the commander of their army. ¹⁹ And when the servants of ^(AL)Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Syrians were not willing to save the Ammonites anymore.

22 ^(A)“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in ^(B)the Hebrew language,^[a] they became even more quiet. And he said:

^3 (C)“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^(D)at the feet of ^(E)Gamaliel^{[b] (F)}according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^(G)being zealous for God ^(H)as all of you are this day. ^4 (I)I persecuted ^(J)this Way ^(K)to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, ⁵ as ^(L)the high priest and ^(M)the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^(N)the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

^6 (O)“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. ⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am ^(P)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ ^9 (Q)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand^[c] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ^(R)‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

¹² “And ^(S)one Ananias, a devout man ^(T)according to the law, ^(U)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ^13 (V)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^(W)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ^(X)‘The God of our fathers ^(Y)appointed you to know his will, ^(Z)to see ^(AA)the Righteous One and ^(AB)to hear a voice from his mouth; ¹⁵ for ^(AC)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^(AD)you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why do you wait? ^(AE)Rise and be baptized and ^(AF)wash away your sins, ^(AG)calling on his name.’

^17 (AH)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^(AI)was praying in the temple, I fell into ^(AJ)a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ^(AK)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^(AL)I imprisoned and ^(AM)beat those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen ^(AN)your witness was being shed, ^(AO)I myself was standing by and ^(AP)approving and ^(AQ)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^(AR)far away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul and the Roman Tribune

²² Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ^(AS)“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ^(AT)he should not be allowed to live.” ²³ And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the tribune ordered him to be brought into ^(AU)the barracks, saying that he should be ^(AV)examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ But when they had stretched him out for the whips,^[d] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog ^(AW)a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” ²⁹ So those who were about ^(AX)to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also ^(AY)was afraid, ^(AZ)for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that ^(BA)he had bound him.

Paul Before the Council

³⁰ But on the next day, ^(BB)desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

23 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^(A)I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” ² And the high priest ^(B)Ananias commanded those who stood by him ^(C)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^(D)whitewashed ^(E)wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^(F)contrary to the law you ^(G)order me to be struck?” ⁴ Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^(H)God's high priest?” ⁵ And Paul said, ^(I)“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^(J)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^(K)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^(L)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ^(M)with respect to the ^(N)hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” ⁷ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees ^(O)say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^(P)the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, ^(Q)“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ^(R)if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” ¹⁰ And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^(S)the barracks.

^11 (T)The following night ^(U)the Lord stood by him and said, ^(V)“Take courage, for ^(W)as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^(X)testify also in Rome.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

¹² When it was day, ^(Y)the Jews made a plot and ^(Z)bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶ Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^(AA)the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^(AB)the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” ¹⁹ The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” ²⁰ And he said, ^(AC)“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. ²¹ But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^(AD)have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” ²² So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

²³ Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.^{[a] 24} Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to ^(AE)Felix ^(AF)the governor.” ²⁵ And he wrote a letter to this effect:

²⁶ “Claudius Lysias, to ^(AG)his Excellency the governor Felix, ^(AH)greetings. ^27 (AI)This man was seized by the Jews and ^(AJ)was about to be killed by them ^(AK)when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ^(AL)having learned that he was a Roman citizen. ²⁸ And ^(AM)desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. ²⁹ I found that he was being accused ^(AN)about questions of their law, but ^(AO)charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. ^30 (AP)And when it was disclosed to me ^(AQ)that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ^(AR)ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

³¹ So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² And on the next day they returned to ^(AS)the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. ³³ When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. ³⁴ On reading the letter, he asked what ^(AT)province he was from. And when he learned ^(AU)that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing ^(AV)when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's ^(AW)praetorium.