¹⁹ Some men from Manasseh defected from the Israelite army and joined David when he set out with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But as it turned out, the Philistine rulers refused to let David and his men go with them. After much discussion, they sent them back, for they said, “It will cost us our heads if David switches loyalties to Saul and turns against us.”

²⁰ Here is a list of the men from Manasseh who defected to David as he was returning to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each commanded 1,000 troops from the tribe of Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David chase down bands of raiders, for they were all brave and able warriors who became commanders in his army. ²² Day after day more men joined David until he had a great army, like the army of God.

²³ These are the numbers of armed warriors who joined David at Hebron. They were all eager to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the Lord had promised.

²⁴ From the tribe of Judah, there were 6,800 warriors armed with shields and spears.

²⁵ From the tribe of Simeon, there were 7,100 brave warriors.

²⁶ From the tribe of Levi, there were 4,600 warriors. ²⁷ This included Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, who had 3,700 under his command. ²⁸ This also included Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 members of his family who were all officers.

²⁹ From the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s relatives, there were 3,000 warriors. Most of the men from Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul until this time.

³⁰ From the tribe of Ephraim, there were 20,800 brave warriors, each highly respected in his own clan.

³¹ From the half-tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan, 18,000 men were designated by name to help David become king.

³² From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.

³³ From the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 skilled warriors. They were fully armed and prepared for battle and completely loyal to David.

³⁴ From the tribe of Naphtali, there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 warriors armed with shields and spears.

³⁵ From the tribe of Dan, there were 28,600 warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁶ From the tribe of Asher, there were 40,000 trained warriors, all prepared for battle.

³⁷ From the east side of the Jordan River—where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh lived—there were 120,000 troops armed with every kind of weapon.

³⁸ All these men came in battle array to Hebron with the single purpose of making David the king over all Israel. In fact, everyone in Israel agreed that David should be their king. ³⁹ They feasted and drank with David for three days, for preparations had been made by their relatives for their arrival. ⁴⁰ And people from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, clusters of raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, sheep, and goats were brought to the celebration. There was great joy throughout the land of Israel.

David Attempts to Move the Ark

13 David consulted with all his officials, including the generals and captains of his army.^{[a] 2} Then he addressed the entire assembly of Israel as follows: “If you approve and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands. Let us invite them to come and join us. ³ It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.”

⁴ The whole assembly agreed to this, for the people could see it was the right thing to do. ⁵ So David summoned all Israel, from the Shihor Brook of Egypt in the south all the way to the town of Lebo-hamath in the north, to join in bringing the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶ Then David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (also called Kiriath-jearim) to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name^[b] of the Lord who is enthroned between the cherubim. ⁷ They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon,^[c] the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. ¹⁰ Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God.

¹¹ David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today.

¹² David was now afraid of God, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of God back into my care?” ¹³ So David did not move the Ark into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. ¹⁴ The Ark of God remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and everything he owned.

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.

³ Then David married more wives in Jerusalem, and they had more sons and daughters. ⁴ These are the names of David’s sons who were born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, Eliada,^[d] and Eliphelet.

David Conquers the Philistines

⁸ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming, so he marched out to meet them. ⁹ The Philistines arrived and made a raid in the valley of Rephaim. 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^[e] 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.