The Lord’s Covenant with David

17 When David^(A) had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a cedar house while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under tent curtains.”^(B)

² So Nathan told David, “Do all that is on your heart, for God is with you.”

³ But that night^(C) the word of God came to Nathan: ⁴ “Go to David My servant and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build Me a house to dwell in.^{(D) 5} From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until today I have not lived in a house; instead, I have moved from tent to tent and from tabernacle to tabernacle.^{(E) 6} In all My travels throughout Israel, have I ever spoken a word to even one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, asking: Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’^(F)

⁷ “Now this is what you will say to My servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from following the sheep to be ruler over My people Israel.^{(G) 8} I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a name for you like that of the greatest in the land. ⁹ I will establish a place for My people Israel and plant them,^(H) so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they formerly have ¹⁰ ever since the day I ordered judges to be over My people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.

“‘Furthermore, I declare to you that the Lord Himself will build a house for you. ¹¹ When your time comes to be with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who is one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He will build a house for Me,^(I) and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me.^(J) I will not take away My faithful love from him as I took it from the one who was before you.^{(K) 14} I will appoint him over My house and My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.’”^(L)

¹⁵ Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.

David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

¹⁶ Then^(M) King David went in, sat in the Lord’s presence, and said,

David’s Military Campaigns

18 After this,^(R) David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its villages from Philistine control. ² He also defeated the Moabites, and they became David’s subjects and brought tribute.

³ David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah at Hamath when he went to establish his control at the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers from him, hamstrung all the horses, and kept 100 chariots.^[d]

⁵ When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah,^(S) David struck down 22,000 Aramean men. ⁶ Then he placed garrisons^[e](T) in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

⁷ David took the gold shields carried by Hadadezer’s officers and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ From Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer’s cities, David also took huge quantities of bronze, from which Solomon made the bronze reservoir, the pillars, and the bronze articles.^(U)

⁹ When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Hadoram brought all kinds of gold, silver, and bronze items. ¹¹ King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all the nations—from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.

¹² Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel,^(V) administering justice and righteousness for all his people.

War with the Ammonites

19 Some time later,^(Z) King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son became king in his place. ² Then David said, “I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. However, when David’s emissaries arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him, ³ the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn’t David sent his emissaries in order to scout out, overthrow, and spy on the land?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.^(AA)

⁵ It was reported to David about his men, so he sent messengers to meet them, since the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”

⁶ When the Ammonites realized^(AB) they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 38 tons^[g] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.^{(AC) 7} They hired 32,000 chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and camped near Medeba.^(AD) The Ammonites also came together from their cities for the battle.

⁸ David heard about this and sent Joab and the entire army of warriors. ⁹ The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance of the city while the kings who had come were in the field by themselves. ¹⁰ When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some men out of all the elite troops^[h](AE) of Israel and lined up in battle formation to engage the Arameans. ¹¹ He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai, and they lined up in battle formation to engage the Ammonites.

¹² “If the Arameans are too strong for me,” Joab said, “then you’ll be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll help you. ¹³ Be strong! We must prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God.^(AF) May the Lord’s will be done.”^[i]

¹⁴ Joab and the people with him approached the Arameans for battle, and they fled before him. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they likewise fled before Joab’s brother Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab went to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Arameans who were across the Euphrates. They were led by Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army.

¹⁷ When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up in battle formation against them. When David lined up to engage them in battle, they fought against him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 7,000 of their charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, commander of the army. ¹⁹ When Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans were never willing to help the Ammonites again.