David’s Kingdom Strengthened

18 Now after this ^(A)it came about that David ^[a]defeated the Philistines and subdued them and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. ² And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

³ David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his ^[b]rule to the river Euphrates. ⁴ David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵ When the Arameans of ^[c]Damascus came to help Hadadezer king ^(B)of Zobah, David ^[d]killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans. ⁶ Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of ^[e]Damascus; and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold which were ^[f]carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ Also from ^[g]Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a very large amount of bronze, with which ^(C)Solomon made the bronze ^[h]Sea and the pillars and the bronze utensils.

⁹ Now when ^[i]Tou king of Hamath heard that David had ^[j]defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent ^[k]Hadoram his son to King David to ^[l]greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had ^[m]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, with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹² Moreover, Abishai the son of Zeruiah ^[n]defeated eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.

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

Misuse of Riches

5 ^(A)Come now, ^(B)you rich people, ^(C)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ^2 (D)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will ^[a]serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ^(E)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, ^(F)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(G)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(H)the Lord ^[b]of armies. ⁵ You have ^[c](I)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have ^[d]fattened your hearts in ^(J)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^[e](K)put to death ^(L)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(M)brothers and sisters, ^(N)until the coming of the Lord. ^(O)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[f]it gets ^(P)the early and late rains. ^8 (Q)You too be patient; ^(R)strengthen your hearts, for ^(S)the coming of the Lord is ^(T)near. ^9 (U)Do not ^[g]complain, ^(V)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(W)the Judge is standing ^[h](X)right at the ^[i]door. ¹⁰ As an example, ^(Y)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(Z)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those ^(AA)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(AB)the ^[j]endurance of Job and have seen ^(AC)the ^[k]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(AD)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(AE)my brothers and sisters, ^(AF)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^[l]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³ Is anyone among you ^(AG)suffering? ^(AH)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^(AI)sing praises. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^(AJ)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^[m](AK)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the ^(AL)prayer of faith will ^[n](AM)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(AN)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, ^[o]they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, ^(AO)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(AP)healed. ^(AQ)A ^[p]prayer of a righteous person, when it is ^[q]brought about, can accomplish much. ¹⁷ Elijah was ^(AR)a man with a nature like ours, and ^(AS)he prayed ^[r]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(AT)three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he ^(AU)prayed again, and ^(AV)the sky ^[s]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, ^(AW)if anyone among you strays from ^(AX)the truth and someone turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will ^(AY)save his soul from death and ^(AZ)cover a multitude of sins.