¹⁹ And some from Manasseh defected to David ^(A)when he was going with the Philistines to battle against Saul; but they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines sent him away by agreement, saying, ^(B)“He may defect to his master Saul and endanger our heads.” ²⁰ When he went to Ziklag, those of Manasseh who defected to him were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of the thousands who were from Manasseh. ²¹ And they helped David against ^(C)the bands of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor, and they were captains in the army. ²² For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, ^(D)like the army of God.

David’s Army at Hebron

²³ Now these were the numbers of the ^[a]divisions that were equipped for war, and ^(E)came to David at ^(F)Hebron to ^(G)turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, ^(H)according to the word of the Lord: ²⁴ of the sons of Judah bearing shield and spear, six thousand eight hundred ^[b]armed for war; ²⁵ of the sons of Simeon, mighty men of valor fit for war, seven thousand one hundred; ²⁶ of the sons of Levi four thousand six hundred; ²⁷ Jehoiada, the leader of the Aaronites, and with him three thousand seven hundred; ^28 (I)Zadok, a young man, a valiant warrior, and from his father’s house twenty-two captains; ²⁹ of the sons of Benjamin, relatives of Saul, three thousand (until then ^(J)the greatest part of them had remained loyal to the house of Saul); ³⁰ of the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty men of valor, ^[c]famous men throughout their father’s house; ³¹ of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name to come and make David king; ³² of the sons of Issachar ^(K)who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command; ³³ of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, ^(L)stouthearted men who could keep ranks; ³⁴ of Naphtali one thousand captains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear; ³⁵ of the Danites who could keep battle formation, twenty-eight thousand six hundred; ³⁶ of Asher, those who could go out to war, able to keep battle formation, forty thousand; ³⁷ of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, from the other side of the Jordan, one hundred and twenty thousand armed for battle with every kind of weapon of war.

³⁸ All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of ^(M)one mind to make David king. ³⁹ And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ Moreover those who were near to them, from as far away as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys and camels, on mules and oxen—provisions of flour and cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, wine and oil and oxen and sheep abundantly, for there was joy in Israel.

The Ark Brought from Kirjath Jearim^(N)

13 Then David consulted with the ^(O)captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. ² And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is of the Lord our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are ^(P)left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us; ³ and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, ^(Q)for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.” ⁴ Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

⁵ So ^(R)David gathered all Israel together, from ^(S)Shihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God ^(T)from Kirjath Jearim. ⁶ And David and all Israel went up to ^(U)Baalah,^[d] to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, ^(V)who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed. ⁷ So they ^[e]carried the ark of God ^(W)on a new cart ^(X)from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸ Then ^(Y)David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with ^[f]singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.

⁹ And when they came to ^[g]Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen ^[h]stumbled. ¹⁰ Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him ^(Z)because he put his hand to the ark; and he ^(AA)died there before God. ¹¹ And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzza; therefore that place is called ^[i]Perez Uzza to this day. ¹² David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God to me?”

¹³ So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. ^14 (AB)The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed ^(AC)the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.

David Established at Jerusalem^(AD)

14 Now ^(AE)Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, with masons and carpenters, to build him a house. ² So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was ^(AF)highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel.

³ Then David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David begot more sons and daughters. ⁴ And ^(AG)these are the names of his children whom he had in Jerusalem: ^[j]Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, ^[k]Elishua, ^[l]Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, ^[m]Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

The Philistines Defeated^(AH)

⁸ Now when the Philistines heard that ^(AI)David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went out against them. ⁹ Then the Philistines went and made a raid ^(AJ)on the Valley of ^[n]Rephaim. ¹⁰ And David ^(AK)inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

The Lord said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.”

¹¹ So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore they called the name of that place ^[o]Baal Perazim. ¹² And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.

^13 (AL)Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley. ¹⁴ Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, ^(AM)and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. ¹⁵ And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” ¹⁶ So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from ^[p]Gibeon as far as Gezer. ¹⁷ Then ^(AN)the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord ^(AO)brought the fear of him upon all nations.

Greeting

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, ^(A)called to be an apostle, ^(B)separated to the gospel of God ^2 (C)which He promised before ^(D)through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who ^[a]was ^(E)born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and ^(F)declared to be the Son of God with power according ^(G)to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. ⁵ Through Him ^(H)we have received grace and apostleship for ^(I)obedience to the faith among all nations ^(J)for His name, ⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, ^(K)called to be saints:

^(L)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Desire to Visit Rome

⁸ First, ^(M)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that ^(N)your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ⁹ For ^(O)God is my witness, ^(P)whom I serve ^[b]with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that ^(Q)without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you, that ^(R)I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— ¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by ^(S)the mutual faith both of you and me.

¹³ Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but ^(T)was hindered until now), that I might have some ^(U)fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. ¹⁵ So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

The Just Live by Faith

¹⁶ For ^(V)I am not ashamed of the gospel ^[c]of Christ, for ^(W)it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, ^(X)for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For ^(Y)in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ^(Z)“The just shall live by faith.”