2 Samuel 5-10

New King James Version

David Reigns over All Israel^(A)

5 Then all the tribes of Israel ^(B)came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed ^(C)we are your bone and your flesh. ² Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, ^(D)you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ^(E)‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” ^3 (F)Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, ^(G)and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron ^(H)before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. ⁴ David was ^(I)thirty years old when he began to reign, and ^(J)he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah ^(K)seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

The Conquest of Jerusalem^(L)

^6 (M)And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against ^(N)the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” ⁷ Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion ^(O)(that is, the City of David).

⁸ Now David said on that day, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), ^(P)he shall be chief and captain.” Therefore they say, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”

⁹ Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it ^(Q)the City of David. And David built all around from ^[a]the Millo and inward. ¹⁰ So David went on and became great, and ^(R)the Lord God of hosts was with ^(S)him.

¹¹ Then ^(T)Hiram ^(U)king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. ¹² So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had ^(V)exalted His kingdom ^(W)for the sake of His people Israel.

¹³ And ^(X)David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David. ¹⁴ Now ^(Y)these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: ^[b]Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, ^(Z)Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, ^[c]Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

The Philistines Defeated^(AA)

^17 (AB)Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it ^(AC)and went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸ The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in ^(AD)the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹ So David ^(AE)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

²⁰ So David went to ^(AF)Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place ^[d]Baal Perazim. ²¹ And they left their ^[e]images there, and David and his men ^(AG)carried them away.

^22 (AH)Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³ Therefore ^(AI)David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. ²⁴ And it shall be, when you ^(AJ)hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then ^(AK)the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” ²⁵ And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from ^(AL)Geba^[f] as far as ^(AM)Gezer.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(AN)

6 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. ² And ^(AO)David arose and went with all the people who were with him from ^[g]Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called ^[h]by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, ^(AP)who dwells between the cherubim. ³ So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on ^(AQ)the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new ^[i]cart. ⁴ And they brought it out of ^(AR)the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵ Then David and all the house of Israel ^(AS)played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

⁶ And when they came to ^(AT)Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his ^(AU)hand to the ark of God and ^[j]took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷ Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his ^[k]error; and he died there by the ark of God. ⁸ And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place ^[l]Perez Uzzah to this day.

^9 (AV)David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰ So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the ^(AW)City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the ^(AX)Gittite. ^11 (AY)The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord ^(AZ)blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

¹² Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^(BA)So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. ¹³ And so it was, when ^(BB)those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed ^(BC)oxen and fatted sheep. ¹⁴ Then David ^(BD)danced^[m] before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing ^(BE)a linen ephod. ^15 (BF)So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶ Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, ^(BG)Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ So ^(BH)they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in ^(BI)its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David ^(BJ)offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ^(BK)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ^19 (BL)Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.

^20 (BM)Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, ^(BN)uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the ^(BO)base fellows ^[n]shamelessly uncovers himself!”

²¹ So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, ^(BP)who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the ^(BQ)people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. ²² And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

²³ Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children ^(BR)to the day of her death.

God’s Covenant with David^(BS)

7 Now it came to pass ^(BT)when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, ² that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in ^(BU)a house of cedar, ^(BV)but the ark of God dwells inside tent ^(BW)curtains.”

³ Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your ^(BX)heart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵ “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(BY)“Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? ⁶ For I have not dwelt in a house ^(BZ)since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in ^(CA)a tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷ Wherever I have ^(CB)moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded ^(CC)to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ ⁸ Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(CD)“I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. ⁹ And ^(CE)I have been with you wherever you have gone, ^(CF)and have ^[o]cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. ¹⁰ Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will ^(CG)plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; ^(CH)nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, ^11 (CI)since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord ^[p]tells you ^(CJ)that He will make you a ^[q]house.

^12 (CK)“When your days are fulfilled and you ^(CL)rest with your fathers, ^(CM)I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13 (CN)He shall build a house for My name, and I will ^(CO)establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14 (CP)I will be his Father, and he shall be ^(CQ)My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the ^[r]blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵ But My mercy shall not depart from him, ^(CR)as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ And ^(CS)your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before ^[s]you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁷ According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Thanksgiving to God^(CT)

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: ^(CU)“Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. ^(CV)Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? ²⁰ Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord God, ^(CW)know Your servant. ²¹ For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. ²² Therefore ^(CX)You are great, ^[t]O Lord God. For ^(CY)there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ^(CZ)ears. ²³ And who is like Your people, like Israel, ^(DA)the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before ^(DB)Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? ²⁴ For ^(DC)You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; ^(DD)and You, Lord, have become their God.

²⁵ “Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. ²⁶ So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁷ For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You.

²⁸ “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and ^(DE)Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁹ Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed ^(DF)forever.”

David’s Further Conquests^(DG)

8 After this it came to pass that David ^[u]attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took ^[v]Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.

² Then ^(DH)he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s ^(DI)servants, and ^(DJ)brought tribute.

³ David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of ^(DK)Zobah, as he went to recover ^(DL)his territory at the River Euphrates. ⁴ David took from him one thousand chariots, ^[w]seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David ^(DM)hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

^5 (DN)When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. ⁶ Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So ^(DO)the Lord preserved David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took ^(DP)the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ Also from ^[x]Betah and from ^(DQ)Berothai,^[y] cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.

⁹ When ^[z]Toi king of ^(DR)Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ then Toi sent ^[aa]Joram his son to King David, to ^[ab]greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. ¹¹ King David also ^(DS)dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— ¹² from ^[ac]Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the ^(DT)Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³ And David made himself a ^(DU)name when he returned from killing ^(DV)eighteen thousand ^[ad]Syrians in ^(DW)the Valley of Salt. ¹⁴ He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and ^(DX)all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.

David’s Administration^(DY)

¹⁵ So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people. ^16 (DZ)Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; ^(EA)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; ^17 (EB)Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; ^[ae]Seraiah was the ^[af]scribe; ^18 (EC)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the ^(ED)Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were ^[ag]chief ministers.

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may ^(EE)show him ^[ah]kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

² And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^(EF)Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

He said, “At your service!”

³ Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show ^(EG)the kindness of God?”

And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is ^(EH)lame in his feet.”

⁴ So the king said to him, “Where is he?”

And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of ^(EI)Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”

⁵ Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

⁶ Now when ^(EJ)Mephibosheth^[ai] the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”

And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

⁷ So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

⁸ Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such ^(EK)a dead dog as I?”

⁹ And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, ^(EL)“I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. ¹⁰ You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son ^(EM)shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had ^(EN)fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”

“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at ^[aj]my table like one of the king’s sons.” ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son ^(EO)whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, ^(EP)for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he ^(EQ)was lame in both his feet.

The Ammonites and Syrians Defeated^(ER)

10 It happened after this that the ^(ES)king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. ² Then David said, “I will show ^(ET)kindness to Hanun the son of ^(EU)Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. ³ And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”

⁴ Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, ^(EV)at their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵ When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ^[ak]ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

⁶ When the people of Ammon saw that they ^(EW)had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired ^(EX)the Syrians of ^(EY)Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot soldiers; and from the king of ^(EZ)Maacah one thousand men, and from ^(FA)Ish-Tob twelve thousand men. ⁷ Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of ^(FB)the mighty men. ⁸ Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And ^(FC)the Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

⁹ When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. ¹⁰ And the rest of the people he put under the command of ^(FD)Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. ¹¹ Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. ^12 (FE)Be of good courage, and let us ^(FF)be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may ^(FG)the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to ^(FH)Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together. ¹⁶ Then ^[al]Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond ^[am]the River, and they came to Helam. And ^[an]Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. ¹⁷ When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him. ¹⁸ Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand ^(FI)horsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who died there. ¹⁹ And when all the kings who were servants to ^[ao]Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and ^(FJ)served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.