Ammon and Aram Defeated

10 ^(A)Now it happened afterwards that ^(B)the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. ² Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of ^(C)Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent ^[a]some of his servants to console him concerning his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, ³ the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “^[b]Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent consolers to you? ^(D)Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants and ^(E)shaved off half of their beards, and ^(F)cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. ⁵ When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, “^[c]Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

⁶ Now when the sons of Ammon saw that ^(G)they had become odious to David, the sons of Ammon sent and ^(H)hired the Arameans of ^(I)Beth-rehob and the ^(J)Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of ^(K)Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men. ⁷ When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. ⁸ The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle array ^(L)at the entrance of the ^[d]city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of ^(M)Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

⁹ Now when Joab saw that ^[e]the battle was set against him in front and in the rear, he selected from all the choice men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ But the remainder of the people he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the sons of Ammon. ¹¹ He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. ^12 (N)Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and ^(O)may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” ¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle against the Arameans, and ^(P)they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. ^(Q)Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that they had been ^[f]defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. ^16 (R)And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the ^[g]River, and they came to Helam; and ^(S)Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer ^[h]led them. ¹⁷ Now when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans arrayed themselves to meet David and fought against him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed ^(T)700 charioteers of the Arameans and 40,000 horsemen and struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they were ^[i]defeated by Israel, ^(U)they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans feared to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin

11 ^(V)Then it happened ^[j](W)in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and ^(X)besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.

² Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on ^(Y)the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. ³ So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not ^(Z)Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of ^(AA)Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, ^(AB)he lay with her; ^(AC)and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. ⁵ The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “^(AD)I am pregnant.”

⁶ Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, ^(AE)David asked concerning the welfare of Joab and ^[k]the people and the state of the war. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and ^(AF)wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and a present from the king ^[l]was sent out after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept ^(AG)at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ Now when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” ¹¹ Uriah said to David, “^(AH)The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in ^[m]temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and ^(AI)the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” ¹² Then David said to Uriah, “^(AJ)Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the ^[n]next. ¹³ Now David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he ^(AK)made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed ^(AL)with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ Now in the morning David ^(AM)wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ^15 (AN)He had written in the letter, saying, “^[o]Place Uriah in the front line of the ^[p]fiercest battle and withdraw from him, ^(AO)so that he may be struck down and die.” ¹⁶ So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he put Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. ¹⁷ The men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and ^(AP)Uriah the Hittite also died. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent and reported to David all the events of the war. ¹⁹ He charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king, ²⁰ and if it happens that the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Who ^(AQ)struck down Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

²² So the messenger departed and came and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we ^[q]pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate. ²⁴ Moreover, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” ²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let this thing ^[r]displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; make your battle against the city stronger and overthrow it’; and so encourage him.”

²⁶ Now when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, ^(AR)she mourned for her husband. ²⁷ When the time of mourning was over, David sent and ^[s]brought her to his house and ^(AS)she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But ^(AT)the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Nathan Rebukes David

12 Then the Lord sent ^(AU)Nathan to David. And ^(AV)he came to him and ^[t]said,

⁵ Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this ^[w](AX)deserves to die. ⁶ He must make restitution for the lamb ^(AY)fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

⁷ Nathan then said to David, “^(AZ)You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘^(BA)It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I also gave you ^(BB)your master’s house and your master’s wives into your ^[x]care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! ⁹ Why ^(BC)have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? ^(BD)You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, ^(BE)have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, ^(BF)the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; ^(BG)I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in ^[y]broad daylight. ¹² Indeed ^(BH)you did it secretly, but ^(BI)I will do this thing before all Israel, and ^[z]under the sun.’” ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “^(BJ)I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has ^[aa](BK)taken away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this deed you have ^(BL)given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” ¹⁵ So Nathan went to his house.

Loss of a Child

Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s ^[ab]widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. ¹⁶ David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David ^(BM)fasted and went and ^(BN)lay all night on the ground. ^17 (BO)The elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. ¹⁸ Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm!” ¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ So David arose from the ground, ^(BP)washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and ^(BQ)worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate.

²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? ^[ac]While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” ²² He said, “While the child was still alive, ^(BR)I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘^(BS)Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ ²³ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? ^(BT)I will go to him, but ^(BU)he will not return to me.”

Solomon Born

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and ^[ad](BV)he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him ²⁵ and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him ^[ae]Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake.

War Again

^26 (BW)Now Joab fought against ^(BX)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and captured the royal city. ²⁷ Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters. ²⁸ Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and camp against the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.” ²⁹ So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, fought against it and captured it. ³⁰ Then ^(BY)he took the crown of ^[af]their king from his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it ^[ag]was a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city in great amounts. ³¹ He also brought out the people who were in it, and ^(BZ)set them under saws, sharp iron instruments, and iron axes, and made them pass through the brickkiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Peter and John Arrested

4 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^(A)the captain of the temple guard and ^(B)the Sadducees ^(C)came up to them, ² being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ^[a](D)in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they laid hands on them and ^(E)put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ But many of those who had heard the ^[b]message believed; and ^(F)the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵ On the next day, their ^(G)rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; ⁶ and ^(H)Annas the high priest was there, and ^(I)Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. ⁷ When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” ⁸ Then Peter, ^[c](J)filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “^[d](K)Rulers and elders of the people, ⁹ if we are ^[e]on trial today for ^(L)a benefit done to a sick man, ^[f]as to how this man has been made well, ¹⁰ let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that ^[g](M)by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom ^(N)God raised from the dead—^[h]by ^[i]this name this man stands here before you in good health. ^11 [j](O)He is the ^(P)stone which was ^(Q)rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. ¹² And there is salvation in ^(R)no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Threat and Release

¹³ Now as they observed the ^(S)confidence of ^(T)Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and ^(U)began to recognize them ^[k]as having been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. ¹⁵ But when they had ordered them to leave the ^[l](V)Council, they began to confer with one another, ¹⁶ saying, “^(W)What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a ^(X)noteworthy ^[m]miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man ^(Y)in this name.” ¹⁸ And when they had summoned them, they ^(Z)commanded them not to speak or teach at all ^[n]in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But ^(AA)Peter and John answered and said to them, “^(AB)Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; ²⁰ for ^(AC)we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” ²¹ When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) ^(AD)on account of the people, because they were all ^(AE)glorifying God for what had happened; ²² for the man was more than forty years old on whom this ^[o]miracle of healing had been performed.

²³ When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O ^[p]Lord, it is You who ^(AF)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵ who ^(AG)by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

²⁷ For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy ^[t](AK)servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both ^(AL)Herod and ^(AM)Pontius Pilate, along with ^(AN)the ^[u]Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸ to do whatever Your hand and ^(AO)Your purpose predestined to occur. ²⁹ And ^[v]now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may ^(AP)speak Your word with all ^(AQ)confidence, ³⁰ while You extend Your hand to heal, and ^[w](AR)signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy ^[x](AS)servant Jesus.” ³¹ And when they had prayed, the ^(AT)place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all ^(AU)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^(AV)speak the word of God with ^(AW)boldness.

Sharing among Believers

³² And the ^[y]congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them ^[z]claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but ^(AX)all things were common property to them. ³³ And ^(AY)with great power the apostles were giving ^(AZ)testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. ³⁴ For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses ^(BA)would sell them and bring the ^[aa]proceeds of the sales ³⁵ and ^(BB)lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be ^(BC)distributed to each as any had need.

³⁶ Now Joseph, a Levite of ^(BD)Cyprian birth, who was also called ^(BE)Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of ^[ab](BF)Encouragement), ³⁷ and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and ^(BG)laid it at the apostles’ feet.