2 Samuel 17-24

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

17 Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight. ² I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king,^{(A) 3} and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man,^[a] and all the people will be at peace.” ⁴ The advice pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

The Counsel of Hushai

⁵ Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear too what he has to say.”^{(B) 6} When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “This is what Ahithophel has said; shall we do as he advises? If not, you tell us.” ⁷ Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” ⁸ Hushai continued, “You know that your father and his men are warriors and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the troops.^{(C) 9} Even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And when some of our troops^[b] fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’ ¹⁰ Then even the valiant warrior whose heart is like the heart of a lion will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are valiant warriors.^{(D) 11} But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beer-sheba, like the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. ¹² So we shall come upon him in whatever place he may be found, and we shall light on him as the dew falls on the ground, and he will not survive, nor will any of those with him. ¹³ If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley until not even a pebble is to be found there.” ¹⁴ Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring ruin on Absalom.^(E)

Hushai Warns David to Escape

¹⁵ Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so I have counseled.^{(F) 16} Therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’ ”^{(G) 17} Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel; a female slave used to go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city.^{(H) 18} But a young man saw them and told Absalom, so both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it.^{(I) 19} The man’s wife took a covering, stretched it over the well’s mouth, and spread out grain on it, and nothing was known of it.^{(J) 20} When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have crossed over the brook^[c] of water.” And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.^(K)

²¹ After they had gone, the men came up out of the well and went and told King David. They said to David, “Go and cross the water quickly, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.”^{(L) 22} So David and all the people who were with him set out and crossed the Jordan; by daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself; he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.^(M)

²⁴ Then David came to Mahanaim, while Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.^{(N) 25} Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite,^[d] who had married Abigal daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.^{(O) 26} The Israelites and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim^{(P) 28} brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans and lentils,^{[e] 29} honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The troops are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”^(Q)

The Defeat and Death of Absalom

18 Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.^{(R) 2} And David sent forth the army: one third under the command of Joab; one third under the command of Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother; and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.”^{(S) 3} But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us;^[f] therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.”^{(T) 4} The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.^{(U) 5} The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.^(V)

⁶ So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.^{(W) 7} The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.

⁹ Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging^[g] between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.^{(X) 10} A man saw it and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” ¹¹ Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” ¹² But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom!’^{(Y) 13} On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life^[h] (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” ¹⁴ Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak.^{(Z) 15} And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the troops.^{(AA) 17} They took Absalom, threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Meanwhile all the Israelites fled to their homes.^{(AB) 18} Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar by his own name; it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.^(AC)

David Hears of Absalom’s Death

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and carry tidings to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the power of his enemies.”^{(AD) 20} Joab said to him, “You are not to carry tidings today; you may carry tidings another day, but today you shall not do so because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab and ran. ²² Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you have no reward^[i] for the tidings?” ²³ “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain and outran the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates. The sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he looked up he saw a man running alone.^{(AE) 25} The sentinel shouted and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, there are tidings in his mouth.” He kept coming and drew near. ²⁶ Then the sentinel saw another man running, and the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also is bringing tidings.” ²⁷ The sentinel said, “I think the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man and comes with good tidings.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well!” He prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.”^{(AF) 29} The king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a great tumult when the king’s servant Joab sent your servant, but I do not know what it was.”^{(AG) 30} The king said, “Turn aside, and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

³¹ Then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.”^{(AH) 32} The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to do you harm be like that young man.”^(AI)

David Mourns for Absalom

^33 [j]The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept, and as he went he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”^(AJ)

19 It was told Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.”^{(AK) 2} So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops, for the troops heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” ³ The troops stole into the city that day as soldiers steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. ⁴ The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”^{(AL) 5} Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your officers who have saved your life today, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines, ⁶ for love of those who hate you and for hatred of those who love you. You have made it clear today that commanders and officers are nothing to you, for I perceive that, if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. ⁷ So go out at once and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your youth until now.” ⁸ Then the king got up and took his seat in the gate. The troops were all told, “See, the king is sitting in the gate,” and all the troops came before the king.

David Recalled to Jerusalem

Meanwhile, all the Israelites had fled to their homes.^{(AM) 9} All the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the land because of Absalom.^{(AN) 10} But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”

¹¹ King David sent this message to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house? The talk of all Israel has come to the king.^{[k] 12} You are my kin; you are my bone and my flesh; why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’^{(AO) 13} And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? So may God do to me and more, if you are not the commander of my army from now on, in place of Joab.’ ”^{(AP) 14} Amasa^[l] swayed the hearts of all the people of Judah as one, and they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.”^{(AQ) 15} So the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring him over the Jordan.^(AR)

¹⁶ Shimei son of Gera, a Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the people of Judah to meet King David;^{(AS) 17} with him were a thousand people from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king^{(AT) 18} while the crossing was taking place,^[m] to bring over the king’s household and to do his pleasure.

David’s Mercy to Shimei

Shimei son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan ¹⁹ and said to the king, “May my lord not hold me guilty or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem; may the king not bear it in mind.^{(AU) 20} For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, see, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”^{(AV) 21} Abishai son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”^{(AW) 22} But David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should today become an adversary to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?”^{(AX) 23} The king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king gave him his oath.^(AY)

David and Mephibosheth Meet

²⁴ Mephibosheth grandson of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his beard or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in safety.^{(AZ) 25} When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”^{(BA) 26} He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘Saddle a donkey for me^[n] so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame.^{(BB) 27} He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you.^{(BC) 28} For all my father’s house were doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to appeal to the king?”^{(BD) 29} The king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” ³⁰ Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take it all, since my lord the king has arrived home safely.”

David’s Kindness to Barzillai

³¹ Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; he went on with the king to the Jordan to escort him over the Jordan.^{(BE) 32} Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.^{(BF) 33} The king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will provide for you in Jerusalem at my side.” ³⁴ But Barzillai said to the king, “How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? ³⁵ Today I am eighty years old; can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?^{(BG) 36} Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king recompense me with such a reward? ³⁷ Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own town, near the graves of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king and do for him whatever seems good to you.”^{(BH) 38} The king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you, and all that you desire of me I will do for you.” ³⁹ Then all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed over; the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own home.^{(BI) 40} The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; all the people of Judah, and also half the people of Israel, brought the king on his way.

⁴¹ Then all the people of Israel came to the king and said to him, “Why have our kindred the people of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan and all David’s men with him?”^{(BJ) 42} All the people of Judah answered the people of Israel, “Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?”^{(BK) 43} But the people of Israel answered the people of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the words of the people of Judah were fiercer than the words of the people of Israel.^(BL)

The Rebellion of Sheba

20 Now a scoundrel named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and cried out,

² So all the people of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba son of Bichri, but the people of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

³ David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to look after the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.^(BN)

⁴ Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.”^{(BO) 5} So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. ⁶ David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities for himself and escape from us.”^{(BP) 7} Joab’s men went out after him, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.^{(BQ) 8} When they were at the large stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier’s garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened at his waist; as he went forward, it fell out. ⁹ Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.^{(BR) 10} But Amasa did not notice the sword in Joab’s hand; Joab struck him in the belly so that his entrails poured out on the ground, and he died. He did not strike a second blow.

Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.^{(BS) 11} And one of Joab’s men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” ¹² Amasa lay wallowing in his blood on the highway, and the man saw that all the people were stopping. Since he saw that all who came by him were stopping, he carried Amasa from the highway into a field and threw a garment over him. ¹³ Once he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

¹⁴ Sheba^[o] passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah,^[p] and all the Bichrites^[q] assembled and followed him inside. ¹⁵ Joab’s forces^[r] came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah; they threw up a siege ramp against the city, and it stood against the rampart. Joab’s forces were battering the wall to break it down.^{(BT) 16} Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, I want to speak to you.’ ”^{(BU) 17} He came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He answered, “I am listening.” ¹⁸ Then she said, “They used to say in the old days, ‘Let them inquire at Abel,’ and so they would settle a matter. ¹⁹ I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel; you seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel; why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?”^{(BV) 20} Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy! ²¹ That is not the case! But a man of the hill country of Ephraim called Sheba son of Bichri has lifted up his hand against King David; give him up alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” The woman said to Joab, “His head shall be thrown over the wall to you.”^{(BW) 22} Then the woman went to all the people with her wise plan. And they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, and all went to their homes, while Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.^(BX)

²³ Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel;^[s] Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;^{(BY) 24} Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; ²⁵ Sheva was secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;^{(BZ) 26} and Ira the Jairite was also David’s priest.^(CA)

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house because he put the Gibeonites to death.” ² So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)^{(CB) 3} David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make expiation, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?”^{(CC) 4} The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel.” He said, “What do you say that I should do for you?”^{(CD) 5} They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel,^{(CE) 6} let seven of his sons be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord.”^[t] The king said, “I will hand them over.”

⁷ But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul.^{(CF) 8} The king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab^[u] daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite;^{(CG) 9} he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they impaled them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.

¹⁰ Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air to come on the bodies^[v] by day or the wild animals by night.^{(CH) 11} When David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, ¹² David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the people of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.^{(CI) 13} He brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan, and they gathered the bones of those who had been impaled. ¹⁴ They buried the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish; they did all that the king commanded. After that, God heeded supplications for the land.^(CJ)

Exploits of David’s Men

¹⁵ The Philistines went to war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants. They fought against the Philistines, and David grew weary. ¹⁶ Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze and who was fitted out with new weapons,^[w] said he would kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall not go out with us to battle any longer, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.”^(CK)

¹⁸ After this a battle took place with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants.^{(CL) 19} Then there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.^{(CM) 20} There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great size who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he, too, was descended from the giants.^{[x] 21} When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of David’s brother Shimei killed him. ²² These four were descended from the giants^[y] in Gath; they fell by the hands of David and his servants.

David’s Song of Thanksgiving

22 David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.^{(CN) 2} He said,

The Last Words of David

23 Now these are the last words of David:

David’s Mighty Men

⁸ These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three;^[ai] he wielded his spear^[aj] against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

⁹ Next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. The Israelites withdrew,^{(EM) 10} but he stood his ground. He struck down the Philistines until his arm grew weary, though his hand clung to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. Then the people came back to him—but only to strip the dead.^(EN)

¹¹ Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the army fled from the Philistines.^{(EO) 12} But he took his stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines, and the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹³ Toward the beginning of harvest three of the thirty chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.^{(EP) 14} David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.^{(EQ) 15} David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁶ Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, ¹⁷ for he said, “The Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.^(ER)

¹⁸ Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty.^[ak] With his spear he fought against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the Three.^{(ES) 19} He was the most renowned of the Thirty^[al] and became their commander, but he did not attain to the Three.

²⁰ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant warrior^[am] from Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of Ariel^[an] of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.^{(ET) 21} And he killed an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. ²² Such were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did and won a name beside the three warriors. ²³ He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.^(EU)

²⁴ Among the Thirty were Asahel brother of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem;^{(EV) 25} Shammah of Harod; Elika of Harod;^{(EW) 26} Helez the Paltite; Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa; ²⁷ Abiezer of Anathoth; Mebunnai the Hushathite; ²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai of Netophah; ²⁹ Heleb son of Baanah of Netophah; Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites; ³⁰ Benaiah of Pirathon; Hiddai of the wadis of Gaash; ³¹ Abi-albon the Arbathite; Azmaveth of Bahurim;^{[ao] 32} Eliahba of Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen: Jonathan ³³ son of^[ap] Shammah the Hararite; Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite; ³⁴ Eliphelet son of Ahasbai of Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite; ³⁵ Hezro^[aq] of Carmel; Paarai the Arbite; ³⁶ Igal son of Nathan of Zobah; Bani the Gadite; ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah; ³⁸ Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite;^{(EX) 39} Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.^(EY)

David’s Census of Israel and Judah

24 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”^{(EZ) 2} So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army^[ar] who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people, so that I may know how many there are.”^{(FA) 3} But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God increase the number of the people a hundredfold while the eyes of my lord the king can still see it! But why does my lord the king want to do this?” ⁴ But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to take a census of the people of Israel. ⁵ They crossed the Jordan and began from^[as] Aroer and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer.^{(FB) 6} Then they came to Gilead and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites,^[at] and they came to Dan, and from Dan^[au] they went around to Sidon^{(FC) 7} and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beer-sheba.^{(FD) 8} So when they had gone through all the land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Joab reported to the king the number of those who had been recorded: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand soldiers able to draw the sword, and those of Judah were five hundred thousand.^(FE)

Judgment on David’s Sin

¹⁰ But afterward, David was stricken to the heart because he had numbered the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”^{(FF) 11} When David rose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,^{(FG) 12} “Go and say to David: Thus says the Lord: Three things I offer^[av] you; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.”^{(FH) 13} So Gad came to David and told him; he asked him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you on your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me.” ¹⁴ Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great, but let me not fall into human hands.”^(FI)

¹⁵ So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba.^{(FJ) 16} But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented concerning the evil and said to the angel who was bringing destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” The angel of the Lord was standing^[aw] by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.^{[ax](FK) 17} When David saw the angel who was destroying the people, he said to the Lord, “I alone have sinned, and I, the shepherd, have done evil,^[ay] but these sheep, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”^(FL)

David’s Altar on the Threshing Floor

¹⁸ That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”^{(FM) 19} Following Gad’s instructions, David went up, as the Lord had commanded. ²⁰ When Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming toward him, and Araunah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. ²¹ Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be averted from the people.”^{(FN) 22} Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.^{(FO) 23} All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God respond favorably to you.”^(FP)

²⁴ But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.^{(FQ) 25} David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being. So the Lord answered his supplication for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.^(FR)