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Chapter 1
Report of Saul’s Death. After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.
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On the third day a man came from the field of battle, one of Saul’s people, with his garments torn and his head covered with dirt. Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.
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David asked him, “Where have you come from?” He replied, “From the Israelite camp: I have escaped.”
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“What happened?” David said. “Tell me.” He answered that the soldiers had fled the battle and many of them had fallen and were dead; and that Saul and his son Jonathan were dead.
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Then David said to the youth who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
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David seized his garments and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.
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David said to the youth who had reported to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.”
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David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to put forth your hand to desecrate the Lord’s anointed?”
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David then called one of the attendants and said to him, “Come, strike him down”; so he struck him and he died.
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David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for you testified against yourself when you said, ‘I put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”
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Lament for Saul and Jonathan. Then David chanted this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan
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Chapter 2
David Is Anointed King. After this, David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord replied to him: Go up. Then David asked, “Where shall I go?” He replied: To Hebron.
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So David went up there, with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
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David also brought up his men with their families, and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron.
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Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king over the house of Judah. A report reached David that the people of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul.
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So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and said to them: “May you be blessed by the Lord for having done this kindness to your lord Saul in burying him.
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IV. The Reign of David
Ishbaal King of Israel. Abner, son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, took Ishbaal, son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim,
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Ishbaal, son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years; but the house of Judah followed David.
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In all, David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah seven years and six months.
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Joab, son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David also set out and encountered them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other on the opposite side.
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So they rose and were counted off: twelve of the Benjaminites of Ishbaal, son of Saul, and twelve of David’s servants.
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Death of Asahel. The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s servants.
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Joab, coming from the pursuit of Abner, assembled all the men. Nineteen other servants of David were missing, besides Asahel.
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But David’s servants had struck down and killed three hundred and sixty men of Benjamin, followers of Abner.
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Chapter 3
There followed a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, in which David grew ever stronger, but the house of Saul ever weaker.
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Sons Born in Hebron. Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn, Amnon, of Ahinoam from Jezreel;
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and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
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Ishbaal and Abner Quarrel. During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was gaining power in the house of Saul.
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Enraged at the words of Ishbaal, Abner said, “Am I a dog’s head from Judah? As of today, I have been loyal to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and his friends, and I have kept you out of David’s clutches; and today you charge me with a crime involving a woman!
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May God do thus to Abner, and more, if I do not carry out for David what the Lord swore to him—
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that is, take away the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel as well as Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba.”
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Abner and David Reconciled. Then Abner sent messengers to David in Telam, where he was at the moment, to say, “Make a covenant with me, and you have me on your side, to bring all Israel over to you.”
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At the same time David sent messengers to Ishbaal, son of Saul, to say, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed by paying a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
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Abner then had a word with the elders of Israel: “For some time you have been wanting David as your king.
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Now take action, for the Lord has said of David: By David my servant I will save my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and from the power of all their enemies.”
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Abner also spoke with Benjamin, and then went to speak with David in Hebron concerning all that would be agreeable to Israel and to the whole house of Benjamin.
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When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a feast for Abner and for the men who were with him.
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Then Abner said to David, “I will now go to assemble all Israel for my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you; you will then be king over all whom you wish to rule.” So David let Abner go on his way in peace.
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Death of Abner. Just then David’s servants and Joab were coming in from an expedition, bringing much plunder with them. Abner, having been dismissed by David, was no longer with him in Hebron but had gone on his way in peace.
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When Joab and the whole force he had with him arrived, he was informed, “Abner, son of Ner, came to David, and he let him go on his way in peace.”
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Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner to bring him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know.
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Later David heard of it and said: “Before the Lord, I and my kingdom are forever innocent.
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David Mourns Abner. Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your garments, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner.” King David himself followed the bier.
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Then they went to console David with food while it was still day. But David swore, “May God do thus to me, and more, if before the sun goes down I eat bread or anything else.”
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The Murder Avenged. They brought the head of Ishbaal to David in Hebron and said to the king: “This is the head of Ishbaal, son of your enemy Saul, who sought your life. Thus has the Lord this day avenged my lord the king on Saul and his posterity.”
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But David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite: “As the Lord lives, who rescued me from every distress:
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So at David’s command, the young men killed them and cut off their hands and feet, hanging them up near the pool in Hebron. But he took the head of Ishbaal and buried it in Abner’s grave in Hebron.
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Chapter 5
David King of Israel. All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron, and they said: “Look! We are your bone and your flesh.
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Then all the elders of Israel came to the king in Hebron, and at Hebron King David made a covenant with them in the presence of the Lord; and they anointed David king over Israel.
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David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years:
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Then the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. They told David, “You shall not enter here: the blind and the lame will drive you away!” which was their way of saying, “David shall not enter here.”
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David nevertheless captured the fortress of Zion, which is the City of David.
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On that day David said: “All who wish to strike at the Jebusites must attack through the water shaft. The lame and the blind shall be the personal enemies of David.” That is why it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not enter the palace.”
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David took up residence in the fortress which he called the City of David. David built up the city on all sides, from the Millo toward the center.
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David became ever more powerful, for the Lord of hosts was with him.
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Hiram, king of Tyre, sent envoys to David along with cedar wood, and carpenters and masons, who built a house for David.
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David now knew that the Lord had truly established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
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David’s Family in Jerusalem. David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem after he had come from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
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Rout of the Philistines. When the Philistines had heard that David was anointed king over Israel, they marched out in force to come after him. When David heard this, he went down to the refuge.
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David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I attack the Philistines, and will you deliver them into my power?” The Lord answered David: Attack, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your power.
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So David went to Baal-perazim, and he defeated them there. He said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me just as water breaks through a dam.” Therefore that place was called Baal-perazim.
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The Philistines abandoned their gods there, and David and his men carried them away.
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and again David inquired of the Lord, who replied: Do not attack the front—circle behind them and come against them near the balsam trees.
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David did as the Lord commanded him, and routed the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.
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Chapter 6
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem. David again assembled all the picked men of Israel, thirty thousand in number.
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Then David and all the people who were with him set out for Baala of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which bears the name “the Lord of hosts enthroned above the cherubim.”
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while David and all the house of Israel danced before the Lord with all their might, with singing, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.
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David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah. Therefore that place has been called Perez-uzzah even to this day.
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David became frightened of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
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So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord with him into the City of David. David deposited it instead at the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
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When it was reported to King David that the Lord had blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he possessed because of the ark of God, David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with joy.
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Then David came dancing before the Lord with abandon, girt with a linen ephod.
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David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and sound of horn.
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As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal, daughter of Saul, looked down from her window, and when she saw King David jumping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
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They brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place within the tent which David had pitched for it. Then David sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings before the Lord.
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When David had finished sacrificing burnt offerings and communion offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts,
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When David went home to bless his own house, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him and said, “How well the king of Israel has honored himself today, exposing himself to the view of the slave girls of his followers, as a commoner might expose himself!”
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But David replied to Michal: “I was dancing before the Lord. As the Lord lives, who chose me over your father and all his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people, Israel, not only will I make merry before the Lord,
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Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the Lord: Is it you who would build me a house to dwell in?
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Now then, speak thus to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel.
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In accordance with all these words and this whole vision Nathan spoke to David.
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David’s Thanksgiving. Then King David went in and sat in the Lord’s presence and said, “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that you should have brought me so far?
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What more can David say to you? You know your servant, Lord God!
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so that your name may be forever great. People will say: ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ when the house of your servant David is established in your presence.
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Chapter 8
Summary of David’s Wars. After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took… from the Philistines.
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He also defeated Moab and measured them with a line. Making them lie down on the ground, he measured two lengths of line for death, and a full length for life. Thus the Moabites became subject to David, paying tribute.
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David then defeated Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to re-establish his dominion at the River.
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David captured from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left one hundred for his chariots.
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The Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, but David also defeated twenty-two thousand of them in Aram.
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David then placed garrisons in the Damascus region of Aram, and the Arameans became David’s subjects, paying tribute. The Lord brought David victory in all his undertakings.
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David took the golden shields that were carried by Hadadezer’s attendants and brought them to Jerusalem. (These Shishak, king of Egypt, took away when he came to Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam, son of Solomon.)
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From Tebah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David removed a very large quantity of bronze.
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When Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,
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Toi sent his son Hadoram to wish King David well and to congratulate him on having waged a victorious war against Hadadezer; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. Hadoram also brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze.
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These also King David consecrated to the Lord along with the silver and gold that he had taken for this purpose from all the nations he had subdued:
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On his return, David made a name for himself by defeating eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
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He set up garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. Thus the Lord brought David victory in all his undertakings.
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David’s Officials. David was king over all Israel; he dispensed justice and right to all his people.
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Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.
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Chapter 9
David and Meribbaal. David asked, “Is there any survivor of Saul’s house to whom I may show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”
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Now there was an official of the house of Saul named Ziba. He was summoned to David, and the king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “Your servant.”
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So King David sent for him and had him brought from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
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When Meribbaal, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David, he fell face down in homage. David said, “Meribbaal,” and he answered, “Your servant.”
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“Do not be afraid,” David said to him, “I will surely be kind to you for the sake of Jonathan your father. I will restore to you all the lands of Saul your grandfather, and you shall eat at my table always.”
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Ziba answered the king, “Whatever my lord the king commands his servant, so shall your servant do.” And so Meribbaal ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.
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David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” Therefore David sent his servants to Hanun to console him concerning his father. But when David’s servants had entered the land of the Ammonites,
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the Ammonite princes said to their lord Hanun, “Do you think David is doing this—sending you these consolers—to honor your father? Is it not rather to explore the city, to spy on it, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to you?”
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So Hanun seized David’s servants, shaved off half their beards, cut away the lower halves of their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
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David was told of it and he sent word for them to be intercepted, for the men had been greatly disgraced. “Remain at Jericho,” the king told them, “until your beards have grown again; then come back here.”
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When the Ammonites realized that they were in bad odor with David, they sent for and hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and twelve thousand men from Tob.
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When David heard of this, he sent Joab and his whole army of warriors against them.
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When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. The Arameans drew up in formation against David and gave battle.
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But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their chariot fighters and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He struck down Shobach, commander of the army, and he died on the field.
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Chapter 11
David’s Sin. At the turn of the year, the time when kings go to war, David sent out Joab along with his officers and all Israel, and they laid waste the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. David himself remained in Jerusalem.
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One evening David rose from his bed and strolled about on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof he saw a woman bathing; she was very beautiful.
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David sent people to inquire about the woman and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Uriah the Hittite, Joab’s armor-bearer.”
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Then David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he took her to bed, at a time when she was just purified after her period; and she returned to her house.
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But the woman had become pregnant; she sent a message to inform David, “I am pregnant.”
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So David sent a message to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Joab sent Uriah to David.
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And when he came, David asked him how Joab was, how the army was, and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well.
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David then said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.” Uriah left the king’s house, and a portion from the king’s table was sent after him.
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David was told, “Uriah has not gone down to his house.” So he said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why, then, did you not go down to your house?”
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Uriah answered David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my lord Joab and my lord’s servants are encamped in the open field. Can I go home to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? As the Lord lives and as you live, I will do no such thing.”
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Then David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day. On the following day,
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David summoned him, and he ate and drank with David, who got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed among his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his house.
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The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab which he sent by Uriah.
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When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab, some officers of David’s army fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
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Then Joab sent David a report of all the details of the battle,
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The messenger set out, and on his arrival he reported to David everything Joab had sent him to tell.
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He told David: “The men had the advantage over us and came out into the open against us, but we pushed them back to the entrance of the city gate.
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David said to the messenger: “This is what you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this be a great evil in your sight, for the sword devours now here and now there. Strengthen your attack on the city and destroy it.’ Encourage him.”
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But once the mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But in the sight of the Lord what David had done was evil.
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Chapter 12
Nathan’s Parable. The Lord sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him, he said: “Tell me how you judge this case: In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor.
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David grew very angry with that man and said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves death!
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Then Nathan said to David: “You are the man! Nathan’s Indictment. “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel. I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
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David’s Repentance. Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered David: “For his part, the Lord has removed your sin. You shall not die,
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Then Nathan returned to his house. The Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and it became desperately ill.
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David pleaded with God on behalf of the child. He kept a total fast, and spent the night lying on the ground clothed in sackcloth.
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On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said: “When the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to what we said. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do some harm!”
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But David noticed his servants whispering among themselves and realized that the child was dead. He asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “Yes.”
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Rising from the ground, David washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the house of the Lord and worshiped. He returned to his own house and asked for food; they set it before him, and he ate.
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Then David consoled Bathsheba his wife. He went and slept with her; and she conceived and bore him a son, who was named Solomon. The Lord loved him
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He sent messengers to David to say: “I have fought against Rabbah and have taken the water-city.
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So David assembled the rest of the soldiers, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it.
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He took the crown of Milcom from the idol’s head, a talent of gold in weight, with precious stones; this crown David wore on his own head. He also brought out a great amount of spoil from the city.
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He deported the people of the city and set them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, or put them to work at the brickmold. He dealt thus with all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and his whole army returned to Jerusalem.
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Chapter 13
Amnon’s Rape of Tamar. After this, the following occurred. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and David’s son Amnon loved her.
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Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, son of David’s brother Shimeah, who was very clever.
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David then sent home a message to Tamar, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.”
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King David, when he heard of the whole affair, became very angry. He would not, however, antagonize Amnon, his high-spirited son; he loved him, because he was his firstborn.
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While they were still on the road, a report reached David: “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons and not one of them is left.”
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But Jonadab, son of David’s brother Shimeah, spoke up: “Let not my lord think that all the young men, the king’s sons, have been killed! Amnon alone is dead, for Absalom was set on this ever since Amnon humiliated his sister Tamar.
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Absalom also sent to Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, an invitation to come from his town, Giloh, for the sacrifices he was about to offer. So the conspiracy gained strength, and the people with Absalom increased in numbers.
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David Flees Jerusalem. An informant came to David with the report, “The Israelites have given their hearts to Absalom, and they are following him.”
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At this, David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem: “Get up, let us flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Leave at once, or he will quickly overtake us, and then bring disaster upon us, and put the city to the sword.”
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while the whole army marched past him. David and Ittai. As all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and the six hundred Gittites who had entered his service from that city, were passing in review before the king,
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David and the Priests. Zadok, too, and all the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of God set down the ark of God until the whole army had finished marching out of the city; and Abiathar came up.
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As David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All those who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went.
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When David was told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom,” he said, “O Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel to folly!”
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David and Hushai. When David reached the top, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him, with garments torn and dirt upon his head.
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David said to him: “If you come with me, you will be a burden to me;
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So David’s friend Hushai went into the city, Jerusalem, as Absalom was about to enter it.
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Chapter 16
David and Ziba. David went a little beyond the top and Ziba, the servant of Meribbaal, was there to meet him with saddled donkeys laden with two hundred loaves of bread, an ephah of cakes of pressed raisins, an ephah of summer fruits, and a skin of wine.
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David and Shimei. As King David was approaching Bahurim, there was a man coming out; he was of the same clan as the house of Saul, and his name was Shimei, son of Gera. He kept cursing as he came out,
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and throwing stones at David and at all King David’s officers, even though all the soldiers, including the royal guard, were on David’s right and on his left.
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But the king replied: “What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, ‘Why are you doing this?’”
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Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants: “If my own son, who came forth from my loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so! Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.
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David and his men continued on the road, while Shimei kept up with them on the hillside, all the while cursing and throwing stones and dirt as he went.
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When David’s friend Hushai the Archite came to Absalom, he said to him: “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
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Counsel of Ahithophel. Now the counsel given by Ahithophel at that time was as though one sought the word of God. Such was all the counsel of Ahithophel both to David and to Absalom.
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Chapter 17
Ahithophel went on to say to Absalom: “Let me choose twelve thousand men and be off in pursuit of David tonight.
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David Told of the Plan. Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “This is the counsel Ahithophel gave Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I counseled.
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So send a warning to David immediately: ‘Do not spend the night at the fords near the wilderness, but cross over without fail. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be destroyed.’”
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Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel. A maidservant was to come with information for them, and they in turn were to go and report to King David. They could not risk being seen entering the city,
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As soon as they left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan came up out of the cistern and went on to report to King David. They said to him: “Leave! Cross the water at once, for Ahithophel has given such and such counsel in regard to you.”
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So David and all his people moved on and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed.
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Now David had arrived at Mahanaim while Absalom crossed the Jordan accompanied by all the Israelites.
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When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi, son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir, son of Ammiel from Lodebar, and Barzillai, the Gileadite from Rogelim,
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honey, and butter and cheese from the flocks and herds, for David and those who were with him to eat; for they said, “The people will be hungry and tired and thirsty in the wilderness.”
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Chapter 18
Preparation for Battle. After mustering the troops he had with him, David placed officers in command of units of a thousand and units of a hundred.
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David then divided the troops three ways, a third under Joab, a third under Abishai, son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I intend to go out with you myself.”
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Defeat of Absalom’s Forces. David’s army then took the field against Israel, and a battle was fought in the forest near Mahanaim.
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The forces of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the casualties there that day were heavy—twenty thousand men.
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Death of Absalom. Absalom unexpectedly came up against David’s servants. He was mounted on a mule, and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large oak tree, his hair caught fast in the tree. He hung between heaven and earth while the mule under him kept going.
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David Told of Absalom’s Death. Then Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, said, “Let me run to take the good news to the king that the Lord has set him free from the power of his enemies.”
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Now David was sitting between the two gates, and a lookout mounted to the roof of the gate above the city wall, where he looked out and saw a man running all alone.
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Joab Reproves David. Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom,”
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David sent word to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Say to the elders of Judah: ‘Why should you be last to restore the king to his palace?
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David and Shimei. So the king returned, and when he reached the Jordan, Judah had come to Gilgal to meet him and to bring him across the Jordan.
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Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the Judahites to meet King David,
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David replied: “What has come between you and me, sons of Zeruiah, that you would become my adversaries this day? Should anyone die today in Israel? Am I not aware that today I am king over Israel?”
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David and Meribbaal. Meribbaal, son of Saul, also went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet nor trimmed his mustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until he returned safely.
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David and Barzillai. Barzillai the Gileadite also came down from Rogelim and escorted the king to the Jordan for his crossing, taking leave of him at the Jordan.
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But then all these Israelites began coming to the king and saying, “Why did our brothers the Judahites steal you away and bring the king and his household across the Jordan, along with all David’s men?”
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Chapter 20
Sheba’s Rebellion. Now a scoundrel named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the horn and cried out, “We have no share in David, nor any heritage in the son of Jesse. Everyone to your tents, O Israel!”
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So all the Israelites left David to follow Sheba, son of Bichri. But the Judahites, from the Jordan to Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.
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David came to his house in Jerusalem, and the king took the ten concubines whom he had left behind to care for the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but never again saw them. And so they remained shut away to the day of their death, lifelong widows.
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Then David said to Abishai: “Sheba, son of Bichri, may now do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he find fortified cities and take shelter while we look on.”
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One of Joab’s attendants stood by Amasa and said, “Let him who favors Joab and is for David follow Joab.”
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That is not the case at all. A man from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name is Sheba, son of Bichri, has rebelled against King David. Give him up, just him, and I will withdraw from the city.” Then the woman said to Joab, “His head shall be thrown to you across the wall.”
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David’s Officials. Joab was in command of the whole army of Israel. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and Pelethites.
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Ira the Jairite was also David’s priest.
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V. Appendixes
Chapter 21
Gibeonite Vengeance. In David’s time there was a famine for three years, year after year. David sought the presence of the Lord, who said: There is bloodguilt on Saul and his family because he put the Gibeonites to death.
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David said to the Gibeonites, “What must I do for you and how must I make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?”
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The king, however, spared Meribbaal, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, because of the Lord’s oath that formed a bond between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.
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When David was informed of what Rizpah, Aiah’s daughter, the concubine of Saul, had done,
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Exploits in Philistine Wars. There was another battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his servants and fought the Philistines, but David grew tired.
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Dadu, a descendant of the Rephaim, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels, was about to take him captive. Dadu was girt with a new sword and thought he would kill David,
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but Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to help him, and struck and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must not go out to battle with us again, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
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And when he insulted Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, struck him down.
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These four were descended from the Rephaim in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his servants.
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Chapter 22
Song of Thanksgiving. David proclaimed the words of this song to the Lord when the Lord had rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul.
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You have given great victories to your king, and shown kindness to your anointed, to David and his posterity forever.
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Chapter 23
The Last Words of David. These are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse; the oracle of the man God raised up, Anointed of the God of Jacob, favorite of the Mighty One of Israel.
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David’s Warriors. These are the names of David’s warriors. Ishbaal, the son of Hachamoni, chief of the Three. He brandished his spear over eight hundred whom he had slain in a single encounter.
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Next to him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the Three warriors with David at Ephes-dammim, when they insulted the Philistines who had massed there for battle. The Israelites had retreated,
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Three of the Thirty chiefs went down to David in the cave of Adullam during the harvest, while a Philistine clan was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
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David was then in the stronghold, and there was a garrison of Philistines in Bethlehem.
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Now David had a craving and said, “If only someone would give me a drink of water from the cistern by the gate of Bethlehem!”
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Thereupon the three warriors broke through the encampment of the Philistines, drew water from the cistern by the gate of Bethlehem, and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it, and instead poured it out to the Lord,
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but was more famous than any of the Thirty. However, he did not attain to the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
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Chapter 24
David’s Census; the Plague. The Lord’s anger against Israel flared again, and he incited David against them: “Go, take a census of Israel and Judah.”
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Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people. David said to the Lord: “I have sinned grievously in what I have done. Take away, Lord, your servant’s guilt, for I have acted very foolishly.”
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When David rose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying:
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Go, tell David: Thus says the Lord: I am offering you three options; choose one of them, and I will give you that.
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Gad then went to David to inform him. He asked: “Should three years of famine come upon your land; or three months of fleeing from your enemy while he pursues you; or is it to be three days of plague in your land? Now consider well: what answer am I to give to him who sent me?”
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David answered Gad: “I am greatly distressed. But let us fall into the hand of God, whose mercy is great, rather than into human hands.”
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Thus David chose the plague. At the time of the wheat harvest it broke out among the people. The Lord sent plague over Israel from morning until the time appointed, and from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand of the people died.
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When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the Lord: “It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Strike me and my father’s family!”
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David Offers Sacrifices. On the same day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
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According to Gad’s word, David went up as the Lord had commanded.
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Then Araunah asked, “Why does my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
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But Araunah said to David: “Let my lord the king take it and offer up what is good in his sight. See, here are the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing sledges and the yokes of oxen for wood.
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The king, however, replied to Araunah, “No, I will buy it from you at the proper price, for I cannot sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty silver shekels.
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Then David built an altar to the Lord there, and sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings. The Lord granted relief to the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.