Beginning
8 Sometime later, David won a great victory over the Philistines, gaining superiority over them at Metheg-ammah. 2 He also defeated the army of Moab; and making the captured lie down, he determined that ⅔ of them would be put to death while ⅓ would be allowed to live. As a result, the Moabites became servants to David and paid tribute. 3 David also defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah in southern Aram, when Hadadezer went to restore territory all the way to the Euphrates River. 4 David captured from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers. He retained enough horses to drive 100 chariots and disabled the rest, cutting their leg tendons.
5 When the Arameans came from Damascus to fight alongside King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of their soldiers as well. 6 Then David set up outposts among the Arameans from Damascus, and they became servants of David and paid tribute. The Eternal helped David everywhere he went. 7 David brought the gold shields that had been carried by Hadadezer’s men back to Jerusalem; 8 and he plundered a vast quantity of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns, Betah and Berothai.
9 When King Toi of Hamath (in southern Aram) heard that David had defeated Hadadezer’s army, 10 he sent his son Joram to greet King David and to congratulate him on his victories because Toi had also defeated Hadadezer. Joram brought as gifts items of silver, gold, and bronze; 11 David dedicated these to the Eternal, as he had all the silver and gold he had received from those nations he defeated: 12 Aram, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek, including the spoil from Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 David’s exploits improved his reputation. After his return, he went to war with the Edomites,[a] killing 18,000 in the valley of Salt. 14 David set up outposts throughout the land of Edom. All the Edomites became servants of David, and the Eternal One helped David wherever he went.
15 So David was king over a united Israel, ruling justly and fairly. 16 Joab, the son of David’s sister Zeruiah, was his general; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was his recorder; 17 Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, served as priests; Seraiah was his royal secretary; 18 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in charge of the Cherethites and the Pelethites, foreign mercenaries loyal to David; and some of David’s sons served as advisors in David’s kingdom.
9 David: Is anyone from Saul’s family still around that I could honor for the sake of my friend Jonathan?
2 One servant from Saul’s household, Ziba, was still alive, and they brought him to King David.
David: Are you Ziba?
Ziba: At your service, Majesty.
David: 3 Is anyone from Saul’s family still alive to whom I could show the kindness of God?
Ziba: Jonathan has a son who is still alive; he is crippled, unable to use his feet.
David: 4 Where is he?
Ziba: He lives with Machir, son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.
David still remembers his deepest friendship. The loss of Jonathan haunts David, and he desires to show honor to the family of God’s anointed, Saul. David promised his friend Jonathan that if he ever became king, he would treat Jonathan and his descendants with kindness. Their friendship was important to David; and although he thinks all of Saul’s family has been destroyed, he wants to find out if somewhere there might be a relative of Jonathan whom he may honor in gratitude for all Jonathan did for him.
5-6 David sent for Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth and had him brought to Jerusalem from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. When he arrived, Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul, laid facedown on the floor and honored the king.
David: Mephibosheth!
Mephibosheth: At your service, my king.
David: 7 There’s no need to be frightened. I intend to treat you kindly for the sake of your father, Jonathan, who was my loyal friend. I will return to you all the territory that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always be welcome at my table.
8 Mephibosheth again prostrated himself before the king.
Mephibosheth: What am I to you that the king should look with favor on a dead dog like me? I am as one of your servants.
9 Then the king summoned Ziba, who had been Saul’s servant.
David: Everything that belonged to his grandfather Saul and his family I have returned to your master’s descendant. 10 You, your sons, and your servants will work on his farms and bring in his produce, so that he and his household will have food. But Mephibosheth will always eat at my table.
Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.
Ziba: 11 I am your servant, and you are my lord and king. Whatever you command I will do.
From then on, Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table as though he were one of David’s own sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son, Mica; and all who lived in the house of Ziba became Mephibosheth’s servants and worked for him. 13 Mephibosheth remained in Jerusalem, where he always ate at the king’s table. He was lame and could not walk on either foot.
Mephibosheth, the last surviving son of Jonathan, could escape notice in a warlike culture where physical prowess is valued. But David elevates Mephibosheth to the king’s table and honors him. David’s fulfillment of a promise to a long-dead friend is one of the most attractive stories about the king in the books of Samuel. While David proves too hard and even ruthless at times, his gentleness to those who are helpless is an endearing trait. It is this softness and desire to follow God against all odds that gives him special honor among the kings of Israel.
10 After a while, Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, died; and his son Hanun became the new king. Remember, Nahash and Saul were enemies, but Nahash had helped David.
David: 2 I will deal fairly with Hanun, son of Nahash, because his father dealt fairly with me.
So David sent messengers to Ammon with a message of sympathy about Nahash’s death. When David’s emissaries arrived, 3 the princes of the Ammonites spoke to Hanun their lord.
Ammonite Leaders: Do you think this means David honors your father the king just because he sends these men with empty condolences? Hasn’t David ordered them to search the city, keep their eyes open, and plot how to conquer us?
4 So Hanun had David’s messengers seized. He mocked the men, shaving off half their beards, cutting off their garments at their hips, and then ordering them home.
5 When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to intercept them because they had been publicly humiliated.
David: Stay at Jericho until your beards grow back and your shame is gone. Then return home.
6 When the Ammonites realized they had earned David’s ridicule, they sent for and hired Arameans: 20,000 foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 fighting men from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 soldiers from Tob.
7 When David heard the Ammonites were preparing for war, he sent Joab and all his fighting men. 8 The Ammonites arrayed themselves in front of the gates, but their mercenaries (the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah) took up positions out in the open country.
9 When Joab saw that the battle lines had been drawn both in front of and behind him, he chose some of Israel’s best fighting men and set them against the Arameans, 10 and he put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest and set them against the Ammonites.
Joab (to Abishai): 11 If the Arameans are too strong for me, come and help me; and if I see that the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. 12 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our True God, and may the Eternal do what seems good in His sight.
13 So Joab and his soldiers moved against the Arameans, and the mercenaries fled from him. 14 When the Ammonites saw that their hired soldiers, the Arameans, were running away, they also fled from Abishai and his forces and entered into the safety of their city. Then Joab and the armies of Israel stopped fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
15 But when the Arameans saw they had been routed by Israel, they came back together to pool all their resources. 16 Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they gathered at Helam under Shobach, the general of all Hadadezer’s army. 17 When David got this news, he gathered his army, crossed over the Jordan River, and went to Helam. The Arameans came out and arranged themselves to fight David 18 and ran from Israel in defeat: David killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen,[b] and he mortally wounded Shobach the commander of their army, who died there.
19 When all the rulers who were subject to Hadadezer learned of Israel’s victories, they gave up and made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid and would no longer help the Ammonites against David.
11 In the springtime of the year, the season when most kings took their soldiers out to fight, David stayed in Jerusalem and sent Joab out as general in charge of David’s men and the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and put the city of Rabbah under siege.
2 Early one evening, David rose from his bed and was strolling on the palace roof when he saw a woman bathing on a roof below his. She was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to find out who the woman was, and the answer came back that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Uriah was one of David’s officers who had gone to war with the rest of David’s troops.
4-5 David couldn’t get her off his mind, so he sent messengers to bring Bathsheba to him. She came, and they had sexual relations. Soon after she returned home, Bathsheba realized she was pregnant, and she sent this news to David. Since their encounter occurred just after the purifying bath after her period, her husband Uriah could not have been the father. 6 So David sent a message to his general Joab.
David: Send me Uriah the Hittite.
Joab sent Uriah back to David. 7 There he was taken in front of the king; and David asked how Joab was doing, how the army was getting along, and how the campaign was progressing. 8 When they finished discussing the news from the front, David suggested that Uriah go to his own house to clean up, relax, and visit his wife.
David: Since I’ve called you back here, why don’t you go down to your house?
David sent a gift after him when he left, 9 but Uriah did not go down to his own house. Instead he spent the night at the entrance of the palace with all the king’s servants.
David is frustrated by this. If Uriah doesn’t have sexual relations with his wife, then everyone will know that Bathsheba has been unfaithful—and they might remember her secret trip to the palace.
Servants (to David): 10 Uriah did not go home last night.
David (to Uriah): You’ve just come home from a long trip. Why didn’t you spend the night in your own house?
Uriah: 11 The people of Israel and Judah and the covenant chest of the Lord are in tents; my general, Joab, and the king’s other servants are sleeping in the open fields. Do you think I would go to my home to eat and drink and sleep with my wife while everyone else suffers? As you live, good king, I will not do such a thing.
David: 12 Stay here with me today; tomorrow I will send you back to the battle.
Uriah remained in Jerusalem that whole day and the next day. 13 David invited him to eat and drink in the king’s royal company, and David got him drunk. After the party, Uriah fell asleep on a bed with the servants of the king, and again he did not return to his home.
14 So the next morning, realizing Uriah would not go home to be with Bathsheba, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it back to the front with Uriah.
David’s seduction of the beautiful Bathsheba and the plot to murder her husband, Uriah, represent low points in David’s life. Even when someone has a reputation for good character—and David must have one, since he is beloved of God—temptation can lead him to act totally against his own values. David takes Bathsheba because he wants her and because he has the power to do so; he orders her husband into battle to be killed because he is unable to cover his lustful advances.
David’s Letter: 15 Put Uriah at the front of the battle, in a place where the fighting is most intense. Then pull back and leave him in front of the line so that the enemy will strike him down and kill him.
16 After he received this message, Joab laid out his attack plans and assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the enemy had put strong warriors. 17 When the warriors of the city came out to fight against Joab’s forces, some of David’s servants were killed, and Uriah the Hittite was one of them.
18 Joab sent a messenger to David with news of the battle.
Joab (to the messenger): 19 Give the king all of this news about the battle. 20 If he gets angry and asks you, “Why did the army go so near the city to fight? Didn’t you realize that they would shoot from the walls? 21 Wasn’t Abimelech, Jerubbesheth’s son, killed by a woman who dropped a millstone on him from the wall at Thebez?[c] Why were you so close to the wall?” then tell him, “Your servant Uriah the Hittite was also killed in the fighting.”
22 So the messenger went and told David everything Joab had instructed him to say. But he did not wait for the king’s reaction before telling him Uriah had died.
Messenger: 23 Their soldiers came out against us into the field surrounding the city. At first they had the advantage over us, but we drove them back to their gate. 24 Then their archers fired on us from the wall; and some of your servants were killed, including your servant Uriah the Hittite.
David: 25 Take this reply back to Joab: “Don’t let this trouble you. The sword kills indiscriminately. Continue to push forward against the city, and capture it.” And give him my encouragement.
26 When Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, heard the news of his death, she went into mourning for seven days. 27 When her appointed time of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his household. He made her his wife, and in time she bore him a son.
But the Eternal One was displeased with what David had done.
At first glance, David seems no different than many people who are given power and who use it without regard for what is right or what is fair. In this affair, David looks like the rich and powerful leaders the Hebrew prophets elsewhere in the Old Testament are constantly condemning. He has a moral and ethical failure as most of the kings who follow him also have. He exploits a loyal servant and wreaks havoc on his house.
12 The Eternal One sent the prophet Nathan to visit David. Nathan came to him and told him a story.
Nathan: Two men lived in the same city. One was quite rich and the other quite poor; 2 the rich man’s wealth included livestock with many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man owned only one little ewe lamb. He bought it and raised it in his family, with his children, like a pet. It used to eat what little food he had, drink from his meager cup, and snuggle against him. It was like a daughter to him.
4 Now a traveler came to the city to visit the rich man. To offer a proper welcome, the rich man knew he needed to fix a meal, but he did not want to take one of the animals from his flocks and herds. So instead he stole the poor man’s ewe lamb and had it killed and cooked for his guest.
Nathan stood back, waiting for the king’s verdict. 5 David grew very angry at the rich man. It was his royal duty to protect the poor and establish justice.
David: As the Eternal One lives, the rich man who did this deserves to die. 6 At the least, he will restore that lamb four times over because he acted without pity.
Nathan: 7 You are that man!
This is the message of the Eternal God of Israel: “I was the One who anointed you to rule over Israel, and I was the One who rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8 It was I who gave you Saul’s house, Saul’s wives, and dominion over both Israel and Judah; and if that were not enough, I would have given you as much again.
9 “So why have you despised the word of the Eternal and chosen to do evil in His sight? It was you who killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and stole his wife, even though you used the Ammonites to do the dirty work. 10 Now because he was killed with the sword, the sword will be your constant companion. It will hang over your household, bringing death and violence to your family, since you have despised Me by showing no regard for My law, and you have taken Bathsheba, the lawful wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.”
11 This is the message of the Eternal: “I will bring trouble on you in your own household—right under your nose. I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will flaunt that he sleeps with them in the light of day. 12 You did your evil in secret, but I will do this out in the open, in front of all Israel.”
David (confessing to Nathan): 13 I have sinned against the Eternal One.
Nathan: Because the Eternal has put away your sin, it will not be your death. 14 But because you scorned the Lord by these acts, giving His enemies reason to mock Him, the child you conceived in deceit will die.
15 Then Nathan left the king’s presence and went down to his house.
The Eternal One struck the child born to Uriah’s widow and David so that he became very sick. 16 So David appealed to the True God for the life of his son. David went without food; he lay on the ground praying all night. 17 The elders from his household, the most highly honored of his servants, tried to pull him up off the ground and to make him eat, but he would not.
18 After seven days of this, the child died, and David’s servants were afraid to bring him the news.
Servants (to one another): If the king did not listen to us while his son was still alive, how can we tell him his son is dead? He may hurt himself in some way.
19 When David saw his servants whispering among themselves, he immediately realized the boy was dead.
David (to his servants): Is my son dead?
Servants: Yes, he is dead.
20 Then David stood up, washed, anointed himself with sweet-smelling oils, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the Eternal and worshiped. Then he returned to his house and asked for food; and when it was brought to him, he ate.
Servants (to David): 21 We don’t understand. When your son was alive, you wept and you refused to eat; now that he is dead, it is as if nothing is wrong—you are up and about and eating.
David: 22 While my son was still alive, I wept and fasted with all my being because I thought to myself, “Who knows? There is still a chance that the Eternal One will have mercy on me and let my child live.” 23 But now that he is dead, why should I continue without eating? Will that bring my son back to life? Someday when I die I will go where he has gone, but he will never come back to me here.
24 David went in to console his wife, Bathsheba. In time they slept together, and she became pregnant. When their second son was born, David named him Solomon. The Eternal loved the boy 25 and sent word by the prophet Nathan that they should call Solomon “Jedidiah.”
The Israelites believe God punishes or rewards based on religious and ethical behavior, so David knows he deserves to be punished for the things he has done. But Nathan tells him that his punishment will come through the loss of the son conceived in adultery with Bathsheba and through the growth of conflict within his own family. The baby does die despite David’s prayer and fasting, and David’s children will soon display the kind of destructive behavior that will all but tear the royal house apart.
26 During this time, Joab was campaigning against the Ammonite city of Rabbah until he captured the royal city. 27 He sent messengers with word of the imminent victory to David.
Joab: I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply. The city is almost ours. 28 You should gather the rest of your forces and come yourself to lead the final conquest. If I take the city, then I will receive the credit for it.
29 So David gathered the people, led them against Rabbah, and captured it. 30 He took the crown from their king and had it placed on his own head to show who was now reigning in the land. It was so heavy with gold (weighing over 75 pounds) that it could scarcely be worn, and it had a precious stone mounted on it. He also brought home the vast treasures of the city. 31 Lastly David set the people of the city to work with axes or picks or saws and built kilns for making bricks. He did the same thing to all the cities of the Ammonites, and then he and his armies went home to Jerusalem.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.