Beginning
8 Now after this, David struck the Philistines and subdued them. And David took the bridle of bondage out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he struck Moab, and measured them with a rope and cast them down to the ground. He measured them with two ropes to put them to death, and with one full rope to keep them alive. So, the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
3 David also struck Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.
4 And David took a thousand seven hundred horsemen from them, and twenty thousand footmen. And David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, only sparing enough of them for a hundred chariots.
5 Then the Aramites of Dammesek came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah. But David killed twenty-two thousand of the Aramites.
6 And David put a garrison in Aram of Dammesek. And the Aramites became servants to David and brought gifts. And the LORD saved David wherever he went.
7 And David took the shields of gold that belonged to the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.
8 And out of Betah and Berothai (cities of Hadadezer), king David brought exceedingly much bronze.
9 Then Toi, king of Hamath, heard how David had stricken all the army of Hadadezer.
10 Therefore, Toi sent Joram, his son, to king David, to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and beaten him (for Hadadezer had warred with Toi). He brought vessels of silver with him, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.
11 And king David dedicated them to the LORD with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued:
12 from Aram, Moab, the children of Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and the spoil of Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 So David got a name after he had returned and had killed eighteen thousand of the Aramites in the Valley of Salt.
14 And he put a garrison in Edom. He put soldiers throughout all Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.
15 Thus David reigned over all Israel and executed judgment and justice to all his people.
16 And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was over the army. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was recorder.
17 And Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were the priests, and Seraiah the scribe.
18 And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and David’s sons were chief rulers.
9 And David said, “Is there any man still left of the House of Saul on whom I may show mercy for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 And there was, of the household of Saul, a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”
3 Then the King said, “Is there no one left of the House of Saul on whom I may show the mercy of God?” Ziba then answered the king, “Jonathan still has a son who is lame in his feet.”
4 Then the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lo Debar.”
5 Then king David sent and took him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lo Debar.
6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and did reverence. And David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Behold your servant.”
7 Then David said to him, “Do not fear. For I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore all the fields of Saul, your father, to you. And you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
8 And he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you would look upon such a dead dog as I am?”
9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his House.
10 “You, therefore, and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and bring in, so that your master’s son may have food to eat. And Mephibosheth, your master’s son, shall eat bread always at my table (now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants).
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so shall your servant do, so that Mephibosheth may eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.”
12 Mephibosheth also had a young son named Micha. And all who dwelled in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.
13 And Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem. For he ate continually at the king’s table and was lame in both his feet.
10 After this, the king of the children of Ammon died. And Hanun, his son, reigned in his place.
2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” And David sent his servants to comfort him for his father. So, David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.
3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, their lord, “Do you think that David honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?”
4 Therefore, Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beard and cut off their garments in the middle, down to their buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When it was told to David, he sent to meet them (for the men were exceedingly ashamed) and the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown, then return.”
6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank in the sight of David, the children of Ammon sent and hired twenty thousand Aramite footmen from the House of Rehob, and the Aramites from Zoba, and a thousand men from King Maacah, and twelve thousand men from Ish-Tob.
7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the strong men.
8 And the children of Ammon came out and put their army in formation at the entrance of the gate. And the Aramites from Zoba and from Rehob and from Ish-Tob and from Maacah were by themselves in the field.
9 When Joab saw that the fronts of the battle were against him both in front and in the rear, he chose from all the choice of Israel and put them in formation against the Aramites.
10 And he delivered the rest of the people into the hand of Abishai, his brother, so that he might put them in formation against the children of Ammon.
11 And he said, “If the Aramites are stronger than me, you shall help me. And if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, I will come and help you.
12 “Be strong! And let us be valiant for our people and for the cities of our God! And let the LORD do that which is good in His Eyes.”
13 Then Joab and the people who were with him joined in battle with the Aramites, who fled before him.
14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Aramites fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered into the city. So, Joab returned from the children of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
15 And when the Aramites saw that they were stricken before Israel, they gathered themselves together.
16 And Hadarezer sent and brought out the Aramites who were beyond the river. And they came to Helam. And Shobach, the captain of the army of Hadadezer, went before them.
17 When it was told to David, they gathered all Israel together and passed over Jordan and came to Helam. And the Aramites set themselves in formation against David and fought with him.
18 And the Aramites fled before Israel. And David destroyed seven hundred chariots of the Aramites, and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach, the captain of his army, who died there.
19 And when all the kings serving Hadadezer saw that they fell before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. And the Aramites were afraid to help the children of Ammon anymore.
11 And it happened at that time, after the year had expired, in the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab (with his servants and all Israel). And they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 And when it was evening, David arose out of his bed and walked upon the roof of the king’s palace. And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself. And the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and inquired what woman it was, and said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, wife to Uriah the Hittite?”
4 Then David sent messengers and took her away. And she came to him. And he lay with her (now she had been purified from her uncleanness). And she returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived. Therefore, she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 And when Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.
8 Afterward, David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So, Uriah departed out of the king’s palace. And the king sent a present after him.
9 But, Uriah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house.
10 Then they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house.” And David said to Uriah, “Do you not come from your journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
11 Then Uriah answered David, “The Ark and Israel and Judah dwell in tents. And my lord Joab and the servants of my lord remain in the open fields. Shall I then go into my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? By your life, and by the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.”
12 Then David said to Uriah, “Stay this day also. And tomorrow I will send you away.” So, Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13 Then David called him. And he ate and drank before him. And he made himself drunk. And in the evening, he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord but did not go down to his house.
14 And in the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote this in the letter: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle, and retreat from him, so that he may be stricken and die.”
16 So when Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew that strong men were.
17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And people of the servants of David fell there. And Uriah the Hittite also died.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war.
19 And he charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the matters of the war to the king,
20 “and if the king’s anger arises, so that he says to you, ‘Why did you approach the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21 ‘Who struck Abimelech, son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall and he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’ Then you say, ‘Your servant, Uriah the Hittite, is also dead.’”
22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
23 And the messenger said to David, “Certainly the men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field. But we pursued them to the entrance of the gate.
24 “But the shooters shot against your servants from the wall. And some of the king’s servants are dead. And your servant, Uriah the Hittite, is also dead.”
25 Then David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this thing trouble you. For the sword devours one as well as another. Make your attack against the city stronger, and destroy it,’ and encourage him.”
26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27 So, when the mourning had passed, David sent and took her into his house. And she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
12 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, who came to him and said to him, “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.
2 “The rich man had exceedingly many sheep and oxen.
3 “But the poor had none at all, except one little sheep which he had bought and nourished. And it grew up with him and with his children also, and ate of his own morsels and drank of his own cup and slept in his bosom and was to him as his daughter.
4 “Now a stranger came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own sheep and from his own oxen to prepare for the stranger who had come to him. But he took the poor man’s sheep and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David was exceedingly angry with the man, and said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this thing shall surely die!
6 “And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no pity!”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man. Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and delivered you out of the hand of Saul,
8 ‘and gave you your lord’s house, and your lord’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah, and would moreover (if that had been too little) have given you such and such things.
9 ‘Why have you despised the Commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 ‘Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11 “Thus said the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor. And he shall lie with your wives in the sight of his sin.
12 ‘For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the Sun.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD has also put away your sin. You shall not die.
14 “However, because, by this deed, you have caused the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child who is born to you shall surely die.”
15 So Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child whom Uriah’s wife bore to David. And it was sick.
16 David, therefore, sought God for the child and fasted and went in and lay all night upon the earth.
17 Then the elders of his house arose to come to him, and to cause him to rise from the ground. But he would not. Nor did he eat food with them.
18 So, on the seventh day, the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Behold, while the child was alive, we spoke to him. And he would not listen to our voice. How, then, shall we say to him, ‘The child is dead,’ and upset him more?”
19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore, David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his apparel and came into the House of the LORD and worshipped. And afterward, he came to his own house and requested that they set bread before him. And he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, “What thing is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive. But when the child was dead, you rose up and ate food.”
22 And he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, ‘Who can tell whether God will have mercy on me, so that the child may live?’
23 “But now, being dead, why should I now fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
24 And David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and went into her, and lay with her. And she bore a son. And he called his name, Solomon. Also, the LORD loved him.
25 For He had sent Word by Nathan the Prophet. Therefore, he called his name, Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
26 Then Joab fought against Rabbah, of the children of Ammon, and took the city of the kingdom.
27 Therefore, Joab sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
28 “Now, therefore, gather the rest of the people together and besiege the city, so that you may take it, lest the victory be attributed to me.”
29 So, David gathered all the people together and went against Rabbah and besieged it and took it.
30 And he took their king’s crown from his head (which weighed a talent of gold, with precious stones). And it was set on David’s head. And he brought away the spoil of the city in exceedingly great abundance.
31 And he carried away the people who were there, and put them under saws, and under iron hoes, and under axes of iron, and cast them into the brick kiln. He did thus with all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
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