Beginning
David’s Victories(A)
8 Afterward, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
2 He also defeated Moab. He measured them with a length of rope, forcing them to lie down on the ground. He measured two lengths of rope to be put to death, but the entirety of one length he allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David, bearing tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his authority over the River Euphrates. 4 David seized from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung all of the chariot horses, save those for one hundred chariots.
5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David defeated twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans. 6 David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus; and the Arameans became servants who bore tribute to David. The Lord helped David wherever he went.
7 David took the shields of gold that were issued to the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Betah[a] and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took great quantities of bronze.
9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and bless him on account of his fighting with Hadadezer and his defeat of him, for Hadadezer was an opponent of Toi. Joram brought with him implements of silver, gold, and bronze, 11 which King David dedicated to the Lord along with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all of the nations that he had subdued, 12 that is, from Aram,[b] Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and the plunder from Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 So David made a name for himself upon his return from defeating eighteen thousand Arameans[c] in the Valley of Salt.
14 He set up garrisons in Edom. Throughout all of Edom, he set up garrisons, and all of Edom became subject to David. The Lord helped David wherever he went.
David’s Officials(B)
15 David reigned over all of Israel, and he administered fair judgments to all of his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army. Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary. 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelek the son of Abiathar were priests. Seraiah was scribe. 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in charge of the Kerethites and Pelethites. The sons of David were chief ministers.
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 David said, “Is there still anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness on behalf of Jonathan?”
2 Now there was a servant from the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So they summoned him to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He replied, “I am your servant.”
3 The king said, “Is there no one else from the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?”
Ziba responded to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.”
4 The king said to him, “Where is he?”
Ziba told the king, “He is at the house of Makir the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar.”
5 So King David sent for and brought him from the house of Makir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
6 Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul came to David and fell upon his face and bowed down. Then David said, “Mephibosheth,” and he responded, “I am your servant.”
7 David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show you kindness on account of Jonathan, your father. I will return to you every field of Saul, your father, and you will eat at my table perpetually.”
8 He bowed low and said, “What is your servant that you should be concerned for a dead dog like me?”
9 The king summoned Ziba the servant of Saul, and he said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house, I have given to the son of your master. 10 You will work the ground for him—you, your sons, and your servants. You will bring in the produce so that the son of your master will have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, the son of your master, will always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Ziba said to the king, “Everything that my lord the king has commanded his servant, your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at the table of David like one of the sons of the king.
12 Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mika, and all who dwelled in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he ate continually at the table of the king. Now he was lame in both of his feet.
David Defeats the Ammonites and Arameans(C)
10 After this, the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 2 David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a message by way of his servants to comfort him concerning his father, and the servants of David went to the land of the Ammonites.
3 But the Ammonite officials said to Hanun, their lord, “Has David honored your father in your eyes by sending comforters to you? Was it not in an effort to search out the city, to scout it in order to overthrow it, that he sent his servants to you?” 4 So Hanun seized the servants of David, shaved half of the beard of each, cut their robes in half so that they were exposed, and sent them away.
5 When they reported what had happened to David, he sent messengers to meet them, because the men were severely ashamed. The king instructed them, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have regrown, then return.”
6 When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth Rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and from the king of Maakah, one thousand men, and from Tob, twelve thousand men.
7 When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors. 8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the gate. But the Arameans of Zobah, Rehob, Tob, and Maakah were by themselves in the open field.
9 When Joab saw that the battlefronts were both before and behind him, he selected some from the best men in Israel and lined them up opposite Aram. 10 The remainder of the people he placed under the charge of Abishai his brother, and lined them up opposite the Ammonites. 11 Then he said, “If Aram starts to prevail over me, you shall help me, but if the Ammonites begin to prevail over you, then I will come to help you. 12 Be strong and let us fight with resolve for the sake of our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord do what seems good to Him.”
13 Joab advanced the people that were with him to fight against Aram, and they retreated from before him. 14 When the Ammonites realized that Aram had fled, they retreated from before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab turned away from fighting against the Ammonites, and he came to Jerusalem.
15 When Aram saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they assembled together. 16 Hadadezer sent for and summoned the Arameans who were beyond the River,[d] and they came to Helam. Shobak the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them.
17 When David was informed of this, he assembled all of Israel. They crossed over the Jordan and came to Helam. Aram was drawn up in formation opposite David, and they fought against him. 18 Aram retreated before Israel. David killed seven hundred charioteers, forty thousand horsemen from Aram, and wounded Shobak the commander of the army so that he died there. 19 When all of the kings who were subject to Hadadezer realized that they were being defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them.
From then on, Aram was fearful of further helping the Ammonites.
David and Bathsheba
11 In the spring of the year, the time when the kings go out to battle, David sent out Joab and his officers, all of Israel with him. They brought to ruin the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening when David arose from his bed and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 So, David sent someone to inquire about the woman. And it was asked, “Is this not Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her. When she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived. So she sent a message and reported to David, “I am pregnant.”
6 Then David sent an order to Joab, “Send Uriah the Hittite to me.” So, Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about the welfare of Joab, the people, and the fighting. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house. Wash your feet.” So Uriah left the house of the king, and a gift from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance of the house of the king with all of the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his house.
10 When they reported to David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
11 Uriah responded to David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah dwell in makeshift shelters. My lord Joab and the officers of my lord are camping in the open field. But I may enter my house to eat, to drink, and to sleep with my wife? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing!”
12 So David said to Uriah, “Remain here another day, and I will send you back tomorrow.” Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the following day. 13 Now David invited him to eat in his presence, and he drank until he got Uriah drunk. In the evening, he went to lie down in his lodging with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 That morning, David wrote a message to Joab and sent it by way of Uriah. 15 He wrote in the message, “Send Uriah to the front of the line where the fighting is heaviest then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”
16 So as Joab was besieging the city, he stationed Uriah in a place where he knew fierce men were. 17 When the men of the city came out, they fought with Joab, and some people among those who served David fell; Uriah the Hittite died among them.
18 Joab sent word to inform David of all of the events of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger, “When you finish telling the king all the details of the battle, 20 if his anger rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you approach so near to the city? Did you not know that they might shoot from the city wall? 21 Who killed Abimelek the son of Jerub-Besheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the city wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you approach so near to the city wall?’ You shall then say, ‘Additionally your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’ ”
22 So the messenger departed and came to report to David everything that Joab had sent with him. 23 The messenger reported to David, “The men prevailed over us when they came out against us in the open field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from upon the city wall, and some of those who serve the king are dead. Even your servant Uriah the Hittite died.”
25 So David replied to the messenger, “Thus you shall report to Joab, ‘Do not allow this thing to dismay you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Sustain your attack against the city and bring it to ruin.’ Encourage him with this reply.”
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 When the time of mourning was concluded, David sent for her and brought her to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was displeasing to the Lord.
Nathan Rebukes David(D)
12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in a certain city. One was wealthy, but the other was poor. 2 The wealthy man had a very large flock and herd, 3 but the poor man had nothing except a single small ewe lamb that he had acquired. He nourished it and raised it together with himself and his sons. From his crumbs, it would eat; from his cup, it would drink; and in his arms it would lie. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “There came a visitor to the wealthy man, but he was unwilling to take from his own flock or herd to prepare a meal for the wanderer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared food for the wanderer who had come to him.”
5 David became very angry because of this man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die. 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan told David, “You are this man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you as king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave to you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave to you the house of Israel and Judah. If this were too little, I would have continued to do for you much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and you took his wife as a wife for yourself. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
11 “Thus says the Lord: See, I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and will give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 Although you did it secretly, I will do this thing before all of Israel, and under the sun.”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
15 Then Nathan went to his house. The Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had born for David, and he became sick. 16 David entreated God on behalf of the child. He fasted for a period, and he would go in and lie throughout the night on the ground. 17 The elders of his house stood beside him to rouse him from the ground, but he was not willing, nor would he consume food with them.
18 The child died on the seventh day, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child had died. They said, “When the child was alive, we would speak to him, but he would not acknowledge our voices. Now how can we say to him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do harm.”
19 When David noticed that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?”
They said, “He is dead.”
20 So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his garments. Then he entered the house of the Lord and worshipped. He then went in to his own house. When he asked, they set down food for him and ate.
21 His servants said to him, “What is this thing you have done? You fasted and wept for the sake of the living child, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
22 He explained, “As long as the child was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, so that the child may live.’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
The Birth of Solomon
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife. He went to her and lay with her, so that she conceived a son. They named him Solomon, and the Lord loved him. 25 So He sent a word by way of the prophet Nathan that he should be named Jedidiah for the sake of the Lord.
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and assumed control of the royal city. 27 So Joab sent messengers to David and reported, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have occupied the water supply of the city. 28 Now gather the remainder of the people, lay siege to the city, and take it. Otherwise, I myself will capture the city, and it will be called by my name.”
29 So David gathered all of the people and they went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. 30 David took the crown of their king from his head, and its weight was a talent[e] of gold and precious stone. It was placed upon the head of David. He brought out large quantities of plunder from the city. 31 He brought out the people who were in it, and he put them to work with saws, and iron picks, and iron axes, and sent them to work in the brick kiln. Thus he did to all of the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all of the people returned to Jerusalem.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.