Beginning
David Sings to the Lord
(Psalm 18.1-50)
22 David sang a song to the Lord after the Lord had rescued him from his enemies, especially Saul. These are the words to David's song:
2 Our Lord and our God,
you are my mighty rock,[a]
my fortress, my protector.
3 You are the rock
where I am safe.
You are my shield,
my powerful weapon,[b]
and my place of shelter.
You rescue me and keep me
safe from violence.
4 I praise you, our Lord!
I prayed to you,
and you rescued me
from my enemies.
5 Death, like ocean waves,
surrounded me,
and I was almost swallowed
by its flooding waters.
6 Ropes from the world
of the dead
had coiled around me,
and death had set a trap
in my path.
7 I was in terrible trouble
when I called out to you,
but from your temple
you heard me
and answered my prayer.
8 Earth shook and shivered!
The columns supporting the sky[c]
rocked back and forth.
You were angry
9 and breathed out smoke.
Scorching heat and fiery flames
spewed from your mouth.
10 You opened the heavens
like curtains,
and you came down
with storm clouds
under your feet.
11 You rode on the backs
of flying creatures.[d]
You appeared[e]
with the wind as wings.
12 Darkness was your tent!
Thunderclouds filled the sky,
hiding you from sight.
13 Fiery coals lit up the sky
in front of you.
14 Lord Most High, your voice
thundered from the heavens.
15 You scattered your enemies
with arrows of lightning.
16 You roared at the sea,
and its deepest channels
could be seen.
You snorted,
and the earth shook
to its foundations.
17 You reached down from heaven,
and you lifted me
from deep in the ocean.
18 You rescued me from enemies
who were hateful
and too powerful for me.
19 On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked,
but you defended me.
20 When I was fenced in,
you freed and rescued me
because you love me.
21 You are good to me, Lord,
because I do right,
and you reward me
because I am innocent.
22 I do what you want
and never turn to do evil.
23 I keep your laws in mind
and never turn away
from your teachings.
24 I obey you completely
and guard against sin.
25 You have been good to me
because I do right;
you have rewarded me
for being innocent
by your standards.
26 You are always loyal
to your loyal people,
and you are faithful
to the faithful.
27 With all who are sincere
you are sincere,
but you treat the unfaithful
as their deeds deserve.
28 You rescue the humble,
but you look for ways
to put down the proud.
29 Our Lord and God,
you are my lamp.
You turn darkness to light.
30 You help me defeat armies
and capture cities.
31 Your way is perfect, Lord,
and your word is correct.
You are a shield for those
who run to you for help.
32 You alone are God!
Only you are a mighty rock.[f]
33 You are my strong fortress,
and you set me free.
34 (A) You make my feet run as fast
as those of a deer,
and you help me stand
on the mountains.
35 You teach my hands to fight
and my arms to use
a bow of bronze.
36 You alone are my shield,
and by coming to help me,
you have made me famous.
37 You clear the way for me,
and now I won't stumble.
38 I kept chasing my enemies
until I caught them
and destroyed them.
39 I destroyed them!
I stuck my sword
through my enemies,
and they were crushed
under my feet.
40 You helped me win victories
and forced my attackers
to fall victim to me.
41 You made my enemies run,
and I killed them.
42 They cried out for help,
but no one saved them;
they called out to you,
but there was no answer.
43 I ground them to dust,
and I squashed them
like mud in the streets.
44 You rescued me
from my stubborn people
and made me the leader
of foreign nations,
who are now my slaves.
45 They obey and come crawling.
46 They have lost all courage
and from their fortresses
they come trembling.
47 You are the living Lord!
I will praise you!
You are a mighty rock.[g]
I will honor you
for keeping me safe.
48 You took revenge for me,
and you put nations
in my power.
49 You protected me
from violent enemies,
and you made me much greater
than all of them.
50 (B) I will praise you, Lord,
and I will honor you
among the nations.
51 You give glorious victories
to your chosen king.
Your faithful love for David
and for his descendants
will never end.
David's Last Words
23 These are the last words of David the son of Jesse.
The God of Jacob chose David
and made him a great king.
The Mighty God of Israel
loved him.[h]
When God told him to speak,
David said:
2 The Spirit of the Lord
has told me what to say.
3 Our Mighty Rock,[i]
the God of Jacob, told me,
“A ruler who obeys God
and does right
4 is like the sunrise
on a cloudless day,
or like rain that sparkles
on the grass.”[j]
5 I have ruled this way,
and God will never break
his promise to me.
God's promise is complete
and unchanging;
he will always help me
and give me what I hope for.
6 But evil people are pulled up
like thornbushes.
They are not dug up by hand,
7 but with a sharp spear
and are burned on the spot.
The Three Warriors
(1 Chronicles 11.10-19)
8 These are the names of David's warriors:
Ishbosheth[k] the son of Hachmon[l] was the leader of the Three Warriors.[m] In one battle, he killed 800 men with his spear.[n]
9 The next one of the Three Warriors was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite. One time when the Philistines were at war with Israel, he and David dared the Philistines to fight them. Every one of the Israelite soldiers turned and ran, 10 except Eleazar. He killed Philistines until his hand was cramped, and he couldn't let go of his sword. When Eleazar finished, all the Israelite troops had to do was come back and take the enemies' weapons and armor. The Lord gave Israel a great victory that day.
11 Next was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. One time the Philistines brought their army together to destroy a crop of peas growing in a field near Lehi. The rest of Israel's soldiers ran away from the Philistines, 12 but Shammah stood in the middle of the field and killed the Philistines. The crops were saved, and the Lord gave Israel a great victory.
13 One year at harvest time, the Three Warriors[o] went to meet David at Adullam Cave.[p] The Philistine army had set up camp in Rephaim Valley 14 and had taken over Bethlehem. David was in his fortress, 15 and he was very thirsty. He said, “I wish I had a drink from the well by the gate at Bethlehem.”
16 The Three Warriors[q] sneaked into the Philistine camp and got some water from the well near Bethlehem's gate. But after they brought the water back to David, he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as a sacrifice 17 and said to the Lord, “I can't drink this water! It's like the blood of these men who risked their lives to get it for me.”
The Three Warriors did these brave deeds.
The Thirty Warriors
(1 Chronicles 11.20-47)
18 Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of the Thirty Warriors,[r] and in one battle he killed 300 men with his spear. He was as famous as the Three Warriors 19 and certainly just as famous as the rest of the Thirty Warriors. He was the commander of the Thirty Warriors, but he still did not become one of the Three Warriors.
20 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a brave man from Kabzeel who did some amazing things. He killed two of Moab's best fighters,[s] and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion. 21 Another time, he killed an Egyptian, as big as a giant.[t] The Egyptian was armed with a spear, but Benaiah only had a club. Benaiah grabbed the spear from the Egyptian and killed him with it. 22-23 Benaiah did these things. He never became one of the Three Warriors, but he was just as famous as they were and certainly just as famous as the rest of the Thirty Warriors. David made him the leader of his bodyguard.
24-39 Some of the Thirty Warriors were:
Asahel the brother of Joab
Elhanan the son of Dodo from Bethlehem
Shammah from Harod
Elika from Harod
Helez the Paltite
Ira the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa
Abiezer from Anathoth
Mebunnai[u] the Hushathite
Zalmon the Ahohite
Maharai from Netophah
Heleb the son of Baanah from Netophah
Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the tribe of Benjamin
Benaiah from Pirathon
Hiddai from the streams on Mount Gaash
Abialbon from Beth-Arabah
Azmaveth from Bahurim[v]
Eliahba from Shaalbon
Jashen[w]
Jonathan the son of Shammah the Hararite[x]
Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite
Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai from Maacah
Eliam the son of Ahithophel from Gilo
Hezro from Carmel
Paarai the Arbite
Igal the son of Nathan from Zobah
Bani the Gadite
Zelek from Ammon
Naharai from Beeroth, who carried the weapons of Joab the son of Zeruiah
Ira the Ithrite
Gareb the Ithrite
Uriah the Hittite
There were 37 in all.
David Counts the People
(1 Chronicles 21.1-6)
24 The Lord was angry with Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah. 2 So David told Joab and the army officers,[y] “Go to every tribe in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north all the way south to Beersheba, and count everyone who can serve in the army. I want to know how many there are.”
3 Joab answered, “I hope the Lord your God will give you 100 times more soldiers than you already have. I hope you will live to see that day! But why do you want to do a thing like this?”
4 But when David refused to change his mind, Joab and the army officers went out and started counting the people. 5 They crossed the Jordan River and began with[z] Aroer and the town in the middle of the river valley. From there they went toward Gad and on as far as Jazer. 6 They went to Gilead and to Kadesh in Syria.[aa] Then they went to Dan, Ijon,[ab] and on toward Sidon. 7 They came to the fortress of Tyre, then went through every town of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Beersheba in the Southern Desert of Judah. 8 After they had gone through the whole land, they went back to Jerusalem. It had taken them 9 months and 20 days.
9 Joab came and told David, “In Israel there are 800,000 who can serve in the army, and in Judah there are 500,000.”
The Lord Punishes David
(1 Chronicles 21.7-17)
10 After everyone had been counted, David realized he had done wrong. He told the Lord, “What I did was stupid and terribly wrong. Lord, please forgive me.”
11 Before David even got up the next morning, the Lord had told David's prophet Gad 12-13 to take a message to David. Gad went to David and told him:
You must choose one of three ways for the Lord to punish you: Will there be seven[ac] years when the land won't grow enough food for your people? Or will your enemies chase you and make you run from them for three months? Or will there be three days of horrible disease in your land? Think about it and decide, because I have to give your answer to God, who sent me.
14 David was really frightened and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the Lord is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”
15-16 So that morning, the Lord sent an angel to spread a horrible disease everywhere in Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. And before it was over, 70,000 people had died.
When the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord felt sorry for all the suffering he had caused and told the angel, “That's enough! Don't touch them.” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.
17 David saw the angel killing everyone and told the Lord, “These people are like sheep with me as their shepherd.[ad] I have sinned terribly, but they have done nothing wrong. Please, punish me and my family instead of them!”
David Buys Araunah's Threshing Place
(1 Chronicles 21.18—22.1)
18-19 That same day the prophet Gad came and told David, “Go to the threshing place that belongs to Araunah and build an altar there for the Lord.”
So David went.
20 Araunah looked and saw David and his soldiers coming up toward him. He went over to David, bowed down low, 21 and said, “Your Majesty! Why have you come to see me?”
David answered, “I've come to buy your threshing place. I have to build the Lord an altar here, so this disease will stop killing the people.”
22 Araunah said, “Take whatever you want and offer your sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the sacrifice. You can use the threshing-boards[ae] and the wooden yokes for the fire. 23 Take them—they're yours! I hope the Lord your God will be pleased with you.”
24 But David answered, “No! I have to pay you what they're worth. I can't offer the Lord my God a sacrifice that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing place and the oxen for 50 pieces of silver. 25 Then he built an altar for the Lord. He offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask for his blessings.
The Lord answered the prayers of the people, and no one else died from the terrible disease.
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