Beginning

4 And Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, heard that Abner had fallen down in Hebron; and his hands were discomforted, and all Israel was troubled. (And Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron; and his hands were enfeebled, that is, he was afraid, and all Israel was troubled.)

² And two men, princes of (raiding) companies, were to the son of Saul; name to the one was Baanah, and name to the tother was Rechab, the sons of Rimmon (the) Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin; for also Beeroth is areckoned in Benjamin. (And two men, leaders of raiding parties, were officers for Saul’s son; one was named Baanah, and the other was named Rechab; they were the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin, for Beeroth is reckoned as part of Benjamin.)

³ And men of Beeroth fled into Gittaim; and they were comelings there till to that time. (And the Beerothites had fled to Gittaim; and they had lived there until that time.)

⁴ And a son feeble in his feet was to Jonathan, the son of Saul; and he was five years eld, when the messenger came from Saul and Jonathan, from Jezreel, telling that they were dead (and he was five years old, when a message came from Jezreel about Saul and Jonathan, saying that they were dead). Therefore his nurse took him, and fled; and when she hasted to flee, she felled down, and the child was made lame; and the name of the child was Mephibosheth.

⁵ Therefore Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon of Beeroth, came, and entered in the hot (of the) day into the house of Ishbosheth, that slept upon his bed at midday; and the woman that kept the doors of the house, (who had been) purging wheat, (now also) slept fast. (And so Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon of Beeroth, came, and in the heat of the day entered into Ishbosheth’s house, while he slept on his bed at midday; and the woman who kept the doors of the house, had been purging wheat, but now she was also asleep.)

⁶ And they came till to the midst of the house, and took wheat; and Rechab, and Baanah, his brother, smote Ishbosheth in the share-bone, and fled. (And they came into the midst of the house, carrying wheat; and Rechab, and his brother Baanah, struck, or stabbed, Ishbosheth in the belly, and then fled.)

⁷ Soothly when they had entered into the house, he slept on his bed in a (bed-)closet; and they smited and killed him; and when they had taken [off] his head, they went by the way of desert in all that night. (Yea, when they entered into the house, he slept on his bed in the bed-chamber; and they struck, or stabbed, him and killed him; and when they had cut off his head, they left, and went by the way of the wilderness all that night.)

⁸ And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David, in Hebron, and they said to the king, Lo! the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, thine enemy, that sought thy life; and the Lord hath given today to our lord the king vengeance of Saul, and of his seed (yea, today the Lord hath avenged our lord the king upon Saul, and upon his descendants, or his family).

⁹ And David answered to Rechab, and Baanah, his brother, the sons of Rimmon of Beeroth, and said to them, The Lord liveth, that hath delivered my life from all anguish (As the Lord liveth, who hath delivered my life from all anguish);

¹⁰ for I held him that told to me, and said, Saul is dead, which man guessed himself to tell prosperities, and I killed him in Ziklag, to whom (he thought) it behooved me (to) give meed for (his) message; (for I took hold of him who told me, and said, Saul is dead, which man thought that he told good news, and I killed him in Ziklag, yea, he who thought it behooved me to give him a reward for his message;)

¹¹ how much more now, when wicked men have slain a guiltless man in his house upon his bed, shall I not seek his blood of your hand, and shall not I do away you from the earth? (how much more now, when you wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house on his own bed, will I not avenge his blood upon you, and shall I not do you away from the face of the earth?)

¹² Therefore David commanded to his servants, and they killed them; and they cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them over the cistern in Hebron (and hung them up near the pool in Hebron). Forsooth they took the head of Ishbosheth, and they buried it in the sepulchre of Abner, in Hebron.

5 And all the lineages of Israel came to David, in Hebron, and said, Lo! we be thy bone and thy flesh. (And all the tribes of Israel came to David, in Hebron, and said, Lo! we be thy flesh and blood.)

² But also yesterday and the third day ago, when Saul was king upon us, thou leddest out, and leddest again Israel; forsooth the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be duke upon Israel. (And yesterday and the third day ago, when Saul was king upon us, thou leddest out the people Israel, and leddest them in again; and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be the leader of Israel.)

³ Also and the elder men of Israel came to the king, into Hebron; and king David smote with them (a) bond of peace in Hebron, before the Lord; and they anointed David into king upon Israel. (And the elders of Israel came to the king in Hebron; and King David struck a covenant with them in Hebron, before the Lord; and they anointed David king upon Israel.)

⁴ David was a son of thirty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years(.)

⁵ in Hebron; he reigned upon Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years upon all Israel and Judah. (In Hebron, he reigned seven years and six months upon Judah; and in Jerusalem, he reigned thirty-three years upon all Israel and Judah.)

⁶ And the king went, and all [the] men that were with him, into Jerusalem, to Jebusites, the dweller(s) of the land. And it was said of them to David, Thou shalt not enter hither, no but thou do away blind men and lame, saying, David shall not enter hither. (And the king, and all the men who were with him, went to Jerusalem, unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land. And they said to David, Thou shalt not come in here until thou do away all the blind and the crippled, that is to say, Thou, David, shalt never come in here.)

⁷ Forsooth David took the tower of Zion; this is the city of David. (But David captured the stronghold, or the fortress, of Zion; this is known as the City of David.)

⁸ For David had purposed in that day to have given meed to him, that had smitten Jebusites, and that had touched the gutters of the house roofs, and that had taken away lame men and blind, hating the life of David. Therefore it is said in common speech, A blind man and a lame shall not enter into the temple. (For David had put forth a reward that day, to anyone who struck down the Jebusites, yea, up to the gutters of the housetops, and who did away even the crippled and the blind, yea, any and all who hated the life of David. And so it is said in common speech, No one blind or crippled shall enter into the Temple.)

⁹ And David dwelled in the tower, and called it the city of David; and he builded by compass from Millo, and within. (And David lived in the stronghold, and called it the City of David; and he built all around from Millo, inwards.)

¹⁰ And he entered profiting, and increasing; and the Lord God of hosts was with him.

¹¹ Also Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and craftsmen of wood, and craftsmen of stones to (make) walls; and they builded the house of David.

¹² And David knew, that the Lord had confirmed him king upon Israel, and that he had enhanced his realm upon his people Israel (and that he had raised up his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel).

¹³ Therefore David took yet (more) concubines, and wives of (the inhabitants of) Jerusalem, after that he came from Hebron; and also other sons and daughters were born to David.

¹⁴ And these be the names of them that were born to him in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,

¹⁵ and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,

¹⁶ and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.

¹⁷ Then the Philistines heard, that they had anointed David king upon Israel, and all the Philistines went up to seek David. And when David had heard this, he went down into a stronghold.

¹⁸ And the Philistines came, and they were spread abroad in the valley of Rephaim. (And the Philistines came, and they were spread all over the Rephaim Valley.)

¹⁹ And David counselled with the Lord, and said, Whether I shall go up to Philistines, and whether thou shalt give them in mine hand? And the Lord said to David, Go thou up, for I shall betake the Philistines, and I shall give them in thine hand. (And David counselled with the Lord, and said, Shall I go up to the Philistines? and shalt thou give them into my hands? And the Lord said to David, Go thou up, for I shall deliver the Philistines into thy hands.)

²⁰ Therefore David came into Baalperazim, and smote them there (and he struck them there), and said, The Lord hath parted mine enemies before me, as waters be parted. Therefore the name of that place was called Baalperazim, that is, The Field, either Plain, of Parting.

²¹ And they left there their sculptures, (or their images,) which David burnt, and his men. (And they left their idols there, which David and his men burned to ashes.)

²² And [the] Philistines added yet, that they should ascend, and they were spread abroad in the valley of Rephaim. (And the Philistines attacked again, and they were spread all over the Rephaim Valley.)

²³ And David counselled with the Lord, and said, Whether I shall go up against the Philistines, and whether thou shalt betake them into mine hands? (And David counselled with the Lord, and said, Shall I go up against the Philistines, and shalt thou deliver them into my hands?) And the Lord answered, Thou shalt not go up against them, but compass thou them behind their back, and (then) thou shalt come to them on the contrary side of the pear trees.

²⁴ And when thou shalt hear the sound of (a) cry going in the top(s) of (the) pear trees, then thou shalt begin (the) battle; for then the Lord shall go out before thy face, that he smite the tents of Philistines (for then the Lord shall go out before thee, and strike down the host, or the army, of the Philistines).

²⁵ Therefore David did as the Lord commanded to him; and he smote the Philistines from Geba till they came to Gazer.

6 Forsooth David gathered again all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. (Then David gathered together all the chosen, or all the best, out of Israel, yea, thirty thousand men.)

² And David rose, and went, and all the people that was with him of the men of Judah, to bring the ark of God, on which the name of the Lord of hosts, sitting in cherubim on that ark, was called. (And David rose up, and then he, and all the people who were with him, went to Baalath in Judah, to bring back from there the Ark of God, which beareth the name of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned upon, or above, the cherubim.)

³ And they putted the ark of God on a new wain, and they took it from the house of Abinadab, that was in Gibeah (And they put the Ark of God on a new wagon, and they took it from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill). And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new wain.

⁴ And when they had taken it from the house of Abinadab, that was in Gibeah, and kept the ark of God, Ahio went before the ark. (And so they took it from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill, who had kept the Ark of God safe; and Ahio went before the Ark.)

⁵ And David and all Israel played before the Lord, in all treen instruments of melody, and in harps, and citoles, and tympans, and trumps, and cymbals. (And David and all Israel played music before the Lord, on all the wooden instruments, and on harps, and lutes, and drums, or tambourines, and trumpets, and cymbals.)

⁶ Forsooth after that they came to the cornfloor of Nachon, Uzzah held forth his hand to the ark of God, and held it, for the oxen kicked, and bowed it. (But when they came to the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzzah put forth his hand to the Ark of God, and held it, for the oxen stumbled, and shook it.)

⁷ And the Lord was wroth by indignation against Uzzah, and smote him on the folly (and struck him down for his foolishness in touching the Ark); and he was dead there beside the ark of God.

⁸ And David was sorry, for the Lord had slain Uzzah; and the name of that place was called The Smiting of Uzzah till into this day. (And David was grieved that the Lord had killed Uzzah; and the name of that place is called Perezuzzah, or the Punishment of Uzzah, unto this day.)

⁹ And David dreaded the Lord in that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord enter to me? (And David feared the Lord that day, and said, How can I bring the Ark of the Lord back with me?)

¹⁰ And (so) he would not turn [aside] the ark of the Lord (un)to himself into the city of David, but he turned it [aside] into the house of Obededom of Gath.

¹¹ And the ark of the Lord dwelled in the house of Obededom of Gath three months; and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his house(hold). (And the Ark of the Lord stayed at the house of Obededom the Gittite for three months; and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his family.)

¹² And it was told to king David, that the Lord had blessed Obededom, and all his things, for the ark of God. And David said, I shall go, and bring the ark with blessing into mine house. Therefore David went, and brought the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with joy. (And it was told to King David, that the Lord had blessed Obededom, and all that he had/and all that was his, for keeping the Ark of God safe. And David said, Now I shall go, and bring the Ark of God with blessing to my house. And so David went, and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obededom to the City of David with great joy.)

¹³ And when they, that bare the ark of the Lord, had gone six paces, they offered an ox and a ram. (And when they, who carried the Ark of the Lord, had gone six paces, he offered an ox and a ram.)

¹⁴ And David smote in organs fastened to his arm (And David played on an instrument fastened to his arm); and he danced with all his strengths before the Lord; and David was clothed with (only) a linen surplice.

¹⁵ And David, and all the house of Israel, led forth the ark of [the] testament of the Lord/the ark of [the] witnessing of the Lord in hearty song, and in sound of trump. (And David, and all the house of Israel, brought forth the Ark of the Lord with hearty song, and the sound of trumpets.)

¹⁶ And when the ark of the Lord had entered into the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, beheld by a window, and she saw the king skipping and dancing/hopping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and setted it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle, which tabernacle David had made therefore/had made ready thereto; and David offered burnt sacrifices and peaceable (sacrifices) before the Lord. (And they brought in the Ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, in the midst of the Tent, which David had prepared for it; and David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord.)

¹⁸ And when David had ended those, and had offered burnt sacrifices and peaceable (sacrifices), he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. (And when David had finished offering the burnt sacrifices and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.)

¹⁹ And he gave to all the multitude of Israel, as well to man as to woman, to each a cake of bread, and one part roasted of bugle flesh, and flour of wheat fried with oil; and all the people went forth, each into his house. (And he gave to all the multitude of Israel, yea, to each man and woman, a cake of bread, and a piece of roasted ox flesh, and wheat flour fried with oil; and then all the people went home.)

²⁰ And David turned again to bless his house, and Michal, the daughter of Saul, went out into the coming of David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself before the handmaids of his servants, and he was made naked, as if one of the knaves had been made naked? (And David returned to bless his own house, and Michal, Saul’s daughter, went out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself before the slave-girls of his servants, yea, he was made naked, just like one of the knaves would be made naked!)

²¹ And David said to Michal, The Lord liveth, for I shall play, (or I shall dance,) before the Lord, that chose me rather than thy father, and rather than all the house of him, and commanded to me, that I should be duke on the people of the Lord of Israel; and I shall play, (And David said to Michal, As the Lord liveth, I shall dance before the Lord, who chose me rather than thy father, and all of his family, and who commanded to me that I should be the leader of the people of the Lord of Israel; and so I shall dance,)

²² and I shall be made more vile than I am yet made, and I shall be meek in mine eyes, and I shall appear more glorious with those handmaidens, of which thou hast spoken. (and I shall be made even more vile than I am yet made, and I shall be abased in thine eyes, but I shall appear more glorious to those slave-girls of whom thou hast spoken.)

²³ Therefore a son was not born to Michal, the daughter of Saul, till into the day of her death. (And so no child was ever born to Saul’s daughter Michal, unto the day of her death.)

7 Forsooth it was done, when king David had sat in his house, and the Lord had given rest to him on each side from all his enemies,

² he said to Nathan the prophet, Seest thou not, that I dwell in an house of cedar (that I live in a cedar house), and the ark of God is put in the midst of skins?

³ And Nathan said to the king, Go thou, and do all thing that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee.

⁴ And it was done in that night, and lo! the word of the Lord, was made to Nathan, [saying,]

⁵ Go thou, and speak to my servant David, (and say,) The Lord saith these things, Whether thou shalt build to me an house to dwell in? (Shalt thou build a house for me to live in?)

⁶ Soothly I have not dwelled in an house from the day in which I led the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt till into this day; but I have gone in a tabernacle and in a tent,

⁷ by all places, to which I passed with all the sons of Israel? Whether I speaking spake to (any)one of the lineages of Israel, to whom I commanded, that he should feed my people Israel, and said, Why buildedest thou not an house of cedar to me? (to all the places, to which I went with all the people of Israel. Did I speak to anyone of the tribes of Israel, to whom I commanded, that they should feed my people Israel, and did I ever ask them, Why hast thou not built a cedar house for me?)

⁸ And now thou shalt say these things to my servant David, The Lord of hosts saith these things, I took thee from [the] pastures following flocks, that thou shouldest be duke on my people Israel (so that thou couldest be the leader of my people Israel),

⁹ and I was with thee in all things, wherever thou hast gone, and I have killed all thine enemies from thy face, and I have made to thee a great name, by the name of great men that be in earth; (and I was with thee in all things, wherever thou hast gone, and I have killed all thy enemies before thee, and I have made a great name for thee, like the names of the great men who be on the earth;)

¹⁰ and I shall set a place to my people Israel, and I shall plant him, and I shall dwell with him, and he shall no more be troubled, and the sons of wickedness shall not add to, that they torment him as before, (and I shall set a place for my people Israel, and I shall plant them, and I shall live with them, and they shall no more be troubled, and the sons of wickedness shall not torment them anymore, like they did in the past,)

¹¹ (like they did) from the day in which I ordained judges upon my people Israel; and I shall give rest to thee from all thine enemies. And the Lord before-saith to thee, that he shall make an house to thee (And the Lord saith in advance to thee, that he shall make a house for thee);

¹² and when thy days be fulfilled, and thou hast slept with thy fathers, (that is, when thou hast died,) I shall raise up thy seed after thee, which shall go out of thy womb, and I shall make steadfast his realm (and I shall establish his kingdom).

¹³ (And) He shall build an house to my name, and I shall make stable the throne of his realm till into without end;

¹⁴ I shall be to him into a father, and he shall be to me into a son; and if he shall do anything wickedly, I shall chastise him in the rod of men, and in the wounds of the sons of men. (I shall be his father, and he shall be my son; and if he doeth anything wicked, I shall chastise him with the rod of men, and with wounds from the sons of men.)

¹⁵ Forsooth I shall not do away my mercy from him, as I did it away from Saul, whom I removed from my face. (But I shall not take away my love from him, like I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from my presence.)

¹⁶ And thine house shall be faithful, and thy realm shall be till into without end before my face, and thy throne shall be steadfast continually (and thy throne shall be established forever).

¹⁷ By all these words, and by all this revelation, so Nathan spake to David.

¹⁸ Forsooth David the king entered into the tabernacle, and he sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁹ But also this is seen (as but a) little (thing) in thy sight, my Lord God; no but (that) thou shouldest speak also of the house of thy servant into long time. For this is the law of Adam, Lord God (For this is the law of men, or people’s lot, O Lord God);

²⁰ what therefore may David add yet, that he speak to thee? (and so what can I say to thee?) For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant;

²¹ thou hast done all these great things, for thy word, and by thine heart (for thy word’s sake, and according to thy heart), so that thou madest those known to thy servant.

²² Therefore, Lord God, thou art made great, for none is like thee, nor there is no God except thee, in all things which we have heard with our ears. (And so, Lord God, thou art truly great, and from everything that we have heard with our ears, no one is like thee, nor is there any God except thee.)

²³ Soothly what folk in (the) earth is as the people of Israel, for which the Lord God went, that he should again-buy it to him into a people, and should set to himself a name, and should do to it great things, and horrible, on [the] earth, in casting out thereof the folks, and gods thereof, from the face of thy people, which thou again-boughtest to thee from Egypt? (Yea, what nation on earth is like the people of Israel, for whom the Lord God went, and redeemed, or rescued, them in order to be a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to do for them great and wonderful things on the earth, in throwing out from here the nations, and their gods, from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed, or rescued, for thyself from Egypt?)

²⁴ And thou hast confirmed to thee thy people Israel into a people everlasting, and thou, Lord, art made into God to them. (And thou hast confirmed thy people Israel to be thy own people forevermore, and O Lord, thou hast become their God.)

²⁵ Now therefore, Lord God, raise up (into) without end the word that thou hast spoken upon thy servant, and upon his house, and do as thou hast spoken;

²⁶ and thy name be magnified/and thy name be made great till into without end, and be it said, The Lord of hosts is God upon Israel; and the house of thy servant David shall be stablished before the Lord;

²⁷ for thou, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast made revelation to the ear of thy servant, and saidest, I shall build an house to thee; therefore thy servant hath found by his heart, that he should pray thee by this prayer. (for thou, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, hast made a revelation in the ear of thy servant, and saidest, I shall build a house for thee; and so thy servant hath found in his heart, that he should pray to thee by this prayer.)

²⁸ Now therefore, Lord God, thou art very God, and thy words shall (always) be true; for thou hast spoken these good things to thy servant;

²⁹ therefore begin thou, and bless the house of thy servant, that it be into without end before thee; for thou, Lord God, hast spoken these things, and through thy blessing the house of thy servant shall be blessed [into] without end.