Beginning
David Strikes Down Nations
8 (A)Now it happened afterwards, that David struck the Philistines and subdued them; and David took [a]control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.
2 (B)He also struck (C)Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And (D)the Moabites became servants to David, (E)bringing tribute.
3 Then David struck (F)Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as (G)he went to restore his [b]power at the [c]River. 4 And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David (H)hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for 100 chariots. 5 Then (I)the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah. And David struck down 22,000 Arameans. 6 Then David placed garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus; and (J)the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And (K)Yahweh granted salvation to David wherever he went. 7 And David took the small shields of gold which were [d]carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from [e]Betah and from (L)Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.
9 Then Toi king of (M)Hamath heard that David had struck down all the military force of Hadadezer, 10 so Toi sent [f]Joram his son to King David to [g]greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him down; for Hadadezer [h]had been at war with Toi. And in [i]Joram’s hand were articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. 11 King David also (N)set these apart as holy to Yahweh, with the silver and the gold that he had set apart as holy from all the nations which he had subdued: 12 from [j]Aram, (O)Moab, (P)the sons of Ammon, (Q)the Philistines, (R)Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 So (S)David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 [k]Arameans in (T)the Valley of Salt. 14 Then he placed garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he placed garrisons, and (U)all the Edomites became servants to David. And (V)Yahweh granted salvation to David wherever he went.
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David was doing justice and righteousness for all his people. 16 (W)Now Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and (X)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was (Y)recorder; 17 (Z)and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were (AA)priests, and Seraiah was (AB)scribe; 18 (AC)and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [l]was over the (AD)Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were [m](AE)priests.
David’s Lovingkindness to Mephibosheth
9 Then David said, “Is there yet [n]anyone left of the house of Saul, (AF)that I may show him lovingkindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you (AG)Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the (AH)lovingkindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “(AI)There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.” 4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is (AJ)in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and took him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6 (AK)So Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and (AL)fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for (AM)I will surely show lovingkindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and (AN)will restore to you all the [o]land of your [p]grandfather Saul; and (AO)you shall [q]eat at my table continually.” 8 So he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard (AP)a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king called Saul’s young man Ziba and said to him, “(AQ)All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s [r]grandson. 10 And you and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food and eat of it; nevertheless (AR)Mephibosheth your master’s grandson (AS)shall [s]eat at my table continually.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According (AT)to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at [t]David’s table as one of the king’s sons. 12 Now Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for (AU)he ate at the king’s table continually. Now (AV)he was lame in both feet.
The Ammonites Dishonor David’s Men
10 (AW)Now it happened afterwards, that (AX)the king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. 2 So David said, “I will show lovingkindness to Hanun the son of (AY)Nahash, just as his father showed lovingkindness to me.” So David sent to comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants. And David’s servants came to the land of the sons of Ammon. 3 But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “In your eyes, is David honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? (AZ)Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun took David’s servants and (BA)shaved off half of their beards, and (BB)cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. 5 Then they told it to David. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonored. And the king said, “[u]Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”
6 Then the sons of Ammon saw that (BC)they had become odious to David. So the sons of Ammon sent and (BD)hired the Arameans of (BE)Beth-rehob and the (BF)Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of (BG)Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men. 7 Then David heard of it and sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. 8 And the sons of Ammon came out and arranged themselves for battle (BH)at the entrance of the gate of the city. But the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of (BI)Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.
David Defeats Ammon and Aram
9 Then Joab saw that [v]the battle was set against him from the front and from the rear. So he chose from all the choice men of Israel, and they arranged themselves to meet the Arameans. 10 But the remainder of the people he put in the hand of Abishai his brother; and he arranged them to meet the sons of Ammon. 11 And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall save me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to save you. 12 (BJ)Be strong, and let us show strength for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and (BK)may Yahweh do what is good in His sight.” 13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Arameans, and (BL)they fled before him. 14 Now the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled. So they also fled before Abishai and came into the city. (BM)Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
15 Then the Arameans saw that they had been [w]defeated by Israel. So they gathered themselves together. 16 (BN)And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the [x]River, and they came to Helam; and (BO)Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [y]led them. 17 And it was told to David, so he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans arranged themselves to meet David and fought against him. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans (BP)700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen and struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 Then all the kings, the servants of Hadadezer, saw that they were [z]defeated by Israel. So (BQ)they made peace with Israel and served them. And the Arameans were afraid to save the sons of Ammon anymore.
David and Bathsheba
11 (BR)Now it happened [aa](BS)in the spring, at the time when [ab]kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and (BT)besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.
2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on (BU)the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. 3 So David sent and [ac]inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not (BV)Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of (BW)Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and (BX)he lay with her; (BY)and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 And the woman became pregnant; and she sent and told David, and said, “(BZ)I am pregnant.”
6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, (CA)David asked concerning the [ad]state of Joab and the [ae]state of the people and the [af]state of the war. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and (CB)wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and a present from the king went out after him. 9 But Uriah lay down (CC)at the door of the king’s house 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, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 And Uriah said to David, “(CD)The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in [ag]booths, and my lord Joab and (CE)the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “(CF)Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will send you out.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the [ah]next. 13 Now David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he (CG)made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed (CH)with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.
14 Now it happened in the morning that David (CI)wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 (CJ)And he had written in the letter, saying, “[ai]Place Uriah in the front line of the [aj]fiercest battle and withdraw from him, (CK)so that he may be struck down and die.” 16 So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he put Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and (CL)Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the events of the war. 19 And he commanded the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king, 20 and if it happens that the king’s wrath rises and 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 (CM)struck down Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall so he died at Thebez? Why did you approach the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”
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, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we [ak]pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 And the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.” 25 Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let this thing be evil in your sight, for the sword devours one as well as another; make your battle against the city stronger and [al]tear it down’; and so strengthen him.”
26 Then the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband had died, so (CN)she lamented over her husband. 27 Then the time of mourning passed by, and David sent and gathered her to his house and (CO)she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But (CP)the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of Yahweh.
Yahweh Sends Nathan to David
12 Then Yahweh sent (CQ)Nathan to David. And (CR)he came to him and [am]said,
“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
3 But the poor man had nothing except (CS)one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat his morsel of bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
4 Now a visitor came to the rich man,
And he [an]was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the traveler who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, surely the man who has done this [ao](CT)deserves to die. 6 And he must make restitution for the lamb (CU)fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
7 Nathan then said to David, “(CV)You are the man! Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘(CW)It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I also gave you (CX)your master’s house and your master’s wives into your [ap]care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! 9 Why (CY)have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in His sight? (CZ)You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, (DA)have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10 So now, (DB)the sword shall 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 Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; (DC)I will even take your wives from before your sight and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 Indeed (DD)you did it secretly, but (DE)I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “(DF)I have sinned against Yahweh.” And Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has [aq](DG)taken away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have (DH)given occasion to the enemies of Yahweh to blaspheme, the son also that is born to you shall surely die.” 15 And Nathan went to his house.
David’s Child Dies
Then Yahweh smote the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, so that he was very sick. 16 David therefore sought God about the boy; and David (DI)fasted and went and (DJ)spent the night lying on the ground. 17 (DK)And the elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. 18 Then it happened on the seventh day that 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 still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child has died? He might do himself harm!” 19 And David saw that his servants were whispering together, so David discerned that the child had died; so David said to his servants, “Has the child died?” And they said, “He has died.” 20 So David arose from the ground, (DL)washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of Yahweh and (DM)worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and he asked, and they set food before him, and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? [ar]While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 Then he said, “While the child was still alive, (DN)I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘(DO)Who knows, Yahweh may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ 23 But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? (DP)I will go to him, but (DQ)he will not return to me.”
Solomon Is Born
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and [as](DR)he named him Solomon. Now Yahweh loved him 25 and sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he named him [at]Jedidiah for the sake of Yahweh.
Joab Fights Ammon
26 (DS)Then Joab fought against (DT)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and captured the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters. 28 So now, gather the rest of the people together and camp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city myself and it be named after me.” 29 So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, fought against it and captured it. 30 Then (DU)he took the crown of [au]their king from his head; and its weight was a [av]talent of gold, and in it [aw]was a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city in a very great amount. 31 He also brought out the people who were in it and (DV)set them up with saws, sharp iron instruments, and iron axes, and made them pass through the brickkiln. And thus he used to do to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
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