Beginning

22 ¶ And David spoke the words of this song unto the LORD in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul.

² ¶ And he said, The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

³ God is my Strong One; in him will I trust: he is my shield and the horn of my saving health; my defence and my refuge; my saviour, who shall save me from violence.

⁴ I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁵ When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of Belial made me afraid;

⁶ when the cords of Sheol compassed me about; the snares of death came before me;

⁷ in my distress I called upon the LORD and cried to my God, who heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry entered into his ears.

⁸ Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the heavens were moved and shook because he was wroth.

⁹ Smoke went up from his nostrils, and fire devoured out of his mouth; coals were kindled by it.

¹⁰ And he lowered the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet.

¹¹ And he rode upon a cherub and flew; and he appeared upon the wings of the wind.

¹² He placed darkness like tabernacles round about him, dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

¹³ From the brightness of his presence, coals of fire were kindled.

¹⁴ The LORD thundered from the heavens, and the most High uttered his voice;

¹⁵ he sent out arrows and scattered them; he sent forth lightning, and consumed them.

¹⁶ Then the springs of the sea appeared and the foundations of the world were uncovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷ He extended his hand from above, he took me; he drew me out of the impetuous waters;

¹⁸ he delivered me from strong enemies, from those that hated me, who were stronger than I.

¹⁹ They came upon me unawares in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my stay.

²⁰ He brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because he had put his will in me.

²¹ The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me.

²² For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²³ For I have all his ordinances before me and am attentive to his statutes; I will not depart from them.

²⁴ And I was perfect before him and have kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁵ Therefore, the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness before his eyes.

²⁶ With the merciful thou art good, and with the perfect thou art upright.

²⁷ With the pure thou art pure, and with the perverse thou art an adversary.

²⁸ Thou wilt save the poor in spirit; but thine eyes are upon the haughty that thou may bring them down.

²⁹ For thou art my lamp, O LORD, and the LORD gives light unto my darkness.

³⁰ For in thee I have run through a troop; with my God I have gone over the walls.

³¹ As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is purified; he is a shield to all those that trust in him.

³² For what God is there except the LORD? Or who is a Strong One, except our God?

³³ God is he who strengthens me with virtue; he who clears my way;

³⁴ he who makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and he who sets me upon my high places;

³⁵ he who trains my hands for war and causes my arms to break the bow of bronze.

³⁶ Thou hast also given me the shield of thy saving health, and thy meekness has multiplied me.

³⁷ Thou hast enlarged my steps under me so that my knees did not shake.

³⁸ I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them and did not return until I had consumed them.

³⁹ And I consumed them and wounded them, and they did not arise; they are fallen under my feet.

⁴⁰ For thou hast girded me with strength for the battle; thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

⁴¹ Thou hast given me the necks of my enemies, of those that hate me, that I might cut them off.

⁴² They looked, but there was no one to save them; even unto the LORD, but he did not answer them.

⁴³ Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth; I stamped them as the mire of the street and spread them abroad.

⁴⁴ Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of peoples; thou hast kept me to be head of the Gentiles; peoples whom I did not know have served me.

⁴⁵ The strangers trembled before my command; as soon as they heard, they obeyed me.

⁴⁶ The strangers withered away and trembled in their close places.

⁴⁷ The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God who is the rock of my salvation.

⁴⁸ The God who has given me revenge and who subjects the peoples under me,

⁴⁹ who brings me forth from among my enemies; thou hast lifted me up on high from among those that rose up against me; thou hast delivered me from the man of violence.

⁵⁰ Therefore, I will confess thee among the Gentiles, O LORD, and I will sing unto thy name.

⁵¹ He who makes great the saving health of his king and shows mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for ever.

23 ¶ Now these are the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, said, and the man who was raised up high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet cantor of Israel, said,

² (The Spirit of the LORD has spoken by me, and his word has been in my tongue.

³ The God of Israel dictated unto me, the strong One of Israel spoke): He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

⁴ And as the light of the morning when the sun rises, of a morning shining forth without clouds, as the shining forth through light rain upon the tender grass of the earth:

⁵ shall not my house be so with God, although all my saving health and my desire shall not be produced yet? For he has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things, and it shall be kept;

⁶ but those of Belial shall all be as thorns to be chased away, whom no one takes with the hand;

⁷ but the one that desires to touch them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear, and they are completely burned with fire in their place.

⁸ ¶ These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: he that sat in the seat of wisdom, chief among the three: Adino, the Eznite, who on one occasion slew eight hundred enemies.

⁹ And after him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men who were with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and those of Israel were gone away.

¹⁰ He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword; and the LORD wrought a great salvation that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil.

¹¹ And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee, the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a community, where was an inheritance of land full of lentils, and the people had fled before the Philistines.

¹² But he stood in the midst of the inheritance and defended it and slew the Philistines, and the LORD wrought a great salvation.

¹³ These three, who were of the thirty chief, went down and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam, and the camp of the Philistines was pitched in the valley of Rephaim.

¹⁴ And David was then in the fortress, and the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem.

¹⁵ And David longed and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!

¹⁶ Then these three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David; nevertheless, he would not drink of it, but poured it out unto the LORD, saying,

¹⁷ Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this; is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? And he would not drink it. These three mighty men did this.

¹⁸ And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred and slew them and had a name among the three.

¹⁹ He was the most honourable of the three and captain among them; however, he did not attain unto the first three.

²⁰ Then, Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, slew two lions of Moab; he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.

²¹ He also slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and slew him with his own spear.

²² These things did Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men.

²³ He had more honour than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David put him in his council.

²⁴ Asahel, the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan, the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁵ Shammah of Harodi, Elika of Harodi,

²⁶ Helez of Palti, Ira, the son of Ikkesh of Tekoah,

²⁷ Abiezer of Anethoth, Mebunnai of Hushath,

²⁸ Zalmon of Ahoh, Maharai of Netophath,

²⁹ Heleb, the son of Baanah of Netophath, Ittai, the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin,

³⁰ Benaiah, the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,

³¹ Abialbon of Arbath, Azmaveth of Barhum,

³² Eliahba of Shaalbon, Jonathan of the sons of Jashen,

³³ Shammah of Harar, Ahiam, the son of Sharar of Harar,

³⁴ Eliphelet, the son of Ahasbai, the son of Maachath, Eliam, the son of Ahithophel of Gilon,

³⁵ Hezrai of Carmel, Paarai of Arbi,

³⁶ Igal, the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani of Gadi,

³⁷ Zelek of Ammon, Naharai of Beeroth, armourbearer to Joab, the son of Zeruiah,

³⁸ Ira of Ithri, Gareb of Ithri,

³⁹ Uriah, the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

24 ¶ And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

² For the king said to Joab, the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel from Dan unto Beersheba and number the people that I may know the number of the people.

³ And Joab replied unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people one hundredfold to however many there are and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?

⁴ Notwithstanding, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.

⁵ And passing the Jordan, they pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lies in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer.

⁶ After that they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtimhodshi, and they came to Danjaan and about to Zidon.

⁷ Then they came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out towards the Negev from Judah, even to Beersheba.

⁸ So when they had gone through all the land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹ And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king, and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

¹⁰ ¶ And David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in having done this; but now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy slave, for I have done very foolishly.

¹¹ And in the morning when David had risen, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

¹² Go and say unto David, Thus hath the LORD said, I offer thee three things: choose one of them, which I will do unto thee.

¹³ So Gad came to David and told him and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? Or wilt thou flee three months before thy enemies while they pursue thee? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? Now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

¹⁴ Then David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait; let us fall now into the hand of the LORD, for his mercies are great, and let me not fall into the hand of man.

¹⁵ So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the time appointed, and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

¹⁶ And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD himself repented of that evil and said to the angel that was destroying the people, It is enough; stay now thy hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingfloor of Araunah, the Jebusite.

¹⁷ And David spoke unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people and said, I have sinned, I committed the iniquity, but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me and against my father’s house.

¹⁸ ¶ And Gad came that day to David and said unto him, Go up, erect an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah, the Jebusite.

¹⁹ And David went up, according to the word of Gad, as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁰ And Araunah looked and saw the king and his slaves coming on toward him, and Araunah went out and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.

²¹ And Araunah said, Why is my lord the king come to his slave? And David answered, To buy this threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

²² And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good unto him; behold, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood;

²³ all these things does king Araunah give unto the king. Then Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.

²⁴ And the king said unto Araunah, No, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵ And David built there an altar unto the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.