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Bible in 90 Days

An intensive Bible reading plan that walks through the entire Bible in 90 days.
Duration: 88 days
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
Version
1 Samuel 28:20 - 2 Samuel 12:10

20 Saul immediately fell down on the ground and he lay there. He was very afraid because of what Samuel had said. Saul was also very weak because he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

21 Then the woman came to Saul. She saw that he was very afraid. She said, ‘I have obeyed you, sir. I did what you asked me to do. I might have died because I did that. 22 Please listen to me now. I will give you some food to eat. Then you will be strong enough to travel back.’

23 Saul refused and he said, ‘I will not eat.’ But the woman and Saul's servants continued to say that he must eat some food. So Saul agreed. He got up from the ground and he sat down on a bed.

24 The woman had a fat calf at her home. She went quickly and she killed it. Then she took some flour and she cooked some flat bread without yeast. 25 She gave the food to Saul and to his men and they ate it. Then they left her house that night.

The Philistine leaders will not have David in their army

29 The Philistine army put up their tents at Aphek. The Israelites made their camp near the spring of water at Jezreel. The Philistine rulers marched out with their groups of soldiers. They were in groups of 100 soldiers and 1,000 soldiers. David and his men were marching with King Achish at the back of the army. The Philistine leaders asked, ‘Why are these Hebrew people here?’

Achish said to them, ‘This is David. He was the servant of Israel's King Saul. But he came to me more than a year ago. Since he turned against King Saul and came to me, he has always been faithful to me.’

But the Philistine leaders were angry with Achish. They said to him, ‘Send David back to the town that you gave to him. He must not go with us to fight the battle. He might turn against us and become our enemy. Then he would start to kill our own soldiers. That would make his master, Saul, very happy! Remember who this man David is! The Israelites sing this about him when they dance:

“Saul has killed thousands of his enemies.
And David has killed tens of thousands of his enemies.” ’

So Achish called David to come to him. He said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, I know that I can trust you. I would like you to go with me to fight the battle. Since the first day that you came to me, I have never found anything wrong with you. But the other leaders do not trust you. So return to your home and have peace in your mind. Do not do anything that will make the other Philistine leaders angry.’

David said to King Achish, ‘What have I done that is wrong? You say that you have found nothing wrong with me all the time that I have been with you. You are my master and king. So why should I not go with you to fight your enemies?’

Achish replied, ‘I believe that you are as good as an angel from God. But the Philistine leaders have said, “David must not go with us to fight the battle.” 10 So you must all get up early tomorrow morning. As soon as there is light at dawn, you must leave with the men who came with you.’

11 So David and his men got up early in the morning. They returned along the road back to Ziklag. The Philistine army went to Jezreel.

David fights against the Amalekites

30 David and his men arrived at Ziklag three days after they left King Achish. They found that the Amalekites had attacked Ziklag and towns in the south of Judah. The Amalekites had destroyed Ziklag with fire. They had caught the women and the other people who were in the town, both young people and old people. They did not kill any of them, but they took them away as prisoners.[a]

So when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, they saw that the Amalekites had destroyed the city. The Amalekites had taken away their wives, their sons and their daughters as prisoners. David and his men wept loudly. They continued to weep until they had no strength to weep any more. The Amalekites had taken both of David's wives: Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail from Carmel, who was Nabal's widow. David was very upset because his men were complaining. They wanted to kill him with stones. His men were very upset because they had lost their sons and their daughters. But David trusted the Lord his God to make him strong.

Then David spoke to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son. David said to him, ‘Bring the priests' ephod to me.’ So Abiathar took the ephod to David. David asked the Lord, ‘Should I chase after the men who attacked our town? Will I catch them?’

The Lord answered, ‘Yes, chase after them and you will certainly catch them. You will rescue your families.’[b]

9-10 So David and his 600 men left Ziklag. They arrived at Besor stream. Some of the men were too tired to go across the valley. So 200 men remained there.[c] David and the other 400 men continued to chase after the Amalekites.

11 David's men found an Egyptian man in a field. They took him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and food to eat. 12 They gave him some dried figs and some raisins. Then he became stronger, because he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days.

13 David asked the man, ‘Who is your master? Where do you come from?’

The young man answered, ‘I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite man. My master left me here three days ago because I was ill. 14 We had attacked the south part of Judah, where the Kerethites live.[d] We also attacked the land where the people of Caleb's clan live. We destroyed Ziklag with fire too.’

15 David said to him, ‘Can you take me to find these men?’

The man said, ‘Please promise me in God's name that you will not kill me. Promise me that you will not take me back to my master. If you do that, I will lead you to find them.’

16 So the Egyptian man took David to find the Amalekites. The men were sitting everywhere, all over the ground. They were having a party, eating and drinking. They were happy because they had taken so many things from the towns of the Philistines and from the people in Judah.

17 That evening, David attacked the Amalekites. The fight continued until the next evening. David and his men killed all the Amalekites except for 400 young men. Those 400 men rode away on their camels. 18 David got back everything that the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives. 19 The people had lost nothing. David brought everyone back, the young people and the old people, the sons and the daughters. He brought back all the valuable things and everything that the Amalekites had taken. 20 David took all the sheep, goats and cows from the Amalekites. His men led these animals in front of the other animals. They said, ‘These animals will belong to David!’

21 David returned to the 200 men who had stayed beside the Besor stream. These men had been too tired to go with David. They came to meet David and the men who were with him. When David met them, he happily said ‘hello’ to them. 22 But some of the men who had gone with David were wicked and stupid. They said, ‘These men did not come with us to attack the Amalekites. So we will not give them any of the things that we have brought back. Each man can have only his wife and his children. Then they must take them back home.’

23 David said, ‘No, my brothers. You cannot do that. The Lord has given all these things to us. He has kept us safe. He has helped us to win against the enemies who attacked us. 24 Nobody will agree with what you say. Each person will receive an equal part. The men who stayed here with our things and the men who went to fight will all receive the same amount.’

25 David made this a rule for the Israelites, and they still obey it.

26 David arrived back at Ziklag with all the things that they had taken from the Amalekites. He sent some of the things to the leaders of Judah who were his friends. David sent this message, ‘Here is a gift for you. We took these things from the Lord's enemies.’

27 David sent gifts to the leaders in these towns:

Bethel, Ramoth in the desert in the south, Jattir,

28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29 Racal,

the towns where the clan of Jerahmeel live,

the towns where the Kenites live,

30 Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach 31 and Hebron.

David also sent gifts to the people in the towns that he and his men had visited.

Saul and his sons die in the battle

31 The Philistines fought against the Israelites. The Israelites ran away, and the Philistines killed many of them on Gilboa mountain. The Philistines chased after Saul and his sons to catch them. They killed Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua.

The Philistines were fighting the battle all around Saul. Some of their soldiers saw Saul and they shot their arrows at him. The arrows hurt Saul very much and he was nearly dead. He said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Kill me now with your sword. I do not want these foreign men to be cruel to me as they kill me.’ But the young man would not agree to kill Saul because he was too afraid. So Saul took his own sword and he threw himself onto it so that he died. The young man saw that Saul was dead. So he threw himself onto his own sword and he also died.

So Saul died there, with his three sons. The young man who carried Saul's armour and all Saul's men died too.

The Israelites who lived in the Jezreel valley and on the other side of the Jordan River saw what happened. They saw that the Israelite army had run away from the Philistines. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and they ran away. Then the Philistines came to live in those towns.

The day after the battle, the Philistines came to take all the valuable things from the dead soldiers. They found the dead bodies of Saul and his three sons on Gilboa mountain. They cut off Saul's head and they removed his armour. Then they sent men through all the country of the Philistines with the news of Saul's death. These men told the news everywhere that the Philistine people lived and in the temples of their idols. 10 They put Saul's armour in the temple of their god Ashtoreth. Then they hung Saul's dead body on the wall of Beth Shan town.[e]

11 The Israelites who lived in Jabesh Gilead heard about what the Philistines had done to Saul's body.[f] 12 So all their brave soldiers left Jabesh Gilead and they marched all night to Beth Shan. They removed the dead bodies of Saul and his sons from the town's wall. Then they took them to Jabesh Gilead. They burned the dead bodies there. 13 Then they took the bones and they buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh Gilead. The men did not eat any food for seven days because they were so sad.

David hears that Saul is dead

After David had won the fight against the Amalekites, he returned to Ziklag. He stayed in Ziklag for two days. Saul had already died.[g] The next day, a man arrived from the camp of Saul's army.[h] He had dirt on his head and he had torn his clothes. When the man met David, he threw himself down on the ground to give honour to David.

David asked him, ‘Where have you come from?’

The man replied, ‘I have run from the Israelite army's camp.’

David said, ‘Tell me what happened in the battle.’

The man replied, ‘The Israelites ran away and the enemy killed many of them. Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.’

When the young man told this to David, David asked him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’

The young man said, ‘I was on Gilboa mountain. I saw Saul there. He had to use his spear like a stick to help him to stand. The enemy army with its horses and chariots were getting very near to him. Saul turned round and he saw me. He shouted to me and I said, “Here I am, sir.”

He asked me, “Who are you?”

I said to him, “I am an Amalekite.”

He said to me, “Stand over me and kill me. I have a lot of pain and I am almost dead.”

10 I knew that he would soon fall down. He was too weak to live. So I stood over him and I killed him. Then I took the crown from his head and the ring that was on his arm. I have brought them here to you, my lord.’

11 Then David tore his clothes because he was very upset. The men who were with him did the same thing. 12 They cried and they wept until the evening. They did not eat any food. They were very upset about Saul and Jonathan, and all the Lord's people.[i] They were sad because so many Israelites had died in the battle.

13 David asked the young man who had brought the report to him, ‘Where are you from?’

The man replied, ‘I am an Amalekite, the son of a foreign man who lives in Israel.’

14 David said to him, ‘The Lord had chosen Saul to be Israel's king. You should have been very afraid to kill him!’

15 Then David said to one of his own young men, ‘Go and knock him down!’ So the man knocked him down so that he died. 16 David had said to the Amalekite, ‘You deserve to die because of what you have said. Your own words show that you did a bad thing. You yourself said, “I have killed the Lord's chosen king.” ’

David's song to remember Saul and Jonathan

17 David sang this song to remember the death of Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 He said that the people in Judah should learn this song. Its name is ‘The Bow’. It is written down in the Book of Jashar.[j]

19 ‘The greatest men of Israel now lie on the mountains. They are dead!
Those brave men have fallen to the ground!
20 Do not tell the people in Gath about it.
Do not tell the news in the streets of Ashkelon.
If you do, the daughters of the Philistines will sing with joy.
Yes, those foreign people who do not worship God will be happy.
21 You mountains of Gilboa, I hope that no rain or dew will come on you now.
I pray that no crops will grow in your fields to make grain offerings.
In those fields, the shields of brave soldiers became useless.
No longer will anyone clean Saul's shield with oil.[k]
22 When Jonathan shot arrows from his bow,
his enemies fell to the ground, dead.
He would never turn away from them.
Saul's sword also cut down his enemies.
He always finished the job.
23 People loved Saul and Jonathan as great people while they lived.
They were still together when they died.
They moved faster than eagles
They were stronger than lions.
24 You women of Israel, weep for Saul.
He gave you beautiful clothes to wear.
He gave you gold and jewels to fix on your clothes.
25 Brave soldiers have died as they fought a great battle!
Jonathan's dead body lies on Gilboa's hills.
26 My brother, Jonathan! I am very sad about your death.
You were my good friend.
Your love for me was very special.
It was better than the love of women.
27 The brave men have fallen in the battle!
Their weapons are now useless.’

The people anoint David as king over Israel

After some time, David asked the Lord, ‘Should I go up to one of Judah's towns?’

The Lord said to him, ‘Go up.’

David asked, ‘Where should I go?’

The Lord replied, ‘Go to Hebron.’

So David went up to Hebron. He took his two wives with him. They were Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel. David also took the men who had been with him. Each man took his family. They lived in Hebron and in the towns near there. Then the men of Judah's tribe came to Hebron. They anointed David as king over Judah's people.

David thanks the people of Jabesh Gilead

David heard that the people from Jabesh Gilead had buried Saul's body. So David sent men to them with a message. He said, ‘You were kind to Saul, your master, when you buried his body. So I pray that the Lord will bless you. I pray that the Lord will keep you safe with his faithful love. I too will do good things for you, because of what you have done. Saul, your master, is dead, so you must continue to be strong and brave. The people of Judah have now chosen me to rule them as king.’

David and his men fight against Saul's army

Ner's son Abner was the leader of Saul's army. He took Saul's son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim. Abner gave Ish-Bosheth authority to rule as king over Gilead, Asher and Jezreel, as well as the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. So Ish-Bosheth became king of all Israel.

10 Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth, was 40 years old when he became king over Israel. He ruled Israel for two years. But Judah's people were faithful to David as their king. 11 David remained in Hebron as king of Judah for seven and a half years.

12 Then Ner's son, Abner, left Mahanaim and he went to Gibeon. He took with him the men who served Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth. 13 Zeruiah's son, Joab, took David's men to meet Abner's men at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat on one side of the pool while the other group sat on the other side.

14 Then Abner said to Joab, ‘Some young men from each of our groups should fight against each other. Then we can watch them.’ Joab agreed.

15 So they chose 12 men to fight on behalf of Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth. They also chose 12 of David's men to fight against them. 16 As they fought, each man took hold of his enemy's head. And each man pushed his sword into his enemy's side. So they all fell down together and they were dead. So people called that place ‘The Field of Swords’. It is in Gibeon.

17 That day, the two groups fought a great battle against each other. David's men won the fight against Abner and the men of Israel.

18 Zeruiah's three sons were there. They were Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Asahel could run as fast as a wild deer. 19 He chased after Abner. He ran straight after him. He did not turn to the right or to the left. 20 Abner looked behind him and he asked, ‘Is that you, Asahel?’

‘Yes, it is,’ he answered.

21 Then Abner said to him, ‘Turn away from me to the right or to the left. Then you can chase one of the young soldiers and you can take his weapons.’ But Asahel would not stop chasing after Abner.

22 Abner said again to Asahel, ‘Stop chasing after me. I do not want to knock you down to the ground. If I kill you, I will never be able to show myself to your brother Joab again!’

23 But Asahel refused to stop chasing Abner. So Abner pushed the stick of his spear behind him into Asahel's stomach. It went through his body and came out of his back. Asahel fell to the ground immediately and he died there. When anyone came to that place, they stopped to look at Asahel's body.

24 But Joab and Abishai continued to chase after Abner. When the sun was going down, they reached Ammah hill, near Giah. That was on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 Then the men of Benjamin's tribe joined with Abner. They were all ready to fight as one group. They stood together at the top of a hill.

26 Abner shouted to Joab, ‘We should stop fighting. We do not want to continue killing one another for ever. In the end, we would all be very sad. Please tell your men to stop chasing after their brothers.’

27 Joab replied, ‘As surely as God lives, I agree! If you had not spoken, our men would have chased you all through the night. They would not have stopped until the morning.’

28 So Joab made a loud noise with the trumpet.[l] Then all his men stopped where they were. They did not continue to chase after the men of Israel. They stopped fighting.

29 Abner and his men marched all that night through the Jordan Valley. They crossed over the Jordan River. They continued to march all the next morning until they arrived back at Mahanaim.

30 Joab left the battle and he returned with David's men. They counted all the soldiers. Asahel had died, as well as 19 other men. 31 But David's soldiers had killed 360 men of Benjamin's tribe who were fighting in Abner's army.

32 They took Asahel's body from the place where he died. They buried him in his father's grave at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night. They arrived home at Hebron at dawn.

David's sons

David's men continued to fight against the men who were faithful to Saul's family. The war continued for a long time. David's army became stronger and stronger, but Saul's army became weaker and weaker.

While David lived in Hebron he had several sons:

The firstborn was Amnon. Ahinoam from Jezreel gave birth to him.

The second son was Kileab. Nabal's widow, Abigail, from Carmel gave birth to him.

The third son was Absalom. His mother was Maakah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.

The fourth son was Adonijah. His mother was Haggith.

The fifth son was Shephatiah. Abital was his mother.

The sixth son was Ithream. David's wife, Eglah, gave birth to him.

These sons of David were all born in Hebron.

Abner joins David's army

The war continued between David's men and the men who fought on behalf of Saul's family. Abner was becoming a more powerful leader among Saul's group. Saul had had slave wife called Rizpah. She was Aiah's daughter. One day, Ish-Bosheth asked Abner, ‘Why did you sleep with my father's woman?’[m]

Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth had said to him. Abner said, ‘Do you think that I am a useless dog that belongs to Judah? I have always been faithful to your father Saul and to his family and his friends. I have not deceived you to put you under David's power. But now you say that I am guilty of a sin with this woman. So I promise you this! Now I will help David to get what the Lord has promised to him. I ask God to punish me if I do not help David! 10 The Lord promised that David's family would rule as kings instead of Saul's family. He promised that David would be king over all the people of Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.’[n]

11 Ish-Bosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not say anything.

12 Then Abner sent men to David with this message: ‘Who should rule this country? If you make an agreement with me, I will help you. I will cause all Israel's people to be faithful to you.’

13 David said, ‘That is good! I will make an agreement with you. But you must do this for me: You must bring Saul's daughter, Michal, with you when you come to visit me. If you do not do that, I will not agree to see you.’

14 Then David sent men to Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth, with this message: ‘Give back to me my wife, Michal. I paid 100 Philistine foreskins to have her as my wife.’

15 So Ish-Bosheth sent his men to take Michal from her husband, Paltiel, son of Laish. 16 But her husband came with her. He wept while he followed her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, ‘Return to your home!’ So he returned home.

17 Then Abner talked to the leaders of Israel. He said, ‘For a long time you have wanted David to be your king. 18 So now is your chance to do something! Remember that the Lord promised, “I will use David's strength to save my people, Israel, from the Philistines and from all their enemies.” ’

19 Abner also went himself to speak to the men of Benjamin's tribe.[o] After that, he went to Hebron. He went to tell David what all Israel's people had agreed to do. All the people of Benjamin's tribe had also agreed the same thing. 20 Abner arrived in Hebron with 20 of his men to visit David. David prepared a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 Then Abner said to David, ‘Please let me go now to bring all the people of Israel together for my lord the king. Then they will make an agreement with you. Then you will rule over the whole land, as you really want to do.’ So David sent Abner away, with a promise that he would be safe.

Joab murders Abner

22 David's men and Joab had attacked some of the enemy's towns. Now they were returning home. They brought with them a lot of things that they had taken from the enemy. By this time Abner had left Hebron because David had sent him away safely. 23 When Joab and all his soldiers arrived in Hebron, people told him, ‘Ner's son Abner came to visit the king. The king sent him back home safely.’

24 Joab went to the king. He said, ‘Why did you do this? Abner came to visit you. You allowed him to go back home safely. Now he has gone. 25 You should know what Abner is like. He came here to deceive you. He wanted to find out everything that you do and everywhere that you go.’

26 Then Joab left David. He sent men to run after Abner with a message. They found him at the well at Sirah and they brought him back to Hebron. But David did not know that. 27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab met him at the city's gate. Then Joab took him into a corner, as if he wanted to speak with Abner alone. But he pushed his knife into Abner's stomach. Joab killed Abner because Abner had killed Asahel, Joab's brother.

28 Later, David heard about what Joab had done. He said, ‘The Lord knows this: I and the people of my kingdom are not guilty of Abner's murder. 29 I pray that Joab and all his father's family will pay for this murder! May God punish his descendants for ever! May somebody always have sores or leprosy. May there be men who are not brave enough to fight, men who die in battle, or people who have no food to eat!’

30 That is how Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner. They killed him because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.

31 David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, ‘Tear your clothes! Wear sackcloth to show that you are sad! Weep because of Abner's death.’ King David himself walked behind the men who carried Abner's dead body. 32 They buried Abner in a grave in Hebron. The king wept loudly beside Abner's grave. All the people wept too.

33 The king sang this song about Abner's death:

‘Abner, you should not have died like a fool.
34 Nobody had tied your hands.
Nobody had put chains on your feet.
It was murder by wicked people that killed you.’

Then all the people started to weep again for Abner.

35 The people came and they spoke to David. They said that he should eat some food before the end of the day. But David said, ‘I will not eat any food at all before sunset. May God punish me if I eat anything!’

36 All the people heard David say this. It made them happy. They were pleased with everything that the king did. 37 That day, everyone in Israel realized that David had not wanted the death of Ner's son, Abner.

38 The king said to his servants, ‘You must understand that a great leader has died today in Israel. 39 I am God's chosen king, but even I am weak today. I cannot control these sons of Zeruiah![p] They have done a wicked thing. I pray that the Lord will punish them as they deserve.’

Two men kill Ish-Bosheth

Saul's son Ish-Bosheth heard the news that Abner had died in Hebron.[q] Then he felt very frightened. All the people in Israel became afraid. Ish-Bosheth had two officers called Baanah and Recab. They were leaders of small groups of soldiers. Their father was Rimmon from Beeroth. He belonged to Benjamin's tribe. At that time, Beeroth was part of Benjamin's land. The people from Beeroth had run away to Gittaim. So Beeroth's people still live there as strangers.

Saul's son Jonathan had a son called Mephibosheth. Since he was five years old he had not been able to walk. At that time someone had come from Jezreel to say that Saul and Jonathan had died. So Mephibosheth's nurse picked him up to escape with him. But as she ran in a hurry, he fell to the ground. It hurt his feet very badly.

Rimmon's sons, Recab and Baanah, left their home and they went to Ish-Bosheth's house. They arrived in the middle of the day when it was very hot. Ish-Bosheth was resting on his bed. They went into the house as if they wanted to get some wheat. But they pushed knives into Ish-Bosheth's stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah escaped.

When they had gone into the house, Ish-Bosheth had been lying on his bed in his bedroom. After they had killed him, they cut off his head. They took it with them and they travelled all night through the Jordan Valley. They brought Ish-Bosheth's head to David in Hebron. They said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth, Saul's son! Saul was your enemy who wanted to kill you. So today the Lord has punished him and his descendants. They have paid for the bad things that they did to you, our lord, the king.’

David answered Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth. He said to them, ‘The Lord has rescued me from all my troubles. So I tell you this, as surely as the Lord lives: 10 When someone told me in Ziklag, “Saul is dead”, he thought that he was bringing good news to me. But I took hold of him and I told my men to kill him. That was how I paid him for his good news![r] 11 Now you wicked men have done a worse thing. You killed a good man in his own house while he was asleep! So I must surely punish you for his death. You must disappear from the earth!’

12 So David commanded his young men to kill Recab and Baanah. After they had killed them, they cut off their hands and their feet. They hung the dead bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-Bosheth's head and they buried it in Abner's grave in Hebron.

David becomes king over all Israel

All Israel's tribes came to David at Hebron. They said, ‘We all belong to the same family as you do. In the past, when Saul ruled over us as king, you were the leader of Israel's army in the wars. The Lord said to you, “You will take care of my people as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. You will rule over Israel.” ’

So King David made an agreement with the leaders of Israel when they came to him at Hebron. They made promises in the Lord's name. Then they anointed David to be king over Israel.

David was 30 years old when he became king. He ruled Israel as king for 40 years. He ruled over Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he ruled over all Israel and Judah for 33 years.

David wins Jerusalem from the Jebusites

King David and his soldiers marched to Jerusalem. They went to attack the Jebusites who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, ‘You will never get into our city. Even blind men and those who are lame could keep you out.’

They thought, ‘David will never get in here.’

But David did get in and he took Zion, the city's strong place. It is now called ‘The City of David’.

On that day, David said to his men, ‘We must attack my enemies, the Jebusites. To do that, we must go into the city through the water tunnel.[s] Then we will see if their blind and lame people can stop us! I hate them all.’

That is why people still say, ‘Anybody who is blind or lame must not go into the palace.’[t]

David comes to live in Jerusalem

Then David went to live in the strong place of the city. He called it ‘The City of David’. He built more houses all around it, from the edge of the hill into the city. 10 David became more and more powerful because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

11 Then Hiram, king of Tyre, sent some of his men to David. They brought wood from Lebanon's cedar trees. Men who could work with wood and stone also came. They built a palace for David. 12 David knew that the Lord had made him strong as king over Israel. He knew that God had given honour to his kingdom, to help his people, the Israelites.[u]

13 After David moved to Jerusalem from Hebron, he married more wives. He also took more slave wives to live with him. They gave birth to more sons and daughters for David. 14 These are the names of David's children who were born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.

David fights against the Philistines

17 The Philistines heard the news that David had now become king over Israel. So their whole army went to look for him to catch him. When David heard about this, he went out of the city to a strong, safe place.

18 The Philistine soldiers arrived at Rephaim valley. They covered all the ground there. 19 So David asked the Lord, ‘Should I go and attack the Philistines? Will you put them under my power?’

The Lord answered him, ‘Yes, go and attack the Philistines. I will certainly help you to win against them.’

20 So David went to Baal Perazim. He won the fight against the Philistines in that place. He said, ‘The Lord has swept away my enemy like a flood of water.’ So they called that place ‘Baal Perazim’.[v]

21 When the Philistines ran away from there, they did not take their idols with them. So David and his men took them away.

22 Once again, the Philistine soldiers came and they covered the ground in Rephaim valley. 23 So David again asked the Lord what he should do. This time the Lord said, ‘Do not march straight towards them. Instead, go round behind them. Then attack them from the other side, where the poplar trees are. 24 When you hear a noise in the tops of the trees like marching men, go quickly to attack them. Then you will know that the Lord has gone in front of you. He will knock down the Philistine army for you.’

25 So David did as the Lord had commanded him to do. His men chased the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

David brings the Covenant Box to Jerusalem

David chose 30,000 of the best soldiers in Israel. He took them with him to Baalah, a town in Judah. He wanted to bring God's Covenant Box from there to Jerusalem. The Israelites called it by the name of the Lord Almighty. He sits as King between the two cherubs that are on the top of the Covenant Box. They put the Covenant Box on a new cart. They took it out of Abinadab's house which was on the hill. Abinadab's sons, Uzzah and Ahio, were leading the new cart which had the Covenant Box on it. Ahio walked in front of the Covenant Box. David and all Israel's people were singing and dancing with all their strength to praise the Lord. They made music with harps, lyres, tambourines, shakers and cymbals.[w]

They reached the place of Nacon's threshing floor. There the oxen that were pulling the cart almost fell. So Uzzah reached out to hold God's Covenant Box to stop it falling. The Lord was very angry with Uzzah because he did not respect God's rules.[x] He immediately knocked Uzzah down to the ground. Uzzah died there, beside the Covenant Box.

David was angry because the Lord had punished Uzzah. So he called that place ‘Perez Uzzah’. That is still its name today.[y]

So David now became afraid of the Lord. He said, ‘The Lord's Covenant Box is too holy to come with me!’ 10 He no longer wanted to take the Lord's Covenant Box to the City of David to be with him there. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom, who came from Gath. 11 The Lord's Covenant Box stayed in Obed-Edom's house for three months. During that time, the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all the people in his house.

12 People told King David, ‘The Lord has blessed Obed-Edom's family and everything that belongs to him, because of the Covenant Box.’

So David went back to Obed-Edom's house. He was now happy to bring the Covenant Box from there to the City of David. 13 The men who were carrying it walked six steps and they stopped. Then David offered a bull and a fat calf as sacrifices to God. 14 David was wearing a linen ephod.[z] He danced with all his strength to worship the Lord. 15 He and all the Israelites brought the Lord's Covenant Box to Jerusalem. They shouted and they made a loud noise with trumpets.

16 While they were bringing the Lord's Covenant Box into the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked out through a window. She saw what King David was doing. He was jumping and dancing to worship the Lord. Michal felt ashamed of him.

17 David had put up a special tent for the Covenant Box, so they took it there. They put it in its place inside the tent. Then David offered burnt offerings and friendship offerings to the Lord.

18 After David had offered those sacrifices, he prayed that the Lord Almighty would bless the people. 19 Then he gave a gift to every man and woman in the crowd of Israelite people. Each person received a loaf of bread, some dates and some raisins. Then all the people went to their homes.

20 David returned to his home to bless his own family. As he arrived, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him. She said, ‘The king of Israel has brought honour to himself today, has he? No, he has brought shame on himself! Even your officers' slave girls have seen how stupid you are. You have made your body bare like a useless fool!’

21 David said to Michal, ‘I was worshipping the Lord with joy! It was the Lord who chose me to be the ruler of his people, Israel. He chose me instead of your father or any of his family. 22 I am ready to bring even more shame on myself. Even I will be ashamed of myself! But the slave girls that you spoke about will still give me honour!’

23 Saul's daughter Michal gave birth to no children all her life.

God gives promises to David

The king was living in his palace. The Lord kept him safe from all his enemies everywhere. One day, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘I am living in a beautiful palace that is made of cedar wood. But God's Covenant Box still has a tent for its home!’

Nathan replied to the king, ‘Do what you think is right. The Lord will help you.’

But that night the Lord said to Nathan, ‘Go and tell my servant David,

“The Lord says this: Do not think that you are the right man to build a house for me to live in. From the time that I brought Israel's people out of Egypt until now, I have never lived in a house. While my people moved from place to place, I travelled with them. I lived in a tent as my home. I have moved about to many different places with the Israelite people. I chose leaders to take care of Israel's tribes, like shepherds for them. But in all that time, I never said to any of the leaders, ‘You should have built a beautiful house of cedar wood for me.’

So tell my servant David that the Lord Almighty says this: I took you from the fields where you were taking care of sheep. I took you from there to become the ruler of my people Israel. I have been with you everywhere that you have gone. I destroyed all your enemies that were attacking you. Now I will make you famous. Your name will be as great as the names of the earth's greatest men.

10 I have chosen a place where my people Israel will live. I have put them in that place, where they can be safe. They will not be afraid of trouble from any enemy. Wicked people will not hurt them any more. That happened in the past, 11 from the time that I chose leaders to rule my people Israel. But now I will keep you safe from all your enemies.

I, the Lord, say to you, David: I will give you descendants who will rule as kings after you. That will be the royal house that I build for you! 12 When you die, people will bury you in the grave of your ancestors. Then I will choose your descendant, one of your own sons, to become king. I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the man who will build a house for me. People will give honour to my name there. I will cause his descendants to rule as kings for ever. 14 I will be his father and he will be my son. When he does something wrong, I will punish him, so that he learns to do what is right. I will punish him in the way that human fathers punish their sons. 15 I removed my faithful love from Saul, and I removed him as king before you. But I will always continue to faithfully love your son. 16 The kingdom that your descendants rule will continue for ever. Someone from your family will always be king.” ’

17 Nathan told David the whole message that God had shown to him.

David prays

18 Then King David went into the Lord's tent.[aa] He sat down and he prayed to the Lord.

He said, ‘Almighty Lord, I am not a special person and my family is not special. You have helped me very much and I do not deserve it. 19 You have also made a promise about the descendants in my family, Almighty Lord. You have promised to help them in the future, as well as me. I am only a man but you have shown this to me, Almighty Lord.

20 I am your servant, Almighty Lord, and you know me completely. There is nothing more that I can say. 21 Because of your covenant you have chosen to do all these great things. You have told me, your servant, what you promise to do. 22 Almighty Lord, you are very great. There is nobody like you. You alone are God. What we have heard about you is true! 23 There is no other nation on earth like your people, Israel. We are the only nation that you have rescued so that we would belong to you. You did that to show that your name is great. You did great miracles to rescue your people from Egypt where they were slaves. Then you chased out other nations and their gods from the land that you were giving to your people. 24 You chose Israel to be your own people for all time. You, Lord, became our God.

25 Lord God, please do the things that you have promised to do for me, your servant, and for my family. Continue to do for ever what you have promised to do. 26 Then people will always give honour to your great name. They will say, “The Lord Almighty is the God who rules over Israel!” And David's descendants will continue to serve you as kings.

27 Lord Almighty, Israel's God, you have made this promise to me, your servant. You have said to me, “You will always have descendants who will rule. That is the house that I will build for you.” That is why I am not afraid to pray to you like this.

28 Almighty Lord, you are the true God. We trust your promises. You have promised these good things to me, your servant. 29 I pray that you will be pleased to bless my family and my descendants. Then we will serve you faithfully for ever. Almighty Lord, you have promised to do this. So I know that you will continue to bless my descendants for ever.’

David wins more fights[ab]

Some time later, David attacked the Philistines, and he won the fight against them. He now had power over them and over their towns.

David also won a battle against the Moabites. He made the Moabite prisoners lie down on the ground. Then he used a piece of rope to measure them into groups. When he had measured two groups, he would tell his men to kill all those prisoners. When he measured the next group, he would let those prisoners stay alive. So the Moabites were now under David's authority and they began to pay taxes to him.

David also won a battle against Rehob's son, Hadadezer, king of Zobah. This happened when Hadadezer took his army to the Euphrates river to show that he had authority there. David took from Hadadezer 1,700 men who drove chariots. He also caught 20,000 of Hadadezer's other soldiers. David kept 100 of the horses that pulled chariots. But he cut the legs of the other horses so that they could not run.

The Syrians from Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer of Zobah. But David killed 22,000 soldiers of the Syrian army. David put groups of his soldiers in Damascus to be guards over the Syrian people. So the Syrians were now under David's authority and they paid taxes to him. The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.

David took the gold shields that Hadadezer's officers had carried. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. David also took a lot of bronze things from Tebah and Berothai, towns that had belonged to Hadadezer.

Toi, the king of Hamath, heard news that David had won the battle against the whole army of Hadadezer. 10 There had been a war between King Hadadezer and King Toi. So now Toi sent his son, Joram to say ‘hello’ to David. He wanted to thank David because he had won the battle against King Hadadezer. Joram brought gifts to David that were made of gold, silver and bronze.

11 David took these gifts and he offered them to the Lord. He also offered to the Lord all the silver and gold things that he had taken from other nations. Those were all the nations that David had won against in battle. 12 They included Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines and the Amalekites. He also offered to the Lord things that he had taken from Rehob's son, King Hadadezer of Zobah.

13 After that, David's army won a battle in the Valley of Salt against 18,000 Edomites. David became very famous because of that. 14 He put groups of his soldiers in every part of Edom's land, so that David had authority over all the Edomites. The Lord helped David to win all the battles that he fought.

David's officers

15 David ruled over all Israel. He did everything that was right and fair for all his people. 16 Zeruiah's son, Joab, was the leader of Israel's army. Ahilud's son, Jehoshaphat, wrote down the important things that happened. 17 Ahitub's son Zadok and Abiathar's son Ahimelech were priests. Seraiah was David's secretary. 18 Jehoiada's son Benaiah was the leader of David's personal guards.[ac] David's sons served as priests.[ad]

David helps Mephibosheth

David asked, ‘Is there anyone from Saul's family who is still alive? I want to be kind to them because Jonathan was my friend.’

Saul's family had a servant called Ziba. So they asked him to come to see David. The king said to him, ‘Are you Ziba?’

Ziba replied, ‘Yes, I am your servant.’

The king asked him, ‘Is there anyone from Saul's family who is still alive? I want to be kind to them because of God's faithful love for his people.’[ae]

Ziba replied, ‘One of Jonathan's sons still lives. But both his feet are weak so that he cannot walk properly.’

The king asked Ziba, ‘Where is he?’

Ziba answered, ‘He lives in the house of Ammiel's son, Makir, in Lo-Debar.’

So David sent his men to bring him from the house of Ammiel's son, Makir, in Lo-Debar.

Then Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, grandson of Saul, came to David. He bent his body down to the ground to respect David.

David said, ‘Mephibosheth!’

Mephibosheth replied, ‘Yes, I am your servant.’

David said to him, ‘Do not be afraid. I will be kind to you because your father Jonathan was my friend. I will give back to you all the land which belonged to your grandfather, Saul. You will always be able to eat here with me.’

Mephibosheth bent his body low. He said, ‘I am your servant, no better than a dead dog. I do not deserve that you should be so kind to me.’

Then David sent his men to fetch Saul's servant, Ziba. David said to him, ‘I have given everything that belonged to Saul or his family to your master's grandson, Mephibosheth. 10 You, your sons and your servants must work on the land for him. You must grow crops that will be food for your master's grandson to eat. But Mephibosheth will always be able to eat with me.’ Ziba himself had 15 sons and 20 servants.

11 Ziba said to the king, ‘I am your servant. I will do everything that my lord the king has told me to do.’ So after that, Mephibosheth ate meals at the king's table. He was like one of the king's own sons.

12 Mephibosheth had a young son called Mica. Ziba and all his family and servants became servants to Mephibosheth. 13 That is how Mephibosheth came to live in Jerusalem. He could always eat his meals at the king's table. He had two weak feet, so he could not walk properly.

David and the Ammonites

10 Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died.[af] His son Hanun became the new king. David thought, ‘I will be kind to Hanun, because his father Nahash was kind to me.’

So David sent some of his officers to give a message to Hanun. David wanted to tell Hanun that he was sorry that Nahash had died. David's officers took his message to the land of the Ammonites.

The leaders of the Ammonites said to Hanun, the king, ‘David has sent his officers to you with a kind message about your father's death. But do not think that he really wants to give honour to your father. No, he has sent his officers to look at our city. They want to see how David's army can attack the city and take it for themselves.’

So Hanun took hold of David's officers. He cut off half the hair from their beards. He also cut off the lower half of their clothes up to their hips.[ag] Then he sent them away.

Some people told David what had happened. His officers were very ashamed, so David sent a message to them. King David said, ‘Stay in Jericho city until your beards have grown again. Then you can return here.’

The Ammonites realized that they had made David very angry. So they paid 20,000 Syrian soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah to come and fight for them. They also brought 1,000 soldiers from the king of Maakah and 12,000 soldiers from Tob.

David heard news about this. So he sent Joab with all the soldiers in his army to fight against them. The Ammonite soldiers marched out from their city. They stood in front of the city's gates and they were ready to fight. The Syrian soldiers from Zobah and Rehob and the soldiers from Tob and Maakah stayed in the fields near the city.

Joab saw that there were two groups of the enemy's soldiers. They were ready to attack his army from different sides. So he chose some of Israel's best soldiers. Joab himself led them to attack the Syrian soldiers in the fields. 10 He told his brother Abishai to lead the rest of Israel's army to fight against the Ammonites. 11 Joab said to Abishai, ‘If the Syrian soldiers are too strong for me, you must come to rescue me. But if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong! We must be brave as we fight on behalf of our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he decides is good.’

13 Then Joab and his group of soldiers went to fight against the Syrians. As they marched towards the Syrian soldiers, they ran away. 14 The Ammonites saw that the Syrians were running away from Joab. So they also ran away from his brother Abishai's men. They ran back into their city. So Joab stopped fighting the Ammonites. He returned to Jerusalem with his army.

15 The Syrian soldiers realized that Israel had won the battle against them. So they brought all their soldiers together. 16 King Hadadezer sent a message to fetch more Syrian soldiers from the other side of the Euphrates river. Shobach, the captain of his army, brought them all to Helam.

17 David heard about what was happening. So he took all Israel's soldiers across the Jordan River to Helam. The Syrian soldiers stood in their places ready to fight. When the battle started, 18 the Syrians ran away from the Israelites. David and his army killed 700 Syrians who drove chariots. They killed 40,000 other Syrian soldiers. David also knocked down Shobach, the captain of the Syrian army. Shobach died there.

19 All the other kings who were under Hadadezer's authority saw that Israel had won the battle. So they made an agreement with Israel that they would not fight against them any more. They agreed to serve the Israelites. After that, the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.

David and Bathsheba

11 In the spring, David sent out his army to attack the Ammonites. That was the time of year when kings go out to fight battles.[ah] Joab led the whole Israelite army, together with his officers. They attacked the Ammonites, and they won the fight against them. Israel's army made their camp all around Rabbah city. But David had stayed in Jerusalem.

One evening, David got up from his bed. He walked around on the roof of his palace.[ai] From the roof he saw a woman who was washing herself. She was very beautiful. David sent a servant to ask who she was. The servant told him, ‘She is Eliam's daughter, Bathsheba. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’

Then David sent some servants to bring Bathsheba to him. She came to him and he slept with her. (She had just made herself clean from her monthly blood loss.) Then she returned to her home. Later, Bathsheba realized that she was pregnant. She sent a message to tell David about it.

So David sent a message to Joab. He said, ‘Send Uriah the Hittite to me.’ So Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah arrived, David asked him about Joab and the Israelite army. He asked Uriah about the war. Then David said to Uriah, ‘Now go to your house and rest for a time.’ So Uriah left the palace. Then King David sent a gift to him at home. But Uriah slept at the door of the palace, together with his master's servants. He did not go to his house.

10 David's servants told him, ‘Uriah did not go to his house last night.’ So David said to Uriah, ‘You have just arrived after a long journey. Why did you not go to your house?’

11 Uriah said to David, ‘The armies of Israel and Judah are all living in tents, as well as the Covenant Box. My master Joab and the soldiers of your army are sleeping in the fields. So I cannot go to my house and eat a meal there. It would not be right for me to go home and sleep with my wife. As surely as you live, I promise that I would never do that!’

12 David said to Uriah, ‘Stay here one more day. Tomorrow I will send you back to the war.’ So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next day. 13 David asked him to come and eat a meal with him. David caused Uriah to drink a lot of wine so that he became drunk. But in the evening Uriah still did not go to his own house. He slept on his mat, where his master's servants all slept.

14 In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab. Uriah took the letter to Joab. 15 In the letter, David told Joab, ‘Put Uriah at the front of all our soldiers, where the battle is most dangerous. Then tell the other soldiers to move back away from him. Then he will be alone and the enemy's soldiers will kill him.’

16 Joab's soldiers were all around Rabbah city and they were watching it carefully. Joab sent Uriah to fight near to the city, where the enemy's best soldiers were. 17 When some of the Ammonite soldiers came out of the city to fight Joab's army, they killed some of David's men. Uriah the Hittite was one of the men who died there.

Joab tells David that Uriah is dead

18 Joab wrote a report to tell David about the battle. 19 He told the man who was taking the message, ‘When you finish giving my report to the king, 20 the king may be angry. He may ask you, “Why did you go and fight so near to the city? Surely you knew that they would shoot arrows from the walls. 21 Remember how a woman killed Jerub-Besheth's son, Abimelech. She threw a heavy stone down on him from the city wall in Thebez. You should not have gone so near to Rabbah's city wall.” If King David does say that, tell him, “Your servant, Uriah the Hittite is dead too.” ’

22 The man that Joab sent to David with his message arrived. He told David all the news that Joab had sent with him. 23 The man said to David, ‘The enemy's men were stronger than us and they attacked us in the fields. But we chased them back as far as the gate of their city. 24 Then enemy soldiers shot arrows from the city wall and some of your men died. Your servant, Uriah the Hittite, is also dead.’

25 David said to the man that Joab had sent, ‘Tell Joab, “Do not be too upset. The enemy will always kill some of our men, and it could be anyone. Continue to attack the city even more strongly and then you will take it for us.” If you say that to Joab, he will not be so sad.’

26 Uriah's wife heard the news that her husband was dead. She was very sad and she wept because of his death. 27 The time for Uriah's wife to weep for her husband came to an end. Then David sent some of his men to bring her to his palace. She became David's wife. Later, she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was not pleased with David because of the bad things that David had done.

Nathan warns David

12 The Lord sent Nathan to go and speak to David.[aj] Nathan told this story to David, ‘There were two men who lived in the same town. One man was rich and the other man was poor. The rich man had very many sheep, goats and cows. But the poor man had only one little female lamb. He had bought it and he had taken care of it. It had grown up with his own children. It ate his bits of food and it drank water from his cup. It even slept while he held it. It was like a daughter for him.

One day, the rich man had a visitor to his home. The rich man needed to make a meal for his visitor. But he did not want to kill one of his own animals. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb away from him. He cooked the lamb to feed his visitor.’

When David heard what the rich man had done, he became very angry. He said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, that man deserves to die. He did that cruel thing and he was not sorry for the poor man. So he must pay the poor man enough money to buy four lambs.’

Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are that man! This is what the Lord, Israel's God, says: “I chose you as king to rule over Israel. I saved you from Saul's power. I gave your master's palace to you, and his wives as well. I gave the kingdoms of Israel and Judah to you. And if that was not enough for you, I would have given you even more than that. But now you have not respected the Lord's command. You have done an evil thing. You caused Uriah the Hittite to die in a battle. You used the Ammonite soldiers to kill Uriah. 10 So now your family will always have people who die in battle. When you took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife, you showed that you did not respect me.”

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