Old/New Testament
David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem
6 David once again gathered all of the thirty thousand specially chosen men of Israel. 2 Then David and all the people who were with him set out and went to Baale Judah[a] to bring up the Ark of God, who is called by the name “The Lord of Armies, who sits above the cherubim.”
3 They transported the Ark of God on a new cart. They brought it out from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 ⎣⎦[b] with the Ark of God on it. Ahio was walking in front of the ark.
5 David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments, castanets,[c] lyres, harps, hand drums, rattles,[d] and cymbals.
6 But when they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out for the Ark of God and grabbed it because the oxen stumbled. 7 The anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his irreverence. So he died there beside the Ark of God.
8 David was angry because the Lord had burst out so violently against Uzzah, and he called that place Perez Uzzah,[e] as it is called to this day. 9 David was afraid of the Lord on that day. He said, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 David was not willing to move the Ark of the Lord to himself in the City of David.
So David diverted the ark to the house of Obed Edom the Gittite. 11 The Ark of the Lord remained at the house of Obed Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his whole household. 12 David was told, “Because of the Ark of God, the Lord has blessed the house of Obed Edom and all that belongs to him.”[f]
With rejoicing, David went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obed Edom to the City of David. 13 When those carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six paces, David sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf. 14 David danced with all his might before the Lord. He was wearing a linen vest.[g] 15 David and the entire house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of a ram’s horn.
16 When the Ark of the Lord arrived at the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18 When David finished presenting the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Armies. 19 He distributed one loaf of bread, one cake of dates,[h] and one cake of raisins to all the people, to the whole crowd from Israel, to men and women, to each and every person. Then all the people left. All of them went to their own houses, 20 and David returned to bless his house.
Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David. She said, “How the king of Israel has brought honor to himself today by exposing himself in the sight of his female servants, just as a vulgar person exposes himself!”
21 David said to Michal, “I did this before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his house, when he appointed me leader over the people of the Lord, over Israel. I will rejoice before the Lord, 22 and I will make myself even more lowly than this. I will be humble in my own eyes, but among the servant girls you have spoken about, among them I will be honored.”
23 Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death.
The Lord’s Messianic Covenant With David
7 It happened that when the king was living in his palace, and when the Lord had given him rest from his enemies all around, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God sits under tent curtains.”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go and do everything that is in your heart, because the Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. He said, 5 “Go and tell my servant David all these things.”
The Covenant
This is what the Lord says. Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house from the day I brought the people of Israel up from Egypt until today. I have been moving around in the Tent and the Dwelling. 7 I have traveled everywhere with all the people of Israel. Did I ever speak a word to any of the judges[i] of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, or ask them, “Why have you not built a house of cedar for me?”
8 You are also to say the following to my servant David.
This is what the Lord of Armies says. I took you from the pasture, from following sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you went. I have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make your reputation great, like that of the great ones on the earth. 10 I will set up a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them there. They will dwell there, and they will not be disturbed again. Violent men will not afflict them again as they did at the beginning 11 and ever since the day I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The Lord also declares to you that the Lord himself will make a house for you. 12 When your days are complete and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your seed,[j] who will come from your own body. I will establish his kingdom. 13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he sins, I will discipline him with a rod used by men and with blows of the sons of men. 15 My faithful mercy will not depart from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed to make room for you. 16 Your house will stand firm, and your kingdom will endure forever before you.[k] Your throne will be established forever.
17 Nathan told David all the words that had been revealed in this vision.
David’s Response to the Covenant
18 Then King David went and sat before the Lord and said:
Who am I, Lord God? And what is my house that you have brought me to this point? 19 Yet this was a small thing in your eyes, Lord God. You have also spoken about the house of your servant for a long time into the future. Is this the law for the man, Lord God?[l]
20 What more can David say to you? You know your servant, Lord God. 21 Because of your word and according to the plan of your heart, you have carried out this great thing in order to make your servant aware of it. 22 Therefore, you are great, Lord God, because there is none like you. There is no God except you, in keeping with everything we have heard with our ears.
23 Who is like your people Israel, the one people on earth whom God went out to redeem for himself, to make them his people and to make a name for himself? You yourself did great and awe-inspiring things for your land in the presence of your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, in the presence of the nations and their gods.[m] 24 You established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever. You, Lord, became their God.
25 Now, Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 Your name will be great forever. People will say, “The Lord of Armies is God over Israel.” The house of your servant David will be established before you.
27 You, Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, have whispered into the ear[n] of your servant, saying, “I will build a house for you.” Therefore, your servant has found the heart to pray to you this prayer. 28 Now, Lord God, you are God. Your words are truth. You have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now, therefore, please bless the house of your servant, so that it will endure forever in your presence. For you, Lord God, have spoken. With your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.
David’s Wars
8 After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ha’ammah[o] from the control of the Philistines.
2 He defeated Moab and measured the men with a length of rope after making them lie down on the ground. He measured two lengths to be put to death and one full length to live. The Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control[p] at the river Euphrates. 4 David captured seventeen hundred charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers[q] from him. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but he left enough horses for a hundred chariots. 5 Arameans from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David killed twenty-two thousand men in Aram. 6 Then David put garrisons in Damascus in the land of Aram,[r] and the Arameans became subject to David and brought tribute.
The Lord gave victory to David everywhere he went.
7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officials of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Betah and Berothai,[s] cities of Hadadezer, King David took large amounts of bronze.
9 Toi[t] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer. 10 So Toi sent his son Joram[u] to King David to petition him for peace and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, because Toi had been at war with Hadadezer. In his hand he brought items made of silver and items of gold and items of bronze.
11 King David dedicated these things to the Lord along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued: 12 from Aram, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 David made a name for himself when he returned from striking eighteen thousand Edomites[v] in the Valley of Salt. 14 He put garrisons in Edom, in all of it, and all the Edomites became subject to David.
The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. 15 David was king over all Israel, and he treated all his people with justice and fairness.
David’s Officials
16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the record keeper.[w] 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests. Seraiah was the secretary. 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the Kerethites and the Pelethites. The sons of David were government ministers.[x]
The Lost Sheep
15 All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 He told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls together his friends and his neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.
The Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman who has ten silver coins,[a] if she loses one coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.