Sermon Central
2 Samuel 1-24
2On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
3“Where have you come from?” David asked him. He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4“What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.” “The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit.
8“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ “ ‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
10“So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.” 11Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.
12They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.
14David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD ’s anointed?” 15Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died.
David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan 17David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,
19“A gazelle
21“Mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, may no showers fall on your terraced fields.
22“From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23Saul and Jonathan— in life they were loved and admired, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
24“Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
25“How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. 27“How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!”
David Anointed King Over Judah 1In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD . “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked. The LORD said, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the LORD answered. 2So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 5he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The LORD bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him.
War Between the Houses of David and Saul 8Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
9He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel. 12Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
13Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
14Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.” “All right, let them do it,” Joab said. 15So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.
20Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” he answered.
21Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
25Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.
27Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.” 30Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing.
1The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
2Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;
3his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
4the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 8Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! 9May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath 10and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.”
11Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.
12Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.” 13“Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.”
14Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.” 15So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. 17Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king.
18Now do it! For the LORD promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’ ” 19Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do. 20When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men.
Joab Murders Abner 22Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.
23When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace. 24So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone!
25You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.” 26Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it.
27Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died. 28Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.
29May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy
30(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.) 31Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier.
32They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.
33The king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
34Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before the wicked.” And all the people wept over him again.
35Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!” 36All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them.
37So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner. 38Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 39And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!” 2Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin,
3because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.
4(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.) 5Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. 7They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 9David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news!
11How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!” 12So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.
David Becomes King Over Israel 1All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood.
3When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
5In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
David Conquers Jerusalem 6The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.”
7Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.
8On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.
12Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. 13After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,
16Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.
David Defeats the Philistines 17When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;
19so David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The LORD answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
21The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
22Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;
23so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees.
25So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand.
2He and all his men went to Baalah
5David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets,
7The LORD ’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
8Then David was angry because the LORD ’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
15while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
16As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. 17They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD . 18After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty.
19Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. 21David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD ’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD .
22I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” 23And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
2he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.” 5“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
7Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’ 8“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning
11and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders
16Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me
17Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
19And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign LORD, is for a mere human!
24You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God. 25“And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 27“ LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
David’s Victories 1In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.
2David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.
3Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at
4David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers
6He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
7David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.
9When Tou
10he sent his son Joram
12Edom
13And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites
David’s Officials
15David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.
17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary;
18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.
2Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied.
3The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”
5So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
6When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service,” he replied.
7“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
8Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” 9Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.
10You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
11Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s
David Defeats the Ammonites 1In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king.
2David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?”
6When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob. 7On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men.
8The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country. 9Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 10He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. 11Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.
12Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.” 13Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.
14When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. 15After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped.
16Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River; they went to Helam, with Shobak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
17When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him.
18But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers.
David and Bathsheba 1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 6So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 8Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
9But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
11Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,
13At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
15In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
17When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 20the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 22The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate.
25David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” 26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
Nathan Rebukes David 1The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,
3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 9Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11“This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.
12You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ”
14But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for
17The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
20Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” 22He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 24Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 26Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply.
28Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”
29So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it.
30David took the crown from their king’s
Amnon and Tamar 1In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. 3Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man.
5“Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’ ” 8So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it.
9Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. “Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom.
11But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” 13What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.”
15Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”
16“No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.” But he refused to listen to her.
17He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.”
18So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate
20Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. 21When King David heard all this, he was furious.
22And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Kills Amnon 23Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there.
25“No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.
27But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons. 28Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.”
29So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled. 30While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.”
35Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.”
37Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son. 38After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years.
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem 1Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead.
4When the woman from Tekoa went
5The king asked her, “What is troubling you?” She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead.
7Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”
10The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”
12Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” “Speak,” he replied.
14Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him. 15“And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request.
17“And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.’ ”
18Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.
20Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.”
21The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.” 23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 25In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him.
26Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels
27Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman. 28Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face.
30Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
32Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!” ’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”
Absalom’s Conspiracy
1In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.
2He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”
5Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.
7At the end of four
12While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.
14Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”
15The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.” 16The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city.
18All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
20You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.”
22David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness. 25Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD ’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 27The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”
29So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
31Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “ LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.” 34But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice. 35Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace.
36Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.” 37So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
David and Ziba 1When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.
2The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
4Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” “I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
Shimei Curses David 5As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel!
8The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”
10But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’ ” 11David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.
12It may be that the LORD will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”
14The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
The Advice of Ahithophel and Hushai 15Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.
17Absalom said to Hushai, “So this is the love you show your friend? If he’s your friend, why didn’t you go with him?”
19Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.” 23Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.
1Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I would
4This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel. 5But Absalom said, “Summon also Hushai the Arkite, so we can hear what he has to say as well.”
6When Hushai came to him, Absalom said, “Ahithophel has given this advice. Should we do what he says? If not, give us your opinion.” 7Hushai replied to Absalom, “The advice Ahithophel has given is not good this time. 8You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Besides, your father is an experienced fighter; he will not spend the night with the troops. 11“So I advise you: Let all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba—as numerous as the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, with you yourself leading them into battle. 12Then we will attack him wherever he may be found, and we will fall on him as dew settles on the ground. Neither he nor any of his men will be left alive.
14Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom. 15Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to do such and such, but I have advised them to do so and so.
16Now send a message at once and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords in the wilderness; cross over without fail, or the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’ ” 17Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel. A female servant was to go and inform them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city. 18But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So the two of them left at once and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.
19His wife took a covering and spread it out over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it. No one knew anything about it.
20When Absalom’s men came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman answered them, “They crossed over the brook.”
22So David and all the people with him set out and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, no one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
Absalom’s Death
24David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.
25Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of Jether,
26The Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead. 29honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows’ milk for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become exhausted and hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.”
1David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
4The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” So the king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.
5The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders. 7There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men.
8The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.
9Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”
12But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels
13And if I had put my life in jeopardy
15And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
18During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.
David Mourns 19Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has vindicated him by delivering him from the hand of his enemies.”
20“You are not the one to take the news today,” Joab told him. “You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”
22Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite.” But Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.”
23He said, “Come what may, I want to run.” So Joab said, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain
28Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”
30The king said, “Stand aside and wait here.” So he stepped aside and stood there.
31Then the Cushite arrived and said, “My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.”
32The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.”
33The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”
4The king covered his face and cried aloud, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, “Today you have humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. 6You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead.
7Now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the LORD that if you don’t go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come on you from your youth till now.”
8So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the men were told, “The king is sitting in the gateway,” they all came before him. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled to their homes.
David Returns to Jerusalem 9Throughout the tribes of Israel, all the people were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies; he is the one who rescued us from the hand of the Philistines. But now he has fled the country to escape from Absalom;
10and Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?” 11King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Ask the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his palace, since what is being said throughout Israel has reached the king at his quarters? 12You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to bring back the king?’
13And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my own flesh and blood? May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you are not the commander of my army for life in place of Joab.’ ” 14He won over the hearts of the men of Judah so that they were all of one mind. They sent word to the king, “Return, you and all your men.”
15Then the king returned and went as far as the Jordan. Now the men of Judah had come to Gilgal to go out and meet the king and bring him across the Jordan. 16Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
18They crossed at the ford to take the king’s household over and to do whatever he wished. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell prostrate before the king
23So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king promised him on oath. 24Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.
25When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?” 27And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel of God; so do whatever you wish.
28All my grandfather’s descendants deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?”
30Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has returned home safely.” 31Barzillai the Gileadite also came down from Rogelim to cross the Jordan with the king and to send him on his way from there. 35I am now eighty years old. Can I tell the difference between what is enjoyable and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats and drinks? Can I still hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?
37Let your servant return, that I may die in my own town near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever you wish.”
38The king said, “Kimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him whatever you wish. And anything you desire from me I will do for you.”
39So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed over. The king kissed Barzillai and bid him farewell, and Barzillai returned to his home.
40When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Kimham crossed with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel had taken the king over.
41Soon all the men of Israel were coming to the king and saying to him, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, steal the king away and bring him and his household across the Jordan, together with all his men?”
42All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is closely related to us. Why are you angry about it? Have we eaten any of the king’s provisions? Have we taken anything for ourselves?”
Sheba Rebels Against David 1Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, “We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!”
2So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bikri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
3When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but had no sexual relations with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows. 4Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.”
5But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him.
6David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bikri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master’s men and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape from us.”
7So Joab’s men and the Kerethites and Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bikri. 9Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
10Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bikri. 11One of Joab’s men stood beside Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!” 12Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, and the man saw that all the troops came to a halt there. When he realized that everyone who came up to Amasa stopped, he dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him.
13After Amasa had been removed from the road, everyone went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bikri. 15All the troops with Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth Maakah. They built a siege ramp up to the city, and it stood against the outer fortifications. While they were battering the wall to bring it down, 16a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so I can speak to him.”
17He went toward her, and she asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he answered. She said, “Listen to what your servant has to say.” “I’m listening,” he said. 18She continued, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Get your answer at Abel,’ and that settled it.
19We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the LORD ’s inheritance?” 20“Far be it from me!” Joab replied, “Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy!
21That is not the case. A man named Sheba son of Bikri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand over this one man, and I’ll withdraw from the city.” The woman said to Joab, “His head will be thrown to you from the wall.”
22Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bikri and threw it to Joab. So he sounded the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each returning to his home. And Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem.
David’s Officials
23Joab was over Israel’s entire army; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites;
25Sheva was secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
26and Ira the Jairite
3David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the LORD ’s inheritance?”
7The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
8But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,
13David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.
14They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.
Wars Against the Philistines 15Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted.
17But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.”
18In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha. 20In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. 22These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.
David’s Song of Praise 1David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield
4“I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.
5The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
7“In my distress I called to the LORD ; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
9Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
10He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
11He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared
12He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark
13Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
16The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
18He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
20He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21“The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
22For I have kept the ways of the LORD ; I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
25The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness
26“To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
28You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
31“As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD ’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.
32For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God?
33It is God who arms me with strength
34He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.
35He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36You make your saving help my shield; your help has made
37You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.
38“I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
41You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
42They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but he did not answer.
45foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
46They all lose heart; they come trembling
47“The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!
48He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me,
49who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me.
David’s Last Words 1These are the last words of David: “The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs:
3The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,
5“If my house were not right with God, surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part; surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire.
6But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand.
9Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim
12But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory. 13During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 15David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 16So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD .
17“Far be it from me, LORD, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
19Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them. 21And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors.
23He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
24Among the Thirty were: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,
25Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
26Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,
27Abiezer from Anathoth, Sibbekai
29Heled
32Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan
33son of
34Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maakathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
36Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, the son of Hagri,
2So the king said to Joab and the army commanders
3But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”
4The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel. 6They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.
7Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.
8After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.
10David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.” 11Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:
14David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
16When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,
David Builds an Altar 18On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19So David went up, as the LORD had commanded through Gad.
20When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
23Your Majesty, Araunah