And Jabez made a prayer to the God of Israel, saying, If only you would truly give me a blessing, and make wider the limits of my land, and let your hand be with me, and keep me from evil, so that I may not be troubled by it! And God gave him his desire.

Then Saul said to the servant who had the care of his arms, Take your sword and put it through me, before these men without circumcision come and make sport of me. But his servant, full of fear, would not do so. Then Saul took out his sword, falling on it himself.

And David, moved by a strong desire, said, If only someone would give me a drink of the water from the water-hole of Beth-lehem by the doorway into the town!

So the three, forcing a way through the Philistine army, got water from the water-hole of Beth-lehem, by the doorway into the town, and took it back to David; but David would not take it, but made an offering of it, draining it out to the Lord,

And David went out to them, and said to them, If you have come in peace to give me help, my heart will be united with yours; but if you have come to give me up to those who would take my life, though my hands are clean from wrongdoing, then may the God of our fathers see it and give you punishment.

And all the people said they would do so, for it seemed right to them.

He would not let anyone do them wrong; he even kept back kings because of them,

And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were overcome by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants: and the Aramaeans would give no more help to the children of Ammon.

And Joab said, May the Lord make his people a hundred times more in number than they are; but, my lord king, are they not all my lord's servants? why would my lord have this done? why will he become a cause of sin to Israel?

But David did not take the number of those who were under twenty years old, for the Lord had said that he would make Israel like the stars of heaven in number.