David in the Bible

Meaning: well-beloved, dear

Exact Match

And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

And from that day the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time, for it was twenty years [until the reign of King David]; and all the house of Israel lamented (wailed) and grieved after the Lord.

But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.

And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.

And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.

And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.

Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;

And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

Then David turned away from Eliab to someone else and asked the same question; and the people gave him the same answer as the first time.

And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

Saul took David that day and did not let him return to his father’s house.

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.

And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

So Saul had David removed from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he publicly associated with the people.

And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?

But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.

And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.

And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son in law.

And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired.

Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.

Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.

And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.

But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:

And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to theeward very good:

For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

Saul listened to Jonathan’s advice and swore an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”

And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.

And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.

And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.

And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.

So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?

And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.

Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.

And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.

If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.

Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?

And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.

And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee;

But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.

Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

Thematic Bible



In the spring, when kings go forth to battle, David sent Joab with his servants and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites [country] and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold. David sent and inquired about the woman. One said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite? read more.
And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in to him, and he lay with her -- "for she was purified from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. And the woman became pregnant and sent and told David, I am with child.


Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, and he was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night [repeatedly] on the floor. His older house servants arose [in the night] and went to him to raise him up from the floor, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. read more.
And on the seventh day the child died. David's servants feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voices; will he then harm himself if we tell him the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, he perceived that the child was dead. So he said to them, Is the child dead? And they said, He is. Then David arose from the floor, washed, anointed himself, changed his apparel, and went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept while the child was alive, but when the child was dead, you arose and ate food. David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.



O my God, my soul is in despair within me [the burden more than I can bear];
Therefore I will [fervently] remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of [Mount] Hermon, from Mount Mizar.


I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.


When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful

By the rivers of Babylon,
There we [captives] sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].


Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Is it not good, if [at least] there will be peace and security in my lifetime?”

But now he is dead; why should I [continue to] fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him [when I die], but he will not return to me.”

But if He should say, ‘I have no delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me what seems good to Him.”


Ezri the son of Chelub was in charge of those who did the work of the field, tilling the soil.


Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”


Then Gad came to David and said, Go up, rear an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up according to Gad's word, as the Lord commanded.


Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.


But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, “Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”

You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do [after that]; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate.”

Jesse sent and brought him. David had a healthy reddish complexion and beautiful eyes, and was fine-looking. The Lord said [to Samuel], Arise, anoint him; this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

Then the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.Then they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

So all the elders (tribal leaders) of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed him king over Israel.

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I spared you from the hand of Saul.

So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant (solemn agreement) with them there before the Lord; and they anointed him king over Israel, in accordance with the word of the Lord through Samuel.


When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash of Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim Brought beds, basins, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched [pulse -- "seeds of peas and beans], Honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of cows for David and the people with him to eat; for they said, The people are hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.

Now Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went on to the Jordan with the king to conduct him over the Jordan. Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old; and he had provided the king with food while he remained at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. And the king said to Barzillai, Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem. read more.
And Barzillai said to the king, How much longer have I to live, that it would be worthwhile for me to go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am this day eighty years old. Could I now [be useful as a counselor to] discern between good and evil? Can your servant appreciate what I eat or drink? Can I any longer enjoy the voices of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be still a burden to my lord the king? Your servant will only go over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? Let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city and be buried by the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king. And do to him what shall seem good to you. The king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him what seems good to you; and whatever you ask of me I will do for you. So all the people went over the Jordan. When the king had crossed over, he kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and [the great man] returned to his own place.

But be gracious and kind to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who [have the honor to] eat at your table; for they met me [with kindness] when I fled from your brother Absalom.

Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, of Hakkoz, and of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was known by their name.

Of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai, who [was so named because he had] married one of the daughters of Barzillai, the [well-known] Gileadite, and was named after them.


“And you [Ezekiel], son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor and shave your head and your beard. Then take scales for weighing and divide the hair [into three parts].

So [fearing for his life] he changed his behavior in their sight, and acted insanely in their hands, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.


So Jesse sent word and brought him in. Now he had a ruddy complexion, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said [to Samuel], “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”

One of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a brave and competent man, a warrior, discerning (prudent, eloquent) in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.”


To all my enemies I have become a reproach, but especially to my neighbors, and a dread to my acquaintances, who flee from me on the street. I am forgotten like a dead man, and out of mind; like a broken vessel am I.


Even my own close friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me [betraying me].


You have put my friends far from me;
You have made me an object of loathing to them.
I am shut up and I cannot go out.


Lover and friend You have placed far from me;
My familiar friends are in darkness.


The king was deeply moved and went to the upper room over the gate and wept [in sorrow]. And this is what he said as he walked: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! How I wish that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

But the king covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”


Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, and he was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night [repeatedly] on the floor. His older house servants arose [in the night] and went to him to raise him up from the floor, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. read more.
And on the seventh day the child died. David's servants feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voices; will he then harm himself if we tell him the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, he perceived that the child was dead. So he said to them, Is the child dead? And they said, He is. Then David arose from the floor, washed, anointed himself, changed his apparel, and went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept while the child was alive, but when the child was dead, you arose and ate food. David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.


Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.


And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”


She opens her mouth in [skillful and godly] wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue [giving counsel and instruction].


And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father [of Moabite descent] and my mother, I pray you, come out [of Judah] and be with you till I know what God will do for me. And he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold [in Moab].


For You are my hope;
O Lord God, You are my trust and the source of my confidence from my youth.


O God, You have taught me from my youth,
And I still declare Your wondrous works and miraculous deeds.


His father [David] had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done this?” Adonijah was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.


The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve for Saul, when I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.”


Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here.”


David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

He said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this to my master, the Lord's anointed, to put my hand out against him, when he is the anointed of the Lord. So David checked his men with these words and did not let them rise against Saul. But Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. David also arose afterward and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, My lord the king! And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and did obeisance. read more.
And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who say, David seeks to do you harm? Behold, your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hands in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.

Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, Who will go down with me into the camp of Saul? And Abishai said, I will go down with you. So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there Saul lay sleeping within the encampment with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the army lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God has given your enemy into your hands this day. Now therefore let me smite him to the earth at once with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice. read more.
David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David said, As the Lord lives, [He] will smite him; or his day will come to die or he will go down in battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord's anointed; but take now the spear that is at his head and the bottle of water, and let us go. So David took the spear and the bottle of water from Saul's head, and they got away. And no man saw or knew or wakened, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of the mountain afar off, a great space being between them. David called to the army and Abner son of Ner, Will you answer, Abner? Abner replied, Who are you, calling [and disturbing] the king? David said to Abner, Are you not a valiant man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in [to your camp] to destroy the king your lord. This thing is not good that you have done. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the bottle of water that was at his head.



I am a companion of all who [reverently] fear You,
And of those who keep and honor Your precepts.


But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting, and I prayed with head bowed on my breast. I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother; I bowed down in sorrow, as one who bewails his mother.


David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to him.

So the king left, and all his household with him. But the king left behind ten women who were concubines to take care of the house (palace).



For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them;
My sin is always before me.

saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They replied, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

But David’s heart (conscience) troubled him after he had counted the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

He brought up the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged [with their arms and legs broken].


“If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You,
O Watcher of mankind?
Why have You set me as a target for You,
So that I am a burden to myself?


As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”


But David’s heart (conscience) troubled him after he had counted the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”



The [boundary] lines [of the land] have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.


Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I spared you from the hand of Saul.

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

David said to Saul, “Let no man’s courage fail because of him (Goliath). Your servant will go out and fight with this Philistine.”

But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will speak what the Lord says to me.”

Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts (armies) lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you [king of Israel].



“Truly is not my house so [blessed] with God?
For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Ordered in all things, and secured.
For will He not cause to grow and prosper
All my salvation and my every wish?
Will He not make it grow and prosper?

[You have said] I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant, Your Seed I will establish forever, and I will build up your throne for all generations. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!



“Behold (listen closely), the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as King and act wisely
And will do [those things that accomplish] justice and righteousness in the land.


“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near.
A star shall come forth from [the descendants of] Jacob,
A scepter shall rise out of [the descendants of] Israel
And shall crush the forehead of Moab
And destroy all the sons of Sheth.


There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace,
[He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From that time forward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel, gave rule over Israel forever to David and to his sons by a covenant of salt [a permanent pact, extending to each generation of Israel]?


“One from [the descendants of] Jacob shall have dominion
And will destroy the remnant from the city.”

And as from the time that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I will cause you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord declares to you that He will make for you a house: And when your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up after you your offspring who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My Name [and My Presence], and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. read more.
I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men. But My mercy and loving-kindness shall not depart from him, as I took [them] from Saul, whom I took away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before you; your throne shall be established forever.

Also I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first, Since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Moreover, I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore, I foretell to you that the Lord will build you a house (a blessed posterity). And it shall come to pass that when your days are fulfilled to go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. read more.
He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy and steadfast love away from him, as I took it from him [King Saul] who was before you. But I will settle him (Him) in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his (His) throne shall be established forevermore.

Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that My Name might be there, neither chose I any man to be a ruler over My people Israel; But I have chosen Jerusalem, that My Name [and the symbol of My presence] might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel. Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the Name and renown of the Lord, the God of Israel. read more.
But the Lord said to David my father, Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name and renown, you did well that it was in your heart. Yet you shall not build the house, but your son, who shall be born to you -- "he shall build the house for My Name. The Lord therefore has performed His word that He has spoken, for I have risen up in the place of David my father and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. In it have I put the ark [the symbol of His presence], in which is the covenant of the Lord [the Ten Commandments] which He made with the people of Israel. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread forth his hands. For he had made a bronze scaffold, five cubits square and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; upon it he stood, and he knelt upon his knees before all the assembly of Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven, And said, O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You in the heavens or in the earth, keeping covenant and showing mercy and loving-kindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts, You Who have kept Your promises to my father David and fulfilled with Your hand what You spoke with Your mouth, as it is today. Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You promised him, saying, There shall not fail a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel, provided your children are careful to walk in My law as you, David, have walked before Me. Now then, O Lord, God of Israel, let Your word to Your servant David be verified.

Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and because He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

Once You spoke in a vision to Your devoted ones and said, I have endowed one who is mighty [a hero, giving him the power to help -- "to be a champion for Israel]; I have exalted one chosen from among the people. I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him, With whom My hand shall be established and ever abide; My arm also shall strengthen him. read more.
The enemy shall not exact from him or do him violence or outwit him, nor shall the wicked afflict and humble him. I will beat down his foes before his face and smite those who hate him. My faithfulness and My mercy and loving-kindness shall be with him, and in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him]. I will set his hand in control also on the [Mediterranean] Sea, and his right hand on the rivers [Euphrates with its tributaries]. He shall cry to Me, You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation! Also I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My mercy and loving-kindness will I keep for him forevermore, and My covenant shall stand fast and be faithful with him. His Offspring also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake My law and walk not in My ordinances, If they break or profane My statutes and keep not My commandments, Then will I punish their transgression with the rod [of chastisement], and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, My loving-kindness will I not break off from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail [to lie and be false to him]. My covenant will I not break or profane, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. Once [for all] have I sworn by My holiness, which cannot be violated; I will not lie to David: His Offspring shall endure forever, and his throne [shall continue] as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever as the moon, the faithful witness in the heavens. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!


A throne will be established in lovingkindness,
And One will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent (dynasty, family) of David;
Judging and seeking justice
And being prompt to do righteousness.

And in that day I will call My servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. And I will clothe him with your robe and will bind your girdle on him and will commit your authority to his hand; he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder; he shall open and no one shall shut, he shall shut and no one shall open. read more.
And I will fasten him like a peg or nail in a firm place; and he will become a throne of honor and glory to his father's house. And they will hang on him the honor and the whole weight of [responsibility for] his father's house: the offspring and issue [of the family, high and low], every small vessel, from the cups even to all the flasks and big bulging bottles. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the nail or peg that was fastened into the sure place shall give way and be moved and be hewn down and fall, and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off; for the Lord has spoken it.

In those days and at that time will I cause a righteous Branch [the Messiah] to grow up to David; and He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah shall be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name by which it will be called, The Lord is Our Righteousness (our Rightness, our Justice). For thus says the Lord: David shall never fail [to have] a man [descendant] to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, read more.
Nor shall the Levitical priests fail [to have] a man [descendant] to offer burnt offerings before Me and to burn cereal offerings and to make sacrifices continually (all day long). And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Thus says the Lord: If you can break My covenant with the day, and My covenant with the night, so that there should not be day and night in their season, Then can also My covenant be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne, and [My league be broken also] with the Levitical priests, My ministers. As the host of [the stars of] the heavens cannot be numbered nor the sand of the sea be measured, so will I multiply the offspring of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Have you not noticed that these people [the Jews] are saying, The Lord has cast off the two families [Israel and Judah] which He chose? Thus My people have despised [themselves in relation to God as His covenant people], so that they are no more a nation in their [own] sight. Thus says the Lord: If My covenant with day and night does not stand, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of the heavens and the earth [the whole order of nature], Then will I also cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant and will not choose one of his offspring to be ruler over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captivity to be reversed, and I will have mercy, kindness, and steadfast love on and for them.

He will be great (eminent) and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David, And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages; and of His reign there will be no end.


And when your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up after you your offspring who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My Name [and My Presence], and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men. read more.
But My mercy and loving-kindness shall not depart from him, as I took [them] from Saul, whom I took away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before you; your throne shall be established forever.

And it shall come to pass that when your days are fulfilled to go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy and steadfast love away from him, as I took it from him [King Saul] who was before you. read more.
But I will settle him (Him) in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his (His) throne shall be established forevermore.

Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, that which You promised him, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, provided your sons are careful to walk in My law as you, [David,] have walked before Me.’


“Truly is not my house so [blessed] with God?
For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Ordered in all things, and secured.
For will He not cause to grow and prosper
All my salvation and my every wish?
Will He not make it grow and prosper?

[You have said] I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant, Your Seed I will establish forever, and I will build up your throne for all generations. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

The Lord swore to David in truth; He will not turn back from it: One of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. If your children will keep My covenant and My testimony that I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.


After these things I will return,
And I will rebuild the tent of David which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will restore it,

Again Isaiah says,

There shall be a root of Jesse,
He who arises to rule [as King] over the Gentiles,
In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”


As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, screaming loudly, “Have mercy and compassion on us, Son of David (Messiah)!”

And a Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon.”

All the people wondered in amazement, and said, “Could this be the Son of David (the Messiah)?”

The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting [in praise and adoration],

Hosanna to the Son of David (Messiah);
Blessed [praised, glorified] is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”

And behold, two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, Lord, have pity and mercy on us, [You] Son of David! The crowds reproved them and told them to keep still; but they cried out all the more, Lord, have pity and mercy on us, [You] Son of David!

“What do you [Pharisees] think of the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [ now]! And many severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still, but he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!

They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

Those who were leading the way were sternly telling him to keep quiet; but he screamed all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”



Who improvise to the sound of the harp—
Like David they have composed songs for themselves—

Then David told the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives as the singers, with instruments of music—harps, lyres, and cymbals—to play loudly and to raise sounds of joy [with their voices].

and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 [musicians] were to praise the Lord with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went in front of them.

And David came to Saul and served him. Saul became very fond of him, and he became his armor-bearer. Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he pleases me. And when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took a lyre and played it; so Saul was refreshed and became well, and the evil spirit left him.

The priests stood at their posts [ready for service], and the Levites also, with the musical instruments of the Lord which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, “For His lovingkindness and mercy endure forever,” whenever David offered praise through their ministry. The priests were opposite the Levites blowing the trumpets and all Israel was standing.

The Levites stood with the musical instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.


Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.

Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here.”

Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, read more.
Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David [the ancestor of Jesus Christ].

The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah, whom Shua's daughter the Canaanitess bore him. Er, Judah's eldest, was evil in the Lord's sight, and He slew him. Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law, bore him Pharez and Zerah. All Judah's sons were five. The sons of Pharez: Hezron and Hamul. read more.
The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara -- "five in all. The son of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the matter of the devoted things. The son of Ethan: Azariah. The sons of Hezron who were born to him: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai (that is, Caleb). Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab of Nahshon, prince of the sons of Judah. Nahshon was the father of Salma, Salma of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, and Obed of Jesse. Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab second, Shimea third, Nethanel fourth, Raddai fifth, Ozem sixth, David seventh.

The book of the ancestry (genealogy) of Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the son (descendant) of David, the son (descendant) of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Aram, read more.
Aram the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of King David, King David the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah,

The son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, The son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon (Sala), the son of Nahshon, The son of Aminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, read more.
The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, The son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, The son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, The son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, The son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.


The Spirit of the Lord spoke in and by me, and His word was upon my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me, When one rules over men righteously, ruling in the fear of God, He dawns on them like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, when the tender grass springs out of the earth through clear shining after rain. read more.
Truly does not my house stand so with God? For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. For will He not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? But wicked, godless, and worthless lives are all like thorns to be thrust away, because they cannot be taken with the hand. But the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire on the spot.

“All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the work and details [to be done] according to this plan.”

Now while the Pharisees were still assembled there, Jesus asked them a question, Saying, What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The Son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David, under the influence of the [Holy] Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying, read more.
The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet? If then David thus calls Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone venture or dare to question Him.

For David says in regard to Him, I saw the Lord constantly before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken or overthrown or cast down [from my secure and happy state]. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue exulted exceedingly; moreover, my flesh also will dwell in hope [will encamp, pitch its tent, and dwell in hope in anticipation of the resurrection]. For You will not abandon my soul, leaving it helpless in Hades (the state of departed spirits), nor let Your Holy One know decay or see destruction [of the body after death]. read more.
You have made known to me the ways of life; You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence. Brethren, it is permitted me to tell you confidently and with freedom concerning the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being however a prophet, and knowing that God had sealed to him with an oath that He would set one of his descendants on his throne, He, foreseeing this, spoke [by foreknowledge] of the resurrection of the Christ (the Messiah) that He was not deserted [in death] and left in Hades (the state of departed spirits), nor did His body know decay or see destruction. This Jesus God raised up, and of that all we [His disciples] are witnesses. Being therefore lifted high by and to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised [blessing which is the] Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which you yourselves both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens; yet he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand and share My throne Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. Therefore let the whole house of Israel recognize beyond all doubt and acknowledge assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (the Messiah) -- "this Jesus Whom you crucified. Now when they heard this they were stung (cut) to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles (special messengers), Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said,

Why did the nations (Gentiles) become arrogant and rage,
And the peoples devise futile things [against the Lord]?


And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

These six were born to David in Hebron; he reigned there seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.

Then [after the death of Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, who ruled over eleven tribes of Israel for two troubled years after Saul's death] all Israel gathered at Hebron and said to David, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, You shall be shepherd of My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over [them]. So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them there before the Lord, and they anointed [him] king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord through Samuel.

These are the numbers of the armed divisions who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord: Those of Judah, who bore shield and spear, were 6,800 armed for war; Those of Simeon, mighty and brave warriors, 7,100; read more.
Those of Levi, 4,600 -- " Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronite [priests], and with him were 3,700, And Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two captains from his own father's house; Of the Benjamites, the kindred of [King] Saul, 3,000 -- "hitherto the majority of them had kept their allegiance [to Saul] and the charge of the house of Saul; Of the Ephraimites, 20,800, mighty in valor, famous in their fathers' houses; Of the half-tribe of Manasseh, 18,000, who were mentioned by name to come and make David king; And of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs; and all their kinsmen were under their command; Of Zebulun, 50,000 experienced troops, fitted out with all kinds of weapons and instruments of war that could order and set the battle in array, men not of double purpose but stable and trustworthy. Of Naphtali, 1,000 captains, and with them 37,000 [of the rank and file armed] with shield and spear; Of Dan, 28,600, men who could set the battle in array; Of Asher, men able to go forth to battle, fit for active service, 40,000; On the other [the east] side of the Jordan River, of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000 men, armed with all the weapons and instruments of war. All these, being men of war arrayed in battle order, came with a perfect and sincere heart to Hebron to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest also of Israel were of one mind to make David king. And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. Also those who were near them from as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, abundant supplies of meal, cakes of figs, bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.


And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

These six were born to David in Hebron; he reigned there seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.

Then [after the death of Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, who ruled over eleven tribes of Israel for two troubled years after Saul's death] all Israel gathered at Hebron and said to David, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, You shall be shepherd of My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over [them]. So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them there before the Lord, and they anointed [him] king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord through Samuel.

After this, David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. David said, To which shall I go up? And He said, To Hebron. So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David brought up his men who were with him, each one with his household, and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron. read more.
And the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, The men of Jabesh-gilead buried Saul.

The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.


Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days.

And David My Servant shall be King over them, and they all shall have one Shepherd. They shall also walk in My ordinances and heed My statutes and do them. They shall dwell in the land in which your fathers dwelt, that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they shall dwell there, they and their children and their children's children, forever; and My Servant David shall be their Prince forever.

But they shall serve the Lord their God and [the descendant of] David their King, whom I will raise up for them.

And I will raise up over them one Shepherd and He shall feed them, even My Servant David; He shall feed them and He shall be their Shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God and My Servant David a Prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.



The Lord forbid that I would put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but now take the spear that is by his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

So David strongly rebuked his men with these words and did not let them rise up against Saul. Saul got up, left the cave and went on his way.

Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Look, my son [Absalom] who came from my own body, is seeking my life; how much more [reason] now [does] this Benjamite [have to curse me]? Let him alone and let him curse, for [it could be that] the Lord has told him [to do it].

David said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary to me today? Shall anyone be put to death today in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? Therefore the king said to Shimei, You shall not die [at my hand]. And the king gave him his oath.


David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to him.

He shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold.


All those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds were 212. They were enrolled by their genealogies in their villages [around Jerusalem], these men [whose grandfathers] David and Samuel the seer had appointed to their official duty.

David told the chief Levites to appoint their brethren the singers with instruments of music -- "harps, lyres, and cymbals -- "to play loudly and lift up their voices with joy. So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah; And with them their brethren of the second class: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and also the gatekeepers, Obed-edom and Jeiel. read more.
So the singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound bronze cymbals; Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps [resembling guitars] set to Alamoth [probably the treble voice]; Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres set to Sheminith [the bass voice]. Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in singing, was put in charge of carrying the ark and lifting up song. He instructed about these matters because he was skilled and able. Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the ark. Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. And Obed-edom and Jehiah (Jeiel) were also gatekeepers for the ark.

He appointed Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord and to celebrate [by calling to mind], thanking and praising the Lord, the God of Israel: Asaph was the chief, next to him Zechariah, Jeiel (Jaaziel), Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, and Benaiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals; Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

So David left Asaph and his brethren before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as each day's work required, And Obed-edom with [his] sixty-eight kinsmen. Also Obed-edom son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, were to be gatekeepers. And David left Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon read more.
To offer burnt offerings to the Lord upon the altar of burnt offering continually, morning and evening, and to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord which He commanded Israel. With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen and expressly named to give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever. With them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and instruments for accompanying the songs of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were to be at the gate. Then all the people departed, each man to his house, and David returned home to bless his household.



When David's time to die was near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man; Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walk in His ways, keep His statutes, His commandments, His precepts, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may do wisely and prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, read more.
That the Lord may fulfill His promise to me, saying, If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and mind and with all their soul, there shall not fail you [to have] a man on the throne of Israel. You know also what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, whom he murdered, avenging in time of peace blood shed in war, and putting innocent blood of war on the girdle on his loins and on the sandals of his feet. Do therefore according to your wisdom, but let not his hoary head go down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in peace. But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table; for with such kindness they met me when I fled because of Absalom your brother. And you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan [on my return], and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword. So do not hold him guiltless; for you are a wise man and know what you should do to him. His hoary head bring down to the grave with blood. So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. David reigned over Israel forty years -- "seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, My son, it was in my heart to build a house to the Name and [for the symbol of] the Presence of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. read more.
Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon [peaceable], and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My Name and [the symbol of My] Presence. He shall be My son, and I will be his father; and I will establish his royal throne over Israel forever. Now, my son, the Lord be with and prosper you in building the house of the Lord your God, as He has spoken concerning you. Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding as you are put in charge of Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper if you are careful to keep and fulfill the statutes and ordinances with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage. Dread not and fear not; be not dismayed. In my affliction and trouble I have provided for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron without weighing. I have also provided timber and stone; you must add to them. You have workmen in abundance: hewers, workers of stone and timber, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skillful in doing every kind of work With gold, silver, bronze, and iron. So arise and be doing, and the Lord be with you! David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you peace on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people. Now set your mind and heart to seek (inquire of and require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into the house built to the Name and renown of the Lord.


So David lay down with his fathers [in death] and was buried in the City of David.

He died in a good old age [his seventy-first year], full of days (satisfied), riches and honor. Solomon his son reigned in his place.

Brethren, it is permitted me to tell you confidently and with freedom concerning the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being however a prophet, and knowing that God had sealed to him with an oath that He would set one of his descendants on his throne,


And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

These were born to [David] in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon -- "four of Bathshua (Bathsheba) daughter of Ammiel (Eliam); Then Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, read more.
Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet -- "nine in all.

Now these are the names of the children whom he had in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, read more.
Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.


Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You shall not enter here, for the blind and the lame [even the weakest among us] will turn you away”; they thought, “David cannot come in here [because the walls are impenetrable].”

And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, where the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were. Then the Jebusites said to David, You shall not come in here! But David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the City of David. And David said, Whoever smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander. Joab son of Zeruiah [David's half sister] went up first, and so he was made chief. read more.
David dwelt in the stronghold; so it was called the City of David. He built the city from the Millo [a fortification] on around; and Joab repaired and revived the rest of the [old Jebusite] city.

Woe (judgment is coming) to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David [once] camped!
Add yet another year; let the feasts run their course [but only one year more].


But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”

because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of [the betrayal of] Uriah the Hittite.


Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve for Saul, when I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.”

Once You spoke in a vision to Your devoted ones and said, I have endowed one who is mighty [a hero, giving him the power to help -- "to be a champion for Israel]; I have exalted one chosen from among the people. I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him, With whom My hand shall be established and ever abide; My arm also shall strengthen him. read more.
The enemy shall not exact from him or do him violence or outwit him, nor shall the wicked afflict and humble him. I will beat down his foes before his face and smite those who hate him. My faithfulness and My mercy and loving-kindness shall be with him, and in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him]. I will set his hand in control also on the [Mediterranean] Sea, and his right hand on the rivers [Euphrates with its tributaries]. He shall cry to Me, You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation! Also I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My mercy and loving-kindness will I keep for him forevermore, and My covenant shall stand fast and be faithful with him. His Offspring also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake My law and walk not in My ordinances, If they break or profane My statutes and keep not My commandments, Then will I punish their transgression with the rod [of chastisement], and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, My loving-kindness will I not break off from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail [to lie and be false to him]. My covenant will I not break or profane, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. Once [for all] have I sworn by My holiness, which cannot be violated; I will not lie to David: His Offspring shall endure forever, and his throne [shall continue] as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever as the moon, the faithful witness in the heavens. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!



These are the numbers of the armed divisions who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord: Those of Judah, who bore shield and spear, were 6,800 armed for war; Those of Simeon, mighty and brave warriors, 7,100; read more.
Those of Levi, 4,600 -- " Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronite [priests], and with him were 3,700, And Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two captains from his own father's house; Of the Benjamites, the kindred of [King] Saul, 3,000 -- "hitherto the majority of them had kept their allegiance [to Saul] and the charge of the house of Saul; Of the Ephraimites, 20,800, mighty in valor, famous in their fathers' houses; Of the half-tribe of Manasseh, 18,000, who were mentioned by name to come and make David king; And of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs; and all their kinsmen were under their command; Of Zebulun, 50,000 experienced troops, fitted out with all kinds of weapons and instruments of war that could order and set the battle in array, men not of double purpose but stable and trustworthy. Of Naphtali, 1,000 captains, and with them 37,000 [of the rank and file armed] with shield and spear; Of Dan, 28,600, men who could set the battle in array; Of Asher, men able to go forth to battle, fit for active service, 40,000; On the other [the east] side of the Jordan River, of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000 men, armed with all the weapons and instruments of war. All these, being men of war arrayed in battle order, came with a perfect and sincere heart to Hebron to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest also of Israel were of one mind to make David king. And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. Also those who were near them from as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, abundant supplies of meal, cakes of figs, bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.


The Philistines had war again with Israel. And David went down and his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David became faint. Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giants, the weight of whose spear was 300 shekels of bronze, was girded with a new sword, and thought to kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's aid, and smote and killed the Philistine. Then David's men charged him, You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. read more.
After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob (Gezer). Then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph (Sippai), who was a descendant of the giant. There was again war at Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam. And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he also was a descendant of the giants. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan son of Shimei, brother of David, slew him. These four were descended from the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hands of David and his servants.

After this, there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, of the sons of the giant, and they were subdued. There was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. And again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and each foot. He also was born to the giant. read more.
And when he reproached and defied Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David's brother, slew him. These were born to the giant [clan] in Gath, and they fell by the hands of David and his servants.




You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as the head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.

Because for Your sake I have borne taunt and reproach; confusion and shame have covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children. For zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches and insults of those who reproach and insult You have fallen upon me.


The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

The time he reigned over Israel was forty years -- "he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. He died in a good old age [his seventy-first year], full and satisfied with days, riches, and honor. Solomon his son reigned in his stead.



Then David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech was afraid at meeting David, and said to him, Why are you alone and no man with you? David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has charged me with a matter and has told me, Let no man know anything of the mission on which I send you and with what I have charged you. I have appointed the young men to a certain place. Now what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you may have. read more.
And the priest answered David, There is no common bread on hand, but there is hallowed bread -- "if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David told the priest, Truly women have been kept from us in these three days since I came out, and the food bags and utensils of the young men are clean, and although the bread will be used in a secular way, it will be set apart in the clean bags. So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread which was taken from before the Lord to put hot bread in its place the day when it was taken away.

He said to them, Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, and those who accompanied him -- " How he went into the house of God and ate the loaves of the showbread -- "which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for the men who accompanied him, but for the priests only?


Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census but did not finish; and because of this, [God’s] wrath came on Israel, and the number was not recorded in the chronicles of King David.


He died in a good old age [his seventy-first year], full of days (satisfied), riches and honor. Solomon his son reigned in his place.

David was thirty years old when he began his forty-year reign. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.


And it was told King David, The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing; And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. And David danced before the Lord with all his might, clad in a linen ephod [a priest's upper garment]. read more.
So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. As the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter [David's wife], looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.



There was a three-year famine in the days of David, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord replied, It is on account of Saul and his bloody house, for he put to death the Gibeonites. So the king called the Gibeonites -- "now the Gibeonites were not Israelites but of the remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah had sought to slay the Gibeonites -- " So David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? How can I make atonement that you may bless the Lord's inheritance? read more.
The Gibeonites said to him, We will accept no silver or gold of Saul or of his house; neither for us shall you kill any man in Israel. David said, I will do for you what you say. They said to the king, The man who consumed us and planned to prevent us from remaining in any territory of Israel, Let seven men of his sons be delivered to us and we will hang them up before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, [on the mountain] of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between David and Jonathan son of Saul. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of [Merab] daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hung them up on the hill before the Lord, and all seven perished together. They were put to death in the first days of barley harvest. Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them, and she did not allow either the birds of the air to come upon them by day or the beasts of the field by night. It was told David what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. And David went and took the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa. He brought from there the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of those who were hung up. And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son they buried in the country of Benjamin in Zelah in the tomb of Kish, [Saul's] father, and they did all that the king commanded. And after that, God heard and answered when His people prayed for the land.


So David reigned over all Israel, and continued to administer justice and righteousness for all his people.

So David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people.


David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts (armies), was with him.

David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.



These six were born to David in Hebron; he reigned there seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.

Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; His second, Chileab, by Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; The fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; read more.
And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.


But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My Name (Presence), because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’


And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep. And when there came a lion or again a bear and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it. Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God!


Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell face down and lay himself down [in respect]. David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

Mephibosheth the son [grandson] of Saul came down to meet the king, and had not dressed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until he returned in peace and safety. And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, David said to him, Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth? He said, My lord O king, my servant [Ziba] deceived me; for I said, Saddle me the donkey that I may ride on it and go to the king, for your servant is lame [but he took the donkey and left without me]. read more.
He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But the king is as an angel of God; so do what is good in your eyes. For all of my father's house were but doomed to death before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore have I to cry any more to the king? The king said to him, Why speak any more of your affairs? I say, You and Ziba divide the land. Mephibosheth said to the king, Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has returned home in safety and peace.


Now Hiram the king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, carpenters, and stonemasons; and they built a house (palace) for David.

Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David.


The king was deeply moved and went to the upper room over the gate and wept [in sorrow]. And this is what he said as he walked: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! How I wish that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

It was told Joab, Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for they heard it said, The king grieves for his son. The people slipped into the city stealthily that day as humiliated people steal away when they flee in battle. read more.
But the king covered his face and cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!


Now Hiram the king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, carpenters, and stonemasons; and they built a house (palace) for David.

Then Solomon sent word to Hiram king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build himself a house in which to live, [please] do the same for me.


the fourth, Adonijah the son of [his wife] Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of [his wife] Abital;

Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out also; and the two groups met by the pool of Gibeon, seating themselves with one group on either side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise and have a contest before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. Then there arose and went over by number -- "twelve of Benjamin who were with Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. read more.
And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his side; so they all fell together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Knives, which is at Gibeon. A very fierce battle followed, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. Three sons of Zeruiah [the half sister of David] were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe or antelope. Asahel pursued Abner, and as he ran he turned not to the right hand or to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, Are you Asahel? He answered, I am. Abner said to him, Turn aside to your right or left, and seize one of the young men and take his armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then should I be able to face Joab your brother? Asahel refused to turn aside; so Abner with the rear end of his spear smote him through the abdomen, and he fell and died where he fell. And all who came to the place where Asahel fell and died stood still. But Joab and Abishai [his brothers] pursued Abner; the sun was going down as they came to the hill of Ammah, before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. And the Benjamites gathered together behind Abner and became one troop and took their stand on the top of a hill. Then Abner called to Joab, Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that bitterness will be the result? How long will it be then before you bid the people to stop pursuing their brethren? Joab said, As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would have stopped pursuing their brethren in the morning. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight any more. Abner and his men went all night through the Arabah [plain], crossed the Jordan, and went through the whole Bithron [district of ravines] and came to Mahanaim. Joab returned from pursuing Abner, and when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David's servants nineteen men besides Asahel. But the servants of David had slain of Benjamin 360 of Abner's men. And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men walked all night and came to Hebron at daybreak.


When David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.


Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.


Then he took his [shepherd’s] staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the stream bed, and put them in his shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch. With his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.


So Jesse sent word and brought him in. Now he had a ruddy complexion, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said [to Samuel], “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”


In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war against Israel. Achish said to David, Understand that you and your men shall go with me to battle. David said to Achish, All right, you shall know what your servant can do. Achish said to David, Therefore I will make you my bodyguard always.





Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold (fortress) of Zion, that is, the City of David.


And David came to Saul and served him. Saul became very fond of him, and he became his armor-bearer. Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he pleases me. And when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took a lyre and played it; so Saul was refreshed and became well, and the evil spirit left him.


And all the men of Israel came to the king and said to him, Why have our kinsmen, the men of Judah, stolen you away and have brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David's men with him? But all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then be angry about it? Have we eaten at all at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift? Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, We have ten [tribes'] shares in the king; and we have more right to David than you have. Why then did you despise and ignore us? Were we not the first to speak of our bringing back our king? But the words of the men of Judah were more violent than the charges of the men of Israel.


Then David and his men, about 600, arose and left Keilah, going wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up going there. David remained in the wilderness strongholds in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hands. David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in the wood [at Horesh]. read more.
And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went into the wood to David [at Horesh] and strengthened his hand in God. He said to him, Fear not; the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father knows that too. And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David remained in the wood [at Horesh], and Jonathan went to his house. Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself with us in strongholds in the wood [at Horesh], on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon? Now come down, O king, according to all your heart's desire to come down, and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hands. And Saul said, The Lord bless you, for you have compassion on me. Go, make yet more sure; and know and see where his haunt is and who has seen him there; for I am told he deals very craftily. See and take note of all his hiding places and come back to me with the certain facts, and I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah. So they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told; so he went down to the rock in the Wilderness of Maon and stayed. When Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David made haste to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding [him] and his men to capture them.


Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the recorded words of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer, With accounts of all his reign and his might, and the times through which he and Israel passed, as did all the kingdoms of the countries.


Saul said to David, My elder daughter Merab I will give you as wife; only serve me courageously and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul thought, Let not my hand, but the Philistines' hand, be upon him. David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel, that I should be the king's son-in-law? But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife. read more.
Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David; and they told Saul, and it pleased him. Saul thought, I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. So Saul said to David a second time, You shall now be my son-in-law. And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately and say, The king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become [his] son-in-law. Saul's servants told those words to David. David said, Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am a poor man and lightly esteemed? And the servants of Saul told him what David said. Saul said, Say this to David, The king wants no dowry but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to avenge himself of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the Philistines' hands. When his servants told David these words, it pleased [him] well to become the king's son-in-law. Before the days expired, David went, he and his men, and slew two hundred Philistine men, and brought their foreskins and gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife.


Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, and he was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night [repeatedly] on the floor. His older house servants arose [in the night] and went to him to raise him up from the floor, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. read more.
And on the seventh day the child died. David's servants feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voices; will he then harm himself if we tell him the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, he perceived that the child was dead. So he said to them, Is the child dead? And they said, He is. Then David arose from the floor, washed, anointed himself, changed his apparel, and went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept while the child was alive, but when the child was dead, you arose and ate food. David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.


And David went and took the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa. He brought from there the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of those who were hung up. And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son they buried in the country of Benjamin in Zelah in the tomb of Kish, [Saul's] father, and they did all that the king commanded. And after that, God heard and answered when His people prayed for the land.


These are the numbers of the armed divisions who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord: Those of Judah, who bore shield and spear, were 6,800 armed for war; Those of Simeon, mighty and brave warriors, 7,100; read more.
Those of Levi, 4,600 -- " Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronite [priests], and with him were 3,700, And Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two captains from his own father's house; Of the Benjamites, the kindred of [King] Saul, 3,000 -- "hitherto the majority of them had kept their allegiance [to Saul] and the charge of the house of Saul; Of the Ephraimites, 20,800, mighty in valor, famous in their fathers' houses; Of the half-tribe of Manasseh, 18,000, who were mentioned by name to come and make David king; And of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs; and all their kinsmen were under their command; Of Zebulun, 50,000 experienced troops, fitted out with all kinds of weapons and instruments of war that could order and set the battle in array, men not of double purpose but stable and trustworthy. Of Naphtali, 1,000 captains, and with them 37,000 [of the rank and file armed] with shield and spear; Of Dan, 28,600, men who could set the battle in array; Of Asher, men able to go forth to battle, fit for active service, 40,000; On the other [the east] side of the Jordan River, of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000 men, armed with all the weapons and instruments of war. All these, being men of war arrayed in battle order, came with a perfect and sincere heart to Hebron to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest also of Israel were of one mind to make David king. And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. Also those who were near them from as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, abundant supplies of meal, cakes of figs, bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.


Mephibosheth the son [grandson] of Saul came down to meet the king, and had not dressed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until he returned in peace and safety. And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, David said to him, Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth? He said, My lord O king, my servant [Ziba] deceived me; for I said, Saddle me the donkey that I may ride on it and go to the king, for your servant is lame [but he took the donkey and left without me]. read more.
He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But the king is as an angel of God; so do what is good in your eyes. For all of my father's house were but doomed to death before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore have I to cry any more to the king? The king said to him, Why speak any more of your affairs? I say, You and Ziba divide the land. Mephibosheth said to the king, Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has returned home in safety and peace.


And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went into the wood to David [at Horesh] and strengthened his hand in God. He said to him, Fear not; the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father knows that too. And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David remained in the wood [at Horesh], and Jonathan went to his house.


But a messenger came to Saul, saying, Make haste and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land. So Saul returned from pursuing David and went against the Philistines. So they called that place the Rock of Escape.


When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for Uriah. And when the mourning was past, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.


Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. Now therefore assemble the rest of the men, encamp against the city, and take it, lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. read more.
So David gathered all the men, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. And he took the crown of their king [of Malcham] from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth exceedingly much spoil from the city. And he brought forth the people who were there, and put them to [work with] saws and iron threshing sledges and axes, and made them labor at the brickkiln. And he did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then [he] and all the men returned to Jerusalem.


And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom. David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee, or else none of us will escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us and smite the city with the sword. And the king's servants said to the king, Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king says. read more.
So the king and all his household after him went forth. But he left ten women who were concubines to keep the house. The king went forth with all the people after him, and halted at the last house. All David's servants passed on beside him, along with [his bodyguards] all the Cherethites, Pelethites; also all the Gittites, 600 men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. The king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why do you go with us also? Return to your place and remain with the king [Absalom], for you are a foreigner and an exile. Since you came only yesterday, should I make you go up and down with us? Since I must go where I may, you return, and take back your brethren with you. May loving-kindness and faithfulness be with you. But Ittai answered the king, As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or life, even there also will your servant be. So David said to Ittai, Go on and pass over [the Kidron]. And Ittai the Gittite passed over and all his men and all the little ones who were with him. All the country wept with a loud voice as all the people passed over. The king crossed the brook Kidron, and all the people went on toward the wilderness. Abiathar [the priest] and behold, Zadok came also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until all the people had gone from the city. Then the king told Zadok, Take back the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the Lord's eyes, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His house. But if He says, I have no delight in you, then here I am; let Him do to me what seems good to Him. The king also said to Zadok the priest, Are you not a seer? [You and Abiathar] return to the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan son of Abiathar. See, I will wait at the fords [at the Jordan] of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me. Zadok, therefore, and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem and they stayed there. And David went up over the Mount of Olives and wept as he went, barefoot and his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, weeping as they went. David was told, Ahithophel [your counselor] is among the conspirators with Absalom. David said, O Lord, I pray You, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness. When David came to the summit [of Olivet], where he worshiped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent and earth upon his head. David said to him, If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father's servant in the past, so will I be your servant now, then you may defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be with you? So whatever you hear from the king's house, just tell it to [them]. Behold, their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and by them send to me everything you hear. So Hushai, David's friend, returned, and Absalom also came into Jerusalem.


After they had departed, the boys came up out of the well and went and told King David, and said, Arise and pass quickly over the river Jordan; for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you. David arose and all the people with him and passed over the Jordan. By daybreak, not one was left who had not crossed. But when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, went home to his city, put his household in order, and hanged himself and died, and was buried in the tomb of his father. read more.
Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. Absalom made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of an [Ishmaelite] named Ithra, who married Abigail daughter of Nahash, [half sister of David and] sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. So Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead. When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash of Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim Brought beds, basins, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched [pulse -- "seeds of peas and beans], Honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of cows for David and the people with him to eat; for they said, The people are hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.


And Shimei son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, hastily came down with the men of Judah to meet King David, And 1,000 men of Benjamin with him. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants with him, rushed to the Jordan and pressed quickly into the king's presence. And there went over a ferryboat to bring over the king's household and to do what he thought good. And Shimei son of Gera fell down before the king as David came to the Jordan, read more.
And said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity to me and hold me guilty, nor remember what your servant did the day my lord went out of Jerusalem [when Shimei grossly insulted David]; may the king not take it to heart. For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, behold, I am today the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king. But Abishai son of Zeruiah said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord's anointed? David said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary to me today? Shall anyone be put to death today in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? Therefore the king said to Shimei, You shall not die [at my hand]. And the king gave him his oath.


And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep. And when there came a lion or again a bear and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it. Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God!


David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went to her and lay with her; and she bore a son, and she called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved [the child]; He sent [a message] by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and [Nathan] called the boy's [special] name Jedidiah [beloved of the Lord], because the Lord [loved the child].


Now Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went on to the Jordan with the king to conduct him over the Jordan. Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old; and he had provided the king with food while he remained at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. And the king said to Barzillai, Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem. read more.
And Barzillai said to the king, How much longer have I to live, that it would be worthwhile for me to go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am this day eighty years old. Could I now [be useful as a counselor to] discern between good and evil? Can your servant appreciate what I eat or drink? Can I any longer enjoy the voices of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be still a burden to my lord the king? Your servant will only go over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? Let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city and be buried by the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king. And do to him what shall seem good to you. The king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him what seems good to you; and whatever you ask of me I will do for you. So all the people went over the Jordan. When the king had crossed over, he kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and [the great man] returned to his own place. Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went with him; and all the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel escorted the king.


David acted wisely and prospered in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.

Then the Philistine commanders (princes) came out to battle, and it happened as often as they did, that David acted more wisely and had more success than all Saul’s servants. So his name was highly esteemed.


David arose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in their dances: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish king of Gath. read more.
And he changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be insane in their [Philistine] hands, and scribbled on the gate doors, and drooled on his beard. Then said Achish to his servants, You see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? Have I need of madmen, that you bring this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?


There was a three-year famine in the days of David, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord replied, It is on account of Saul and his bloody house, for he put to death the Gibeonites. So the king called the Gibeonites -- "now the Gibeonites were not Israelites but of the remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah had sought to slay the Gibeonites -- " So David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? How can I make atonement that you may bless the Lord's inheritance? read more.
The Gibeonites said to him, We will accept no silver or gold of Saul or of his house; neither for us shall you kill any man in Israel. David said, I will do for you what you say. They said to the king, The man who consumed us and planned to prevent us from remaining in any territory of Israel, Let seven men of his sons be delivered to us and we will hang them up before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, [on the mountain] of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between David and Jonathan son of Saul. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of [Merab] daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hung them up on the hill before the Lord, and all seven perished together. They were put to death in the first days of barley harvest. Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them, and she did not allow either the birds of the air to come upon them by day or the beasts of the field by night. It was told David what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. And David went and took the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa. He brought from there the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of those who were hung up. And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son they buried in the country of Benjamin in Zelah in the tomb of Kish, [Saul's] father, and they did all that the king commanded. And after that, God heard and answered when His people prayed for the land.


And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and he saved us from the hands of the Philistines. And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. So now, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king? And King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Say to the elders of Judah, Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king, to bring him to his house? read more.
You are my kinsmen; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king? And say to Amasa, Are you not of my bone and of my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of my army hereafter in place of Joab. He inclined the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so they sent word to [him], Return, you and all your servants. So [David] returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king, to conduct him over the Jordan.


Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing [the lyre] with his hand. Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away, so that Saul struck the spear into the wall. Then David fled and escaped that night. Saul sent messengers that night to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. read more.
So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled and escaped. And Michal took the teraph (household good luck image) and laid it in the bed, put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with a bedspread. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. Then Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. And when the messengers came in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, Why have you deceived me so and sent away my enemy so that he has escaped? Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go. Why should I kill you? So David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was told Saul, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. And Saul sent messengers to take David; and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then Saul himself went to Ramah and came to a great well that is in Secu; and he asked, Where are Samuel and David? And he was told, They are at Naioth in Ramah. So he went on to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went on he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He took off his royal robes and prophesied before Samuel and lay down stripped thus all that day and night. So they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?


Now David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites [enemies of Israel Joshua had failed to exterminate]. For from of old those nations inhabited the land, as one goes to Shur even to the land of Egypt. And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and the apparel, and returned to Achish. Achish would ask, Against whom have you made a raid today? And David would reply, Against the South (Negeb) of Judah, or of the Jerahmeelites, or of the Kenites. read more.
And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath, thinking, Lest they should say about us, So did David, and so will he do as long as he dwells in the Philistines' country. And Achish believed David, saying, He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; so he shall be my servant always.


They brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name [and presence] of the Lord of hosts, And distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both to men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, each to his house.


When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to look for him, but he heard about it and went down to the stronghold.

David did just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.


Then David returned to bless his household. And [his wife] Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who stripped himself of his kingly robes and uncovered himself in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the worthless fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! David said to Michal, It was before the Lord, Who chose me above your father and all his house to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord. Therefore will I make merry [in pure enjoyment] before the Lord. I will be still more lightly esteemed than this, and will humble and lower myself in my own sight [and yours]. But by the maids you mentioned, I will be held in honor. read more.
And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.


And when He had deposed him, He raised up David to be their king; of him He bore witness and said, I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart, who will do all My will and carry out My program fully. Of this man's descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior [in the person of Jesus], according to His promise.


And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her [second] husband, from Paltiel son of Laish [to whom Saul had given her]. But her husband went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, Go back. And he did so.


David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. So Joab sent [him] Uriah. When Uriah had come to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the people fared, and how the war progressed. David said to Uriah, Go down to your house and wash your feet. Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of food [a gift] from the king. read more.
But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. When they told David, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah live in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As you live and as my soul lives, I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah, Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart. So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. David invited him, and he ate with him and drank, so that he made him drunk; but that night he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and withdraw from him, that he may be struck down and die. So when Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah opposite where he knew the enemy's most valiant men were. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David fell. Uriah the Hittite died also. Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war. And he charged the messenger, When you have finished reporting matters of the war to the king, Then if the king's anger rises and he says to you, Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth (Gideon)? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall? Then say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. So the messenger went and told David all for which Joab had sent him. The messenger said to David, Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in to the field, but we were upon them even to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Then David said to the messenger, Say to Joab, Let not this thing disturb you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack upon the city and overthrow it. And encourage Joab.


And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came and said to him, There were two men in a city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, But the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb which he had bought and brought up, and it grew up with him and his children. It ate of his own morsel, drank from his own cup, lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him. read more.
Now a traveler came to the rich man, and to avoid taking one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfaring man who had come to him, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for his guest. Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this is a son [worthy] of death. He shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no pity. Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king of Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added that much again. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, doing evil in His sight? You have slain Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have murdered him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because [you have not only despised My command, but] you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord and given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child that is born to you shall surely die.


Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the [chief] priests, and Seraiah was the scribe; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and Pelethites [the king's bodyguards]; and David's sons were chief [confidential] assistants to the king.


These are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he yet concealed himself because of Saul son of Kish; they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war. They were bowmen and could use the right hand or the left to sling stones or shoot arrows from the bow; they were of Saul's kinsmen of Benjamin. The chief was Ahiezer and then Joash the sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, and Jehu of Anathoth, read more.
Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty man among the Thirty and a [leader] over them; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites; Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham of Gedor. Of the Gadites there went over to David to the stronghold in the wilderness men of might, men trained for war who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and who were swift as gazelles on the mountains: Ezer the chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh. These Gadites were officers of the army. The lesser was equal to and over a hundred, and the greater equal to and over a thousand. These are the men who went over the Jordan in the first month when it had overflowed all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, east and west. There came some of the men of Benjamin and Judah to the stronghold to David. David went out to meet them and said to them, If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit to you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no violence or wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look upon and rebuke you. Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Yours we are, David, and on your side, you son of Jesse! Peace, peace be to you, and peace be to your helpers, for your God helps you. Then David received them and made them officers of his troops. Some of the men of Manasseh deserted to David when he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. But [David's] men did not actually fight with them, for the lords of the Philistines, upon advisement, sent him away, saying, He will desert to his master Saul at the risk of our heads. As David went to Ziklag, there deserted to him of Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of courage, and [all seven] became commanders in [his] army. For at that time day by day men kept coming to David to help him, until there was a great army, like the army of God.


David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, And he commanded to teach it, [the lament of] the bow, to the Israelites. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar: Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your high places. How have the mighty fallen! read more.
Tell it not in Gath, announce it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, or fields with offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, as though he were not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In their lives and in their deaths they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with [other] delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!


And Saul was very angry, for the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed only thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom? And Saul [jealously] eyed David from that day forward. The next day an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved [madly] in his house, while David played [the lyre] with his hand, as at other times; and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. read more.
And Saul cast the javelin, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall. And David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed David from him and made him his commander over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. David acted wisely in all his ways and succeeded, and the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how capable and successful David was, he stood in awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. Saul said to David, My elder daughter Merab I will give you as wife; only serve me courageously and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul thought, Let not my hand, but the Philistines' hand, be upon him. David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel, that I should be the king's son-in-law? But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife. Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David; and they told Saul, and it pleased him. Saul thought, I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. So Saul said to David a second time, You shall now be my son-in-law. And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately and say, The king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become [his] son-in-law. Saul's servants told those words to David. David said, Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am a poor man and lightly esteemed? And the servants of Saul told him what David said. Saul said, Say this to David, The king wants no dowry but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to avenge himself of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the Philistines' hands. When his servants told David these words, it pleased [him] well to become the king's son-in-law. Before the days expired, David went, he and his men, and slew two hundred Philistine men, and brought their foreskins and gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife. When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michal [his] daughter loved him, Saul was still more afraid of David; and Saul became David's constant enemy. Then the Philistine princes came out to battle, and when they did so, David had more success and behaved himself more wisely than all Saul's servants, so that his name was very dear and highly esteemed.


Now Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart was toward Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoah and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, Pretend to be a mourner; put on mourning apparel, do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has long been mourning for the dead. And go to the king and speak thus to him. And Joab told her what to say. read more.
When the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king! The king asked her, What troubles you? She said, I am a widow; my husband is dead. And your handmaid had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him. And behold, our whole family has risen against your handmaid, and they say, Deliver him who slew his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew; and so they would destroy the heir also. And so quenching my coal which is left, they would leave to my husband neither name nor remnant upon the earth. David said to the woman, Go home, and I will give orders concerning you. And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord, O king, let the guilt be on me and on my father's house; let the king and his throne be guiltless. The king said, If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you again. Then she said, I pray you, let the king remember the Lord your God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son. And David said, As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of your son fall to the earth. Then the woman said, Let your handmaid, I pray you, speak one word to my lord the king. He said, Say on. [She] said, Why then have you planned such a thing against God's people? For in speaking this word the king is like one who is guilty, in that [he] does not bring home his banished one. We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. And God does not take away life, but devises means so that he who is banished may not be an utter outcast from Him. And now I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And I thought, I will speak to the king; it may be that he will perform the request of his servant. For the king will hear to deliver his handmaid from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from [Israel] the inheritance of God. And the woman said, The word of my lord the king will now give me rest and security, for as an angel of God is my lord the king to hear and discern good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you! Then the king said to the woman, Hide not from me anything I ask you. And the woman said, Let my lord the king speak. The king said, Is the hand of Joab with you in all this? And the woman answered, As your soul lives, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who directed me; he put all these words in my mouth. In order to change the course of matters [between Absalom and his father] your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God -- "to know all things that are on the earth. Then the king said to Joab, Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom. And Joab fell to the ground on his face and did obeisance and thanked the king. And Joab said, Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant. So Joab arose, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. And the king said, Let him go to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the king's face.


Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble the men of Judah to me within three days, and you be present here. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah, but he tarried longer than the set time which had been appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba son of Bichri do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get for himself fenced cities and snatch away our very eyes. read more.
And there went after him Joab's men and [David's bodyguards] the Cherethites and Pelethites and all the mighty men; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing a soldier's garment, and over it was a sheathed sword fastened around his hips; and as he went forward, it fell out. Joab said to Amasa, Are you well, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand [as if] to kiss him. But Amasa did not notice the sword in Joab's hand. So [Joab] struck him [who was to have been his successor] with it in the body, shedding his bowels to the ground without another blow; and [soon] he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba son of Bichri.


Then they told David, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors. So David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go and attack these Philistines? And the Lord said to David, Go, smite the Philistines and save Keilah. David's men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more, then, if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? read more.
Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand. So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines with a great slaughter and brought away their cattle. So David delivered the people of Keilah. When Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came with an ephod in his hand. Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. Saul said, God has delivered him into my hand, for he is shut in by going into a town that has gates and bars. Saul summoned all the men for war, to go to Keilah to besiege David and his men. David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod here. Then David said, O Lord, the God of Israel, Your servant has surely heard that Saul intends to come and destroy the city of Keilah on my account. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord, God of Israel, I beseech You, tell Your servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. Then David asked, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul's hand? The Lord said, They will deliver you up. Then David and his men, about 600, arose and left Keilah, going wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up going there.


And when they came to Nacon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled and shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for touching the ark, and he died there by the ark of God. David was grieved and offended because the Lord had broken forth upon Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah [the breaking forth upon Uzzah] to this day. read more.
David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, How can the ark of the Lord come to me? So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to him into the City of David; but he took it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.


David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, How can the ark of the Lord come to me? So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to him into the City of David; but he took it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.


One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold. David sent and inquired about the woman. One said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in to him, and he lay with her -- "for she was purified from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. read more.
And the woman became pregnant and sent and told David, I am with child.


Now after the death of Saul, when David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, he had stayed two days in Ziklag, When on the third day a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance. David said to him, Where have you come from? He said, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. read more.
David said to him, How did it go? Tell me. He answered, The men have fled from the battle. Many have fallen and are dead; Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. David said to the young man, How do you know Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? The young man said, By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa and I saw Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and horsemen were close behind him. When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, Here I am. He asked me, Who are you? I answered, An Amalekite. He said to me, Rise up against me and slay me; for terrible dizziness has come upon me, yet my life is still in me [and I will be taken alive]. So I stood up against him and slew him, because I was sure he could not live after he had fallen. So I took the crown on his head and the bracelet on his arm and have brought them here to my lord. Then David grasped his own clothes and tore them; so did all the men with him. They mourned and wept for Saul and Jonathan his son, and fasted until evening for the Lord's people and the house of Israel, because of their defeat in battle. David said to the young man who told him, Where are you from? He answered, I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite. David said to him, Why were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? David called one of the young men and said, Go near and fall upon him. And he smote him so that he died. David said to [the fallen man], Your blood be upon your own head; for you have testified against yourself, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed.


When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own life. Saul took David that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own life. read more.
And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, even his sword, his bow, and his girdle.


Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants that they must kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David, and he told David, Saul my father is seeking to kill you. Now therefore, take heed to yourself in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are; and I will converse with my father about you and if I learn anything, I will tell you. read more.
And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and his deeds have been of good service to you. For he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood and kill David without a cause? Saul heeded Jonathan and swore, As the Lord lives, David shall not be slain. So Jonathan called David and told him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past.



And Joab came into the house to the king and said, You have today covered the faces of all your servants with shame, who this day have saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. For you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have declared today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for today I see that if Absalom had lived and all the rest of us had died, you would be well pleased. So now arise, go out and speak kindly and encouragingly to your servants; for I swear by the Lord that if you do not go, not a man will remain with you this night. And this will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.


Now these are the last words of David: David son of Jesse says, and the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, says, The Spirit of the Lord spoke in and by me, and His word was upon my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me, When one rules over men righteously, ruling in the fear of God, read more.
He dawns on them like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, when the tender grass springs out of the earth through clear shining after rain. Truly does not my house stand so with God? For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. For will He not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? But wicked, godless, and worthless lives are all like thorns to be thrust away, because they cannot be taken with the hand. But the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire on the spot.


There happened to be there a base and contemptible fellow named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite. He blew a trumpet and said, We have no portion in David and no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to his tents, O Israel! So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba son of Bichri; but the men of Judah stayed faithfully with their king, from the Jordan to Jerusalem. So David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them away under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.



Again David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, 30,000. And [he] arose and went with all the people who were with him to Baale-judah [Kiriath-jearim] to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts, Who sits enthroned above the cherubim. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. read more.
And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, with the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord with all their might, with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.


Say to Amasa [the commander of Absalom’s troops], ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’”


One of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a brave and competent man, a warrior, discerning (prudent, eloquent) in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.”


And King David was old and advanced in years; they covered him with [bed]clothes, but he could not get warm. So his servants [the physicians] said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin, and let her wait on and be useful to the king; let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may get warm. So they sought a fair maiden through all the territory of Israel and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. read more.
The maiden was beautiful; and she waited on and nursed him. But the king had no intercourse with her.


David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.


Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; His second, Chileab, by Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; The fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; read more.
And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.


Then David’s fame spread into all the lands; and the Lord caused all nations to fear him.


Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here.”


Therefore the king said to Shimei, “You shall not be put to death.” And so the king gave him his promise.


Then there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and defeated them with a great slaughter, and they fled before him.


The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.



He also chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;


Then the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.Then they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”


“Brothers, I may confidently and freely say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
























So [fearing for his life] he changed his behavior in their sight, and acted insanely in their hands, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.



You have tried my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me];
I intend that my mouth will not transgress.


David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”



O my God, my soul is in despair within me [the burden more than I can bear];
Therefore I will [fervently] remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of [Mount] Hermon, from Mount Mizar.


I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.


When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful

By the rivers of Babylon,
There we [captives] sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].


And he changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be insane in their [Philistine] hands, and scribbled on the gate doors, and drooled on his beard. Then said Achish to his servants, You see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? Have I need of madmen, that you bring this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?


So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, picked up the provisions and went just as Jesse had directed him. And he came to the encampment as the army was going out in battle formation shouting the battle cry.


So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck down the Philistine and slew him. But no sword was in David's hand. So he ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their mighty champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. So the wounded Philistines fell along the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.


David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”


Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is as faithful and trustworthy as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and who is captain over your guard [and your confidant], and is honored in your house?


Then David returned to bless his household. But [his wife] Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How glorious and distinguished was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself and stripped [off his kingly robes] in the eyes of his servants’ maids like one of the riffraff who shamelessly uncovers himself!”


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.


Then David returned to bless his household. But [his wife] Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How glorious and distinguished was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself and stripped [off his kingly robes] in the eyes of his servants’ maids like one of the riffraff who shamelessly uncovers himself!”


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.



But as for me, I will enter Your house through the abundance of Your steadfast love and tender mercy;
At Your holy temple I will bow [obediently] in reverence for You.


Establish Your word and confirm Your promise to Your servant,
As that which produces [awe-inspired] reverence for You.



Leave me, you evildoers,
That I may keep the commandments of my God [honoring and obeying them].

A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil person or thing. Whoso privily slanders his neighbor, him will I cut off [from me]; he who has a haughty look and a proud and arrogant heart I cannot and I will not tolerate. My eyes shall [look with favor] upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks blamelessly, he shall minister to me. read more.
He who works deceit shall not dwell in my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.


And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come [out of Judah] and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.”


Then David arose and fled from Saul that day, and went to Achish king of Gath.


Now then, send word quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords [on the west side of the Jordan] in the wilderness, but by all means cross over [to the east side of the river], or else the king and all the people with him will be destroyed [if Ahithophel is allowed by Absalom to lead an attack].’”

Then David and all the people who were with him departed and crossed over the Jordan. By daybreak, not even one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.



Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory and majesty be over all the earth.


The Lord forbid that I would put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but now take the spear that is by his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

He said to David, “You are more righteous and upright [in God’s eyes] than I; for you have done good to me, but I have done evil to you.


Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?

Saul camped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road east of Jeshimon, but David stayed in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came into the wilderness after him,


Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.


Then he took his [shepherd’s] staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the stream bed, and put them in his shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch. With his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.



Protect my life (soul), for I am godly and faithful;
O You my God, save Your servant, who trusts in You [believing in You and relying on You, confidently committing everything to You].


Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.


Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.


And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”


And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”


His father [David] had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done this?” Adonijah was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.


Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and withdraw from him, that he may be struck down and die. So when Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah opposite where he knew the enemy's most valiant men were. read more.
And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David fell. Uriah the Hittite died also.


Rescue me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will sing joyfully of Your righteousness and Your justice.


Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, doing evil in His sight? You have slain Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have murdered him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because [you have not only despised My command, but] you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.


And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come [out of Judah] and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.”



“And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait?
My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.


David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. David also hamstrung all the chariot horses (making them lame), but reserved enough of them for a hundred chariots.


When your days are fulfilled and you lie down [in death] with your fathers (ancestors), I will raise up your descendant after you, who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom.

Your house (royal dynasty) and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.”’”


Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? Then as if this were a little thing in Your eyes, O Lord God, You have spoken also of Your servant's house in the far distant future. And this is the law for man, O Lord God! What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God. read more.
Because of Your promise and as Your own heart dictates, You have done all these astounding things to make Your servant know and understand. Therefore You are great, O Lord God; for none is like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all [You have made] our ears to hear. What [other] one nation on earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be a people for Himself and to make for Himself a name? You have done great and terrible things for Yourself and for Your land, before Your people, whom You redeemed and delivered for Yourself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods. And You have established for Yourself Your people Israel to be Your people forever, and You, Lord, became their God. Now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word You have given as to Your servant and his house; and do as You have said, And Your name [and presence] shall be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel; and the house of Your servant David will be made firm before You. For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant: I will build you a house. So Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. Therefore now let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let [his] house be blessed forever.

Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as when one hunts a [defenseless] partridge in the mountains.”

After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue [with three thousand men]? A dead dog, a single flea?

David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel, that I should be the king's son-in-law? But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife. Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David; and they told Saul, and it pleased him. read more.
Saul thought, I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. So Saul said to David a second time, You shall now be my son-in-law. And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately and say, The king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become [his] son-in-law. Saul's servants told those words to David. David said, Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?

And David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house and family, that You have brought me up to this? And yet this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; for You have spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God! What more can David say to You for thus honoring Your servant? For You know Your servant. read more.
O Lord, for Your servant's sake and in accord with Your own heart, You have wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God beside You, according to all that our ears have heard. And what nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to Himself as a people, making Yourself a name by great and terrible things, by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt? You made Your people Israel Your own forever, and You, Lord, became their God. Therefore now, Lord, let the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house be established forever, and do as You have said. Let it be established and let Your name [and the character that name denotes] be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God; and the house of David Your servant will be established before You. For You, O my God, have told Your servant that You will build for him a house (a blessed posterity); therefore Your servant has found courage and confidence to pray before You. And now, Lord, You are God, and have promised this good thing to Your servant. Therefore may it please You to bless the house (posterity) of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for what You bless, O Lord, is blessed forever.


“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.


The Philistines abandoned their gods (idols) there; so David gave a command and they were burned in a fire [as the Law of Moses required].

The Philistines abandoned their [pagan] idols there, so David and his men took them away [to be burned].



O mountains of Gilboa,
Let not dew or rain be upon you, nor fields with offerings;
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
The shield of Saul, [dry, cracked] not anointed with oil.

When David heard of it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner son of Ner. Let it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father's house; and let the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or is a leper or walks with a crutch or is a distaff holder [unfit for war] or who falls by the sword or lacks food!


Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here.”


Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king of Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added that much again. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, doing evil in His sight? You have slain Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have murdered him with the sword of the Ammonites.


And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel’s sake.



“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.


So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck down the Philistine and slew him. But no sword was in David's hand. So he ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their mighty champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. So the wounded Philistines fell along the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.


Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty, and [a leader] over them; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah,


Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah. For the king said to Joab the captain of the host who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know their number. And Joab said to the king, May the Lord your God add a hundred times as many people as there are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing? read more.
But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king's presence to number the Israelites. They passed over the Jordan and encamped in Aroer, on the south side of the city lying in the midst of the ravine [of the Arnon] toward Gad, and on to Jazer. Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan [Dan in the forest] and around to Sidon, And came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the South (the Negeb) of Judah at Beersheba. So when they had gone through all the land [taking the census], they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king. There were in Israel 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

Joab gave the total number of the people to David. And all of Israel were 1,100,000 who drew the sword, and of Judah 470,000 who drew the sword. But Levi and Benjamin he did not include among them, for the king's order was detestable to Joab.

But David did not number those under twenty years of age, for the Lord had promised to make Israel as the stars of the heavens. Joab son of Zeruiah began a census but did not finish, because the census brought wrath upon Israel, and the number was not recorded in the chronicles of King David.


Now it happened after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that he stayed two days in Ziklag.


Then [he] said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? [Jesse] said, There is yet the youngest; he is tending the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send for him; for we will not sit down to eat until he is here. Jesse sent and brought him. David had a healthy reddish complexion and beautiful eyes, and was fine-looking. The Lord said [to Samuel], Arise, anoint him; this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.


Then the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.Then they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord told you, You shall feed My people Israel and be prince over [them]. So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them [there] before the Lord, and they anointed [him] king over Israel. read more.
David was thirty years old when he began his forty-year reign. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.



Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty, and [a leader] over them; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah,


As David went to Ziklag, these men defected to him from Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh.


Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites,


But they shall serve the Lord their God and [the descendant of] David their King, whom I will raise up for them.


The chief was Ahiezer and then Joash, the sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, and Jehu of Anathoth,


Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty, and [a leader] over them; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah,


Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole and blameless heart they had offered freely to the Lord. King David also rejoiced greatly.


Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve for Saul, when I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.”


So David reigned over all Israel, and continued to administer justice and righteousness for all his people.


Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites, the cities of the Kenites,


When Achish asked, “Where did you raid today?” David replied, “Against the Negev (the South country) of Judah, and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites.”


And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”


She opens her mouth in [skillful and godly] wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue [giving counsel and instruction].


When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in their holy (priestly) attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Praise and give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever.”


Then the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.Then they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.


So David reigned over all Israel, and continued to administer justice and righteousness for all his people.


David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to him.

One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold. David sent and inquired about the woman. One said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in to him, and he lay with her -- "for she was purified from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. read more.
And the woman became pregnant and sent and told David, I am with child. David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. So Joab sent [him] Uriah. When Uriah had come to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the people fared, and how the war progressed. David said to Uriah, Go down to your house and wash your feet. Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of food [a gift] from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. When they told David, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah live in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As you live and as my soul lives, I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah, Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart. So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. David invited him, and he ate with him and drank, so that he made him drunk; but that night he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and withdraw from him, that he may be struck down and die. So when Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah opposite where he knew the enemy's most valiant men were. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David fell. Uriah the Hittite died also. Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war. And he charged the messenger, When you have finished reporting matters of the war to the king, Then if the king's anger rises and he says to you, Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth (Gideon)? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall? Then say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. So the messenger went and told David all for which Joab had sent him. The messenger said to David, Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in to the field, but we were upon them even to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Then David said to the messenger, Say to Joab, Let not this thing disturb you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack upon the city and overthrow it. And encourage Joab. When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for Uriah. And when the mourning was past, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.


This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things [unknown and unattainable] that have been hidden [from mankind] since the foundation of the world.”


Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.”

But their duty should be to wait on [the priests] the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, caring for the courts, the chambers, the cleansing of all holy things, and any work of the service of God's house, For the showbread also, and for the fine flour for a cereal offering, whether of unleavened wafers or of what is baked on the griddle or soaked [in oil], and for all measuring of amount and size [as the Law of Moses required]. They are also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening, read more.
And to assist in offering all burnt sacrifices to the Lord on Sabbaths, New Moon festivals, and set feast days by number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord. So they shall keep charge of the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place and shall attend to the sons of Aaron their kinsmen, for the service of the house of the Lord.


And David organized them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

[The musicians] cast lots for their duties, small and great, teacher and scholar alike. The first lot fell for Asaph to Joseph; the second to Gedaliah, to him, his brethren and his sons, twelve; The third to Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve; read more.
The fourth to Izri, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The tenth to Shimei, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The thirteenth to Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The seventeenth of Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; The twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.


These were the Levites by their fathers’ households, the heads of the fathers’ households of those registered, according to the number of names of the individuals who were the servants of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.

For by the last words of David, the Levites from twenty years old and above were counted.


Now in accordance with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their duties of praise and ministering and serving before the priests as every day required, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for David the man of God had so commanded.

as well as the priests who were registered genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, by their duties and by their divisions.


David assembled all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites. The Levites thirty years old and upward numbered, man by man, 38,000,


Of whom 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of the Lord and 6,000 were to be officers and judges. And, said David, 4,000 shall be gatekeepers and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments which I made for praise. And David organized them in sections according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.


As David sat in his house (palace), he said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I live in a house of cedars, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.”

the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”

This Shelomoth and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts which King David, the heads of the fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated.

King David also dedicated these [gifts] to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he subdued:

So all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was completed. Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the utensils—and he put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s house.

I know also, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness and integrity. In the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. So now with joy I have seen Your people who are present here, make their offerings willingly and freely to You.

Then David the king rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers [in arms] and my people. I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and as a footstool for our God, and I prepared materials for the building.

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the Name [the Presence] of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Lord said to David my father, Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you did well that it was in your heart.

But King David said to Ornan, “No, I will certainly pay the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.”

So I have provided with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood, as well as onyx or beryl stones, stones to be set, stones of antimony, stones of various colors, and all sorts of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, in addition to all I have prepared for the holy house, I have a private treasure of gold and silver which I give for the house of my God: It is 3,000 talents of gold, gold of Ophir, 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the house, read more.
Gold for the uses of gold, silver for the uses of silver, and for every work to be done by craftsmen. Now who will offer willingly to fill his hand [and consecrate it] today to the Lord [like one consecrating himself to the priesthood]?

Lord, [earnestly] remember to David's credit all his humiliations and hardships and endurance -- " How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: Surely I will not enter my dwelling house or get into my bed -- " read more.
I will not permit my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber, Until I have found a place for the Lord, a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.

He distributed to everyone in Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a raisin cake.


You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall always eat at my table.”


But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God.”


I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it. Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God!


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.


The Lord forbid that I would put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but now take the spear that is by his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

He said to David, “You are more righteous and upright [in God’s eyes] than I; for you have done good to me, but I have done evil to you.


And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”


David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

He said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this to my master, the Lord's anointed, to put my hand out against him, when he is the anointed of the Lord. So David checked his men with these words and did not let them rise against Saul. But Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. David also arose afterward and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, My lord the king! And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and did obeisance. read more.
And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who say, David seeks to do you harm? Behold, your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hands in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.

Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, Who will go down with me into the camp of Saul? And Abishai said, I will go down with you. So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there Saul lay sleeping within the encampment with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the army lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God has given your enemy into your hands this day. Now therefore let me smite him to the earth at once with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice. read more.
David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David said, As the Lord lives, [He] will smite him; or his day will come to die or he will go down in battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord's anointed; but take now the spear that is at his head and the bottle of water, and let us go. So David took the spear and the bottle of water from Saul's head, and they got away. And no man saw or knew or wakened, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of the mountain afar off, a great space being between them. David called to the army and Abner son of Ner, Will you answer, Abner? Abner replied, Who are you, calling [and disturbing] the king? David said to Abner, Are you not a valiant man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in [to your camp] to destroy the king your lord. This thing is not good that you have done. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the bottle of water that was at his head.


David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has told me, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you. I have directed the young men to a certain place.’


Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.


But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a [harmless] question?”

Then said [David's nephew] Abishai son of Zeruiah to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head. The king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, Curse David, who then shall ask, Why have you done so? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who was born to me, seeks my life. With how much more reason now may this Benjamite do it? Let him alone; and let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him to do it. read more.
It may be that the Lord will look on the iniquity done me and will recompense me with good for his cursing this day. So David and his men went by the road, and Shimei went along on the hillside opposite David and cursed as he went and threw stones and dust at him. And the king and all the people who were with him came [to the Jordan] weary, and he refreshed himself there.

But I, like a deaf man, hear not; and I am like a dumb man who opens not his mouth. Yes, I have become like a man who hears not, in whose mouth are no arguments or replies.

Woe is me that I sojourn with Meshech, that I dwell beside the tents of Kedar [as if among notoriously barbarous people]! My life has too long had its dwelling with him who hates peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.


Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Look, my son [Absalom] who came from my own body, is seeking my life; how much more [reason] now [does] this Benjamite [have to curse me]? Let him alone and let him curse, for [it could be that] the Lord has told him [to do it].


Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,


And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father [of Moabite descent] and my mother, I pray you, come out [of Judah] and be with you till I know what God will do for me. And he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold [in Moab].


And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come [out of Judah] and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.”


Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.


David became angry and grieved and offended because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, and that place has been called Perez-uzzah (outburst against Uzzah) to this day.

I believed (trusted in, relied on, and clung to my God), and therefore have I spoken [even when I said], I am greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, All men are deceitful and liars.


Ezer was the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,


because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of [the betrayal of] Uriah the Hittite.

David acted wisely and prospered in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.

And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’

He did right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that David his father (forefather) had done.

Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a secure and enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days.

Solomon did evil [things] in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done.

However, I will not take the entire kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes.



I have sworn [an oath] and have confirmed it,
That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.


David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has allowed your sin to pass [without further punishment]; you shall not die.


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

The king was deeply moved and went to the upper room over the gate and wept [in sorrow]. And this is what he said as he walked: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! How I wish that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

And on the seventh day the child died. David's servants feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he would not listen to our voices; will he then harm himself if we tell him the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, he perceived that the child was dead. So he said to them, Is the child dead? And they said, He is. Then David arose from the floor, washed, anointed himself, changed his apparel, and went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. read more.
Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept while the child was alive, but when the child was dead, you arose and ate food. David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

The man told Joab, Though I should receive 1,000 pieces of silver, yet I would not put forth my hand against the king's son. For in our hearing the king charged you, Abishai, and Ittai, Have a care, whoever you be, for the young man Absalom. Otherwise, if I had dealt falsely against his life -- "for nothing is hidden from the king -- "you yourself would have taken sides against me.

So Joab came to the king and told him. Then David called for Absalom, and he came to the king and bowed his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.

So Absalom fled to Geshur and was there three years. And the spirit of King David longed to go forth to Absalom, for he was comforted about Amnon, seeing that he was dead.

Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom.

It was told Joab, Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for they heard it said, The king grieves for his son. The people slipped into the city stealthily that day as humiliated people steal away when they flee in battle. read more.
But the king covered his face and cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! And Joab came into the house to the king and said, You have today covered the faces of all your servants with shame, who this day have saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. For you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have declared today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for today I see that if Absalom had lived and all the rest of us had died, you would be well pleased.


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

The king was deeply moved and went to the upper room over the gate and wept [in sorrow]. And this is what he said as he walked: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! How I wish that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”


His father [David] had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done this?” Adonijah was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.


His father [David] had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done this?” Adonijah was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.


He was with David at Pasdammim [where David had killed Goliath] and there the Philistines were gathered together for battle, and there was a plot of ground full of barley; and the people [of Israel] fled before the Philistines.


The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the men heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the heart of King David longed to go to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.


I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.



I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.


But now he is dead; why should I [continue to] fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him [when I die], but he will not return to me.”

Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, and he was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in and lay all night [repeatedly] on the floor.


And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel’s sake.


For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not completely devoted to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.

Solomon did evil [things] in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done.



Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.


Shin.
Princes persecute me without cause,
But my heart stands in [reverent] awe of Your words [so I can expect You to help me].


So Bathsheba went in to the king in his chamber. Now the king was very old and feeble, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to [him]. Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king. The king said, What do you wish? And she said to him, My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me and sit upon my throne. read more.
And now, behold, Adonijah is reigning, and, my lord the king, you do not know it. He has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army. But he did not invite Solomon your servant. Now, my lord O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after you. Otherwise, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall be counted as offenders.


The Philistines had war again with Israel. And David went down and his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David became faint. Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giants, the weight of whose spear was 300 shekels of bronze, was girded with a new sword, and thought to kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's aid, and smote and killed the Philistine. Then David's men charged him, You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. read more.
After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob (Gezer). Then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph (Sippai), who was a descendant of the giant. There was again war at Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam. And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he also was a descendant of the giants. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan son of Shimei, brother of David, slew him. These four were descended from the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hands of David and his servants.

Now it came about after this that David defeated the Philistines and subdued (humbled) them, and he took control of Metheg-ammah [the main city] from the hand of the Philistines.

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went up to find [him], but [he] heard of it and went down to the stronghold. The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand? And the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will surely deliver [them] into your hand. read more.
And David came to Baal-perazim, and he smote them there, and said, The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like the bursting out of great waters. So he called the name of that place Baal-perazim [Lord of breaking through]. There the Philistines left their images, and David and his men took them away. The Philistines came up again and spread themselves out in the Valley of Rephaim. When David inquired of the Lord, He said, You shall not go up, but go around behind them and come upon them over opposite the mulberry (or balsam) trees.

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the Three [heroes], known also as Adino the Eznite; he wielded his spear and went against 800 men, who were slain at one time. Next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines assembled there for battle, and the men of Israel had departed. [Eleazar] arose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword. The Lord wrought a great deliverance and victory that day; the men returned after him only to take the spoil. read more.
Next to [Eleazar] was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines were gathered at Lehi on a piece of ground full of lentils; and the [Israelites] fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory.


Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was [head] over both the Cherethites and Pelethites [the king’s bodyguards]; and David’s sons were chief [confidential] advisers (officials) [to the king].

therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.


Woe (judgment is coming) to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites [in Philistia]!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
I will destroy you
So that no inhabitant will be left.


Then there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and defeated them with a great slaughter, and they fled before him.

Then they told David, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors. So David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go and attack these Philistines? And the Lord said to David, Go, smite the Philistines and save Keilah. David's men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more, then, if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? read more.
Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand. So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines with a great slaughter and brought away their cattle. So David delivered the people of Keilah.


Achish answered David, “I know that you are blameless in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’

David said to Achish, “All right, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you my bodyguard for life.”


Saul said, Say this to David, The king wants no dowry but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to avenge himself of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the Philistines' hands. When his servants told David these words, it pleased [him] well to become the king's son-in-law. Before the days expired, David went, he and his men, and slew two hundred Philistine men, and brought their foreskins and gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife.


Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in his shepherd's [lunch] bag [a whole kid's skin slung from his shoulder], in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near the Philistine. The Philistine came on and drew near to David, the man who bore the shield going before him. And when the Philistine looked around and saw David, he scorned and despised him, for he was but an adolescent, with a healthy reddish color and a fair face. read more.
And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you should come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands. When the Philistine came forward to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine, sinking into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck down the Philistine and slew him. But no sword was in David's hand.


But David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any more within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand. So David arose and went over with the 600 men who were with him to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's widow. read more.
When it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he sought for him no more. And David said to Achish, If I have now found favor in your eyes, let me be given a place to dwell in some country town; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you? Then Achish gave David the town of Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day. The time David dwelt in the Philistines' country was a year and four months.


As the Philistine lords were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were in the rear with Achish, The Philistine princes said, What are these Hebrews doing here? Achish said to the Philistine princes, Is not this David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days and years, and I have found no fault in him since he deserted to me to this day? And the Philistine princes were angry with Achish and they said to him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place where you have assigned him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could David reconcile himself to his master? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? read more.
Is not this David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? Then Achish called David and said to him, As surely as the Lord lives, you have been honest and upright, and for you to go out and come in with me in the army is good in my sight; for I have found no evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Yet the lords do not approve of you. So return now and go peaceably, so as not to displease the Philistine lords.



“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and listen to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am Your temporary guest,
A sojourner like all my fathers.


David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to him.

Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; His second, Chileab, by Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; The fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; read more.
And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, Who has pleaded the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and kept His servant from evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him as his wife. And when the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, David sent us to you to take you to him to be his wife. And she arose and bowed herself to the earth and said, Behold, let your handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. read more.
And Abigail hastened and arose and rode on a donkey, with five of her maids who followed her, and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife. David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives. Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters.


And all the people took notice of it and it pleased them, just as everything that the king did pleased all the people.


Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.


Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? Then as if this were a little thing in Your eyes, O Lord God, You have spoken also of Your servant's house in the far distant future. And this is the law for man, O Lord God! What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God. read more.
Because of Your promise and as Your own heart dictates, You have done all these astounding things to make Your servant know and understand. Therefore You are great, O Lord God; for none is like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all [You have made] our ears to hear. What [other] one nation on earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be a people for Himself and to make for Himself a name? You have done great and terrible things for Yourself and for Your land, before Your people, whom You redeemed and delivered for Yourself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods. And You have established for Yourself Your people Israel to be Your people forever, and You, Lord, became their God. Now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word You have given as to Your servant and his house; and do as You have said, And Your name [and presence] shall be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel; and the house of Your servant David will be made firm before You. For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant: I will build you a house. So Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. Therefore now let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let [his] house be blessed forever.

David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.



In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the Lord
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears.



O God, redeem Israel,
Out of all his troubles.


Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? Then as if this were a little thing in Your eyes, O Lord God, You have spoken also of Your servant's house in the far distant future. And this is the law for man, O Lord God! What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God. read more.
Because of Your promise and as Your own heart dictates, You have done all these astounding things to make Your servant know and understand. Therefore You are great, O Lord God; for none is like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all [You have made] our ears to hear. What [other] one nation on earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be a people for Himself and to make for Himself a name? You have done great and terrible things for Yourself and for Your land, before Your people, whom You redeemed and delivered for Yourself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods. And You have established for Yourself Your people Israel to be Your people forever, and You, Lord, became their God. Now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word You have given as to Your servant and his house; and do as You have said, And Your name [and presence] shall be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel; and the house of Your servant David will be made firm before You. For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant: I will build you a house. So Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. Therefore now let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let [his] house be blessed forever.


Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly and said, Be praised, adored, and thanked, O Lord, the God of Israel our [forefather], forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and Yours it is to be exalted as Head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hands are power and might; in Your hands it is to make great and to give strength to all. read more.
Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name and those attributes which that name denotes. But who am I, and what are my people, that we should retain strength and be able to offer thus so willingly? For all things come from You, and out of Your own [hand] we have given You. For we are strangers before You, and sojourners, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope or expectation of remaining. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy Name and the token of Your presence comes from Your hand, and is all Your own. I know also, my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things. And now I have seen with joy Your people who are present here offer voluntarily and freely to You. O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the minds of Your people, and direct and establish their hearts toward You. And give to Solomon my son a blameless heart to keep Your commandments, testimonies, and statutes, and to do all that is necessary to build the palace [for You] for which I have made provision.


Then David returned to bless his household. But [his wife] Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How glorious and distinguished was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself and stripped [off his kingly robes] in the eyes of his servants’ maids like one of the riffraff who shamelessly uncovers himself!”


So with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, as well as onyx stones and stones to be inlaid, stones of antimony (a brittle, silvery-white metal) and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance.


When your days are fulfilled and you lie down [in death] with your fathers (ancestors), I will raise up your descendant after you, who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom.

[You have said] I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant, Your Seed I will establish forever, and I will build up your throne for all generations. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Once [for all] have I sworn by My holiness, which cannot be violated; I will not lie to David: His Offspring shall endure forever, and his throne [shall continue] as the sun before Me.


And so, being a prophet and knowing fully that God had sworn to him with an oath that He would seat one of his descendants on his throne,

I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety, For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption. read more.
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

For David says of Him,

I saw the Lord constantly before me;
For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken [from my state of security].


This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things [unknown and unattainable] that have been hidden [from mankind] since the foundation of the world.”



“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.


I love You fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower.


One of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a brave and competent man, a warrior, discerning (prudent, eloquent) in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.”


This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things [unknown and unattainable] that have been hidden [from mankind] since the foundation of the world.”


David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, As the Lord lives, Who redeemed my life out of all adversity, When one told me, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking he was bringing good news, I seized and slew him in Ziklag who expected me to give him a reward for his news. How much more -- "when wicked men have slain a just man in his own house on his bed -- "shall I not now require his blood of your hand and remove you from the earth! read more.
David commanded his young men, and they slew them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them over the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-bosheth's head and buried it in Hebron in the tomb of Abner [his relative and once chief supporter].


David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”



David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has allowed your sin to pass [without further punishment]; you shall not die.


Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Is it not good, if [at least] there will be peace and security in my lifetime?”

But now he is dead; why should I [continue to] fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him [when I die], but he will not return to me.”

But if He should say, ‘I have no delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me what seems good to Him.”


But now he is dead; why should I [continue to] fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him [when I die], but he will not return to me.”


He died in a good old age [his seventy-first year], full of days (satisfied), riches and honor. Solomon his son reigned in his place.



“The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.


So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, picked up the provisions and went just as Jesse had directed him. And he came to the encampment as the army was going out in battle formation shouting the battle cry.




I sought the Lord [on the authority of His word], and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.



I sought the Lord [on the authority of His word], and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.


Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this is a son [worthy] of death. He shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no pity. Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king of Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.


Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel.


Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel.



“I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”


Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites—Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab,

of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his relatives;


Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here.”


He also chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;

So now, say this to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.


So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.


Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting].



For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them;
My sin is always before me.

saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They replied, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

But David’s heart (conscience) troubled him after he had counted the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

He brought up the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged [with their arms and legs broken].


“If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You,
O Watcher of mankind?
Why have You set me as a target for You,
So that I am a burden to myself?


As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”


Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.


And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel’s sake.


For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, and I put not away His statutes from me.


When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they gathered together. Hadadezer sent and brought the Syrians who were beyond the river [Euphrates]; and they came to Helam, with Shobach commander of the army of Hadadezer leading them. When David was told, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. Then the Syrians set themselves in array against David and fought with him. read more.
The Syrians fled before Israel, and David slew of [them] the men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen and smote Shobach captain of their army, who died there. And when all the kings serving Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.


And when the Ammonites saw that they had made themselves obnoxious and disgusting to David, they sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob and of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and of the king of Maacah 1,000 men, and of Tob 12,000 men. When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. And the Ammonites came out and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate, but the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the open country. read more.
When Joab saw that the battlefront was against him before and behind, he picked some of all the choice men of Israel and put them in array against the Syrians. The rest of the men Joab gave over to Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the Ammonites. Joab said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. Be of good courage; let us play the man for our people and the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what seems good to Him. And Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians had fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab returned from battling against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.


These King David dedicated to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations he subdued: From Syria, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.


So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans (Syrians) in the Valley of Salt.


When the Arameans (Syrians) of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 Arameans.


Then David put garrisons among the Arameans in Damascus, and the Arameans became his servants and brought tribute. The Lord helped David wherever he went.


Moreover, because I delight in the house of my God, the [personal] treasure that I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, in addition to all that I have already provided for the holy house:

the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”

David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house for the Name (Presence) of the Lord my God.

How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: Surely I will not enter my dwelling house or get into my bed -- " I will not permit my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber, read more.
Until I have found a place for the Lord, a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.


So I have provided with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood, as well as onyx or beryl stones, stones to be set, stones of antimony, stones of various colors, and all sorts of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, in addition to all I have prepared for the holy house, I have a private treasure of gold and silver which I give for the house of my God: It is 3,000 talents of gold, gold of Ophir, 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the house, read more.
Gold for the uses of gold, silver for the uses of silver, and for every work to be done by craftsmen. Now who will offer willingly to fill his hand [and consecrate it] today to the Lord [like one consecrating himself to the priesthood]?

David commanded to gather together the strangers who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. David prepared iron in abundance for nails for the doors of the gates and for the couplings, and bronze in abundance without weighing, Also cedar trees without number, for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar timber to David. read more.
David said, Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

In my affliction and trouble I have provided for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron without weighing. I have also provided timber and stone; you must add to them. You have workmen in abundance: hewers, workers of stone and timber, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skillful in doing every kind of work With gold, silver, bronze, and iron. So arise and be doing, and the Lord be with you!


“You know that David my father could not build a house (temple) for the Name (Presence) of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.

But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My Name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before me.

Go and tell My servant David, Thus says the Lord: Shall you build Me a house in which to dwell? For I have not dwelt in a house since I brought the Israelites out of Egypt to this day, but have moved about with a tent for My dwelling. In all the places where I have moved with all the Israelites, did I speak a word to any from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to be shepherd of My people Israel, asking, Why do you not build Me a house of cedar? read more.
So now say this to My servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over My people Israel. And I was with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like [that] of the great men of the earth.


Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, My son, it was in my heart to build a house to the Name and [for the symbol of] the Presence of the Lord my God.

Now, my son, may the Lord be with you so that you may be successful and build the house of the Lord your God, just as He has spoken concerning you.


And when your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up after you your offspring who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My Name [and My Presence], and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.


David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you peace on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people. Now set your mind and heart to seek (inquire of and require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into the house built to the Name and renown of the Lord.


Then the chiefs of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly And gave for the service of the house of God -- "of gold 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics, of silver 10,000 talents, of bronze 18,000 talents, and 100,000 talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. read more.
Then the people rejoiced because these had given willingly, for with a whole and blameless heart they had offered freely to the Lord. King David also rejoiced greatly.


and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies, and Your statutes, and to do all [that is necessary] to build the temple [for You], for which I have made provision.”


One evening David got up from his couch and was walking on the [flat] roof of the king’s palace, and from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very beautiful in appearance.


One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold. David sent and inquired about the woman. One said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in to him, and he lay with her -- "for she was purified from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. read more.
And the woman became pregnant and sent and told David, I am with child.


And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, saying, May the Lord bless you because you showed kindness and loyalty to Saul your king and buried him. And now may the Lord show loving-kindness and faithfulness to you. I also will do well by you because you have done this. So now, let your hands be strengthened and be valiant, for your master Saul is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.


Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.


Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father did to me.” So David sent [a letter along with] some of his servants to console him in regard to his father’s death; and David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites.


But be gracious and kind to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who [have the honor to] eat at your table; for they met me [with kindness] when I fled from your brother Absalom.


Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.


who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and asked that he might [be allowed to] find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.


Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Is it not good, if [at least] there will be peace and security in my lifetime?”

But now he is dead; why should I [continue to] fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him [when I die], but he will not return to me.”

But if He should say, ‘I have no delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me what seems good to Him.”



“I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”



“Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built with rows of [glistening] stones,
Whereon hang a thousand shields,
All of them shields of warriors.


For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

My servant David will be king over them, and they all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.

So David reigned over all Israel, and continued to administer justice and righteousness for all his people.

Once You spoke in a vision to Your devoted ones and said, I have endowed one who is mighty [a hero, giving him the power to help -- "to be a champion for Israel]; I have exalted one chosen from among the people. I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him,


My servant David will be king over them, and they all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.

So David reigned over all Israel, and continued to administer justice and righteousness for all his people.

Once You spoke in a vision to Your devoted ones and said, I have endowed one who is mighty [a hero, giving him the power to help -- "to be a champion for Israel]; I have exalted one chosen from among the people. I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him,


The king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why do you go with us also? Return to your place and remain with the king [Absalom], for you are a foreigner and an exile. Since you came only yesterday, should I make you go up and down with us? Since I must go where I may, you return, and take back your brethren with you. May loving-kindness and faithfulness be with you.

He said to David, “You are more righteous and upright [in God’s eyes] than I; for you have done good to me, but I have done evil to you.

David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”


Do not let those who wait [confidently] for You be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts;
Do not let those who seek You [as necessary for life itself] be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

And the three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem by the gate and brought it to David. But he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, to drink this. Is it not [the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? So he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.



“And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait?
My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.



“And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait?
My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.



I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning],
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.


David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”


Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him. For you are [only] a young man and he has been a warrior since his youth.”


References

Fausets

Morish

Watsons