And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

Then said Saul to his armorbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, you were he that led out and brought in Israel: and the LORD your God said unto you, You shall feed my people Israel, and you shall be ruler over my people Israel.

And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me a drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!

And said, My God forbid me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If you are come peaceably unto me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you: but if you are come to betray me to my enemies, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look on it, and rebuke it.

And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seems good unto you, and that it is of the LORD our God, let us send out unto our brethren everywhere, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and pasture lands, that they may gather themselves unto us:

And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?

And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and will you deliver them into my hand? And the LORD said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into your hand.

So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David defeated them there. Then David said, God has broken in upon my enemies by my hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And said unto them, You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites: Sanctify yourselves, both you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.

Saying, Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.

Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the LORD, You shall not build me a house to dwell in:

Wherever I have walked with all Israel, spoke I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedars?

Now therefore thus shall you say unto my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, even from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over my people Israel:

Also I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness oppress them any more, as at the beginning,

And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house.

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 away from him, as I took it from him that was before you:

But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever: and his throne shall be established forevermore.

And David the king came 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?

And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O God; for you have also 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.

Let it even be established, that your name may be magnified forever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David your servant be established before you.

For you, O my God, have told your servant that you will build him a house: therefore your servant has found in his heart to pray before you.

Now therefore let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may be before you forever: for you bless, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever.

And David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.

And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me: but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you.

And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

And Joab answered, The LORD make his people a hundred times so many more as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then does my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?

Go and tell David, saying, Thus says the LORD, I offer you three things: choose you one of them, that I may do it unto you.

Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before your foes, while that the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel. Now therefore decide what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.

And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let your hand, I pray you, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on your people, that they should be plagued.

Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar on it unto the LORD: you shall give it to me for the full price: that the plague may be averted from the people.

And Ornan said unto David, Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give you the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal offering; I give it all.

And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God:

But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, You have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars: you shall not build a house unto my name, because you have shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.

Now, my son, the LORD be with you; and prosper you, and build the house of the LORD your God, as he has said of you.

Only the LORD give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.

Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of bronze and iron beyond weighing; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and you may add to it.

Is not the LORD your God with you? and has he not given you rest on every side? for he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people.

For David said, The LORD God of Israel has given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever:

Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:

But God said unto me, You shall not build a house for my name, because you have been a man of war, and have shed blood.

However the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever: for he has chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel:

And of all my sons, (for the LORD has given me many sons,) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.

And he said unto me, Solomon your son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to keep my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.

Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever.

And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this plan.

And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.

Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the bronze for things of bronze, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistening stones, and of various colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have of my own things, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? for all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.

I know also, my God, that you test the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly unto you.

And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.