Jabez was more respected than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, for she said, "I experienced pain when I gave birth to him."

and all their villages that were round about the said cities unto Baalathbeer. This is the habitation of them and their genealogy.

And thereto there went of the said children of Simeon five hundred men - Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel the sons of Ishi being their heads -

and that by Lot, out of the tribe of children of Judah out of the tribe of Simeon and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin: even the said cities that are rehearsed by name.

And Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and deal harshly with me." But he was very afraid. Then Saul took the sword and fell upon it.

All Israel joined David at Hebron and said, "Look, we are your very flesh and blood!

{For some time now}, even when Saul was king, you were {the one who led the army of Israel in battle}. And Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel and will be leader over my people Israel.'"

So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel, as the Lord had said by Samuel.

And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, "You will not enter here." But David captured the stronghold of Zion; that [is,] the city of David.

Then David said, "Whoever strikes the Jebusites first will be chief and commander." And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first and became chief.

Now these are the chief of David's men of war who were his strong supporters in the kingdom, and, with all Israel, made him king, as the Lord had said about Israel.

And David had a craving, and he said, "Who could give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that [is] by the gate!"

And he said, "Far be it from me [that] I would do this before my God. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For {at the risk of their lives} they brought it." And he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

And David went out {to meet them} and answered and said to them, "If you come in peace to me, to help me, {my heart will be joined with you}, but if [you come] to betray me to my adversaries, although [there is] no wrong on my hands, may the God of our fathers see and pass judgment."

Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the thirty [who said]: "[We are] yours, O David! And [we are] with you, O son of Jesse! Peace! Peace to you, and peace to those who help you, for your God helps you." So David appointed them as heads of the troops.

Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”

These are the numbers of the chiefs of the armed men, ready for war, who came to David at Hebron, to give the kingdom of Saul into his hands, as the Lord had said.

And David said to all the assembly of Israel, "{If it seems good to you} and before Yahweh our God, {let us send word abroad} to our brothers who remain in all the land of Israel and [to] the priests and Levites with them in the cities with their pasturelands that they might be gathered to us.

And all the congregation said that they should do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

And there he died before God. And David was displeased, because the LORD had rent a rent in Uzzah, and called the said place Perezuzzah unto this day.

David was afraid of God that day and said, "How will I ever be able to bring the ark of God up here?"

Then David inquired of God, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you put them into my hand?" And Yahweh said to him, "Go up. I will put them into your hand."

And he went up to Baal-Perazim, and David struck them there. And David said, "God has burst out against my enemies by my hand like waters burst out." Therefore they will call the name of this place Baal-Perazim.

Then David inquired again of God. And God said to him, "You shall not go up after them. Go around from before them and come against them the opposite [way] of the balsam trees.

And David did as the Lord had said; and they overcame the army of the Philistines, attacking them from Gibeon as far as Gezer.

Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for them has Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to serve him for ever.

and he said to them, Ye are the chief fathers of the Levites; hallow yourselves, ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of Jehovah the God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it.

And the sons of the Levites took up the ark of God, lifting it by its rods, as the Lord had said to Moses.

May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised
from everlasting to everlasting.”

Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

And with the said Heman and Jeduthun were trumpets and sounding cymbals, and instruments of the melody of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.

When David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a cedar house while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under tent curtains.”

And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.

'Go, and thou hast said unto David My servant, Thus said Jehovah, Thou dost not build for Me the house to dwell in:

'And now, thus dost thou say to My servant, to David, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have taken thee from the habitation, from after the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel,

Then King David went in, sat in the Lord’s presence, and said,

Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?

And now, Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

And thy name continue and wax great forever, that it be said, 'the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel is God in Israel, and the house of David thy servant be stable before thee.'

And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have said you will give this good thing to your servant:

Then David said, “I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.”

So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. However, when David’s emissaries arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him,

the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn’t David sent his emissaries in order to scout out, overthrow, and spy on the land?”

It was reported to David about his men, so he sent messengers to meet them, since the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”

“If the Arameans are too strong for me,” Joab said, “then you’ll be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll help you.

David said, "This is where the LORD God's Temple will be, along with the altar of burnt offerings for Israel."

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring a report to me so I can know their number.”

But Joab said, "May Yahweh add to the people a hundred times what they are! Are they not, O my lord the king, all of them the king's servants? Why does my lord seek this? Why would he bring guilt to Israel?"

David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now, please take away Your servant’s guilt, for I’ve been very foolish.”

And the Lord said to Gad, David’s seer,

Go, and thou hast spoken unto David, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Three -- I am stretching out unto thee; choose for thee one of these, and I do it to thee.'

So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice:

Then David said to Gad, "{I am very troubled}. Let me into the hand of Yahweh, for his compassion is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of a man."

Then God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but when the angel was about to destroy the city, the Lord looked, relented concerning the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough, withdraw your hand now!” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? My Lord God, please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s family, but don’t let the plague be against Your people.”

And the messenger of Jehovah said to Gad to say to David that David shall go up to set up an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite.

And David went up, as Gad had said in the name of the Lord.

Then David said to Ornan, “Give me this threshing-floor plot so that I may build an altar to the Lord on it. Give it to me for the full price, so the plague on the people may be stopped.”

Ornan said to David, “Take it! My lord the king may do whatever he wants. See, I give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering—I give it all.”

But King David said to Ornan, "No, for I will certainly buy [it] at full value; indeed, I will not take what is yours for Yahweh and offer burnt offerings for nothing."

Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly great and famous and glorious in all the lands. Therefore, I must make provision for it.” So David made lavish preparations for it before his death.

“My son,” David said to Solomon, “It was in my heart to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God,

But the Lord said to me: 'You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me.

“Now, my son, may the Lord be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as He said about you.

“Of these,” David said, “24,000 are to be in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,

and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He has come to stay in Jerusalem forever.

David didn’t count the men aged 20 or under, for the Lord had said He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the Lord’s covenant and as a footstool for our God. I had made preparations to build,

but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who is to build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father.

All this said David, in writing, by Jehovah's hand upon me, instructing as to all the works of the pattern.

Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the Lord’s house is finished.

Then King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon—God has chosen him alone—is young and inexperienced. The task is great because the temple will not be for man but for the Lord God.

Then David praised the Lord in the sight of all the assembly. David said,

May You be praised, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity.

Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So the whole assembly praised the Lord God of their ancestors. They bowed down and paid homage to the Lord and the king.

And they offered offerings unto the LORD. And on the morrow after the said day, they offered in burnt offerings unto the LORD a thousand oxen, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs with their drink offerings.