Then Saul said to his armor bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon i

In times past, even when Saul was king, it was thou who led out and brought in Israel. And LORD thy God said to thee, Thou shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shall be ruler over my people Israel.

And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shall not come in here. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David.

And David said, Whoever smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief.

And David longed, and said, Oh that a man would give me water to drink of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!

and said, My God forbid it of me, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For with [the jeopardy of] their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These thin

And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, If ye have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit to you, but if [ye be come] to betray me to my adversaries, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, th

Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the thirty, [and he said], We are thine, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse. Peace, peace be to thee, and peace be to thy helpers, for thy God helps thee. Then David receive

And David said to all the assembly of Israel, If it seems good to you, and if it be of LORD our God, let us send abroad everywhere to our brothers who are left in all the land of Israel, with whom the priests and Levites are in the

And all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will thou deliver them into my hand? And LORD said to him, Go up, for I will deliver them into thy hand.

So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there. And David said, God has broken my enemies by my hand like the breach of waters. Therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And David inquired again of God. And God said to him, Thou shall not go up after them. Turn away from them, and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees.

Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for LORD has them chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister to him forever.

And said to them, Ye are the heads of the fathers of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brothers, that ye may bring up the ark of LORD, the God of Israel, to [the place] that I have prepared for it.

Blessed be LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. And all the people said, Amen, and praised LORD.

And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of LORD [dwells] under curtains.

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

Then David the king went in, and sat before LORD. And he said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that thou have brought me thus far?

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

But the rulers of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, Do thou think that David honors thy father, in that he has sent comforters to thee? Have not his servants come to thee to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?

And they came and informed David about the men. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Remain at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.

And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know the sum of them.

And Joab said, LORD make his people a hundred times as many as they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? Why does my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?

And David said to God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.

So Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus says LORD, Take which thou will:

And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait. Let me fall, I pray, into the hand of LORD, for his mercies are very great, and let me not fall into the hand of man.

And God sent an agent to Jerusalem to destroy it. And as he was about to destroy, LORD beheld, and he relented of the evil, and said to the destroying agent, It is enough. Now halt thy hand. And the agent of LORD was standing by th

And David said to God, Is it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? Even I it is who have sinned and done very badly. But these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be against me, and agains

Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar to LORD. For the full price thou shall give it me, that the plague may be stopped from the people.

And Ornan said to David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes. Lo, I give [thee] the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering. I gi

And king David said to Ornan, No, but I will truly buy it for the full price. For I will not take that which is thine for LORD, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.

Then David said, This is the house of LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel.

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

And David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build a house to the name of LORD my God.

and four thousand were porters, and four thousand praised LORD with the instruments which I made, [David said], to praise therewith.

For David said, LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.

But David did not take the number of them from twenty years old and under, because LORD had said he would increase Israel like the stars of heaven.

Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brothers, and my people. As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of LORD, and for the footstool of our God. And I had made

But God said to me, Thou shall not build a house for my name, because thou are a man of war, and have shed blood.

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

All this, [David said], I have been made to understand in writing from the hand of LORD, even all the works of this pattern.

And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it. Fear not, nor be dismayed, for LORD God, even my God, is with thee. He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until all the work for the service of the hou

And David the king said to all the assembly, 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 LORD God.

Therefore David praised LORD before all the assembly. And David said, Blessed be thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

And David said to all the assembly, Now praise LORD your God. And all the assembly praised LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and and did obeisance to LORD, and the king.