until then they [were] gatekeepers at the gate of the king on the east [side] toward the camps of the Levites.

Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah [was] gatekeeper at the doorway to the tent of assembly.

All of them were chosen as gatekeepers at the entrances, two hundred and twelve. They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. They [were] established [by] David and Samuel the seer on account of their faithfulness.

So they and their sons [were] over the gates of the house of Yahweh at the house of the tent as guards.

And some of them [were] over the utensils of the service, for {they count them} [when] they are brought in and {they count them} [when] they are brought out.

And some of them were appointed over the objects, over the objects of the sanctuary, and over the wheat flour and the wine, the olive oil, the frankincense, and the spices.

And from the sons of the Kohathites, some of their kinsmen [were] over the {showbread} to prepare [it] {every Sabbath}.

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.

And it happened [that] on the next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

Then all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the presence of Yahweh. And they anointed David as king over Israel according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Samuel.

And David lived in the fortress. Therefore they called it the city of David.

He himself [was] with David at Pas-Dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for the battle. And there was a plot of the field filled with barley, and the people fled before the Philistines.

But they took their stand in the middle of the plot and defended it. And they killed the Philistines. And Yahweh saved [them] [with] a great victory.

And three of the thirty chiefs went down toward the rock to David at the cave of Adullam when the army of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

Then the three broke through into the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that [was] by the gate and brought [it] and came to David. But David would not drink it and poured it out before Yahweh.

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.

Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite,

Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag while he was still shut up because {of Saul}, the son of Kish. And they [were] the mighty warriors helping [with] the war.

And from the Gadites, valiant mighty warriors, {soldiers fit for war}, expert with shield and spear, defected to David at the fortress toward the wilderness. And {they had faces like lions} [and were] swift as gazelles upon the mountains.

Attai sixth, Eliel seventh,

These [were] they who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was filled over its banks. And they put to flight all [who were in] the valley to the east and to the west.

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."

And some Manassites deserted to David when he came with the Philistines to the battle against Saul, but he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines sent him away upon counsel, saying, "He will desert to his master Saul at [the cost of] our heads."

{Day in and day out} they came to David to help him until [there was] a great army, like the army of God.

And these are the numbers of the chiefs of those prepared for the army who came to David at Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him according to the word of Yahweh.

The sons of Judah bearing shield and spear: six thousand eight hundred armed troops.

And from the men of Ephraim: twenty thousand eight hundred mighty warriors of strength, famous men in the house of their fathers.

And from the men of Issachar: {men who were skilled in understanding the times} to know what Israel should do. Their chiefs [were] two hundred, and all their kinsmen [were] under their command.

From Zebulun, those who went out armed, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war: fifty thousand to help David {with singleness of purpose}.

From the Danites, [those] equipped for battle: twenty-eight thousand six hundred.

And from Asher, those who went out armed [and] prepared for battle: forty thousand.

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.

Then let us bring around the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul."

And when they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzza reached out his hand to hold the ark because the cattle had stumbled.

And David {was angry} because Yahweh had broken out in wrath against Uzza. And that place is called Perez Uzza unto this day.

So David did not move the ark to himself into the city of David but diverted it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed as king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard and went out from before them.

Now the Philistines came and carried out a raid in the Valley of Rephaim.

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 the Philistines {carried out another raid} in the valley.

And it shall be [that] when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out into battle, for God goes out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines."

And the fame of David went out through all the lands. And Yahweh put the fear of him upon all the nations.

And David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he established a place for the ark of God. And he pitched a tent for it.

And David gathered all Israel to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of Yahweh to its place that he had established for it.

And he said to them, "You [are] the heads of the {families} for the Levites. Sanctify yourselves and your brothers and bring up the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, to [the place] I have established for it.

Because the first time you did not, [and] Yahweh our God burst out against us, for we did not care for it according to the law."

And the sons of the Levites carried the ark of God according to what Moses commanded, according to the word of Yahweh, on their shoulders with the carrying poles upon them.

And it happened [that] David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the house of Obed-Edom with joy.

And it happened [that] when God helped the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

And they brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God.

And he confirmed it to Jacob as a statute, an everlasting covenant to Israel,

When you were few in number, little, and sojourners [were] in it,

Let the sea roar and its fullness; let the field rejoice and all that [is] in it.

and [he left] Obed-Edom with his sixty-eight brothers. And Obed-Edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah [were] gatekeepers.

And [he left] Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of Yahweh at the high place which [was] at Gibeon

And Heman and Jeduthun with them [had] trumpets and cymbals for making music, along with instruments for the song of God. And the sons of Jeduthun [were] at the gate.

And it happened that same night the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

for I have not lived in a house from the day that I brought out Israel unto this day. I have been from tent to tent and from tabernacle [to tabernacle].

And it shall be that when your days are fulfilled to go [and sleep] with your ancestors, then I will raise up your seed after you, who will be one of your sons, and I will establish his kingdom.

I myself will be a father to him, and he himself will be a son to me. And I will not remove my steadfast love from him as I took it away from whoever was before you.

Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who [am] I, O Yahweh God, and what [is] my house that you have brought me thus far?

{What more} can David [do] to you for honoring your servant? Now you know your servant.

And who [is] like your people Israel, [the] one nation upon earth whom God went to redeem for himself, to establish for you a reputation for great and awesome things, to drive out nations from before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt?

So now, O Yahweh, let the word that you spoke to your servant and to his house be established forever, that you might do what you have spoken.

And now may you begin to bless the house of your servant {to continue forever} before you, for you, O Yahweh, have blessed. And it will be blessed forever."

And it happened [that] after David struck the Philistines and subdued them, he captured Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

And David struck Hadadezer, king of Zobah-Hamath, as he set up his monument at the Euphrates River.

And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David captured very much bronze. Solomon made the bronze sea with it along with the columns and objects of bronze.

he sent Hadoram his son to King David to ask him for peace and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou {had been at war} with Hadadezer. And [he brought with him] all the objects of gold, silver, and bronze.

And it happened [that] after this Nahash the king of the {Ammonites} died, and his son reigned in his place.

But the princes of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun, "{Do you think} because David sent comforters to you [that] David honors your father? Is it not for the purpose of exploring [so as] to overthrow and spy out the land that his servants have come to you?"

So Hanun took the servants of David and shaved them and cut off their garments at the middle, up to the buttocks, and sent them away.

And they went and told David concerning the men, and he inquired of them, for the men were very disgraced. And the king said, "Dwell in Jericho until your beards grow out; then return."

And the {Ammonites} went out and took up positions for battle at the entrance of the city. And the kings who had come [were] alone in the field.

When Joab saw that [there was] {a battle line} against him at the front and the back, he chose from among the chosen [men] in Israel and arranged [them] to meet Aram.

Be strong! Let us strengthen ourselves on behalf of our people and on behalf of the cities of our God. And may Yahweh do [what is] good in his eyes."

And when Aram saw that they were defeated before Israel, they sent messengers and brought out Aram, who [was from] beyond the Euphrates, with Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer before them.

And when it was told to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. And he came to them and was arrayed against them. Then David was arrayed to meet Aram in battle, and they fought with him.

And it happened [that] {in the spring time of year}, the time [when] kings go out [to battle], Joab led the troops of the army and destroyed the land of the {Ammonites}. And he came and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab struck Rabbah and destroyed it.

And David took the crown of their king from his head and found it to weigh a talent of gold. And in it [was] a precious stone. Then it was [placed] upon the head of David. And he brought out the booty of the city, a large amount.

And the people who [were] in it he brought out, and {he set them to work with saws and iron implements and axes}. Thus David did to all the cities of the {Ammonites}. Then David returned, and all the nation [went] with him.

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?"

And Joab gave the number of the enrollment of the people to David. And it happened [that] all Israel [was] one million one hundred thousand men drawing a sword, and in Judah [were] four hundred and seventy thousand men drawing a sword.

whether three years of famine or three months of devastation by your enemies while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days of the sword of Yahweh, with disease in the land and the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the territory in Israel.' So now, see what word I should return to my sender."

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, and as [he was about] to destroy [it], Yahweh saw and was grieved on account of the calamity. Then he said to the angel, the destroyer, "[It is] enough; slacken your hand." And the angel of Yahweh was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.

Then David said to God, "Was it not I [who] gave a command to count the people? Now I [am] he who has sinned, and I have certainly done wickedness, but these sheep, what have they done? O Yahweh, my God, please let your hand be against me and against the house of my father, but against your people, [let there be] no plague."

So David went up at the word of Gad that he had spoken in the name of Yahweh.

Now Ornan was threshing wheat, and Ornan turned and saw the angel, and his four sons with him hid themselves.

Then David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and they bowed down to David, faces to the ground.

Then David said to Ornan, "Please give me the place, the threshing floor, that I might build an altar on it to Yahweh; at full price please give it to me, that the plague against the people might be stopped."

And Ornan said to David, "Take [it] to yourself; let my lord the king do what [is] good in his eyes. See, I give the cattle for the burnt offerings and threshing sledges for the wood and 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."

So David gave to Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.

At that time, when David saw that Yahweh answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.

Now the tabernacle of Yahweh that Moses had made in the desert and the altar of burnt offering [were] at that time at the high place of Gibeon.

But David was not able to go before it to seek God, for he was afraid on account of the sword of the angel of Yahweh.

but it happened [that] the word of Yahweh [came] over me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have made much war; you shall not build a house for my name because you have shed much blood upon the ground before me.

Now see, with great effort I have made provision for the house of Yahweh: 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron [that] cannot be weighed, for there is an abundance. Also timber and stone I have provided, but to these you should add.

And the Levites thirty years old and above were counted, and their number according to their head count for the men [was] thirty-eight thousand.