and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to lead the singing.

And David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy.

And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, that they sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams.

And it came to pass as the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked through a window, and saw king David dancing and playing; and she despised him in her heart.

And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread and a measure of wine and a raisin-cake.

And he appointed certain of the Levites to do the service before the ark of Jehovah, and to celebrate, and to thank and praise Jehovah the God of Israel:

Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of lutes and with harps; and Asaph sounding with cymbals;

Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to give thanks to Jehovah through Asaph and his brethren.

Be ye ever mindful of his covenant, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations, --

And they went from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people.

He suffered no man to oppress them, And reproved kings for their sakes,

Saying, Touch not mine anointed ones, And do my prophets no harm.

Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth; Publish his salvation from day to day.

For Jehovah is great, and exceedingly to be praised; And he is terrible above all gods.

Then shall the trees of the forest sing out at the presence of Jehovah, For he cometh to judge the earth.

And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us, and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, To triumph in thy praise.

Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, from eternity and to eternity! And all the people said, Amen! and praised Jehovah.

And he left there, before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, Asaph and his brethren, to do the service before the ark continually, as every day's duty required;

to offer up burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of burnt-offering continually, morning and evening, and according to all that is written in the law of Jehovah, which he commanded Israel;

and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his loving-kindness endureth for ever;

And all the people departed every one to his house; and David returned to bless his household.

And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah under curtains.

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

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

Go and say to David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in;

for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day; but I have been from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

In all my going about with all Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why build ye me not a house of cedars?

And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel;

and since the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will subdue all thine enemies; and I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house.

And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.

And this hath been a small thing in thy sight, O God; and thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, Jehovah Elohim.

What can David say more to thee for the glory of thy servant? thou indeed knowest thy servant.

Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make known all these great things.

Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And who is like thy people Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, which thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?

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.

Let it even be established, and let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, is God to Israel; and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.

For thou, my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee.

and now, let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, Jehovah, hast blessed it, and it shall be blessed for ever.

And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines.

And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah, at Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates.

And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, and David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

And David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

And Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadarezer king of Zobah;

and he sent Hadoram his son to king David to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him; for Hadarezer was continually at war with Tou; he sent also all manner of vessels of gold and silver and bronze.

Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had brought from all the nations: from the Edomites, and from the Moabites, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from the Amalekites.

And he put garrisons in Edom; and all they of Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

And David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice to all his people.

And it came to pass after this that Nahash king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead.

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

And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search and overthrow, and to spy out the land that his servants are come to thee?

And certain went and told David concerning the men; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and from the Syrians of Maacah, and from Zobah.

And they hired thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people; and they came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle.

And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.

Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people, and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah will do what is good in his sight.

And Joab and the people that were with him drew near in front of the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him.

And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. And Joab came to Jerusalem.

And it came to pass at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that Joab led forth the power of the army, and laid waste the land of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and overthrew it.

And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with the saw, and with harrows of iron, and with saws. And so David did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbechai the Hushathite smote Sippai, one of the children of Rapha; and they were subdued.

And there was again a battle, at Gath; and there was a man there of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot; and he also was born to Rapha.

These were born to Rapha in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.

And David said to Joab and to the princes 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 said, Jehovah add to his people, how many soever they be, a hundredfold: are they not all, my lord O king, my lord's servants? why does my lord require this thing? why should he become a trespass to Israel?

But the king's word prevailed against Joab; and Joab departed, and went through all Israel, and came again to Jerusalem.

And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. And all they of Israel were eleven hundred thousand men that drew sword; and of Judah, four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew sword.

But Levi and Benjamin he did not count among them; for the king's word was abominable to Joab.

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

And Jehovah spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying,

Go and speak to David saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I offer thee three things; choose one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

And Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah:

Choose thee, either three years of famine, or three months to be destroyed before thine adversaries while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee, or three days the sword of Jehovah and the pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying through all the borders of Israel. And now consider what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

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

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; and as he was destroying, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough; withdraw now thine hand. And the angel of Jehovah stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David said to God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? It is I that have sinned and done evil; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, Jehovah my God, be on me and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be smitten.

And the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and rear an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

And David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of the threshing-floor, that I may build an altar in it to Jehovah: grant it to me for the full money, that the plague may be stayed 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 sight: see, I give the oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing-sledges for wood, and the wheat for the oblation; I give it all.

And king David said to Ornan, No; but I will in any case buy them for the full money; for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, to offer up a burnt-offering without cost.

And David gave to Ornan for the place in shekels of gold the weight of six hundred shekels.

And David built there an altar to Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon Jehovah; and he answered him from the heavens by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering.

And Jehovah spoke to the angel; and he put up his sword again into its sheath.

But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.

And David commanded to collect the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

and cedar-trees innumerable; for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar-wood in abundance to David.

For David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for Jehovah must be exceeding great in fame and in beauty in all lands: I will therefore make preparation for it. And David prepared abundantly before his death.

And he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for Jehovah the God of Israel.

And David said to Solomon, As for me, my son, I was minded to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God.

But the word of Jehovah came to me saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, for thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and in his days I will give peace and quietness unto Israel.

Only, Jehovah give thee wisdom and understanding, and place thee over Israel, and to keep the law of Jehovah thy God.

Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to perform the statutes and ordinances which Jehovah commanded Moses for Israel: be strong and courageous; fear not, neither be dismayed.

And behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of Jehovah a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance; and timber and stone have I prepared; and thou shalt add to it.

And David commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,