And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies,

that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.

And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.

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

Go and say to my servant, to David, Thus saith Jehovah: Wilt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle.

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, over Israel;

and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.

And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly,

and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I have given thee rest from all thine enemies; and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.

When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men;

And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made firm for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

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

And king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

And yet this hath been a small thing in thy sight, Lord Jehovah; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, Lord Jehovah?

And what can David say more to thee? for thou, Lord Jehovah, knowest thy servant.

For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make thy servant know it.

And who is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, and to make himself a name, and to do for them great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thyself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

And thou hast established to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever; and thou, Jehovah, art become their God.

And now, Jehovah Elohim, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house, fulfil it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

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

For thou, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

And now, Lord Jehovah, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;

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

And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them; and David took the power of the capital out of the hand of the Philistines.

And he smote the Moabites, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts.

And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion by the river Euphrates.

And David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer 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 Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much bronze.

And Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadadezer;

and Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him; for Hadadezer was continually at war with Toi. And he brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.

Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated of all the nations that he had subdued:

of the Syrians, and of the Moabites, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of the Amalekites, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

And David made him a name when he returned, after he had smitten the Syrians in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand men.

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

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

And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler;

and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was scribe;

and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba; and they called him to David. And the king said to him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant!

And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame on his feet.

And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

And king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he said, Behold thy servant!

And David said to him, Fear not; for I will certainly shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to thy master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.

And thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat. And Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread at my table continually. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And Mephibosheth said David shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.

And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem; for he did eat continually at the king's table. And he was lame on both his feet.

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

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

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

And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.

And they told it to David; 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 the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.

And David heard of it, and he sent Joab, and all the host, the mighty men.

And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;

and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might array them against the children of Ammon.

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 come and help thee.

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

And Joab drew near, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him.

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

And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

And Hadarezer sent, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven hundred in chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.

And all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they laid waste the land of the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem.

And it came to pass at evening time that David arose from off his couch, and walked upon the roof of the king's house; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful;

and David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urijah the Hittite?

And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; and she had purified herself from her uncleanness; and she returned to her house.

And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

And David sent to Joab saying, Send me Urijah the Hittite. And Joab sent Urijah to David.

And when Urijah had come to him, David asked how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, and how the war prospered.

And David said to Urijah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Urijah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him presents from the king.

And Urijah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

And they had told David saying, Urijah did not go down to his house; and David said to Urijah, Art thou not come from a journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?

And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields: shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

And David said to Urijah, Abide here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. And Urijah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow.

And David invited him, and he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but did not go down to his house.

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by Urijah.

And he wrote in the letter saying, Set Urijah in the front of the thickest fight, and withdraw from him, that he may be smitten and die.

And it came to pass as Joab watched the city, that he assigned Urijah to a place where he knew that the valiant men were.

And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab; and there fell some of the people, of the servants of David; and Urijah the Hittite died also.

Then Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war;

and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast ended telling the matters of the war to the king,

and if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say to thee, Why did ye go so near to the city to fight? did ye not know that they would shoot from the wall?

And the messenger went; and he came and told David all that Joab had sent him for.

And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out against us into the field, and we were upon them as far as the entrance of the gate.

And the shooters shot from upon the wall against thy servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.