David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone; he struck down the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David's hand.

Then Saul was even more afraid of David, and Saul was David's enemy from that time on.

Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him so they could kill him in the morning. David's wife, Michal, told him, "If you don't escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be put to death."

And don't stop showing your gracious love to my family forever, not even when the LORD eliminates each of David's enemies from the surface of the earth."

Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David: "May the LORD punish any violation of this covenant by the hand of David's enemies."

The king sat down at his place as before, in the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood while Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.

But the next day, on the second day of the New Moon, David's place was empty, and so Saul told his son Jonathan, "Why didn't Jesse's son come to the festival, either yesterday or today?"

David's men told him, "Look, we're afraid here in Judah. How much then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine army?"

David's men told him, "Look, today is the day about which the LORD spoke to you when he said, "I'll give your enemy into your hand.' Do to him whatever you want!"

David rose and stealthily cut off the corner of Saul's robe. Afterwards, David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the corner of Saul's robe.

David's young men came to Nabal and told him all this in David's name, and then they waited.

Nabal answered David's servants: "Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters.

David's men turned and went on their way. They came back and told David everything.

Then David sent word to Abigail that he would take her as his wife. David's servants went to Abigail at Carmel and told her, "David sent us to you to take you to him as his wife."

Then Abigail quickly got up and got on a donkey, with five young women walking behind her. She followed David's messengers, and she became his wife.

Meanwhile, Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Laish's son Palti from Gallim.

Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is this your voice, my son David?"

David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's former wife, had been captured.

David took all the rest of the sheep and cattle, driving them ahead of their rescued livestock. People said about all this, "This is David's spoil."

The period of David's kingship in Hebron lasted seven years and six months.

Zeruiah's son Joab and some of David's staff went out to meet them at the pool of Gibeon. One side encamped on one side of the pool while the other encamped on the other side of the pool.

So they got up and twelve were counted to represent Benjamin and Saul's son Ish-bosheth and twelve to represent members of David's staff.

The battle was very violent that day, with Abner and the men of Israel being defeated in the presence of David's servants.

Joab returned from his pursuit of Abner, and when he had mustered his entire army, nineteen of David's soldiers were missing besides Asahel.

After this, a state of protracted war existed between Saul's dynasty and David's dynasty, and the dynasty of David continued to grow and become strong while the dynasty of Saul continued to grow weaker.

and his sixth was Ithream by David's wife Eglah. They were all born to David in Hebron.

Abner also addressed the tribe of Benjamin. Furthermore, with David's permission, Abner said anything that seemed like it would be good for Israel and for the entire tribe of Benjamin.

Right about then, David's servants returned from a raid, bringing plenty of war booty with them, but Abner wasn't in Hebron with David, since David had sent him away and Abner had left in peace.

Jehoida's son Benaiah supervised the special forces and mercenaries, and David's sons were priests.

Later, Ziba told the king, "Your servant will do everything that your majesty the king commands him." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.

But when David's delegation arrived in Ammonite territory, the Ammonite officials asked their lord Hanun, "Do you think that because David has sent a delegation of consolers to you that he is honoring your father? His delegation has arrived intending to search, scout the land, and then overthrow it, hasn't it?"

So Hanun arrested David's delegation, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their clothes at the waist line, and sent them away in disgrace.

But the Arameans retreated from Israel, and David's forces killed 700 of their charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and mortally wounded Shobach, the commander of their army. As a result, Shobach died there.

Then at David's invitation, he and Uriah dined and drank wine together, and David got him drunk. Later that evening, Uriah went out to lie on a couch in the company of his lord's servants, and he did not go down to his house.

When the men of the city came out to fight Joab, some of David's army staff members fell, and Uriah the Hittite died, too.

A week later, the child died, and David's staff was afraid to tell him that the child had died. They were telling themselves, "Look, when the child was still alive, we talked to him but he wouldn't listen to what we said. Now what kind of trouble will he bring on himself if we tell him that the child has died?"

He confiscated the crown of their king from his head it weighed one talent in gold and was set with precious stones and it was placed on David's head. He confiscated a great amount of war booty that had been plundered from the city,

Sometime after this, David's son Amnon fell in love with David's other son Absalom's beautiful sister Tamar.

Meanwhile, Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David's brother Shimeah. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man.

But Absalom kept begging David until he sent Amnon and all of David's sons to accompany Absalom.

So Absalom's young men did to Amnon just as they had been ordered, but the rest of David's sons jumped up, mounted their mules, and escaped.

But David's brother Shimeah's son Jonadab reported, "Your majesty, don't assume they've killed all of the young men the king's sons only Amnon has died, since that was Absalom's intention from the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar.

Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.

So David's friend Hushai went back to the city just as Absalom was arriving in Jerusalem.

He threw rocks at David and all of David's staff who were accompanying him, while all the rest of the entourage, including all of David's security detail, were close by him.

When David's friend Hushai the Archite approached Absalom, Hushai greeted Absalom, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"

David's army left for the battlefield to fight Absalom and his Israeli followers, and they also fought in the Ephraim forest,

where David's army of servants defeated the Israelis. Many died that day 20,000 men.

Absalom happened to run into David's soldiers. While Absalom was trying to get away on his mule, it ran under the thick branches of a giant oak tree, and Absalom's head got caught in the tree! As his mule ran out from under him, Absalom was left hanging above the ground.

Not long afterward, all the men of Israel started coming to the king, complaining to him, "Why did our relatives in Judah's army sneak you away, taking the king and his household over the Jordan River, along with David's army?"

So Joab's men, the special forces and mercenaries, and all of David's elite forces left Jerusalem in pursuit of Bichri's son Sheba.

and Ira the Jairite was David's priest.

One time there was a famine during David's reign that went on for three straight years. David sought the LORD, who said, "Saul and his household are guilty because he executed the Gibeonites."

But Zeruiah's son Abishai came to David's aid, attacked the Philistine, and killed him. After this, David's army told him, "You're not going out anymore with us to battle, so Israel's beacon won't be extinguished!"

When he defied Israel, David's brother Shimeah's son Jonathan killed him.

This was David's last composition: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, an oracle by the valiant one who was exalted anointed by the God of Jacob, the contented psalm writer of Israel.

Here's a list of the names of David's special forces: Josheb-basshebeth the Tahkemonite was head of the Three; he was nicknamed Adino the Eznite because he killed 800 men in a single battle engagement.

But the king's order overruled Joab and the commanders of the special forces, so Joab and the commanders of the special forces left David's presence to take a census of the people of Israel.

Later, David's conscience bothered him after he had numbered the army, so David told the LORD, "I have sinned greatly by what I did. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly."

Before David arose the next morning, this message from the LORD came to Gad, David's seer:

built an altar to the LORD there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD answered David's prayers for the land and the pestilence on Israel was averted.

but Zadok the priest, Jehoiada's son Benaiah, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's personal elite forces would have nothing to do with Adonijah.

but he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, David's personal elite forces, or his brother Solomon.

As David's time to die approached, he addressed his son Solomon with these words:

Solomon then assumed his father David's throne, and his kingdom was firmly established.

The LORD will repay him for his bloodshed because, without my father David's consent he attacked and murdered two men more righteous and better than he, Ner's son Abner, the commander of Israel's army and Jether's son Amasa, commander of Judah's army.

But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will be established in the presence of the LORD forever."

King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he learned that Solomon had been anointed king to replace his father, because Hiram had been David's lifelong friend.

because as Solomon grew older, his wives turned his affections away after other gods, and his heart was not fully as devoted to the LORD his God as his father David's heart had been.

During David's military campaign against Edom, when his army commander Joab had gone out to bury the dead, he killed every male in Edom.

This is how I'm going to afflict David's descendants because of what they have done, though I won't do it continuously.'"

That's how Israel came to be in rebellion against David's dynasty to this day.

Now when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him and invited him to visit their assembly, where they installed him as king over all of Israel. Nobody (with the sole exception of the tribe of Judah) would align with David's dynasty.

Jeroboam was thinking to himself, "The kingdom is about to return to David's control.

He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'"

"I tore the kingdom away from David's dynasty. "Then I gave it to you. But you have not lived like my servant David, who kept my commands with all his heart, and did only what I considered to be right.

But the LORD remained unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of his servant David, since he had promised to keep David's lamp burning brightly through his descendants every day.

The priest issued King David's personal spears and shields that had been stored in the LORD's Temple to the captains of hundreds.

These are David's descendants who were born to him in Hebron: Amnon his firstborn by Ahinoam the Jezreelite, Daniel his second born by Abigail the Carmelite,

All these were David's sons, besides children born to his mistresses. Tamar was their sister.

Later, the Three Warriors went down to David's hideout at the cave of Adullam when the Philistine army was camping in the valley of giants.

Then David's reputation spread through all of the neighboring countries, and the LORD caused all nations to be afraid of David.

Jehoiada's son Benaiah supervised the special forces and mercenaries, while David's sons worked as chief officials in service to the king.

But when David's delegation arrived to visit Hanun in Ammonite territory to console him, the Ammonite officials asked Hanun, "Do you think that because David has sent a delegation of consolers to you that he is honoring your father? His delegation has arrived to search, overthrow, and scout the land, hasn't it?"

So Hanun arrested David's delegation, shaved off their beards, cut off their clothes at the waist line, and sent them away in disgrace.

The Arameans retreated from Israel, and David's forces killed 7,000 Aramean charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and Shophach, the commander of their army.

David confiscated the crown of their king from his head, and found that its weight was a talent in gold. A precious stone had been set in it, and it was placed on David's head. He also confiscated a great amount of war booty that had been plundered from the city,

When he challenged Israel, Shimei's son Jonathan, David's nephew, killed him.

So the LORD responded through Gad, David's seer.

Since, according to David's final instructions, the list above contains the total number of descendants of Levi from the age of 20 years and upward,

From the descendants of Hebron, Jerijah was assigned chief of the descendants of Hebron. During the fortieth year of David's administration, a search was made by genealogical record, family by family, to find men of great ability, including those found at Jazer in Gilead.

for Judah there was Elihu, one of David's brothers; for Issachar there was Michael's son Omri;

All of these served as stewards over King David's property.

David's uncle Jonathan was a counselor, since he was a man of understanding and a scribe, and Hachmoni's son Jehiel was an attendant to the king's sons.

They crowned David's son Solomon king a second time and anointed him to serve as Commander-in-Chief to the LORD and Zadok to serve as priest. So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in the place of his father David. He prospered, and all of Israel obeyed him.

All of the officials, all of the valiant soldiers, and all of King David's sons submitted to King Solomon's control,

As David's son Solomon consolidated his administration, the LORD his God was with him to make him very successful.

That's how Israel came to be in rebellion against David's dynasty to this day.

Rehoboam married Mahalath, the daughter of David's son Jerimoth, along with Abihail, the daughter of Jesse's son Eliab,

Even so, Nebat's son Jeroboam, who used to serve David's son Solomon, rose in rebellion against his own master!