Bible in 90 Days

²⁰ Sha’ul immediately fell full length on the ground and became terribly frightened because of what Sh’mu’el had said. He had no strength left in him, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night. ²¹ The woman approached Sha’ul, saw that he was panic-stricken and said to him, “Here, your servant listened to what you said; I put my life in my hands and did what you requested me to do. ²² Now therefore, please, you listen to what your servant says: let me put a little food in front of you; then eat, so you will have some strength when you go on your way.” ²³ But he refused and said, “I won’t eat.” Then his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded what they said. He got up off the ground and sat on the bed. ²⁴ The woman had a fattened calf in the house; she hurried to slaughter it; then she took flour, kneaded it and baked matzah with it. ²⁵ She served it to Sha’ul and his servants, and they ate. Afterwards, they got up; and they went away that night.

29 The P’lishtim gathered all their army together at Afek, while Isra’el’s army pitched camp by the spring in Yizre‘el. ² The leaders of the P’lishtim were passing by with their hundreds and thousands; David and his men were bringing up the rear with Akhish. ³ The chiefs of the P’lishtim asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Akhish answered the chiefs of the P’lishtim, “This is David, who was a servant of Sha’ul, king of Isra’el. He’s been with me now for well over a year, and I haven’t found anything wrong with him between the time he deserted to me and now.” ⁴ But the chiefs of the P’lishtim became angry and said to him, “Have the man return and go back to the place you set aside for him. Don’t let him go into battle with us, because on the battlefield he might become our enemy. What better way could there be for him to get reconciled with his lord than by [cutting off] the heads of our men? ⁵ This is David! They used to dance and sing about him,

⁶ So Akhish summoned David and said to him, “As Adonai lives, you have been upright; and I myself would be more than pleased to have you go on campaign with me; because I haven’t found anything wrong with you between the day you arrived and now. However, the chiefs don’t trust you. ⁷ Therefore, now, go on back; and go in peace, so as not to do what appears bad to the chiefs of the P’lishtim. ⁸ David said to Akhish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant during the time I’ve been with you that disqualifies me from going and fighting against the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹ Akhish answered David, “I know that you are as good, from my point of view, as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the chiefs of the P’lishtim have said, ‘He is not to go up with us to the battlefield.’ ¹⁰ So get up early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you; and as soon as you are up and it gets light, leave.” ¹¹ David got up early in the morning, he and his men, to leave and go back into the land of the P’lishtim; while the P’lishtim continued up to Yizre‘el.

30 Three days later, when David and his men arrived in Ziklag, they found that the ‘Amaleki had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had sacked Ziklag and burned it down; ² and they had taken captive the women and everyone there, great and small. They hadn’t killed anyone but had carried them off as they went on their way. ³ So when David and his men arrived at the city, there it was, burned down, with their wives, sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people with him cried aloud until they had no more power to cry. ⁵ David’s two wives had been taken captive — Achino‘am from Yizre‘el and Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel.

⁶ David was in serious trouble: the people were talking about stoning him to death, because all the people were in such deep grief, each man over his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in Adonai his God. ⁷ David said to Avyatar the cohen, the son of Achimelekh, “Please bring the ritual vest here to me.” Avyatar brought the vest to David. ⁸ Then David consulted Adonai. He asked, “Should I go in pursuit of these raiders? Will I catch up with them?” And [Adonai] answered him, “Go in pursuit, because you will overtake them and recover everyone and everything.” ⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They came to Vadi B’sor, where those who were to stay behind waited. ¹⁰ Then David continued in pursuit with four hundred men, while two hundred too exhausted to cross Vadi B’sor stayed behind.

¹¹ They found an Egyptian in the countryside and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink; ¹² they also gave him a lump of dried figs and two bunches of raisins. After eating, he revived; because he hadn’t eaten anything or drunk any water for three days and nights. ¹³ David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” He answered, “I’m an Egyptian boy, the slave of an ‘Amaleki. My master abandoned me three days ago, because I got sick. ¹⁴ We raided the Negev of the K’reti, the Negev of Y’hudah and the Negev of Kalev; and we burned down Ziklag.” ¹⁵ David asked him, “Will you lead me down to this raiding party?” He said, “If you will swear by God to me that you won’t kill me or hand me back to my master, I will lead you down to the raiders.” ¹⁶ He led them down, and there they were, spread out all over the ground, eating, drinking and celebrating how much spoil they had taken from the territory of the P’lishtim and the territory of Y’hudah. ¹⁷ David attacked them from dawn until the evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except for 400 young men who jumped on camels and got away. ¹⁸ David recovered all that the ‘Amaleki had taken; he also rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ They found nothing missing, big or little — not sons, not daughters, not plundered goods or anything else they had taken — David brought it all back. ²⁰ David took all the flocks and herds and drove them ahead of their own livestock, announcing, “This is David’s spoil.”

²¹ David came to where the two hundred men were who had been too exhausted to follow him, whom they had let stay at Vadi B’sor. They came out to meet David and the people with him. When David approached them he greeted them. ²² But some of the men who had gone with David were evil men, scoundrels; and they said, “They didn’t go with us, so we’re not giving them any of the property we’ve recovered. Each man can take his wife and children and leave.” ²³ Then David said, “No, my brothers, don’t do this with the goods Adonai has given us. He protected us, and he handed the raiding party over to us. ²⁴ Anyhow, no one agrees with you about this. No, the share of someone who stays with the equipment will be the same as the share of someone who goes out and fights — they will share equally.” ²⁵ It has been that way from that day on; he established it as a ruling for Isra’el to this day.

²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the leaders of Y’hudah who were his friends with a note, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of Adonai.” ²⁷ He sent such gifts

and to all the places where David and his men had frequently visited.

31 Now the P’lishtim pressed their attack on Isra’el. The men of Isra’el fled before the P’lishtim, leaving their dead on Mount Gilboa. ² The P’lishtim pursued and overtook Sha’ul and his sons; and the P’lishtim killed Y’honatan, Avinadav and Malkishua, the sons of Sha’ul. ³ The fighting went hard against Sha’ul; then the archers overtook and wounded him, so that he was in agony. ⁴ Sha’ul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it. Otherwise these uncircumcised men will come, run me through and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer refused, he was too frightened. So Sha’ul took his sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor-bearer saw that Sha’ul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him. ⁶ Thus Sha’ul, his three sons, his armor-bearer and all his men died that same day together.

⁷ When the men of Isra’el who were on the other side of the valley and those who were on the far side of the Yarden saw that the men of Isra’el had fled and that Sha’ul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the P’lishtim came and lived in them.

⁸ The following day, when the P’lishtim came to strip the dead, they found Sha’ul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head, stripped off his armor and sent these all over the territory of the P’lishtim to carry the news to the temples of their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ Then they put his armor in the temple for the ‘ashtarot and fastened his body to the wall of Beit-Sh’an.

¹¹ When the people living in Yavesh-Gil‘ad heard what the P’lishtim had done to Sha’ul, ¹² all their warriors set out, traveling all night. They took the body of Sha’ul and the bodies of his sons off the wall of Beit-Sh’an, returned to Yavesh and burned them there. ¹³ Then they took their bones, buried them under the tamarisk tree in Yavesh and fasted seven days.

1 Sha’ul had died, and David had been two days in Ziklag after returning from the slaughter of the ‘Amaleki. ² On the third day, there came a man from Sha’ul’s camp with his clothes torn and earth on his head. He approached David, fell to the ground and prostrated himself. ³ David said to him, “Where are you coming from?” “I escaped from the camp of Isra’el,” he replied. ⁴ “Tell me, please, how did things go?” asked David. “The people have fled the battle,” he answered, “and many of them are wounded or dead. Sha’ul and Y’honatan his son are dead too.” ⁵ David asked the young man who had told him this, “How do you know that Sha’ul and Y’honatan his son are dead?” ⁶ The young man who had told him said, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa when I saw Sha’ul leaning on his spear. The chariots and cavalry were bearing down on him. ⁷ He looked behind him, saw me and called to me. I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ and I answered, ‘I’m an ‘Amaleki’ ⁹ He said to me, ‘I’m in agony, and I’m going to die, but I’m still alive. So please, stand next to me; and kill me.’ ¹⁰ So I stood next to him and killed him, because I was sure he was so badly wounded that he couldn’t live. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and likewise all the men who were with him. ¹² They wailed and cried, and they fasted until evening for Sha’ul, for Y’honatan his son, for Adonai’s people and for the house of Isra’el; because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³ David said to the young man who had told him, “Where are you from?” He answered, “I’m the son of a [resident] foreigner, an ‘Amaleki.” ¹⁴ David asked him, “How is it that you weren’t afraid to raise your hand to destroy Adonai’s anointed?” ¹⁵ David called one of his young men and said, “Go over to him, and kill him.” The man struck him down, and he died. ¹⁶ David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head. Your own mouth convicted you when you said, ‘I killed Adonai’s anointed.’”

¹⁷ Then David pronounced this lament over Sha’ul and over Y’honatan his son, ¹⁸ in order to teach the people of Y’hudah [not to underestimate] archery (the lament has been written down in the book of Yashar):

2 After this, David consulted Adonai; he asked, “Should I go up into any of the cities of Y’hudah?” Adonai said to him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go up?” He said, “To Hevron.” ² So David went up there with his two wives Achino‘am from Yizre‘el and Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel. ³ David brought the men up with him, each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hevron.

⁴ Then the men of Y’hudah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Y’hudah. They informed David that the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad were the ones who had buried Sha’ul. ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad with this message: “May you be blessed by Adonai, because you showed this kindness to your lord, Sha’ul, and buried him. ⁶ Now may Adonai show kindness and truth to you; and I too will show you favor because you have done this. ⁷ Be strong, and be brave. Sha’ul your lord is dead, but the house of Y’hudah have anointed me king over them.”

⁸ Avner the son of Ner, commander of Sha’ul’s army, had taken Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, brought him over to Machanayim, ⁹ and made him king over Gil‘ad, the Ashuri, Yizre‘el, Efrayim, Binyamin and all Isra’el. ¹⁰ Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul was forty years old when he began to rule over Isra’el, and he ruled for two years. But the house of Y’hudah followed David. ¹¹ David was king in Hevron over the house of Y’hudah for seven years and six months.

¹² Avner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul went out from Machanayim to Giv‘on; ¹³ while Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah and David’s servants also went out; and they met together by the pool at Giv‘on. One group sat down on one side of the pool and the other on the other side. ¹⁴ Avner said to Yo’av, “If it’s all right with you, let’s have the young men get up and fight it out between themselves, while we watch.” Yo’av said, “Yes, let them.” ¹⁵ So they got up and paired off, twelve for Binyamin and Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, and twelve of David’s servants. ¹⁶ Each one grabbed his partner by the head and drove his sword into his side, so that they fell down together. For this reason that place was named Helkat-Hatzurim [field of blades]; it is in Giv‘on. ¹⁷ The battle that day was very fierce; Avner and the men of Isra’el were beaten by David’s servants.

¹⁸ The three sons of Tz’ruyah were there, Yo’av, Avishai and ‘Asah’el. ‘Asah’el was as fleet-footed as a gazelle in an open field. ¹⁹ ‘Asah’el chased Avner, going straight for him, veering neither right nor left. ²⁰ Avner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, ‘Asah’el?” “Yes, it is,” he answered. ²¹ Avner said to him, “Turn off to your right or your left, catch one of the young men and take his armor.” But ‘Asah’el wouldn’t turn aside and kept following him. ²² Avner said again to ‘Asah’el, “Turn aside and stop following me! Why should I kill you? If I did, how could I look your brother Yo’av in the eye?” ²³ But he still refused to turn aside; so Avner stabbed him in the groin with the back end of the spear, so that the shaft protruded behind him. He fell down and died on the spot. Everyone who came to the place where ‘Asah’el lay dead stopped there.

²⁴ Yo’av and Avishai continued in pursuit of Avner; the sun went down when they arrived at Amah Hill, across from Giach along the Giv‘on Desert road. ²⁵ The people of Binyamin gathered themselves together into a phalanx behind Avner and stood on top of a hill. ²⁶ Then Avner called out to Yo’av, “Must the sword go on devouring forever? Don’t you know that in the end it can produce only bitterness? How long will it be, then, before you tell the people to quit pursuing their brothers?” ²⁷ Yo’av said, “As God lives, if you hadn’t said something, there is no doubt that the people would have kept following their brothers all night long.” ²⁸ Then Yo’av sounded the shofar, and with that the people halted. They stopped pursuing Isra’el, and they stopped fighting.

²⁹ Avner and his men went through the ‘Aravah all that night; they crossed the Yarden, went through all of Bitron and arrived at Machanayim. ³⁰ Yo’av returned from following Avner. When he brought the troops together for review, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, along with ‘Asah’el. ³¹ But David’s servants had killed 360 of Avner’s men of Binyamin. ³² They took ‘Asah’el and buried him in his father’s tomb in Beit-Lechem. Then Yo’av and his men marched all night, so that they reached Hevron at daybreak.

3 The war between the house of Sha’ul and the house of David dragged on, but David grew stronger, while the house of Sha’ul became weaker.

² Sons were born to David in Hevron. His firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Achino‘am from Yizre‘el; ³ his second, Kil’av, whose mother was Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel; the third, Avshalom, whose mother was Ma‘akhah the daughter of Talmai king of G’shur; ⁴ the fourth, Adoniyah the son of Haggit; the fifth, Sh’fatyah the son of Avital; ⁵ and the sixth, Yitre‘am, whose mother was ‘Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hevron.

⁶ During the war that was going on between the house of Sha’ul and the house of David, Avner strengthened his position in the house of Sha’ul. ⁷ Sha’ul had had a concubine named Ritzpah, the daughter of Ayah; and [Ish-Boshet] challenged Avner: “Why did you go and sleep with my father’s concubine?” ⁸ These words of Ish-Boshet’s enraged Avner. “What am I,” he shouted, “[that you treat me with such contempt]? A dog’s head in Y’hudah? Till this moment I have shown only kindness to the house of Sha’ul your father, and to his brothers and to his friends; and I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet you choose today to pick a fight with me over this woman! ⁹ May God bring terrible curses on Avner and worse ones yet if I don’t accomplish what Adonai swore to David — ¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the house of Sha’ul and set up the throne of David over Isra’el and Y’hudah, from Dan all the way to Be’er-Sheva!” ¹¹ Ish-Boshet couldn’t answer Avner a word, because he was afraid of him.

¹² Avner immediately sent envoys to David with this message: “Who is going to control the land? If you make yourself my ally, I will use my power to bring all Isra’el over to you.” ¹³ David sent this reply: “Very well, I will be your ally — on one condition: you will not come into my presence unless at the same time you bring with you Mikhal Sha’ul’s daughter.” ¹⁴ David sent messengers to say to Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, “Give me back my wife Mikhal. I betrothed her to myself for 100 foreskins of the P’lishtim.” ¹⁵ Ish-Boshet sent and took her from her husband Palti’el the son of Layish. ¹⁶ Her husband went with her, crying as he went, and followed her to Bachurim. But when Avner told him, “Go back,” he returned.

¹⁷ Then Avner conferred with the leaders of Isra’el. He said, “In the past, you wanted David to be king over you. ¹⁸ So now, do it. For Adonai has said of David, ‘Through my servant David I will rescue my people Isra’el from the power of the P’lishtim and from the power of all their enemies.’” ¹⁹ Avner also spoke with the people of Binyamin.

Then Avner went to Hevron and reported to David everything that had been agreed to by Isra’el and the house of Binyamin. ²⁰ When Avner came to David in Hevron he brought twenty men with him. David held a feast for Avner and his men. ²¹ Avner said to David, “I must get up and go to gather all Isra’el to my lord the king, so that they can make a covenant with you. Then you will be able to rule over everything your heart desires.” David sent Avner off, giving him safe conduct.

²² Just then David’s men and Yo’av returned from a raid, bringing a lot of plunder with them. But Avner was not with David in Hevron, because he had sent him off under safe conduct. ²³ When Yo’av and all his army had arrived, Yo’av was told, “Avner the son of Ner came to the king, but he sent him off, and he has left under safe conduct.” ²⁴ Yo’av went to the king and said, “What have you done? Here, Avner came to you, and you sent him away, and now he’s gone! Why? ²⁵ You know Avner the son of Ner — he came only to deceive you, to learn what campaigns you’re planning and to find out everything you’re doing!”

²⁶ After leaving David, Yo’av sent messengers after Avner, and they brought him back from the water cistern at Sirah without David’s knowledge. ²⁷ Upon Avner’s return to Hevron, Yo’av took him aside into the space between the outer and inner city gates as if to speak with him privately; and there he struck him in the groin, so that he died — thus avenging the death of ‘Asah’el his brother.

²⁸ Afterwards, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent of the death of Avner the son of Ner. ²⁹ Let it fall on the head of Yo’av and all his father’s family. May Yo’av’s family always have someone with a hemorrhage or tzara‘at, or who has to walk with a cane, or who dies by the sword or who lacks food.” ³⁰ Thus Yo’av and Avishai his brother killed Avner, because he had killed their brother ‘Asah’el during the battle in Giv‘on. ³¹ But David said to Yo’av and all those with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Avner.” King David himself walked behind the body as it was carried. ³² They buried Avner at Hevron; the king wept aloud at Avner’s grave, and all the people wept. ³³ The king sang this lament over Avner:

Then all the people wept over him more than ever.

³⁵ All the people came to David and tried to make him eat some bread while it was still daytime; but David swore, “May God bring terrible curses on me and worse ones yet if I taste bread or anything else until the sun goes down.” ³⁶ All the people took note of this, and it pleased them; whatever the king did pleased all the people. ³⁷ So that day, all the people and all Isra’el understood that the king had had no part in the killing of Avner the son of Ner. ³⁸ The king said to his servants, “You realize that a leader, a great man, has fallen today in Isra’el. ³⁹ Even though I have just been anointed king, I feel weak today; and these men, the sons of Tz’ruyah, are too brutal for me. May Adonai repay the criminal as his crime deserves!”

4 When Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul heard that Avner had died in Hevron, his courage failed; and all Isra’el became alarmed. ² Sha’ul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding parties, one called Ba‘anah and the other Rekhav, sons of Rimmon the Be’eroti, of the people of Binyamin (for Be’erot is counted as part of Binyamin, ³ even though the Be’erotim fled to Gittayim and have lived as foreigners there to this day). ⁴ Now Y’honatan the son of Sha’ul’s had a son, and he was lame in both legs. He had been five years old when the news about Sha’ul and Y’honatan came from Yizre‘el. His nurse had gathered him up and fled; but as she was hurrying to get away, he fell and became lame. His name was M’fivoshet. ⁵ The sons of Rimmon the Be’eroti, Rekhav and Ba‘anah went and arrived during the heat of the day at the home of Ish-Boshet as he was taking his afternoon rest. ⁶ They went right into the house, as if they were coming to get wheat, and stabbed him in the groin; then Rekhav and Ba‘anah his brother escaped. ⁷ They entered the house as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, stabbed him and killed him; then they beheaded him, took his head and fled all night along the road through the ‘Aravah. ⁸ They brought the head of Ish-Boshet to David in Hevron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul your enemy, who wanted to take your life. Today Adonai has taken revenge on Sha’ul and his son for the sake of my lord the king.”

⁹ But David answered Rekhav and Ba‘anah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Be’eroti, “As Adonai lives, who has rescued me from every kind of difficulty, ¹⁰ when someone told me, ‘Here, Sha’ul is dead,’ thinking to himself that he was bringing good news, I didn’t reward him for his news but seized him and killed him in Ziklag. ¹¹ How much more, when criminals have killed an innocent man in his own house on his own bed, shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his death and rid the earth of you?” ¹² David then gave the order to his men, and they put them to death, cutting off their hands and feet and hanging them up next to the pool at Hevron. But they took the head of Ish-Boshet and buried it in Avner’s grave at Hevron.

5 Then all the tribes of Isra’el came to David in Hevron and said, “Here, we are your own flesh and bone. ² In the past, when Sha’ul was king over us, it was you who led Isra’el’s military campaigns; and Adonai said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Isra’el, and you will be chief over Isra’el.’” ³ So all the leaders of Isra’el came to the king in Hevron, and King David made a covenant with them in Hevron in the presence of Adonai. Then they anointed David king over Isra’el. ⁴ David was thirty years old when he began his rule, and he ruled forty years. ⁵ In Hevron he ruled over Y’hudah seven years and six months; then in Yerushalayim he ruled thirty-three years over all Isra’el and Y’hudah.

⁶ The king and his men went to Yerushalayim to attack the Y’vusi, the inhabitants of that region. They taunted David, “You won’t get in here! Even the blind and the lame could fend you off!” — in other words, they were thinking, “David will never get in here.” ⁷ Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Tziyon, also known [now] as the City of David. ⁸ What David said on that day was, “In order to attack the Y’vusi, you have to climb up [from the spring outside the city] through the water tunnel. Then you can do away with those [so-called] ‘lame and blind’” (whom David despises — hence the expression, “The ‘blind and lame’ keep him from entering the house”).

⁹ David lived in the stronghold and called it the City of David. Then David built up the city around it, starting at the Millo [earth rampart] and working inward. ¹⁰ David grew greater and greater, because Adonai the God of Armies was with him. ¹¹ Hiram king of Tzor sent envoys to David with cedar logs, and with them were carpenters and stonemasons; and they built David a palace. ¹² David then knew that Adonai had set him up as king over Isra’el and increased his royal power for the sake of his people.

¹³ David took for himself more concubines and wives in Yerushalayim after coming from Hevron, so that still more sons and daughters were born to David. ¹⁴ Here are the names of those born to him in Yerushalayim: Shamua, Shovav, Natan, Shlomo, ¹⁵ Yivchar, Elishua, Nefeg, Yafia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Elyada and Elifelet.

¹⁷ When the P’lishtim heard that David had been anointed king over Isra’el, all the P’lishtim went up in search of David. On learning of it, David went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸ The P’lishtim came and deployed in the Refa’im Valley. ¹⁹ David consulted Adonai, asking, “Should I attack the P’lishtim? Will you hand them over to me?” Adonai answered David, “Attack; I will certainly hand the P’lishtim over to you.” ²⁰ So David went to Ba‘al-P’ratzim and defeated them there. He said, “Adonai has broken through my enemies for me like a river breaking through its banks.” This is why he called the place Ba‘al-P’ratzim [Lord of breaking through]. ²¹ The P’lishtim had left their idols there, so David and his men took them away.

²² The P’lishtim came up again and deployed in the Refa’im Valley. ²³ When David consulted Adonai, he said, “Don’t attack! Circle behind them, and engage them opposite the balsam trees. ²⁴ When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, advance; because then Adonai has gone out ahead of you to defeat the army of the P’lishtim.” ²⁵ David did exactly as Adonai had ordered him to do and pursued his attack on the P’lishtim from Geva all the way to Gezer.

6 Again David summoned all the picked troops of Isra’el, 30,000 men. ² Then David, taking along the entire force he had with him then, set out for Ba‘alei-Y’hudah to bring up from there the ark of God, which bears the Name, the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot enthroned above the k’ruvim. ³ They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Avinadav on the hill, with ‘Uzah and Achyo, the sons of Avinadav, driving the new cart. ⁴ They led it from the house of Avinadav on the hill, with the ark of God; Achyo walked in front of the ark. ⁵ David and the whole house of Isra’el celebrated in the presence of Adonai with all kinds of musical instruments made of cypress-wood, including lyres, lutes, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.

⁶ When they arrived at Nakhon’s threshing-floor, the oxen stumbled; and ‘Uzah put out his hand to steady the ark of God. ⁷ But Adonai’s anger blazed up against ‘Uzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his offense, so that he died there by the ark of God. ⁸ It upset David that Adonai had broken out against ‘Uzah; that place has been called Peretz-‘Uzah [breaking-out of ‘Uzah] ever since. ⁹ David was frightened of Adonai that day; he asked, “How can the ark of Adonai come to me?” ¹⁰ So David would not bring the ark of Adonai into the City of David; rather, David took it over to the house of ‘Oved-Edom the Gitti. ¹¹ The ark of Adonai stayed in the house of ‘Oved-Edom the Gitti for three months; and Adonai blessed ‘Oved-Edom and all his household.

¹² King David was told, “Adonai has blessed the house of ‘Oved-Edom and everyone who belongs to him, thanks to the ark of God.” So David went and joyously brought the ark of God up from the house of ‘Oved-Edom into the City of David. ¹³ When those bearing the ark of Adonai had gone only six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep. ¹⁴ Then David danced and spun around with abandon before Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Isra’el brought up the ark of Adonai with shouting and the sound of the shofar. ¹⁶ As the ark of Adonai entered the City of David, Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul, watching from the window, saw King David leaping and spinning before Adonai; and she was filled with contempt for him.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of Adonai in and put it in its place inside the tent that David had set up for it. David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Adonai. ¹⁸ When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai-Tzva’ot. ¹⁹ Then he distributed to all the people of Isra’el, to everyone there, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake, after which the people all left for their homes.

²⁰ When David returned to bless his household, Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul came out to meet him and said, “Such honor the king of Isra’el earned for himself today — exposing himself before his servants’ slave-girls like some vulgar exhibitionist!” ²¹ David answered Mikhal, “In the presence of Adonai — who chose me over your father and over everyone in his family to make me chief over Adonai’s people, over Isra’el — I will celebrate in the presence of Adonai! ²² I will make myself still more contemptible than that, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes, but those slave-girls you mentioned will honor me!” ²³ Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul remained childless until the day she died.

7 After the king had been living in his palace awhile and Adonai had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, ² the king said to Natan the prophet, “Here, I’m living in a cedar-wood palace; but the ark of God is kept in a tent!” ³ Natan said to the king, “Go, do everything that is in your heart, for Adonai is with you.”

⁴ But that same night the word of Adonai came to Natan: ⁵ “Go and tell my servant David that this is what Adonai says: ‘You are going to build me a house to live in? ⁶ Since the day I brought the people of Isra’el out of Egypt until today, I never lived in a house; rather, I traveled in a tent and a tabernacle. ⁷ Everywhere I traveled with all the people of Isra’el, did I ever speak a word to any of the tribes of Isra’el, whom I ordered to shepherd my people Isra’el, asking, “Why haven’t you built me a cedar-wood house?”’

⁸ “Therefore say this to my servant David that this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: ‘I took you from the sheep-yards, from following the sheep, to make you chief over my people, over Isra’el. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you went; I have destroyed all your enemies ahead of you; and I am making your reputation great, like the reputations of the greatest people on earth. ¹⁰ I will assign a place to my people Isra’el; I will plant them there, so that they can live in their own place without being disturbed any more. The wicked will no longer oppress them, as they did at the beginning, ¹¹ and as they did from the time I ordered judges to be over my people Isra’el; instead, I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘Moreover, Adonai tells you that Adonai will make you a house. ¹² When your days come to an end and you sleep with your ancestors, I will establish one of your descendants to succeed you, one of your own flesh and blood; and I will set up his rulership. ¹³ He will build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. ¹⁴ I will be a father for him, and he will be a son for me. If he does something wrong, I will punish him with a rod and blows, just as everyone gets punished; ¹⁵ nevertheless, my grace will not leave him, as I took it away from Sha’ul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Thus your house and your kingdom will be made secure forever before you; your throne will be set up forever.’” ¹⁷ Natan told David all of these words and described this entire vision.

¹⁸ Then David went in, sat before Adonai and said, “Who am I, Adonai Elohim; and what is my family, that has caused you to bring me this far? ¹⁹ Yet in your view, Adonai Elohim, even this was too small a thing; so you have even said that your servant’s dynasty will continue on into the distant future. This is [indeed] a teaching for a man, Adonai Elohim — ²⁰ what more can David say to you? For you know your servant intimately, Adonai Elohim. ²¹ It is for the sake of your word and in accordance with your own heart that you have done all this greatness and revealed it to your servant. ²² Therefore, you are great, Adonai, God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you — everything we have heard confirms that. ²³ Who can be compared with your people, with Isra’el? What other nation on earth did God set out to redeem and make into a people for himself? You made yourself a reputation by doing for your land things that even for you are great and terrifying, for the sake of your people whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt and from other nations and from their gods. ²⁴ You set up your people for yourself as your people forever; and you, Adonai, became their God. ²⁵ So now, Adonai, God, establish forever the word you have spoken to your servant and his house; do what you have promised. ²⁶ May your name be magnified forever, so that it will be said, ‘Adonai-Tzva’ot is God over Isra’el, and the dynasty of your servant David will be set up in your presence.’ ²⁷ You, Adonai-Tzva’ot, God of Isra’el, have disclosed to your servant, ‘I will build you a house.’ This is why your servant has the courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ Now, Adonai Elohim, you alone are God; your words are truth; and you have made this wonderful promise to your servant. ²⁹ So may it please you to bless the family of your servant and thereby cause it to continue forever in your presence. For you, Adonai Elohim, have said it. May your servant’s family be blessed forever by your blessing.”

8 Some time afterwards, David attacked the P’lishtim and subdued them; David took Meteg-Amah out of the hands of the P’lishtim. ² He also defeated Mo’av; making them lie down on the ground, he measured them with a length of cord; for every two lengths to be put to death he designated one length to be kept alive. The people of Mo’av became subjects of David and paid tribute.

³ David, on his way to establish his dominion as far as the Euphrates River, also defeated Hadad‘ezer the son of Rechov king of Tzovah. ⁴ David captured 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. He reserved enough horses for 100 chariots and disabled the rest. ⁵ When people of Aram from Dammesek came to the aid of Hadad‘ezer king of Tzovah, David killed 22,000 men of Aram. ⁶ Then David put garrisons among the people of Aram in Dammesek; Aram became subject to David and paid tribute. Adonai gave victory to David wherever he went. ⁷ David took the gold shields which Hadad‘ezer’s servants were wearing and brought them to Yerushalayim. ⁸ From Betach and Berotai, cities of Hadad‘ezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.

⁹ When To‘i king of Hamat heard that David had defeated Hadad‘ezer’s entire army, ¹⁰ To‘i sent Yoram his son to King David to greet and congratulate him on fighting and defeating Hadad‘ezer, for Hadad‘ezer had been at war with To‘i. Yoram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold and articles of bronze, ¹¹ which King David dedicated to Adonai, along with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he conquered — ¹² Aram, Mo’av, the people of ‘Amon, the P’lishtim, ‘Amalek, and the spoil taken from Hadad‘ezer son of Rechov, king of Tzovah. ¹³ David gained more fame on returning from killing 18,000 men from Aram in the Salt Valley. ¹⁴ David stationed garrisons in Edom; he put garrisons throughout all of Edom, and all the people of Edom became subject to him. Adonai gave victory to David wherever he went.

¹⁵ David ruled over all Isra’el; David administered law and justice for all his people. ¹⁶ Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah was commander of the army, Y’hoshafat the son of Achilud was chief adviser, ¹⁷ Tzadok the son of Achituv and Achimelekh the son of Evyatar were cohanim, S’rayah was secretary, ¹⁸ B’nayahu the son of Y’hoyada was in charge of the K’reti and P’leti [serving as the king’s bodyguards], and David’s sons were cohanim.

9 David inquired, “Is there anyone still alive from the family of Sha’ul, to whom, for Y’honatan’s sake, I can show kindness?” ² In Sha’ul’s household there had been a servant named Tziva, and they summoned him to David. The king asked him, “Are you Tziva?” and he answered, “At your service.” ³ The king said, “Is there anyone still alive from the family of Sha’ul, to whom I can show God’s grace?” Tziva said to the king, “There is still Y’honatan’s son with the lame legs.” ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” and Tziva answered, “He’s there in the house of Makhir the son of ‘Ammi’el, in Lo-D’var.” ⁵ King David sent and took him from the house of Makhir the son of ‘Ammi’el in Lo-D’var. ⁶ M’fivoshet the son of Y’honatan, the son of Sha’ul, came to David, fell on his face and prostrated himself. David said, “M’fivoshet!” and he answered, “Here is your servant!” ⁷ David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, for I am determined to be kind to you for the sake of Y’honatan your father. I will restore to you all the land of Sha’ul your [grand]father, and you will always eat at my table.” ⁸ He prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant that makes you pay such attention to a dead dog like me?” ⁹ The king called to Tziva, Sha’ul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given everything Sha’ul and his family owned to your master’s [grand]son. ¹⁰ You are to work the land for him, you, your sons and your slaves. Harvest the crops, so that your master’s [grand]son will have food to feed his family; but M’fivoshet your master’s [grand]son will always eat at my table.” Tziva had fifteen sons and twenty slaves. ¹¹ Tziva said to the king, “Your servant will do everything my lord the king commands his servant, although M’fivoshet has been eating at my table as one of the king’s descendants.” ¹² M’fivoshet had a young son whose name was Mikha. Everyone living in Tziva’s house was a servant of M’fivoshet. ¹³ But M’fivoshet lived in Yerushalayim; he always ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both legs.

10 Some time later, when the king of the people of ‘Amon died, his son Hanun became king in his place. ² David said, “I will show grace to Hanun the son of Nachash, as his father showed grace to me.” So David sent his servants to pass him a message of comfort concerning his father.

David’s servants entered the territory of the people of ‘Amon; ³ but the leaders of the people of ‘Amon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you really think David is honoring your father by sending people to comfort you? Hasn’t David actually sent his servants to you in order to look the city over, reconnoiter it and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half their beards, cut off their clothes halfway up, at their buttocks, and then sent them away. ⁵ On hearing how they had been treated, David sent a delegation to meet them, because the men had been deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Yericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”

⁶ Aware that they were utterly abhorrent to David, the people of ‘Amon sent and hired 20,000 Aram foot soldiers from Beit-Rechov and Tzovah, the king of Ma‘akhah with 1,000 men, and 12,000 soldiers from Tov. ⁷ When David heard of it, he sent Yo’av with his entire army of trained soldiers.

⁸ The army of ‘Amon came out and went into battle formation at the entrance to the city gate; the men of Aram from Tzovah and Rechov and the men of Tov and Ma‘akhah were by themselves in the open countryside. ⁹ When Yo’av saw that he would be fighting on two fronts, ahead and behind, he chose the best troops of Isra’el to deploy against Aram; ¹⁰ while the rest of the army he put under the command of Avishai his brother to deploy against the army of ‘Amon. ¹¹ He said, “If Aram is too strong for me, you help me; but if the army of ‘Amon is too strong for you, then I will come and help you. ¹² Take courage, and let’s be strong for the sake of our people and the cities of our God. May Adonai do what seems good to him.”

¹³ So Yo’av and the people with him went to battle Aram, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the people of ‘Amon saw that Aram had fled, they likewise fled before Avishai and retreated into the city. Yo’av returned from the people of ‘Amon and went to Yerushalayim.

¹⁵ When Aram saw that Isra’el had gotten the better of them, they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶ Hadad‘ezer sent and brought out the people of Aram who lived beyond the [Euphrates] River. They came to Heilam with Shovakh the commander of Hadad‘ezer’s army at their head. ¹⁷ It was reported to David; so he gathered all Isra’el together, crossed the Yarden and came to Heilam. Aram deployed themselves against David and fought him. ¹⁸ But Aram fled before Isra’el; David killed 700 chariot-drivers and 40,000 horsemen from Aram, and he struck Shovakh the commander of their army, so that he died there. ¹⁹ When all Hadad‘ezer’s vassal kings saw that they had been defeated by Isra’el, they made peace with Isra’el and became their subjects. So Aram was afraid to help the people of ‘Amon any more.

11 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. ² Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. ³ David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. ⁴ David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. ⁵ The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. ⁷ When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. ⁹ But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. ¹⁰ When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?” ¹¹ Uriyah answered David, “The ark, Isra’el and Y’hudah stay in tents; and my lord Yo’av and the servants of my lord are camping in the countryside. So should I go into my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” ¹² David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also; tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriyah stayed in Yerushalayim that day and the following day. ¹³ David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.” ¹⁶ So while Yo’av had the city under siege, he assigned Uriyah to the place where he knew the toughest defenders were. ¹⁷ The men of the city went out and fought Yo’av; a number of people fell, including some of David’s servants, with Uriyah the Hitti among the dead.

¹⁸ Yo’av sent a message to David reporting all the news concerning the war, ¹⁹ and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the news about the war, ²⁰ he may become angry and ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Didn’t you think about the person who struck Avimelekh the son of Yerubeshet, that a woman threw an upper millstone down on him from the wall, so that he died at Tevetz? Why did you go so near the wall?’ If he says this, tell him, ‘Your servant Uriyah is dead also.’” ²² So the messenger left, and on arrival he told David all that Yo’av had sent him to say. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men were overpowering us and came out after us into the countryside. But we chased them back all the way to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴ The archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead; also your servant Uriyah the Hitti is dead.” ²⁵ David said to the messenger, “Tell Yo’av, ‘Don’t let this matter get you down — the sword devours in one way or another. Intensify your battle against the city, and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

²⁶ When the wife of Uriyah heard that Uriyah her husband was dead, she mourned her husband. ²⁷ When the mourning was over, David sent and took her home to his palace, and she became his wife and bore him a son.

But Adonai saw what David had done as evil.

12 Adonai sent Natan to David. He came and said to him, “In a certain city there were two men, one rich, the other poor. ² The rich man had vast flocks and herds; ³ but the poor man had nothing, except for one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and reared. It had grown up with him and his children; it ate from his plate, drank from his cup, lay on his chest — it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ One day a traveler visited the rich man, and instead of picking an animal from his own flock or herd to cook for his visitor, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to him.”

⁵ David exploded with anger against the man and said to Natan, “As Adonai lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ⁶ For doing such a thing, he has to pay back four times the value of the lamb — and also because he had no pity.”

⁷ Natan said to David, “You are the man.

“Here is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el says: ‘I anointed you king over Isra’el. I rescued you from the power of Sha’ul. ⁸ I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives to embrace. I gave you the house of Isra’el and the house of Y’hudah. And if that had been too little, I would have added to you a lot more.

⁹ “‘So why have you shown such contempt for the word of Adonai and done what I see as evil? You murdered Uriyah the Hitti with the sword and taken his wife as your own wife; you put him to death with the sword of the people of ‘Amon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house — because you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriyah the Hitti as your own wife.’