Bible in 90 Days

²⁰ ¶ Then Saul, as great as he was, fell suddenly to the earth and was sore afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day nor all that night.

²¹ And the woman came unto Saul and saw that he was sore troubled and said unto him, Behold, thy handmaid has heard thy voice, and I have put my soul in my hand and have hearkened unto thy words which thou didst speak unto me.

²² Now, therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thy handmaid and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou may have strength, and go on thy way.

²³ But he refused and said, I will not eat. But his slaves, together with the woman, compelled him, and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the ground and sat upon a bed.

²⁴ And the woman had a fat calf in the house, and she hastened and killed it and took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread with it.

²⁵ And she brought it before Saul and before his slaves, and after they ate, they rose up and went away that night.

29 ¶ Now the Philistines gathered together all their camps to Aphek, and the Israelites pitched camp by a fountain which is in Jezreel. {Heb. God scatters}

² And as the cardinals of the Philistines reviewed their companies of hundreds and of thousands, David and his men were in the rear with Achish.

³ Then the princes of the Philistines said, What are these Hebrews doing here? And Achish replied unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the slave of Saul, the king of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?

⁴ Then the princes of the Philistines were angry with him, and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him and not come with us to the battle lest in the battle he be an adversary to us, for with what should he return to the good graces of his master than with the heads of these men?

⁵ Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands and David his ten thousands?

⁶ ¶ Then Achish called David and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD lives, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the camp is good in my sight; for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day; nevertheless, thou art not good in the eyes of the cardinals.

⁷ Therefore, now return and go in peace that thou not do evil in the eyes of the cardinals of the Philistines.

⁸ And David replied unto Achish, But what have I done? And what hast thou found in thy slave so long as I have been with thee unto this day that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

⁹ And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight as an angel of God; notwithstanding, the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

¹⁰ Therefore, now rise up early in the morning with thy master’s slaves that are come with thee, and as soon as ye are up early in the morning and it is light, depart.

¹¹ So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

30 ¶ And it came to pass when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day that the Amalekites had invaded the Negev and Ziklag and had smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire.

² And they had taken the women captives that were therein, from the youngest to the oldest; they did not kill any but carried them away and went on their way.

³ So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captives.

⁴ Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep.

⁵ And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel.

⁶ And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him because the soul of all the people was bitter, each one for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

⁷ ¶ And David said to Abiathar, the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring the ephod here to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

⁸ And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them and without fail recover all.

⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some stayed behind.

¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

¹¹ And they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and gave him bread to eat and water to drink,

¹² and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two bunches of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him, for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

¹³ And David said unto him, To whom dost thou belong and where art thou from? And the young Egyptian said, I am the slave to an Amalekite, and my master left me three days ago because I was sick.

¹⁴ We made an invasion upon towards the Negev from the Chereth and upon Judah and towards the Negev from Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.

¹⁵ And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.

¹⁶ And so he brought him down, and behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and holding a feast because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and out of the land of Judah.

¹⁷ And David smote them from the morning twilight even unto the evening of the next day, and none of them escaped except four hundred young men who rode upon camels and fled.

¹⁸ And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David delivered his two wives.

¹⁹ And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great neither sons nor daughters, of the robbery and of all the things that had been taken from them; David recovered it all.

²⁰ And David took all the sheep and the cows, and bringing them with all the other livestock, they said, This is David’s spoil.

²¹ ¶ And David came to the two hundred men who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to remain at the brook Besor, and they went forth to meet David and to meet the people that were with him, and when David came near to the people, he saluted them with peace.

²² Then all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, answered and said, Because they did not go with us, we will not give them of the spoil that we have recovered, except to each man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.

²³ Then David said, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD has given us, who has kept us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.

²⁴ For who will hearken unto you in this matter? For as his part is that goes down to the battle, so shall his part be that remains by the stuff; they shall part alike.

²⁵ And it was so from that day forward that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

²⁶ And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, Behold a blessing for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD:

²⁷ to those who were in Bethel and to those who were in Ramoth towards the Negev and to those who were in Jattir

²⁸ and to those who were in Aroer and to those who were in Siphmoth and to those who were in Eshtemoa

²⁹ and to those who were in Rachal and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites

³⁰ and to those who were in Hormah and to those who were in Chorashan and to those who were in Athach

³¹ and to those who were in Hebron and in all the places where David had been with his men.

31 ¶ Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa.

² And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons, and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.

³ And the battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was sore afraid of the archers.

⁴ Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword and thrust me through with it lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore, Saul took his sword and fell upon it.

⁵ And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword and died with him.

⁶ So Saul died and his three sons and his armourbearer and all his men that same day together.

⁷ And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley and those that were on the other side of the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸ ¶ And it came to pass on the next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.

⁹ And they cut off his head and stripped off his weapons and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about to publish it in the house of their idols and among the people.

¹⁰ And they put his weapons in the house of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

¹¹ And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹² all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan and came to Jabesh and burnt them there.

¹³ And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh and fasted seven days.1

1 ¶ Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;

² it came to pass on the third day that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent and earth upon his head, and so it was when he came to David, that he fell to the earth and did obeisance.

³ And David said unto him, Where dost thou come from? And he said unto him, I am escaped out of the camp of Israel.

⁴ And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, The people fled from the battle, and many of the people fell and are dead, and Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead also.

⁵ And David said unto the young man that told him, How dost thou know that Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead?

⁶ And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear, and the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

⁷ And when he looked behind him, he saw me and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.

⁸ And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

⁹ He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me and slay me, for anguish is come upon me, and all my soul is yet in me.

¹⁰ So I stood upon him and slew him because I was sure that he could not live after he was fallen, and I took the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and have brought them here unto my lord.

¹¹ ¶ Then David took hold on his clothes and rent them and likewise all the men that were with him.

¹² And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³ And David said unto the young man that told him, From where art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.

¹⁴ And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?

¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, Go near and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.

¹⁶ And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’s anointed.

¹⁷ ¶ And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son.

¹⁸ (He also bade them teach the sons of Judah the use of the bow. Behold, it is written in the book of righteousness.)

¹⁹ The glory of Israel is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen!

²⁰ Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

²¹ Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you nor fields of offerings, for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

²² Without the blood of the slain, without the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan never turned back, and the sword of Saul never returned empty.

²³ Saul and Jonathan were loved and desired in their lives, and in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

²⁴ Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

²⁵ How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.

²⁶ I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

²⁷ How are the valiant fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

2 ¶ And it came to pass after this that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

² So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel.

³ And David brought up his men that were with him, each one with his household, and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

⁴ And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, The men of Jabeshgilead buried Saul.

⁵ And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead and said unto them, Blessed shall ye be of the LORD that ye have showed this mercy unto your lord, even unto Saul and have buried him.

⁶ And now the LORD show mercy and truth unto you; and I also will requite you this kindness because ye have done this thing.

⁷ Therefore, now let your hands be strengthened and be ye valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

⁸ ¶ But Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim

⁹ and made him king over Gilead and over the Ashurites and over Jezreel and over Ephraim and over Benjamin and over all Israel.

¹⁰ Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel and reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.

¹¹ And the number of days that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

¹² And Abner, the son of Ner, and the slaves of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

¹³ And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the slaves of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon, and when they met, the one group was on the one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.

¹⁴ And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise and sport before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

¹⁵ Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, who pertained to Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and twelve of the slaves of David.

¹⁶ And each one caught his fellow by the head and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together; therefore, that place was called Helkathhazzurim, {Heb. the inheritance of the strong} which is in Gibeon.

¹⁷ And there was a very severe battle that day where Abner and the men of Israel were overcome before the slaves of David.

¹⁸ ¶ And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel, and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.

¹⁹ And Asahel pursued after Abner, and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, Yes.

²¹ Then Abner said to him, Turn aside to thy right hand or to thy left and lay hold on one of the young men and take his spoil. But Asahel would not turn aside from following after him.

²² And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from following me; why should I smite thee to the ground? How then should I hold up my face to Joab, thy brother?

²³ Howbeit he refused to turn aside; therefore, Abner with the butt end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there and died in the same place. And it came to pass that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵ ¶ And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together in one troop with Abner and stood on the top of a hill.

²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? Dost thou not know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then before thou bid the people to return from following their brethren?

²⁷ And Joab replied, As God lives, if thou had not spoken, surely from this morning the people would have left off from following their brothers.

²⁸ So Joab blew the shofar, and all the people stood still and no longer pursued after Israel, neither did they fight any more.

²⁹ And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passing the Jordan, they went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.

³⁰ Joab also returned from following Abner, and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David’s slaves nineteen men and Asahel.

³¹ But the slaves of David had smitten of Benjamin and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and sixty men died.

³² And they took up Asahel and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at the break of day.

3 ¶ Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.

² And sons were born unto David in Hebron; and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess;

³ and his second, Chileab, of Abigail who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom, the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;

⁴ and the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah, the son of Abital;

⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

⁶ And it came to pass while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul.

⁷ ¶ And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbosheth said to Abner, Why hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine?

⁸ Then Abner was very angry for the words of Ishbosheth and said, Am I a dog’s head in regard to Judah? I have shown mercy this day unto the house of Saul, thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends and have not delivered thee into the hand of David that thou dost charge me today with iniquity concerning this woman?

⁹ Let God do to Abner and more also unless, as the LORD has sworn to David, so do I unto him,

¹⁰ to translate the kingdom from the house of Saul and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah from Dan even to Beersheba.

¹¹ And he could not answer Abner a word again because he feared him.

¹² And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? And that they should also say, Make thy covenant with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.

¹³ And he said, Good; I will make a covenant with thee, but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face except thou first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face.

¹⁴ After this, David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

¹⁵ So Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, even from Phaltiel, the son of Laish.

¹⁶ And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then Abner said unto him, Go, return. And he returned.

¹⁷ And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you;

¹⁸ now then do it, for the LORD has spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my slave David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines and out of the hand of all their enemies.

¹⁹ And Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin, and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin.

²⁰ So Abner came to David to Hebron and twenty men with him. And David made a banquet for Abner and the men that were with him.

²¹ And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king that they may make a covenant with thee and that thou may reign over all that thy heart desires. And David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

²² ¶ And, behold, the slaves of David and Joab came from pursuing a troop and brought in a great spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace.

²³ When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner, the son of Ner, came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he is gone in peace.

²⁴ Then Joab came to the king and said, What hast thou done? Behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast let him go?

²⁵ Dost thou not know that Abner, the son of Ner, came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in and to know all that thou doest?

²⁶ And when Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, who caused him to return from the well of Sirah, but David did not know it.

²⁷ And when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly and smote him there under the fifth rib that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

²⁸ And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner, the son of Ner.

²⁹ Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that has an issue or that is a leper or that leans on a staff or that dies by the sword or that lacks bread.

³⁰ So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

³¹ Then David said to Joab and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes and gird yourselves with sackcloth and mourn before Abner. And King David himself followed the bier.

³² And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

³³ And the king lamented over Abner and said, Abner died the death of a fool!

³⁴ Thy hands were not bound nor thy feet put into fetters. Thou didst fall as a man falls before wicked men. And all the people wept again over him.

³⁵ And when all the people came to cause David to eat food while it was yet day, David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also if I taste bread or anything else until the sun is down.

³⁶ And all the people understood, and it pleased them, for whatever the king did pleased all the people.

³⁷ For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner, the son of Ner.

³⁸ Then the king said unto his slaves, Do ye not know that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

³⁹ And I am this day a tender anointed king, and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me; the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.

4 ¶ And when Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.

² And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of companies; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon, a Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin;

³ and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and were sojourners there until this day).

⁴ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and it came to pass as she made haste to flee that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

⁵ And the sons of Rimmon, the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon.

⁶ And they came there into the midst of the house as though they were wheat merchants, and they smote him under the fifth rib; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

⁷ For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him and beheaded him and took his head and walked all night through the plain.

⁸ And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thy enemy, who sought thy life, and the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and of his seed.

⁹ ¶ And David answered Rechab and Baanah, his brother, the sons of Rimmon, the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the LORD lives, who has ransomed my soul out of all adversity,

¹⁰ when one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him and slew him in Ziklag as a reward for his tidings.

¹¹ How much more unto wicked men who have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? Shall I not, therefore, now require his blood of your hand and remove you from the earth?

¹² Then David commanded his young men, and they slew them and cut off their hands and their feet and hung them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.

5 ¶ Then all the tribes of Israel came unto David in Hebron and spoke, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

² And even yesterday and the day before yesterday, when Saul was king over us, it was thou that didst lead out and bring in Israel; and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel.

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king in Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

⁶ ¶ Then the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, who dwelt in the land, who spoke unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in here, thinking, David cannot come in here.

⁷ Nevertheless, David took the fortress of Zion; the same is the city of David.

⁸ And David said on that day, Who shall go up the waterspout and smite the Jebusites and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul? Therefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

⁹ So David dwelt in the fortress and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.

¹⁰ And David went on and grew great, and the LORD God of the hosts was with him.

¹¹ ¶ And Hiram, king of Tyre, also sent messengers to David, and cedar trees and carpenters and masons, and they built David a house.

¹² And David understood that the LORD had confirmed him as king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.

¹³ And David took more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem after he had come from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born unto David.

¹⁴ And these were the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphalet.

¹⁷ ¶ But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David, and David heard of it and went down to the fortress.

¹⁸ The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. {Heb. of the giants}

¹⁹ Then David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up, for I without a doubt will deliver the Philistines into thy hand.

²⁰ And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there and said, The LORD has broken forth upon my enemies before me as the breach of waters. Therefore, he called the name of that place Baalperazim.

²¹ And they left their images there, and David and his men burned them.

²² And the Philistines came up yet again and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

²³ And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up, but go around behind them and come upon them over against the mulberry trees,

²⁴ and when thou hearest thunder going through the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt move, for then the LORD shall go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.

²⁵ And David did so as the LORD had commanded him and smote the Philistines from Geba unto Gazer.

6 ¶ Again, David gathered together all the chosen of Israel, thirty thousand.

² And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God upon which the name of the LORD of the hosts is invoked, who dwells there between the cherubim.

³ And they set the ark of God upon a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah, and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab drove the new cart.

⁴ And when they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was at Gibeah, with the ark of God, Ahio went before the ark.

⁵ And David and all the house of Israel danced before the LORD with all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps and on psalteries and on timbrels and on cornets and on cymbals.

⁶ ¶ And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it.

⁷ And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his effrontery, and there he died by the ark of God.

⁸ And David was grieved because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah, and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.

⁹ And David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?

¹⁰ So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David, but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom, the Gittite.

¹¹ And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months; and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household.

¹² ¶ And it was told King David, saying, The LORD has blessed the house of Obededom and all that pertains unto him because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.

¹³ And it was so that when those that bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

¹⁴ And David danced before the LORD with all his might, and David was girded with a linen ephod.

¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the shofar.

¹⁶ And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ And they brought in the ark of the LORD and set it in its place, in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

¹⁸ And as soon as David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of the hosts.

¹⁹ And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, to the men as well to the women, to each one a cake of bread and a good piece of flesh and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed each one to his house.

²⁰ ¶ Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal, the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his slaves as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!

²¹ Then David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, who chose me over thy father and over all his house to appoint me prince over the people of the LORD, over Israel; therefore, I will dance before the LORD.

²² And I will yet be more vile than thus and will be base in my own sight and before the maidservants whom thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

²³ Therefore, Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no children unto the day of her death.

7 ¶ And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

² that the king said unto Nathan, the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains.

³ And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart, for the LORD is with thee.

⁴ ¶ And it came to pass that night that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,

⁵ Go and tell my slave David, Thus hath the LORD said, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

⁶ For I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the sons of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

⁷ In all the places in which I have walked with all the sons of Israel did I speak a word in any of the tribes of Israel, unto whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why did ye not build me a house of cedar?

⁸ Now, therefore, so shalt thou say unto my slave David, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel;

⁹ and I have been with thee wherever thou didst walk and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

¹⁰ Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their place and never again be removed; neither shall the sons of iniquity afflict them any more as before,

¹¹ since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will cause thee to rest from all thy enemies. Likewise, the LORD makes thee to know that he will make thee a house.

¹² And 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.

¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

¹⁴ I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men;

¹⁵ but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I took away from before thee.

¹⁶ And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee; thy throne shall be established for ever.

¹⁷ According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁸ ¶ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, O Lord GOD, Who am I and what is my house that thou hast brought me thus far?

¹⁹ And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy slave’s house for a great while to come and that this shall be the condition of a man, O Lord GOD.

²⁰ And what more can David say unto thee? For thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy slave.

²¹ For thou hast done all these great things by thy word and according to thine own heart to make thy slave know them.

²² Therefore, thou art great, O LORD God, for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²³ And who in the earth is like thy people, like Israel? A Gentile for the love of whom God went to ransom as a people to himself and to give him a name and to do with you great and terrible things in thy land because of thy people whom thou didst redeem unto thee from Egypt, from the Gentiles and their gods?

²⁴ For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be thy people for ever, and thou, LORD, have become their God.

²⁵ And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy slave and concerning his house, raise it up for ever and do as thou hast said.

²⁶ For thus shall thy name be magnified for ever that it may be said, The LORD of the hosts is God over Israel and that the house of thy slave David be established before thee.

²⁷ For thou, O LORD of the hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy slave, saying, I will build thee a house. Therefore, thy slave has found it in his heart to pray this prayer in thy presence.

²⁸ And now, O Lord GOD, thou art God, and thy words shall be firm, and thou hast spoken this goodness unto thy slave.

²⁹ Therefore, now let it please thee to bless the house of thy slave that it may continue for ever before thee, for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it, and with thy blessing the house of thy slave shall be blessed for ever.

8 ¶ And after this, it came to pass that David smote the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

² He also smote those of Moab and measured them with a line, causing them to lie down on the ground, and he measured them with two lines, with one to put to death and the other full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s slaves, bringing presents.

³ David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to extend his border to the river Euphrates.

⁴ And David took from him a thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen, and David hamstrung all the chariot horses but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.

⁵ And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

⁶ Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became slaves to David, bringing presents. And the LORD saved David wherever he went.

⁷ And David took the shields of gold that were on the slaves of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸ Likewise from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of brass.

⁹ ¶ When Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,

¹⁰ then Toi sent Joram, his son, unto King David, to greet him peacefully and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him, for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought vessels of silver and vessels of gold and vessels of brass in his hand,

¹¹ which King David dedicated unto the LORD with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all Gentiles which he subdued

¹² of the Syrians and of the Moabites and of the sons of Ammon and of the Philistines and of Amalekites and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³ And David received fame when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt eighteen thousand men.

¹⁴ And he put garrisons in Edom; he put garrisons throughout all Edom, and all those of Edom became David’s slaves. And the LORD saved David wherever he went.

¹⁵ ¶ And David reigned over all Israel, and David executed justice and righteousness unto all his people.

¹⁶ And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was over the host, and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the writer of chronicles;

¹⁷ and Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests, and Seraiah was the scribe,

¹⁸ and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.

9 ¶ And David said, Is anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him mercy for Jonathan’s sake?

² And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy slave is he.

³ And the king said, Is there no one left of the house of Saul that I may show the mercy of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, There remains a son of Jonathan, who is lame on his feet.

⁴ And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

⁵ Then King David sent and took him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

⁶ Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face and worshipped. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy slave!

⁷ And David said unto him, Fear not; for I will surely show thee mercy for Jonathan, thy father’s sake, and will restore unto thee all the land of Saul, thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

⁸ And he bowed himself and said, Who is thy slave, that thou should look upon such a dead dog as I am?

⁹ ¶ Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.

¹⁰ Thou, therefore, and thy sons and thy slaves shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits that thy master’s son may have bread to eat, but Mephibosheth, thy master’s son, shall eat bread always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty slaves.

¹¹ Then Ziba said unto the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his slave, so shall thy slave do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king’s sons.

¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.

¹³ So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table and was lame on both his feet.

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

² Then David said, I will show mercy unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed mercy unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his slaves for his father. And David’s slaves came into the land of the sons of Ammon.

³ And the princes of the sons of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Does it appear unto thee that David has sent comforters unto thee to honour thy father? Has not David rather sent his slaves unto thee to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?

⁴ Therefore, Hanun took David’s slaves and shaved off the one half of their beards and cut off their garments in the middle even to their buttocks and sent them away.

⁵ When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them because the men were greatly ashamed, and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards are grown and then return.

⁶ ¶ And when the sons of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men.

⁷ And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men.

⁸ And the sons of Ammon came out and ordered their troops at the entering in of the gate, and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob and Ishtob and Maacah were in order by themselves in the field.

⁹ When Joab saw that there were troops before and behind him, he chose from among the chosen men of Israel and put them in order against the Syrians.

¹⁰ Then he delivered the rest of the people into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might put them in order against the sons of Ammon.

¹¹ And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

¹² Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God; and let the LORD do that which seems good unto him.

¹³ And Joab drew near and the people that were with him, to do battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.

¹⁴ And when the sons of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ ¶ And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

¹⁶ And Hadarezer sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river, and they came to Helam, and Shobach, the captain of the host of Hadarezer, went before them.

¹⁷ And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and passed over the Jordan and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in order against David and fought with him.

¹⁸ And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians and forty thousand horsemen and smote Shobach, the captain of their host, who died there.

¹⁹ And when all the kings that were slaves to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the sons of Ammon any more.

11 ¶ And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his slaves with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

² And it came to pass one evening, that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

³ And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite?

⁴ And David sent messengers and took her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her. Then she purified herself from her uncleanness, and she returned unto her house.

⁵ And the woman conceived and sent and told David and said, I am with child.

⁶ ¶ Then David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.

⁷ And when Uriah had come unto him, David asked him how Joab was and how the people were and how the war prospered.

⁸ And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and royal food was sent unto him.

⁹ But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the slaves of his lord and did not go down to his house.

¹⁰ And when they had told David, saying, Uriah did not go down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Didst thou not come from thy journey? Why then didst thou not go down to thy house?

¹¹ And Uriah said unto David, The ark and Israel and Judah abide in tents, and my lord Joab and the slaves 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? By thy life and by the life of thy soul, I will not do this thing.

¹² And David said to Uriah, Tarry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day and the next day.

¹³ And when David had called him, he ate and drank before him, and he made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with the slaves of his lord but did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ ¶ And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

¹⁵ And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and retire from him, that he may be smitten and die.

¹⁶ And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that the most valiant men were.

¹⁷ And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the people of the slaves of David fell, and Uriah the Hittite died also.

¹⁸ Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war

¹⁹ and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast finished telling the matters of the war unto the king,

²⁰ and if the king begins to be angry and he should say unto thee, Why did you approach so near unto the city when ye fought? Did ye not know that which they can throw down from the wall?

²¹ Who smote Abimelech, the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall? Then thou shalt say, Thy slave Uriah, the Hittite, is dead also.

²² So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him for.

²³ And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us and came out unto us into the field, and we made them retreat unto the entering of the gate.

²⁴ And the archers shot from off the wall upon thy slaves, and some of the king’s slaves are dead, and thy slave Uriah, the Hittite, is dead also.

²⁵ Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another; strengthen the battle against the city until it is overthrown and encourage thou him.

²⁶ And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she mourned for her husband.

²⁷ And when the mourning was past, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and gave birth to a son unto him. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

12 ¶ And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich and the other poor.

² The rich man had exceeding many sheep and cows,

³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and it grew up together with him and with his children; it ate of his own food and drank of his own cup and lay in his bosom and was unto him as a daughter.

⁴ And a traveller came unto the rich man, who did not wish to take of his own sheep and of his own cows to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him, but took the poor man’s lamb and dressed it for the man that had come to him.

⁵ And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the LORD lives, the man that has done this thing is worthy of death,

⁶ and he shall pay for the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity.

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus hath said the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul,

⁸ and I gave thee thy master’s house and thy master’s wives into thy bosom and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah, and if that is too little, I shall add unto thee such and such things.

⁹ Why, therefore, hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah, the Hittite, with the sword and hast taken his wife to be thy wife and hast slain him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thy house because thou hast despised me and hast taken the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, to be thy wife.