Bible in 90 Days

²⁰ Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was frightened by Samuel’s words. He also had no strength left, because he hadn’t eaten anything all day or all night. ²¹ The woman came over to Saul and saw that he was terrified. “I listened to you,” she told him, “and I took my life in my hands when I did what you told me to do. ²² Now please listen to me. I will serve you something to eat. Eat it so that you will have strength when you leave.”

²³ But he refused. “I don’t want to eat,” he said. Nevertheless, his officers and the woman kept urging ^[a] him until he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

²⁴ The woman immediately butchered a fattened calf that she owned. She took flour, kneaded it, and baked some unleavened bread. ²⁵ Then she served it to Saul and his officers. They ate and left that ⌞same⌟ night.

The Philistines Reject David

29 The Philistines assembled their whole army at Aphek, and Israel camped at the spring in Jezreel. ² The Philistine leaders were marching by with their companies and regiments. David and his men were marching in the rear with Achish.

³ The Philistine officers asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

Achish asked the Philistine officers, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for a year or two? I’ve found nothing wrong with him from the day he defected until now.”

⁴ But the Philistine officers were angry with Achish. “Send the man back,” the Philistine officers told him. “Return him to the place you assigned him. He shouldn’t go with us into battle. He shouldn’t ⌞be allowed to⌟ become our enemy during the battle. Is this man going to try to regain his master’s favor? He’ll do it with the lives of our men! ⁵ Isn’t this David of whom people sing in dances:

⁶ Then Achish called David and told him, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, you are a dependable man. I consider your campaigning with me a good thing, because I’ve never found anything wrong with you from the day you came to me until now. But the rulers don’t approve of you. ⁷ So leave peacefully without doing anything to displease the Philistine rulers.”

⁸ “What have I done?” David asked Achish. “What have you learned about me from the time I came to you until now? Why shouldn’t I fight your enemies, Your Majesty?”

⁹ Achish answered David, “I admit that in my judgment you’re as good as God’s Messenger. However, the Philistine officers said, ‘He shouldn’t go into battle with us.’ ¹⁰ Get up early in the morning with Saul’s servants who came with you, and go to the place I have assigned to you. Don’t worry about the unkind words, because I still approve of you.^[b] Get up in the morning, and leave when it’s light.”

¹¹ Early the next morning David and his men returned to Philistine territory, while the Philistines went to Jezreel.

David Defeats the Amalekites

30 Two days later, when David and his men came to Ziklag, the Amalekites had raided the Negev, including Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it. ² Although they captured the young and old women who were there, they killed no one. Instead, they had taken ⌞the women and other prisoners⌟ and gone away. ³ By the time David and his men came to the town, it had been burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. ⁴ Then David and his men cried loudly until they didn’t have the strength to cry anymore. ⁵ The Amalekites also captured David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel. ⁶ David was in great distress because the people in their bitterness said he should be stoned. (They were thinking of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.)

⁷ David told the priest Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring me the priestly ephod.” ^[c] So Abiathar brought David the ephod.

⁸ Then David asked the Lord, “Should I pursue these troops? Will I catch up with them?”

“Pursue them,” the Lord told him. “You will certainly catch up with them and rescue the captives.”

⁹ So David and his 600 men went to the Besor Valley, where some were left behind. ¹⁰ David and 400 men went in pursuit, while 200 men who were too exhausted to cross the Besor Valley stayed behind.

¹¹ David’s men found an Egyptian in the open country and took him to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink. ¹² They gave him a slice of fig cake and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, he revived. (He hadn’t eaten any food or drunk any water for three whole days.) ¹³ David asked him, “To whom do you belong? Where do you come from?”

“I’m an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite,” the young man answered. “My master left me behind because I got sick three days ago. ¹⁴ We raided the portion of the Negev where the Cherethites live, the territory of Judah, the portion of the Negev where Caleb settled, and we burned down Ziklag.”

¹⁵ “Will you lead me to these troops?” David asked him.

He answered, “Take an oath in front of God that you won’t kill me or hand me over to my master, and I’ll lead you to these troops.”

¹⁶ The Egyptian led him ⌞to them⌟. They were spread out all over the land, eating, and drinking. They were celebrating because they had taken so much loot from Philistine territory and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ From dawn until evening the next day, David attacked them. No one escaped except 400 young men who rode away on camels. ¹⁸ David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing—young or old, sons or daughters, the loot or anything else they had taken with them. David brought back everything. ²⁰ He took all the sheep and the cattle. His men drove the animals ahead of him and said, “This is David’s loot.”

²¹ David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had stayed in the Besor Valley. They came to meet David and the people with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them. ²² Then every wicked and worthless man who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us, they shouldn’t be given any of the loot we recovered. Each of them should take only his wife and children and leave.”

²³ But David said, “My brothers, don’t do that with the things which the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed the troops that attacked us over to us. ²⁴ Besides, who is going to pay attention to what you have to say in this matter? Certainly, the share of those who go into battle must be like the share of those who stay with the supplies. They will all share alike.” ²⁵ From that time on he made this a rule and a custom in Israel as it is to this day.

²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to his friends, the leaders of Judah. He said, “Here is a gift for you from the loot ⌞taken from⌟ the Lord’s enemies.” ²⁷ There were shares for those in Bethel, Ramoth in the Negev, Jattir, ²⁸ Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, ²⁹ Racal, the cities belonging to the Jerahmeelites, the cities belonging to the Kenites, ³⁰ Hormah, Borashan, Athach, ³¹ Hebron, and to all the places David and his men visited from time to time.

The Death of Saul^(A)

31 When the Philistines were fighting against Israel, the men of Israel fled from the Philistines and were killed in battle on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines caught up to Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. ³ The heaviest fighting was against Saul. When the archers got him in their range, he was badly wounded by them.

⁴ Saul told his armorbearer, “Draw your sword! Stab me, or these godless men will come, stab me, and make fun of me.” But his armorbearer refused because he was terrified. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. ⁵ When the armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that day.

⁷ When the people of Israel on the other side of the valley and across the Jordan River saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities. So the Philistines came to live in these cities.

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent men throughout Philistine territory to tell the people this good news in their idols’ temples. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of their goddesses—the Asherahs—and fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹ When the people living in Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the fighting men marched all night and took the dead bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They came back to Jabesh and burned the bodies there. ¹³ They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh. Then they fasted seven days.

The Report of Saul’s Death

1 After Saul died and David returned from defeating the Amalekites,^[d] David stayed in Ziklag two days. ² On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp. His clothes were torn, and he had dirt on his head. When he came to David, he immediately bowed down with his face touching the ground.

³ “Where did you come from?” David asked him.

“I escaped from the camp of Israel,” he answered.

⁴ “What happened?” David asked him. “Please tell me.”

The man answered, “The army fled from the battle, and many of the soldiers died. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead too.”

⁵ “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” David asked the young man who had brought him the news.

⁶ The young man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Saul was there leaning on his spear, and the chariots and horsemen were catching up with him. ⁷ When he looked back and saw me, he called to me, and I said, ‘Yes?’ ”

⁸ “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’

“I said to him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’

⁹ “He said to me, ‘Please stand over me and kill me. I’m alive, but I’m suffering.’

¹⁰ “So I stood over him and killed him, since I knew he couldn’t survive after he had been wounded. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band that was on his arm and brought them here to you, sir.”

¹¹ Then David grabbed his own clothes and tore them in grief. All the men with him did the same. ¹² They mourned, cried, and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s army, and the nation of Israel had been defeated in battle.

¹³ David asked the young man who had brought him the news, “Where are you from?”

And the young man answered, “I’m an Amalekite, the son of a foreign resident.”

¹⁴ David asked, “Why weren’t you afraid to take it upon yourself to destroy the Lord’s anointed king?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of ⌞his⌟ young men and told him, “Come here and attack him.” David’s young man executed him ¹⁶ while David said, “You are responsible for spilling your own blood. You testified against yourself when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed king.’ ”

David’s Lament

¹⁷ David wrote this song of mourning for Saul and his son Jonathan. ¹⁸ He said,

David Becomes King of Judah

2 After this, David asked the Lord, “Should I go to one of the cities of Judah?”

“Go,” the Lord answered him.

“Where should I go?” David asked.

“To Hebron,” the Lord replied.

² David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel. ³ David took his men and their families with him, and they settled in the towns around Hebron. ⁴ Then the people of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David to be king over the tribe of Judah.

They told David, “The people of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” ⁵ So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead. He said to them, “May the Lord bless you because you showed kindness to your master Saul by burying him. ⁶ May the Lord always show you kindness. I, too, will be good to you because you did this. ⁷ Now, be strong and courageous. Because your master Saul is dead, the tribe of Judah has anointed me to be their king.”

Abner Makes Ishbosheth King of Israel

⁸ Ner’s son Abner, commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ishbosheth ^[f] and brought him to Mahanaim. ⁹ Abner made him king of Gilead, Asher,^[g] Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, that is, all Israel. ¹⁰ Saul’s son Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he became king of Israel. He ruled for two years, but the tribe of Judah followed David. ¹¹ In Hebron David was king over the tribe of Judah for seven years and six months.

Conflicts between Abner and Joab

¹² Ner’s son Abner and the officers of Saul’s son Ishbosheth went from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ¹³ Zeruiah’s son Joab and David’s officers also left ⌞Hebron⌟. Both groups met at the pool of Gibeon. They sat down there, one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side of the pool.

¹⁴ Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men hold a contest.” Joab agreed.

¹⁵ The men got up and were counted as they passed by. Twelve were from the tribe of Benjamin (representing Saul’s son Ishbosheth), and twelve were from David’s officers. ¹⁶ Each one grabbed his opponent by the head, stuck his sword into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. Therefore, that place in Gibeon is called the Field of Enemies. ¹⁷ Fierce fighting broke out that day, and David’s men defeated Abner and the men of Israel.

¹⁸ Zeruiah’s three sons were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was as fast on his feet as a wild gazelle. ¹⁹ He chased Abner and refused to leave him alone. ²⁰ When Abner looked back, he asked, “Are you Asahel?”

“Yes,” Asahel answered.

²¹ Abner told him, “Leave me alone! Catch one of the young men, and take his weapon.”

But Asahel refused to turn away from him. ²² So Abner spoke again to Asahel. “Stop following me,” he said. “Why should I kill you? How could I look your brother Joab in the face again?”

²³ But Asahel refused to turn away. So Abner struck him with the butt of the spear. The spear went into his belly and came out his back. He fell down there and died on the spot. And everyone who came to the place where Asahel fell and died stopped there.

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai chased Abner. When the sun went down, they came to the hill of Ammah, opposite Giah on the road from Gibeon to the desert. ²⁵ The men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner, banding together and taking their position on top of a hill.

²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab, “Should this slaughter go on forever? Don’t you know this will end in bitterness? How long will it be before you will call off your troops from chasing their relatives?”

²⁷ Joab answered, “I solemnly swear, as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would not have stopped chasing their relatives until morning.” ²⁸ So Joab blew a ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped. They didn’t chase or fight Israel anymore.

²⁹ Abner and his men marched through the plains all that night. They crossed the Jordan River and passed through the entire Bithron until they came to Mahanaim.

³⁰ Joab returned from chasing Abner. When he had gathered all the troops, ⌞only⌟ 19 of David’s officers and Asahel were missing. ³¹ However, David’s officers had killed 360 of the men of Benjamin under Abner’s command. ³² They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak.

3 As the war between the royal families of Saul and David dragged on, David’s family became stronger and stronger, and Saul’s family became weaker and weaker.

David’s Sons^(B)

² Sons were born to David while he was in Hebron. His first son was Amnon, ⌞born⌟ to Ahinoam from Jezreel. ³ The second was Chileab, ⌞born⌟ to Abigail (who had been Nabal’s wife) from Carmel. The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah (the daughter of King Talmai) from Geshur. ⁴ The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital. ⁵ The sixth was Ithream, ⌞born⌟ to David’s wife Eglah. These sons were born to David while he was in Hebron.

Abner’s Death

⁶ During the war between the families of Saul and David, Abner strengthened his position in Saul’s royal family. ⁷ Saul had a concubine ^[h] named Rizpah (Aiah’s daughter). Ishbosheth asked Abner, “Why did you have sex with my father’s concubine?”

⁸ Ishbosheth’s question made Abner very angry. “Have I been behaving like some Judean dog?” he asked. “Until now I’ve been faithful to your father Saul’s family, to his relatives and friends, and I haven’t handed you over to David. But now you charge me with a crime because of this woman. ⁹ May God strike me dead unless I do for David what the Lord had promised him with an oath: ¹⁰ ‘I, the Lord, will transfer the kingship from Saul’s family and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.’ ” ¹¹ Ishbosheth couldn’t respond to a single word, because he was afraid of Abner.

¹² Then Abner sent messengers to David to speak on his behalf. “Who owns this country?” he asked. “Make an agreement with me,” he said. “I’ll support you and bring all Israel to you.”

¹³ “Good!” David answered. “I’ll make an agreement with you. But there’s one condition: You can’t come to see me unless you bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come.”

¹⁴ Then David sent messengers to Saul’s son Ishbosheth to say, “Give me my wife Michal. I made a payment of 100 Philistine foreskins for her.”

¹⁵ So Ishbosheth sent men to take her from her husband Paltiel, son of Laish. ¹⁶ Her husband went with her and cried over her all the way to Bahurim. “Go home,” Abner told him. So he went home.

¹⁷ Meanwhile, Abner sent the following message to the leaders of Israel: “For some time now you’ve wanted to make David your king. ¹⁸ Do it now, because the Lord said about David: ‘I will save my people Israel from the Philistines and all their other enemies through my servant David.’ ” ¹⁹ Abner also spoke specifically to the people of Benjamin.

Then Abner went directly to David in Hebron to tell him everything Israel and the entire tribe of Benjamin had approved. ²⁰ So Abner came with 20 men to David in Hebron, and David had a feast for Abner and his men.

²¹ Abner told David, “I must go now so that I can gather all Israel for you, Your Majesty. They will make a treaty with you, and you will rule everything your heart desires.” Then David dismissed Abner, who left peacefully.

²² Just then David’s men and Joab were coming home from a raid with a lot of goods. Abner had been dismissed, so he was no longer with David in Hebron. ²³ When Joab came back with the whole army, he was told, “Ner’s son Abner came to the king, but David dismissed him, and Abner left peacefully.”

²⁴ Then Joab went to the king and asked, “What have you done? Abner came to see you. Why did you dismiss him and let him get away? ²⁵ Certainly you must know that Ner’s son Abner came to deceive you, to find out about your movements and learn everything you’re doing!”

²⁶ After leaving David, Joab sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the cistern of Sirah without David knowing about it. ²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway as if to talk to him privately. There he stabbed Abner in the belly. Abner died because he spilled the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.

²⁸ Later when David heard about it, he said, “As far as the Lord is concerned, my kingdom and I are forever innocent of spilling the blood of Ner’s son Abner. ²⁹ May the blame fall on the head of Joab and all of his family. May there always be members of Joab’s family who have oozing sores and skin diseases, who can only work a spindle,^[i] who die in battle, and who never have any food.” ³⁰ (Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

³¹ David told Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” King David followed the open casket. ³² They buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly at Abner’s grave, and all the people cried. ³³ The king sang a funeral song for Abner:

And all the people continued to cry for him.

³⁵ That entire day all the people tried to get David to eat some food. But David had taken an oath: “May God strike me dead if I taste any food or anything else before the sun goes down.” ³⁶ Then all the people understood and approved of this, as all the people approved of everything the king did. ³⁷ That day all the people of Israel knew the king wasn’t responsible for killing Ner’s son Abner. ³⁸ The king said to his officers, “Don’t you know that today a leader, a great man, has fallen in Israel? ³⁹ Today I’m weak, though I’m the anointed king. These men, Zeruiah’s sons, are too cruel for me. May the Lord repay this evildoer as his evil deeds deserve.”

Ishbosheth Is Murdered

4 When Saul’s son Ishbosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost his courage, and all Israel was alarmed. ² Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding parties. One was named Baanah, and the other was named Rechab. They were the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth from the tribe of Benjamin.

(Beeroth was considered a part of Benjamin, ³ even though the people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim. They still live there today. ⁴ In addition, Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled. When the boy was five years old, the news about ⌞the death of⌟ Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled ⌞to Gittaim⌟. She was in a hurry when she left, and he fell ⌞from her arms⌟ and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

⁵ Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, came to Ishbosheth’s home at the hottest time of the day. Ishbosheth was taking his midday nap ⁶ when they came into the house as though they were going to get some flour. Instead, they stabbed him in the belly. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. ⁷ (They had come into the house while Ishbosheth was sleeping on his bed in his bedroom. They stabbed him, killed him, and cut off his head.) They took his head and traveled all night along the road to the plains.

⁸ They brought Ishbosheth’s head to David at Hebron. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you,” they told the king. “Today the Lord has given Your Royal Majesty revenge on Saul and his descendants.”

⁹ David responded to Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, ¹⁰ “I once seized a man who told me that Saul had died. He thought he was bringing good news. I killed him in Ziklag to reward him for his news. ¹¹ How much more ⌞should I reward⌟ wicked men who kill an innocent man on his own bed in his home? The Lord has rescued me from every trouble. I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives,^[j] I’ll now seek revenge for his murder and rid the land of you.” ¹² So David gave an order to his young men, who executed Rechab and Baanah, cut off their hands and feet, and hung their dead bodies by the pond in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

David Anointed King of Israel^(C)

5 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron. “We are your own flesh and blood,” they said. ² “Even in the past when Saul ruled us, you were the one who led Israel in battle. The Lord has said to you, ‘You will be shepherd of my people Israel, the leader of Israel.’ ”

³ All the leaders of Israel had come to Hebron. King David made an agreement with them at Hebron in front of the Lord. So they anointed David king of Israel. ⁴ David was 30 years old when he became king, and he ruled for 40 years. ⁵ In Hebron he ruled Judah for seven years and six months. In Jerusalem he ruled for 33 years over all Israel and Judah.

David Captures Jerusalem^(D)

⁶ The king and his men went to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived in that region. The Jebusites told David, “You will never get in here. Even the blind and the lame could turn you away” (meaning that David could never get in there). ⁷ But David captured the fortress Zion (that is, the City of David). ⁸ That day David said, “Whoever wants to defeat the Jebusites must reach the lame and the blind who hate me by using the water shaft.” So there is a saying, “The blind and the lame will not get into the palace.” ^{[k] 9} David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built the city ⌞of Jerusalem⌟ around it from the Millo ^[l] to the palace. ¹⁰ David continued to grow more powerful because the Lord God ^[m] of Armies was with him.

David’s Palace, Wives, and Children in Jerusalem^(E)

¹¹ Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedarwood, carpenters, and stonemasons. They built a palace for David. ¹² So David realized that the Lord had established him as king of Israel and made his kingship famous for the sake of Israel, the Lord’s people.

¹³ David married more concubines ^[n] and wives from Jerusalem after he had come there from Hebron, and he fathered more sons and daughters. ¹⁴ These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

David Defeats the Philistines^(F)

¹⁷ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, all of them came to attack David. But David heard about it and went to the fortress. ¹⁸ The Philistines had come and overrun the valley of Rephaim.

¹⁹ David asked the Lord, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The Lord answered David, “Attack! I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”

²⁰ So David went to Baal Perazim and defeated the Philistines there. He said, “The Lord has overwhelmed my enemies in front of me like an overwhelming flood.” That is why that place is called Baal Perazim [The Lord Overwhelms]. ²¹ The Philistines left their idols there, so David and his men carried the idols away.

²² The Philistines again attacked and overran the valley of Rephaim. ²³ David asked the Lord, and he answered, “Don’t attack now, but circle around behind them, and come at them in front of the balsam trees. ²⁴ When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act immediately because the Lord has gone ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.” ²⁵ David did as the Lord ordered him and defeated the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem^(G)

6 David again assembled all the best soldiers in Israel, 30,000 men. ² He and all the people with him left Baalah in Judah ^[o] to bring God’s ark ⌞to Jerusalem⌟. (The ark is called by the name of the Lord of Armies, who is enthroned over the angels.^[p]) ³ David and his men put God’s ark on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s home on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the new cart. ⁴ They brought it from Abinadab’s home, with Ahio walking ahead of the ark. ⁵ David and the entire nation of Israel were celebrating in the Lord’s presence with all kinds of instruments made from cypress wood ^[q] and with lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums,^[r] and cymbals.

⁶ But when they came to Nacon’s threshing floor,^[s] the oxen stumbled. So Uzzah reached out for the ark of God and grabbed it. ⁷ The Lord became angry with Uzzah, so God killed him there for his lack of respect. He died beside the ark of God.

⁸ David was angry because the Lord had struck Uzzah so violently. (That place is still called Perez Uzzah [The Striking of Uzzah] today.) ⁹ David was afraid of the Lord that day. “How can the ark of the Lord come to my ⌞city⌟?” he asked. ¹⁰ So David wouldn’t bring the ark of the Lord with him to the City of David. Instead, he rerouted it to the home of Obed Edom, who was from Gath. ¹¹ The ark of the Lord stayed at the home of Obed Edom from Gath for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his whole family.

¹² King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed Edom’s home and everything he owns because of the ark of God.” Then David joyfully went to get the ark of God from Obed Edom’s house and bring it to the City of David. ¹³ When those who carried the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.

¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod,^[t] David danced in the Lord’s presence with all his might. ¹⁵ He and the entire nation of Israel brought the ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the sounding of rams’ horns. ¹⁶ When the ark of the Lord came to the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out of a window and saw King David leaping and dancing in the Lord’s presence, so she despised him.

¹⁷ The men carrying the ark set it in its place inside the tent David had put up for it. David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the Lord’s presence. ¹⁸ When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Armies. ¹⁹ He also distributed to all the people—to the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women—one loaf of bread, one date cake, and one raisin cake. Then all the people went home.

²⁰ When David returned to bless his family, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How dignified Israel’s king was today! He was exposing himself before the eyes of the slave girls of his palace staff—like a mindless fool might expose himself!”

²¹ David answered Michal, “⌞I didn’t dance in front of the slave girls but⌟ in front of the Lord. He chose me rather than your father or anyone in your father’s house, and he appointed me leader of Israel, the Lord’s people. I will celebrate in the Lord’s presence, ²² and I will degrade myself even more than this. Even if I am humiliated in your eyes, I will be honored by these slave girls you speak about.”

²³ So Saul’s daughter Michal was childless her entire life.

David’s Wish to Build a House for God^(H)

7 While King David was living in his house, the Lord gave him peace with all his enemies around him. ² So the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Look, I’m living in a house made of cedar, while the ark of God remains in the tent.”

³ Nathan told the king, “Do everything you have in mind, because the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But that same night the Lord spoke his word to Nathan: ⁵ “Say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one who will build me a house to live in? ⁶ I haven’t lived in a house from the day I took Israel out of Egypt to this day. Instead, I moved around in a tent, the tent ⌞of meeting⌟. ⁷ In all the places I’ve moved with all the Israelites, did I ever ask any of the judges ^[u] of Israel whom I ordered to be shepherds of my people Israel why they didn’t build me a house of cedar?’

⁸ “Now this is what you will say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture where you followed sheep so that you could be the leader of my people Israel. ⁹ I was with you wherever you went, and I destroyed all your enemies in front of you. I will make your name famous like the names of the greatest people on earth. ¹⁰ I will make a place for my people Israel and plant them there. They will live in their own place and not be troubled anymore. The wicked will no longer oppress them as they used to do ¹¹ ever since I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. So I will give you peace with all your enemies. I, the Lord, tell you that I will make a house for you.

¹² “ ‘When the time comes for you to lie down in death with your ancestors, I will send one of your descendants, ⌞one⌟ who will come from you. I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his Father, and he will be my Son. If he sins, I will punish him with a rod and with blows inflicted by people. ¹⁵ But I will never stop showing him my love as I did to Saul, whom I took out of your way. ¹⁶ Your royal house will remain in my presence ^[v] forever. Your throne will be established forever.’ ”

¹⁷ Nathan told David all these words and everything he had seen.

¹⁸ King David went into the tent and sat in front of the Lord. “Who am I, Almighty Lord,” he asked, “and why is my house so important that you have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And even this you consider to be a small act, Almighty Lord. You’ve also spoken about the distant future of my house. Almighty Lord, this is the teaching about the man.

²⁰ “What more can I, David, say to you, Almighty Lord, since you know me so well! ²¹ You’ve done this great thing because of your promise and your own desire. You made it known to me.

²² “That is why you are great, Lord God. There is no one like you, and there is no other god except you, as we have heard with our own ears. ²³ Who is like your people Israel? It is the one nation on earth that God came to free in order to make its people his own, to make his name ^[w] known, and to do great and wonderful things for them. You forced ^[x] nations and their gods out of the way of your people, whom you freed from Egypt to be your own. ²⁴ You created the people of Israel to be your people forever. And you, Lord, became their God.

²⁵ “Now, Lord God, keep the promise you made to me and my house forever. Do as you promised. ²⁶ Your name will be respected forever when ⌞people⌟ say, ‘The Lord of Armies is God over Israel.’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your presence. ²⁷ You, Lord of Armies, God of Israel, have revealed it especially to me, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ That is why I have found the courage to offer this prayer to you.

²⁸ “Almighty Lord, you are God, and your words are trustworthy. You promised me this good thing. ²⁹ Now, please bless my house so that it may continue in your presence forever. Indeed, you, Almighty Lord, have promised it. With your blessing my house will be blessed forever.”

David’s Successes^(I)

8 After this, David defeated and crushed the Philistines. He took control of the main Philistine city from them.^[y]

² He also defeated Moab, made the Moabites lie down on the ground, and measured them with a rope. He measured two lengths which were to be killed, and one length which was to be spared. So the Moabites became David’s subjects and paid taxes ⌞to him⌟.

³ When David went to restore his control ⌞over the territory⌟ along the Euphrates River, he defeated Zobah’s King Hadadezer, son of Rehob. ⁴ David took 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers from him. David also disabled all but 100 of their horses so that they couldn’t pull chariots.

⁵ When the Arameans from Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. ⁶ David put troops in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became his subjects and paid taxes ⌞to him⌟. Everywhere David went, the Lord gave him victories.

⁷ David took the gold shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s ^[z] servants, and he brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ King David also took a large quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, Hadadezer’s cities.

⁹ When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer’s whole army, ¹⁰ he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. (There had often been war between Hadadezer and Toi.) Joram brought articles of gold, silver, and bronze with him. ¹¹ King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he conquered— ¹² from Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the goods taken from Zobah’s King Hadadezer, son of Rehob.

¹³ David made a name for himself by killing 18,000 Edomites ^[aa] in the Dead Sea region as he returned ⌞to Jerusalem⌟. ¹⁴ He put troops everywhere in Edom, and all the Edomites were David’s subjects. Everywhere David went, the Lord gave him victories.

¹⁵ So David ruled all Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people. ¹⁶ Zeruiah’s son Joab was in charge of the army. Ahilud’s son Jehoshaphat was the royal historian. ¹⁷ Ahitub’s son Zadok and Abiathar’s son Ahimelech were priests. Seraiah was the royal scribe. ¹⁸ Jehoiada’s son Benaiah was commander of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And David’s sons were priests.^[ab]

David Keeps His Promise to Jonathan

9 David asked, “Is there anyone left in Saul’s family to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

² Now, Saul’s family had a servant whose name was Ziba. He was summoned to ⌞come to⌟ David. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked him.

“⌞Yes,⌟ I am,” he answered.

³ David asked, “Is there someone left in Saul’s family to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

“Jonathan has a son who is disabled,” Ziba answered.

⁴ “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba replied, “He is at the home of Machir, Ammiel’s son, in Lo Debar.”

⁵ So King David sent men to get him from the home of Ammiel’s son Machir in Lo Debar. ⁶ When Mephibosheth (son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul) came to David, he quickly bowed down with his face touching the ground.

“Mephibosheth!” David said to him.

“Yes, sir,” he answered.

⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” David told him, “I will certainly show you kindness for your father Jonathan’s sake. I will give back to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

⁸ Mephibosheth bowed down ⌞again⌟ and answered, “Who am I that you would look at a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king called for Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. ¹⁰ You, your sons, and your servants should farm the land for him and harvest ⌞the crops⌟ so that your master’s family will have food to eat. However, your master’s grandson Mephibosheth will always eat at my table.” (Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.)

¹¹ Ziba responded, “I will do everything you’ve commanded, Your Majesty.” From then on, Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.

¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. Everyone who lived at Ziba’s home became Mephibosheth’s servant. ¹³ However, Mephibosheth, who was disabled, lived in Jerusalem. He always ate at the king’s table.

David Defeats Ammon and Aram^(J)

10 Later the king of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king in his place. ² David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun as his father Nahash showed me kindness.” So David sent his servants to comfort Hanun after his father’s ⌞death⌟. But when David’s servants entered Ammonite territory, ³ the Ammonite princes asked their master Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father because he sent men to comfort you? Hasn’t David sent his men to explore the city, spy on it, and destroy it?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their clothes from the waist down, and sent them away.

⁵ After David was told ⌞what had happened⌟, he sent ⌞someone⌟ to meet them because they were deeply humiliated. The king said to them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return ⌞to Jerusalem⌟.”

⁶ The Ammonites realized that they had made themselves offensive to David. So they hired the Arameans from Beth Rehob and Zobah (20,000 foot soldiers), ⌞the army of⌟ the king of Maacah (1,000 men), and the men of Tob (12,000 men).

⁷ After David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the elite troops. ⁸ The Ammonites formed a battle line at the entrance of the ⌞city⌟ gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah remained by themselves in the open country.

⁹ When Joab saw he was under attack in front and behind, he took the select troops of Israel and organized them for combat against the Arameans. ¹⁰ He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the troops. Abishai organized them for combat against the Ammonites.

¹¹ Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for my ⌞troops⌟, be ready to help me. And if the Ammonites are too strong for your ⌞troops⌟, I’ll come to help you. ¹² Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God, and the Lord will do what he considers right.”

¹³ Then Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Arameans, and the Arameans fled. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, the Ammonites fled from Abishai and went into the city. So Joab stopped his campaign against the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Realizing that Israel had defeated them, the Arameans reassembled ⌞their troops⌟. ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent ⌞messengers⌟ to get Arameans from beyond the Euphrates River. The Arameans came to Helam with Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.

¹⁷ When David was told ⌞about this⌟, he assembled Israel’s army, crossed the Jordan River, and came to Helam. The Arameans formed a battle line against David’s ⌞troops⌟ and fought him. ¹⁸ The Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed 700 chariot drivers and 40,000 horsemen. David struck Shobach dead.

¹⁹ When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that Israel had defeated them, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. And the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

David Takes Bathsheba^(K)

11 In the spring, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, his mercenaries, and Israel’s army ⌞to war⌟. They destroyed the Ammonites and attacked Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem.

² Now, when evening came, David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the royal palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, and she was very pretty. ³ David sent someone to ask about the woman. The man said, “She’s Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ So David sent messengers and took her. She came to him, and he went to bed with her. (She had just cleansed herself after her monthly period.) Then she went home. ⁵ The woman had become pregnant. So she sent someone to tell David that she was pregnant.

⁶ Then David sent a messenger to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the troops were and how the war was going.

⁸ “Go home,” David said to Uriah, “and wash your feet.” Uriah left the royal palace, and the king sent a present to him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace among his superior’s mercenaries. He didn’t go home.

¹⁰ When they told David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David asked Uriah, “Didn’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”

¹¹ Uriah answered David, “The ark and ⌞the army of⌟ Israel and Judah are in temporary shelters, and my commander Joab and Your Majesty’s mercenaries are living in the field. Should I then go to my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? I solemnly swear, as sure as you’re living, I won’t do this!”

¹² David said to Uriah, “Then stay here today, and tomorrow I’ll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But that evening Uriah went to lie down on his bed among his superior’s mercenaries. He didn’t go home.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriah on the front line where the fighting is heaviest. Then abandon him so that he’ll be struck down and die.”

¹⁶ Since Joab had kept the city under observation, he put Uriah at the place where he knew the experienced warriors were. ¹⁷ The men of the city came out and fought Joab. Some of the people, namely, some of David’s mercenaries, fell and died—including Uriah the Hittite.

¹⁸ Then Joab sent ⌞a messenger⌟ to report to David all the details of the battle. ¹⁹ And he commanded the messenger, “When you finish telling the king about the battle, ²⁰ the king may become angry. He might ask you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Who killed Jerubbesheth’s ^[ac] son Abimelech? Didn’t a woman on the wall of Thebez throw a small millstone at him and kill him? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ If the king asks this, then say, ‘Your man Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’ ”

²² The messenger left, and when he arrived, he reported to David everything Joab told him to say.^{[ad] 23} The messenger said, “Their men overpowered us and came to attack us in the field. Then we forced them back to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴ The archers on the wall shot down at your mercenaries, and some of Your Majesty’s mercenaries died. Your man Uriah the Hittite also is dead.”

²⁵ David said to the messenger, “This is what you are to say to Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing trouble you, because a sword can kill one person as easily as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage him.”

²⁶ When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him. ²⁷ When her mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to his home, and she became his wife. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord considered David’s actions evil.

Nathan Confronts David

12 So the Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan came to him and said, “There were two men in a certain city. One was rich, and the other was poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cows, ³ but the poor man had only one little female lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up in his home with his children. She would eat his food and drink from his cup. She rested in his arms and was like a daughter.

⁴ “Now, a visitor came to the rich man. The rich man thought it would be a pity to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler. So he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared her for the traveler.”

⁵ David burned with anger against the man. “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this certainly deserves to die! ⁶ And he must pay back four times the price of the lamb because he did this and had no pity.”

⁷ “You are the man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and rescued you from Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master Saul’s house and his wives. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if this weren’t enough, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise my word by doing what I considered evil? You had Uriah the Hittite killed in battle. You took his wife as your wife. You used the Ammonites to kill him. ¹⁰ So warfare will never leave your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.