Bible in 90 Days

²⁰ And Saul fell straightway his full length on 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 the day nor all the night.

²¹ And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said to him, Behold, thy bondmaid has hearkened to thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened to thy words which thou spokest to me.

²² And now, I pray thee, hearken thou also to the voice of thy bondmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength when thou goest on thy way.

²³ But he refused and said, I will not eat. Then his servants, and the woman also, compelled him, and he hearkened to their voice; and he arose from the earth and sat on the bed.

²⁴ And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread thereof;

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

29 And the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and Israel encamped by the spring that is in Jizreel.

² And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish.

³ And the princes of the Philistines said, What are these Hebrews? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years, and I have found nothing in him since the day of his falling away [to me] to this day?

⁴ But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make the man return, that he may go again to his place where thou hast appointed him, that he go not down with us to the battle, that in the battle he be not an adversary to us; for wherewith should this [fellow] reconcile himself to his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?

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

⁶ And Achish called David, and said to him, [As] Jehovah liveth, thou art upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the camp is acceptable to me; for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming to me to this day; but thou art not acceptable to the lords.

⁷ And now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.

⁸ And David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee to this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

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

¹⁰ And now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee; and rise ye early in the morning, and when ye have daylight, depart.

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

30 And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire;

² and had taken the women captives that were in it; both great and small: they had put none to death, but had carried them off, and went on their way.

³ And David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burnt 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 Jizreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

⁶ And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him; for the soul of all the people was embittered, every man because of his sons and because of his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God.

⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, Bring near to me, I pray thee, the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod near to David.

⁸ And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he said to him, Pursue; for thou shalt assuredly overtake [them] and shalt certainly recover.

⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and they came to the torrent Besor; and those that were left stayed behind.

¹⁰ And David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to go over the torrent Besor.

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

¹² and gave him a piece of fig-cake and two raisin-cakes, and he ate, and his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, for three days and three nights.

¹³ And David said to him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick.

¹⁴ We made a raid against the south of the Cherethites, and against what [belongs] to Judah, and against the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

¹⁵ And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear to me by God, that thou wilt neither put me to death nor deliver me up into the hand of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.

¹⁶ And he brought him down, and behold, they were spread over the whole land, eating and drinking, and dancing, 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 twilight even to the evening of the next day; and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled.

¹⁸ And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken: and David recovered his two wives.

¹⁹ And there was nothing missed by them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken: David brought all back.

²⁰ And David took all the flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before the other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.

²¹ And David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and whom they had left behind at the torrent Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; and David drew near to the people and saluted them.

²² And all the wicked men, and [men] of Belial, of those that had gone with David, answered and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them [aught] of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead [them] away and depart.

²³ Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah has given us, who has preserved us, and given the troop that came against us into our hand.

²⁴ And who will hearken to you in this matter? For as his share is that goes down to the battle, so shall his share be that abides by the baggage: they shall share alike.

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

²⁶ And David came to Ziklag, and he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah:

²⁷ to those in Bethel, and to those in south Ramoth, and to those in Jattir,

²⁸ and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,

²⁹ and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,

³⁰ and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chor-ashan, and to those in Athach,

³¹ and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men went about.

31 And the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on mount Gilboa.

² And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.

³ And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers came up with him; and he was much terrified by the archers.

⁴ Then said Saul to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was much afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

⁵ And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on his sword, and died with him.

⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.

⁷ And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and [they] that were on this side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel 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 the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa.

⁹ And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent [them] into the land of the Philistines round about, to announce the glad tidings in the houses of their idols, and to the people.

¹⁰ And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

¹¹ And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of what 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 Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burned them there.

¹³ And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1 And it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David abode two days in Ziklag.

² And it came to pass on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his garments rent, and earth upon his head; and as soon as he came to David, he fell to the earth and did obeisance.

³ And David said to him, Whence comest thou? And he said to him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.

⁴ And David said to him, What has taken place? I pray thee, tell me. And he said that the people had fled from the battle, and many of the people also had fallen and died, and that Saul and Jonathan his son were dead also.

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

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

⁷ And he looked behind him, and saw me, and called to me. And I said, Here am I.

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

⁹ He said to me again, Stand, I pray thee, over me, and slay me; for anguish has seized me; for my life is yet whole in me.

¹⁰ So I stood over him, and put him to death, for I knew that he would not live after his fall; and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither to my lord.

¹¹ Then David took hold of his garments and rent them; and all the men that were with him [did] likewise.

¹² And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

¹³ And David said to the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he said, I am the son of an Amalekite stranger.

¹⁴ And David said to him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thy hand to destroy Jehovah's anointed?

¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, Draw near, [and] fall on him. And he smote him that he died.

¹⁶ And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain Jehovah's anointed.

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

¹⁸ and he bade them teach the children of Judah [the song of] the bow. Behold, it is written in the book of Jasher:—

¹⁹ The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!

²⁰ Tell [it] not in Gath, carry not the tidings in the streets of Ashkelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

²¹ Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, no rain upon you, nor fields of heave-offerings! For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul, [as] not anointed with oil.

²² From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan turned not back, And the sword of Saul returned not empty.

²³ Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their lives, Even in their death 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 splendour, Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

²⁵ How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain upon thy high places.

²⁶ I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant wast thou unto me; Thy love to me was wonderful, passing women's love.

²⁷ How are the mighty fallen, and the instruments of war perished!

2 And it came to pass after this that David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said to him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

² So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jizreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

³ And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man 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, It is the men of Jabesh-Gilead that have buried Saul.

⁵ And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and said to them, Blessed be ye of Jehovah, that ye have shewn this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him!

⁶ And now Jehovah shew kindness and faithfulness to you; and I also will requite you this good, because ye have done this thing.

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

⁸ And 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 Asshurites, and over Jizreel, 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 he reigned two years. However, the house of Judah followed David.

¹¹ And the time 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 servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

¹³ And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out. And they met together by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, these on the one side of the pool, and those on the other side of the pool.

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

¹⁵ And they arose and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin, and for Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

¹⁶ And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and [thrust] his sword in his fellow's side, and they fell down together. And that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is by Gibeon.

¹⁷ And the battle that day was very severe; and Abner and the men of Israel were routed before the servants of David.

¹⁸ And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was swift of foot, as one of the gazelles that are in the field.

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

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

²¹ And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside, to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay hold of one of the young men, and take for thyself his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

²² And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee 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 But he refused to turn aside; therefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the belly, so 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 And Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner; and the sun went down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵ And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of a hill.

²⁶ And Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? and how long shall it be ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

²⁷ And Joab said, [As] God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

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

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

³⁰ And Joab returned from following Abner, and gathered all the people together; and there lacked of David's servants nineteen men, and Asahel.

³¹ And the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, three hundred and sixty men, who had 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 break of day.

3 And the war was long between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David became continually stronger, and the house of Saul became continually weaker.

² And to David were sons born in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jizreelitess;

³ and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maachah, 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, of 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 to my father's concubine?

⁸ Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, I who against Judah do shew kindness this day to 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 reproachest me this day with the fault of this woman?

⁹ So do God to Abner, and more also, if, as Jehovah has sworn to David, I do not so to 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 Beer-sheba!

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? saying [also], Make thy covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with thee, to turn all Israel to thee.

¹³ And he said, Well, I will make a covenant with thee; only I require one thing 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 And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, whom I espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

¹⁵ And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from [her] husband, from Phaltiel the son of Laish.

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

¹⁷ Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David aforetime to be king over you;

¹⁸ and now do [it], for Jehovah has spoken of David, saying, By my servant David will I 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 Abner and the men that were with him a repast.

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

²² And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from an expedition, and brought in a great spoil with them; but Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.

²³ And Joab and all the host that was with him came; and 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 to thee; why is it [that] thou hast sent him away, and he is gone?

²⁵ Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, 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 brought him again from the well of Sirah; but David did not know it.

²⁷ And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him secretly, and smote him there in the belly, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

²⁸ And afterwards David heard [it], and he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before Jehovah for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner:

²⁹ let it fall 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 falls by the sword, or that lacks bread!

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

³¹ And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David 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, Should Abner die as a fool dieth?

³⁴ Thy hands were not bound, Nor thy feet put into fetters; As a man falleth before wicked men, Fellest thou! And all the people wept again over him.

³⁵ And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread or aught else till the sun be down!

³⁶ And all the people remarked it, and it pleased them; as whatever the king did pleased all the people.

³⁷ And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death.

³⁸ And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

³⁹ And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me: Jehovah 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 enfeebled, and all Israel was troubled.

² And Saul's son had two men, captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin; for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin.

³ And the Beerothites had 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 news came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jizreel; 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 in about the heat of the day into the house of Ishbosheth, who was taking his noonday rest.

⁶ And they came thither into the midst of the house, [as though] they would fetch wheat; and they smote him in the belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

⁷ They came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him; and they took his head, and went by the way of the plain all night.

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

⁹ Then David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, [As] Jehovah liveth, who has redeemed my soul out of all distress,

¹⁰ when one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead! and he was in his own sight a messenger of good, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag—to whom forsooth I should give a reward for his good tidings:

¹¹ how much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? and should I not now demand his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?

¹² And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged [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 came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

² Even aforetime, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel; and Jehovah said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel.

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

⁴ David was thirty years old when he began to reign; 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 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land; and they spoke to David, saying, Thou shalt not come in hither, but the blind and the lame will drive thee back; as much as to say, David will not come in hither.

⁷ But David took the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David.

⁸ And David said on that day, Whoever smites the Jebusites and gets up to the watercourse, and the lame and the blind hated of David's soul …! Therefore they say, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

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

¹⁰ And David became continually greater; and Jehovah the God of hosts was with him.

¹¹ And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, and carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house.

¹² And David perceived that Jehovah had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom because of his people Israel.

¹³ And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron; and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

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

¹⁵ and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,

¹⁶ and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet.

¹⁷ And the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, and all the Philistines went up to seek David; and David heard [of it], and went down to the stronghold.

¹⁸ And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

¹⁹ And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? wilt thou give them into my hand? And Jehovah said to David, Go up; for I will certainly give the Philistines into thy hand.

²⁰ And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there; and he said, Jehovah has broken in upon mine enemies before me, as the breaking forth of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

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

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

²³ And David inquired of Jehovah; and he said, Thou shalt not go up; turn round behind them and come upon them opposite the mulberry-trees.

²⁴ And it shall be, when thou hearest a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself; for then will Jehovah have gone forth before thee, to smite the army of the Philistines.

²⁵ And David did so, as Jehovah had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou comest to Gezer.

6 And David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

² And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale-Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God which is called by the name, the name of Jehovah of hosts who sitteth between the cherubim.

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

⁴ And they brought it with the ark of God out of the house of Abinadab which was upon the hill; and Ahio went before the ark.

⁵ And David and all the house of Israel played before Jehovah on all manner of [instruments made of] cypress wood, with harps, and with lutes, and with tambours, and with sistra, and with cymbals.

⁶ And when they came to Nachon's threshing-floor, Uzzah reached after the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen had stumbled.

⁷ And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

⁸ And David was indignant, because Jehovah had made a breach upon Uzzah; and he called that place Perez-Uzzah to this day.

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

¹⁰ So David would not bring the ark of Jehovah home unto himself into the city of David; but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

¹¹ And the ark of Jehovah remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months; and Jehovah blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

¹² And it was told king David, saying, Jehovah has blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that is his, because of the ark of God. And David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom into the city of David with joy.

¹³ And it was so, that when they that bore the ark of Jehovah had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatted beast.

¹⁴ And David danced before Jehovah with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

¹⁵ And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of Jehovah with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

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

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

¹⁸ And when David had ended offering up the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah of hosts.

¹⁹ And he dealt to all the people, to the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to every one a cake of bread, and a measure [of wine], and a raisin-cake. And all the people departed every one to his house.

²⁰ And David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How honourable did the king of Israel make himself to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the lewd fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!

²¹ And David said to Michal, It was before Jehovah, who chose me rather than thy father, and than all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of Jehovah, over Israel; and I played before Jehovah.

²² And I will make myself yet more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight; and of the handmaids that thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

²³ And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

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

² that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.

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

⁴ And it came to pass that night that the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying,

⁵ Go and say to my servant, to David, Thus saith Jehovah: Wilt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

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

⁷ In all my going about with all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye me not a house of cedars?

⁸ And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel;

⁹ and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.

¹⁰ And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly,

¹¹ and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I have given thee rest from all thine enemies; and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.

¹² 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 It is he who 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 commit 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 put away from before thee.

¹⁶ And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made firm 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 to David.

¹⁸ And king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁹ And yet this hath been a small thing in thy sight, Lord Jehovah; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, Lord Jehovah?

²⁰ And what can David say more to thee? for thou, Lord Jehovah, knowest thy servant.

²¹ For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make thy servant know [it].

²² Wherefore thou art great, Jehovah Elohim; 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 is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, and to make himself a name, and to do for them great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thyself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

²⁴ And thou hast established to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever; and thou, Jehovah, art become their God.

²⁵ And now, Jehovah Elohim, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house, fulfil it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁶ And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is God over Israel; and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.

²⁷ For thou, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

²⁸ And now, Lord Jehovah, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;

²⁹ and now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it; and with thy blessing shall the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

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

² And he smote the Moabites, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts.

³ And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion by the river Euphrates.

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

⁵ And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, and David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

⁶ And David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, [and] brought gifts. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

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

⁸ And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much bronze.

⁹ And Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadadezer;

¹⁰ and Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him; for Hadadezer was continually at war with Toi. And he brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.

¹¹ Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated of all the nations that he had subdued:

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

¹³ And David made him a name when he returned, after he had smitten the Syrians in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand [men].

¹⁴ And he put garrisons in Edom: throughout Edom did he put garrisons; and all they of Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

¹⁵ And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice to all his people.

¹⁶ And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler;

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

¹⁸ and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

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

² And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba; and they called him to David. And the king said to him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant!

³ And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame on [his] feet.

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

⁵ And king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

⁶ And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he said, Behold thy servant!

⁷ And David said to him, Fear not; for I will certainly shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

⁸ And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

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

¹⁰ And thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in [the fruits], that thy master's son may have food to eat. And Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread at my table continually. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹ And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And Mephibosheth [said David] shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.

¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

¹³ So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem; for he did eat continually at the king's table. And he was lame on both his feet.

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

² And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

³ And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search the city and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to thee?

⁴ And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵ And they told [it] to David; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

⁶ And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah [with] a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.

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

⁸ And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

⁹ And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;

¹⁰ and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might array them against the children of Ammon.

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

¹² Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah do what is good in his sight.

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

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

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

¹⁶ And Hadarezer sent, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer [went] before them.

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

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

¹⁹ And all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

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

² And it came to pass at evening time that David arose from off his couch, and walked upon the roof of the king's house; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful;

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

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

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

⁶ And David sent to Joab [saying], Send me Urijah the Hittite. And Joab sent Urijah to David.

⁷ And when Urijah had come to him, David asked how Joab prospered, and how the people prospered, and how the war prospered.

⁸ And David said to Urijah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Urijah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him presents from the king.

⁹ And Urijah slept at the entrance of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

¹⁰ And they had told David saying, Urijah did not go down to his house; and David said to Urijah, Art thou not come from a journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?

¹¹ And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields: shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? [As] thou livest, and [as] thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

¹² And David said to Urijah, Abide here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. And Urijah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow.

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

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

¹⁵ And he wrote in the letter saying, Set Urijah in the front of the thickest fight, and withdraw from him, that he may be smitten and die.

¹⁶ And it came to pass as Joab watched the city, that he assigned Urijah to a place where he knew that the valiant men were.

¹⁷ And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab; and there fell some of the people, of the servants of David; and Urijah the Hittite died also.

¹⁸ Then Joab sent and told David all the matters of the war;

¹⁹ and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast ended telling the matters of the war to the king,

²⁰ and if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say to thee, Why did ye go so near to the city to fight? did ye not know that they would shoot from the wall?

²¹ Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why did ye go near the wall?—then say thou, Thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

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

²³ And the messenger said to David, The men prevailed against us, and came out against us into the field, and we were upon them as far as the entrance of the gate.

²⁴ And the shooters shot from upon the wall against thy servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Urijah the Hittite is dead also.

²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab: Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another: make thy battle strong against the city, and overthrow it;—and encourage him.

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

²⁷ And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of Jehovah.

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

² The rich had very many flocks and herds;

³ but the poor man had nothing at all, but one little ewe lamb which he had bought, and was nourishing; and it grew up with him, and together with his children: it ate of his morsel, and drank of his own cup, and slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter.

⁴ And there came a traveller to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that had come to him; and he took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that had come to him.

⁵ Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this thing is worthy of death;

⁶ and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

⁷ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man! Thus saith Jehovah the 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] had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

⁹ Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah to do evil in his sight? thou hast smitten Urijah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

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